Sitting at the table in his sunlit kitchen, Jayden was excited to show me a new video on his iPad. More proficient with the technology at age 5 than some adults, he pulled up a video on the screen and said, “Let’s start the magic trick!” As we watch together, Jayden and his dad appear […]
Monthly Archives: August 2014
iPads, Books, and Cardboard Boxes: ‘Comienza en Casa’ in Maine
August 29, 2014
How To Choose A Learning Game
August 29, 2014
Part 17 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning Many teachers are excited about trying games in the classroom but don’t know where to begin. The landscape of learning games is vast and confusing — and it’s growing and changing rapidly. Moving at the pace of the software industry, games are often updated and iterated […]
Video Games and the Future of the Textbook
August 22, 2014
Part 16 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning The textbook is a problem that consistently plagues classrooms. At best, textbooks are innocuous, offering simple summaries of a very broad subject area. At worst, they oversimplify things, providing less information than an encyclopedia article without enough nuance or context to make it meaningful. One study […]
The New Learning Times Profiles Michael H. Levine
August 19, 2014
This excerpt originally appeared on New Learning Times and appears here with permission. New Learning Times is produced by EdLab, a non-profit research, design, and development unit at Teachers College Columbia University. EdLab’s mission is to facilitate the future of learning through technology. Read the full post here (registration required). As Founding Director of the Joan […]
What’s in Store Today: A Snapshot of Kids’ Language and Literacy Apps (Part 1)
August 15, 2014
Apps for social communication, learning, and play are a prominent part of nearly every family’s life today. Are they having a similar impact on how families and educators help their children learn to read? And if so, what kinds of apps are they using? As part of Seeding Reading: Investing in Children’s Literacy in a […]
Screen Time That’s Valuable For Young Kids
August 15, 2014
Part 15 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning. Most people agree that implementing game-based learning makes sense for older students, but what about really young kids? Do screens have a place in early childhood education? How young is too young for screen time? If you have small children, you know that this is a […]
Vote for Our SXSW 2015 Panel: Playing to Learn: Lessons From Game Design Gurus
August 12, 2014
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center needs your vote for the SXSW Interactive 2015 conference! We have pulled together heavy hitters from LEGO, Nickelodeon, and MIT Media Lab to talk about how the engaging power of games can be used to promote playful learning. The design experts will share lessons learned from applying the latest research […]
In the Bustling, Interactive Classroom, A Place for Digital Games
August 8, 2014
Part 14 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning. If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that today’s technologies will one day be obsolete — we shouldn’t be too enamored with any particular educational tool. Teachers will always play the most important role in the classroom. Although ed-tech has a lot to offer, […]
Hacking: The New Creative Currency
August 6, 2014
Einstein put it best: We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. The world’s most beloved genius reminds us that it doesn’t take a genius to graduate beyond the state of being stumped. It only takes an earnestly dogged jury-rigger. Martha White’s Time Magazine article, “The […]
What New Technologies Could Mean for Home Visiting and Early Literacy
August 5, 2014
It may sound strange to put the word “technology” in the same sentence as home-visiting programs for mothers, infants, and toddlers, but over the past few years, many of these early childhood programs have started using new forms of multimedia and digital tools to engage parents. Their success could open up new ways of thinking […]