heylisa

Week 9 discussion

I really enjoyed and appreciated reading “Parents as Learning Partners…” as it directly relates to our design project around parent engagement. It hadn’t occurred to me that there might be multiple types of roles parents can play in supporting learning at home. I wonder how intentional the parents in this study were in performing a specific role, or… Read more Week 9 discussion

Week 8 discussion

As our group starts digging into the topic of parent engagement, one of our biggest question is about the awareness and knowledge that parents have about the impact that their actions have on their kids. The Crowley research paper highlights an action by parents that unintentionally contributes to a gender gap. I’m sure if you explained… Read more Week 8 discussion

Week 6 Discussion

The authors of Writing in the Wild posit that writing in online affinity spaces “motivate young people to write through self-directed and interest-based opportunities to share their work with an authentic audience” (p. 678). While I agree that there are many opportunities for informal learning in these affinity spaces, I worry that we are not seeing the… Read more Week 6 Discussion

Final Project Topic

We’re interested in exploring the role of parents in supporting a child’s learning and development. We know that co-viewing can support a child’s development but very few parents know this research or know how to act on it. And most toys, games, apps offer limited guidance directed to parents around how they can engage. The design challenge would be… Read more Final Project Topic

Week 5 Post - For whom and In What Context

What is most interesting about the Squire reading was the line: “As videogames mature as a medium, the question becomes not whether they will be used for learning but for whom and in what contexts” (p. 27). The ‘for whom’ part raises a lot of questions around equity. Who will have access to the latest and greatest game… Read more Week 5 Post - For whom and In What Context

Week 4 Response (late!)

With the excitement of the review and redesign project, I forgot to post about my impressions of the readings. One thing that really stuck out to me about the Rebecca Black research was her use of data to support her thesis. While I commend her for the thorough analysis on Mattel’s Barbie Girls and Xtractaurs online sites, I was… Read more Week 4 Response (late!)

GoldieBlox Review and Redesign

GoldieBlox is an engineering toy set paired with stories about a female engineer named Goldie. The founder, Debbie Sterling, launched the company in 2012 after finding a lack of good construction toys available for girls. She found that when girls played with construction toys, they typically got bored quickly and prefered make-believe activities. This motivated… Read more GoldieBlox Review and Redesign

DQC Week 3 - Loved Hirsh et al!

I absolutely loved the Hirsh-Pasek et al reading: Putting Education in “Education” Apps: Lessons from the Science of Learning. Having been interested in EdTech for a couple of years now, I’m really surprised that this paper hasn’t gotten more traction in wider media. In particular, I’m surprised that their framework of the 4 pillars +… Read more DQC Week 3 - Loved Hirsh et al!

Lisa's Parasocial Relationship

I was obsessed with watching Saved by the Bell after school every day. And my favorite character was Lisa Turtle because she was so fun, social and had the best clothes. Plus, the geek liked her too! In fact, when my parents and I decided I should have an ‘American” name, I chose Lisa because… Read more Lisa's Parasocial Relationship

Week 1 Discussion - Lisa J

One line from the Rogoff reading (Children’s Development of Cultural Repertoires…) particularly stuck out to me: “Tacit, routine expectations of everyday life are likely to be among the most powerful cultural experiences – especially because they are expected and unexamined by most participants” (Rogoff, p. 491). This made me ponder what the implicit social cues… Read more Week 1 Discussion - Lisa J