Category: Uncategorized

A Delicate Balance

A major theme that kept popping up in “Putting the Education back in ‘Educational’ Apps” was that of between potentially conflicting “pillars of Learning Science.” The largest conflict was that which exists between making an app entertaining, but not to the level where it becomes distracting to a child(or adult for that matter!). I feel… Read more A Delicate Balance

Engagement vs. Curriculum: Are We Limiting Ourselves?

The reading from Hirsh-Pasek, et al. surveyed a range of educational media, primarily focusing on young children and apps. It cites research to argue that children learn best when the learning is active, engaged, meaningful, socially interactive, and in the service of a learning goal. The definition of each of these terms is then explored… Read more Engagement vs. Curriculum: Are We Limiting Ourselves?

Week 3 Discussion - Phoebe Shang

The piece by Miller and Warschauer, especially the part where they discuss future research on E-reading features, reminds me of my reading experience when I was a little girl. Back then, whenever I read a story book or watched cartoons on TV, I always had an urge to change part of the plot or some… Read more Week 3 Discussion - Phoebe Shang

Social interaction in e-reading

Based on the study of Hirsh-Pasek et al., social interaction in apps includes face-to-face interaction in the same physical space, communication through technologies in virtual space, and parasocial relations with characters. It is interesting that in the e-reading space, little social interaction is involved. Research done by Miller mentioned some benefits of parents reading together with… Read more Social interaction in e-reading

Tech-Enhanced Storybooks - Lisa Goochee

Benefits and Pitfalls of Multimedia and Interactive Features in Technology-Enhanced Storybooks: A Meta-Analysis It was interesting to read the piece by Takacs, Stuart, and Bus on the interactive media in technologically enhanced story books. The differences between multimedia features of text, storybook interactivity, or just audio were interesting regarding cognitive load and memory or comprehension of text. It makes a… Read more Tech-Enhanced Storybooks - Lisa Goochee

DQC Week 3 - Families Matter

Lori M. Takeuchi provides an incredibly interesting looking into how parents view and experience the media their children interact with. Takeuchi urges readers to recognize potential for learning from and communicating through digital media. The case studies mentioned in the paper illustrate how children communicate on the web, play with siblings, learn from their parents, teach… Read more DQC Week 3 - Families Matter

Could instant information be bad for generation?

On pp. 13-14, Miller and Warschauer discuss the pros and cons of assistive ebook features such as read-aloud and built-in dictionaries. They say that such features can aid in reader engagement and understanding, while noting concerns that they might be doing the work for learners. Read-aloud may be too much handholding for learners who should… Read more Could instant information be bad for generation?

Monica's Parasocial Relationship

My childhood idol and role model was (and still is) Shakira. Watching her dance in music videos and performances on TV in elementary school got me interested in Latin dancing, and my personal dance style today has a lot of elements prevalent in her dancing. I also admired her for being a philanthropist and a… Read more Monica's Parasocial Relationship

Jessie - Parasocial Relationship

When I was about 10 years old, I got the American Girl Doll, Felicity. I’m been enamored with her for a long time before that, in the pages of the American Girl Doll catalog. I remember reading her books more than I really remember playing with the doll. It was in those stories that I… Read more Jessie - Parasocial Relationship

Parasocial Activity

Jerry is really cute and smart, and it made me happy every time I watched him tackling all kinds of difficult problems. I really wanted to be as smart and playful as he is.