Brain-based Learning, Backchannel, Pics. ipods, & Gaming

Leadership Styles

Authoritarian

I want both of you to. . .

Delegative

You two take care of the problem while I go. . .

Participative

Let's work together to solve this. . .

Click pictures for Flickr view (Creative Commons - attribution)

A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education - PDK

It has been more than 20 years since it was first suggested that there could be connections between brain function and educational practice. In the face of all the evidence that has now accumulated to support this notion, Mr. Jensen advocates that educators take full advantage of the relevant knowledge from a variety of scientific disciplines.

Tuning the backchannel - Dave's Whiteboard

Barry Dahl analyzed the comments from a discussion and determined that only 31% of the posts were on-topic. In the specific instance, he says "the audience treated [the backchannel] like an experiment because we [presenters] treated it like an experiment."

Ken Burns: going inside the photograph - Presentation Zen

When you think about it, often the photo really is more powerful than video at telling the story. The photo captures a moment in time allowing the viewer to slow down and think and wonder and reflect. Photos allow for greater emphasis and may have less distracting elements. They can be livened up with technigues such as the "Ken Burns effect," a technique for adding motion to still photography.

Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod. - New York Times

"We had assumed that the biggest focus of these devices would be consuming the content," said Tracy Futhey, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Duke. But that is not all that the students did. They began using the iPods to create their own "content," making audio recordings of themselves and presenting them. The students turned what could have been a passive interaction into an active one, Ms. Futhey said.

Study: Serious Gaming Boosts Cognitive Skills - FUTURE-MAKING SERIOUS GAMES

Iowa State University psychologist Douglas Gentile, PhD, and William Stone, BS, described several studies involving high school and college students and laparoscopic surgeons that looked at their video game usage and its effects.

Findings from the student studies confirmed previous research on effects of playing violent games: Those playing violent games were more hostile, less forgiving and believed violence to be normal compared to those who played nonviolent games. Players of "prosocial" games got into fewer fights in school and were more helpful to other students.

Other studies involving students showed that those who played more entertainment games did poorer in school and were at greater risk for obesity.

A study of 33 laparoscopic surgeons found that those who played video games were 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors compared to those who did not play video games.