Context is an inescapable aspect in the process of meaning-making, and I really wonder why we tend to ignore it completely when we conclude about any theory as good or bad. Be it violence, religion, or videogames, its the context that connotates the meanings so differentlt when viewed through different perspectives. [url=http://www.igda.org/columns/c...]violence in video games [/url] is viewed as an issue because it always viewed out of context. Wish there were more games that make the context seem more meaningful than the violence part, so as to lessen the impact on our conventional brains of seeing video games simply as a propaganda for violence!! [url=http://www.igda.org/columns/c...]Read more[/url] ....
I want to be sure of where I stand and know whether I want to say 'yes ' or 'no', or simply want to say 'i need some time to think over'. At times I guess I've got to be prepared to decline several times. And many times, it'll hurt or disappoint the other person, but at the same time I want to give vent to what I feel like doing and compromise my instinct..
well, well well..I guess its upto me I guess in avoiding how guilty I'd feel to refuse or to accept something...
Its intresting to see why and how people inadvertantly blame the vidoegames for any violent activity by a teen!! here's a link that says more about it!!.. [url=http://www.videogamenews.net/...]Dummies[/url]
here's some links i loved that discussed on strategy games as a building game rather than waging wars and destroying. Read more about the review on 1503 A.D. the best selling game in europe. [url=http://videogames.about.com/c...]Anno 1503 A.D. - PC[/url]
[i][url=http://www.adage.com/news.cms...]Video games becoming a new domain for marketers?[/url] [/i] Also, I observed similar to the Television prime times, there's a primetime for video gamers too!! Here's the interesting overlap! [i]TV prime times: 8 pm to 11 pm Video games: 5 pm to 11 pm[/i]
long time no news...here's something on videogames and health hazards
If video games be cosidered a learning tool, then what about poor concentration and learning due to sleepiness thats caused by over use of computer games (some what similar to TV watching)? [url=http://health.discovery.com/n...]More[/url]
My explorations in to design based research led me into this wonderful website on DBR collections. Hope all the researchers out there find this link damn damn informative!!! :D
My explorations in to design based research led me into this wonderful website on DBR collections. Hope all the researchers out there find this link damn damn informative!!! :D
[url=http://www.cmpevents.com/GDx/...][i]Here are some notes fomr the game developer conference held in San Jose, California from 22nd march to 26th[/i][/url] . This section particularly caters to game designers who want to bring about social interactions through multiplayer games.
[i][b]The Jasper Series- an instructional reform or intervention of technology?[/b][/i]
Moore, Hickey, and Pallegrino give a very reasoned and lucid picture of the Jasper Series as a success or failure in different contexts, which is what is very appealing to me. Most of the studies on some of the previous projects were kind of abstract and in fact to some extent ‘mythical’ in the way they conveyed the research findings, and it was left very open-ended to the reader. Hickey, Moore & Pallegrino, in this article have highlighted very clearly- the objective of the Jasper project and how closely it met with its objectives. Also, I like the openness with which both failure and success contexts were examined and discussed about, throughout the article, which makes it authentic and convincing. Shifting my focus quickly to the inferences I made from the paper, I’d say first of all the Japer series project was indeed a very good attempt in initiating learning through constructivism. I think it could meet almost all the guiding principles of constructivism quite well. It was able to initiate independent understanding and learning in the students and above all, encouraged meaning-making and creating innovative solutions on their own without resorting for teacher’s help. This led to ‘informal learning’, which I think brought in a very constructive reform in the instructional approach (to view teachers as facilitators, and in fact to create awareness among students that teachers aren’t the only source they could learn from, thereby making them explorative, which again I attribute to a motivational experience). However, at this point, I’d like to know, how was the scenario of instructional methodology prior to the Jasper series effort? This would answer whether the increase in motivational levels in students was essentially because of Jasper, or was due to the new classroom scenario adopted by the teachers. This question becomes more significant from the fact that, the developers of Jasper series, along with the video disc, and other materials, also provided the teachers - ‘Jasper in Classroom’, a video that allows teachers to preview the complete Jasper problem solving process, showing clips from classroom, as if aimed at providing pedagogy tips. Was Jasper an instructional reform too? That be the case, how would Jasper or any project of its kind work in today’s classrooms, which are already adept in informal approach of teaching? Will it still be as effective? Also, during the time Jasper was implemented, technology was very new, and computers in classrooms or in fact using computers as a learning tool was a very fresh idea, that must have acted as an incentive too!!! Secondly, videodisc-based problems seem to be a good substitute for word problems, because, pictures or films give freedom from ‘reading comprehension’ and students have a better grasp of the problem regardless of their reading skills. However, I still have my reservations in getting fully convinced that vide-disc-based adventures would appeal today’s kids who are very fast in adapting themselves to ever-changing techno-gadgets, literally everyday. This compels me to think of more interactive mediums than videos, for encouraging problem-solving abilities in kids, say puzzles embedded in games? Whereby they can interact with the medium themselves, or say get hands-on experience in designing their own problem spaces, instead of watching an unresponsive video tape which is more like a movie you have to play and reply to get hold of the problem and data embedded within it. To conclude with, I’d still maintain, Jasper was very good attempt though in re-designing classrooms, but whether its efficacy depended on the instructional approach or the innovation in technology still remains questioned??
