When educators choose new classroom materials their first challenge is to sift through dozens of options and narrow the search down to four to five options. In other words before they say “yes” to one solution they need to find reasons to say “no” to a host of other options.…
My 17 year old son is in the other room using a kayak paddle with chain saws attached at either end to slice zombies in half. I’m sitting here minding my own business when out of the blue he says “Dad, this game is great for teaching time management skills.”…
Posted without comment. Flocabulary – Much Ado About Nothing Rap from Flocabulary on Vimeo.
The role of textbooks in a rapidly digitizing world is an open question. The publishing industry needs to develop a new paradigm for commercially produced instructional materials or it faces extinction. Will they be replaced by digital learning packs of atomized content? Will Professors self-publish whatever materials they need? Will…
The International Reading Association’s annual conference has been steadily declining in attendance (and thus importance to vendors) for several years now. From a draw of 20,000 attendees the show now attracts less than 8,000. From a content standpoint it remains a top drawer event. That isn’t the focus of this…
I’ll be reviewing the findings of the white paper I wrote for SIIA on Best Practices for Implementing Games & Simulations in the Classroom today at 4 ET (corrected). The webinar and the paper are free. We interviewed teachers, administrators, and vendors who have successfully implemented edugames and distilled the…
What is good product development? The answer is deceptively simple to answer and devilishly difficult to pull off. Basically people want three things – better, faster, cheaper. All the complicated analysis in the world boils down to these three fundamentals. Get them right and your odds of success go way…
What are the missing skills needed in education publishing to create 21st Century products for 21st Century learners? I penned a thought experiment for EdNet on this topic. Education Publishing’s Own 21st Century Skills Gap – Change Begins At-Home Edition Fun Architects, Content Marines, Talent Wranglers, and Shibboleth Hunters all…
A fresh batch of piping hot links that may be of interest to those in educational materials. Are game mechanics the key to great social media marketing? The following link weaves some fascinating connections between the world of gaming and the world of encouraging people to try new things (the…
Do you have a bright idea for new education business? Today’s guest post is from the team over at the Zell/Lurie Institute’s Social Media Fund. Note that the deadline for submission is February 18th – shake out those fingers and warm up the keyboard. By Darrin Nagengast The Social Venture…