Education

About 10% of K-12 learning takes place in the formal school system, according to a study at University Preparatory School in Redding, California. Homework is a wonderful tool to encourage bridging the gap between formal learning and learning in the home, and educational video games are doing their part to further connect the two. In addition, video games can bring an educational focus to the informal, exploration-based learning that takes place at play.

Interested to read up on this?

"Turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to your child."
-President Obama

President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" program is getting a response from educational computer game companies. There's a mild irony here, but it's also a wonderful illustration of the country (and world)'s current move toward technology as an educational source.

How is Twitter being used outside of the education? Mashable offers a "Top 10 Most Extraordinary Tweets" which covers everything from reporting on national disasters in real time, to marriage proposals, to organizing charity events.

Some of my favorite (and some of my least favorite) Twitter experiences (not in the Top Ten list) include:

This evening I participated in an online discussion about math and Web 2.0 technologies. Ihor Charischak, founder of the Council for Technology in Mathematics Education (CLIME), an affiliate of National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and Maria Droujkova, founder and director of Natural Math, facilitated the interactive session with approximately 18 people in attendance. The following activities were shared:

Average Traveler
http://web.mac.com/ihor12/CMDB75/TRIP/

There is a great debate on video games, with supporters and detractors coming from all over.  Educators, parents, researchers, publishers, policy makers, and manufactorers have all weighed in on whether the video game industry, as a whole, is a positive influence on students.

The Sun Journal, in Lewiston, Maine, recently asked another group to weigh in: the students.

This past Wednesday at the Windup Space, Guy Arceneaux and I gave presentations for Aquent's first roundtable discussion event. The evening was focused on a dilemma I think many print designers are finding. The print market is over saturated with designers, and the web market is in need for more designers. Based in print design, I have been transitioning more into web because of a need for my job and my own personal curiosity.