mwill5

Week 9 Response

“Stuck in the Shallow End (2008) reveals how these beliefs about a narrow strata of students having “high potential” in computer science is laden with racial, gender, socioeconomic biases and plays out in schools through tracking, course assignments, course availability, and instructional resources [12]. As explained by educational researcher Carol Dweck, this type of evaluation… Read more Week 9 Response

Week 8 Response

I love the idea of place-based mobile learning apps as presented by Zimmerman (2014) in theory. It’s a very natural use of new technologies, and a location-based approach is a logical but powerful way of helping users connect with learning in informal settings. Unfortunately, the actual images (particularly Figures 1 & 2) of the apps she describes are… Read more Week 8 Response

Week 7 Discussion

“While MOOCs, high-quality educational materials developed by elite universities, are used to reinforce the advantage of privileged adults, the opposite appeared to be true for socio-economically disadvantaged youth, who might be spending significant amounts of time on leisure- oriented websites like coolmath-games that have little evidence for the potential in advancing their social and human… Read more Week 7 Discussion

Week 6 Response

In reading the Cassell (2004) article, one section stood out to me in particular: “Despite descriptions of the multicultural aspects of storytelling activities, and some descriptions of their link to children’s literacy and other aspects of development (Labov, 1972; Lee, 1992; Miller & Hoogstra, 1992), virtually no attempt has been made to integrate their benefits into… Read more Week 6 Response

Week 5 Response

I really enjoyed the Granic article, and am particularly interested in the research they cited in the section on the emotional benefits of gaming. I’m compelled by the potential implications for students who feel marginalized in the classroom (or society as a whole). In reading the citation on Russoniello et al., I wonder if gaming might be… Read more Week 5 Response

Assignment 1—Shelley Williamson

Stardoll   Description: Stardoll functions like an online version of paper dolls, where users can customize outfits, go shopping, and make friends within the message board community. URL: http://www.stardoll.com/ Objective: It seems as if Stardoll’s sole objective is to entice users to buy its virtual clothing, hair products, accessories, etc. Target age: 7+   Evaluation:… Read more Assignment 1—Shelley Williamson

Week 4 Response—Shelley

I was drawn to the article by Kafai et al. because I remember, quite clearly, my love of Barbie Fashion Designer when it came out in 1996. I was struck by the line, “Seemingly against conventional wisdom, it demonstrated that girls could be interested in using computers.” (2) This observation speaks to the depth to the stereotype… Read more Week 4 Response—Shelley

Week 3 Response—Shelley

In “Putting Education in “Educational” Apps,” Hirsch-Pasek et al. state, “when we process information that is more meaningful, we often (though not always) are more mentally active, making more connections across brain areas.” This statement is followed by a series of questions for designers to consider when building educational apps: “Does the app experience tap into… Read more Week 3 Response—Shelley

Parasocial Activity: Shelley

Shelley's toy

  #earlychildhoodtoys