hajhasan

Week 9 - On Maker Spaces

What I love most about this article is that it opened my eyes and introduced me to a whole new world that I hadn’t known existed! I had heard the term “Maker Space” before, but never really knew what it was until reading this article. So firstly, I am grateful for the opportunity to have… Read more Week 9 - On Maker Spaces

Week 8 - Explaining Science to Girls

As you can imagine, this study and its conclusions resonated with me on a very personal level and actually made me aware of the potential that I have to be bias with my daughter. Firstly, I was struck with how detailed and thorough the study was and how well the paper explained it. Secondly, I… Read more Week 8 - Explaining Science to Girls

Week 7: The Importance of Clear Representation

The fact that tablets allow for more efficient representation of math seems to be nothing short of revolutionary. I really liked how the speaker built his argument by showing us how math was done before the printing press, it was able to make the contrast between what we grew up learning and the potential of… Read more Week 7: The Importance of Clear Representation

Week 6 - We are STILL social creatures

When reading the article “Writing in the Wild”, I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between fan-based and affinity spaces in promoting writing, growth and creativity. We are social creatures at heart, and these examples show the power of social interaction and feedback in empowering kids to become writers. The article does touch upon… Read more Week 6 - We are STILL social creatures

Week 5 - Video Games as Designed Experiences

Reading this article made me think back to one of the most influential games in my life, which just happened to be the game I made my first post on: Sim City. The game is even mentioned in this article, and I played a lot of simulation games. I remember their early days, when they… Read more Week 5 - Video Games as Designed Experiences

My Talking Angel

Application name: My Talking Angela Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-talking-angela/id909351158?mt=8 Ages: 13+ (but actually most likely played by younger girls) Description of Application: The app is very similar to the tamagotchi gadget of the 1990s. You have a cat (called Angela) that you need to feed, pet, bathe, etc. The difference is that this app is more interactive… Read more My Talking Angel

Thoughts on emotional robots

The Kahn et al article really had an impact on me. It made me think about how our logic can be hijacked by our emotions, and how vulnerable young children’s emotions are and where the world is heading. It makes complete sense that the children would feel an emotional attachment to the robots, but what… Read more Thoughts on emotional robots

Holistic design for new technologies

I love the idea of designing technology with the entire family in mind, and as I parent I appreciate the recommendation of “guilt-free” parenting using technology. This resonated with me, because my wife and I are actually taking the other extreme when it comes to technology for our daughter and the idea of a more… Read more Holistic design for new technologies

On the importance of paper for focus

While reading about the impact of e-readers on literacy, I couldn’t help but think of the “distraction” that the devices offer to readers and how this can impact their learning. With paper, you are kind of “stuck” with the single dimensional content and this has the effect of focusing the reader on the task at… Read more On the importance of paper for focus

Rami

This soccer player character was HUGE in my childhood. I used to day dream being like him 🙂 He was a character from a Japanese cartoon that was translated into Arabic (and called Rami). He used to come on TV at 4:30pm every day and he was a part of my day as I used… Read more Rami