I wasn’t aware of all the different labels that have been assigned in the past, but here is a brief overview (for those who are equally in the dark):

• The Lost Generation: Those who fought in World War I (born pre-1900)
• The Greatest Generation: Veterans of World War II (born 1901-1924)
• The Silent Generation: Also known as ‘War Babies’ (born 1925-1945)
• The Baby-Boomers: Those born in post-war boom and are generally attributed with(born 1946-1964)
• Generation X: (born 1960′s to early 1980′s)
• Generation Y: Also known as ‘Millennials’ or the ‘Net Generation’. This label is more about their attitude  (born between late 1970′s to early 2000′s)
• Generation Z: Also known as the ‘Internet Generation’ (born early-mid 2000′s)

From what I can see the movement from one categorisation of generation to another has been about the enlightenment of the individuals to their surrounding based on different elements of cultural and economic influences. However, I think this only applies to the earlier classifications. Once we see the eruption of technical capabilities, and our reliance on it in our every-day lives, we can see the classifications above become entwined with technical advancement. This is why I opt to use the term ‘Generation T’ for children born post 2008/9 … the ‘Tablet Generation’. As with the classifications above I would also advocate the use of  the ‘App Generation’ in reference to the way in which we are now using and talking about technology – everything is about the App, whether it is smart phones, tablet PCs, or cloud computing (Chromebook).

Here’s a good example:

YouTube: Baby Works iPad Perfectly. Amazing Must Watch!

In this video a father gives his child a tablet for the first time, just look at how quickly she learns to use the home button to exit the app and find another …

You Tube: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

There are loads of examples if you look for them, but the fact is that tablet computers are so intuitive that children of all ages can use them. Robert Thompson explains that a tablet, “with its touch interface … can help children extend their creativity using intuitive applications that allow them to color, trace letters and do simple counting exercise — the possibilities are endless.”

Please note that I am trying to stay away from identifying one tablet over any other (or even operating system) as it is the technology and how we utilise it that interests me, not brand or price (although we cannot ignore the importance that is placed on form over function and preference on iPad or Blackberry PlayBook or HP TouchPad, etc).

While the jury is out on whether tablets will replace traditional computers that use a keyboard and mouse, the children/student of the future “will still need laptops, because they’re great for doing school work and just try passing a degree without one, the same goes for many jobs” (Tablets: A backseat for creativity). This is, of course, based on the assumption that the education system will not change and we will still instruct and assess in the way we do now, which we have been doing for many decades before. But this too is changing, just look at the way in which recent Web 2.0 systems (blog, wiki, podcast, etc) have been introduced to the learning environment, and the way the students have engaged with it. If this continues then the historical framework of teach/assess will also change.

Are we ready to embrace the changes? I think we are; there are already schools around the world providing tablets for each child, game consoles are used for game-based learning, etc. While these could be viewed in isolation, don’t forget that 25/30 years ago there were only a very few schools that had a room full of computers for students to use, this is now viewed as the norm, in fact it is essential equipment.

So, how long will Generation T last? I don’t know, but I’m sure the developers at the big tech firms have already started planning for the next big ‘thing’ – but will it be a game-changer like the advert of smartphones and tablets? I welcome your input and ask you to leave a comment or thought below.

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It is really hard to keep up with the new ‘must-have’ websites and social networks you ought to be involved with at the moment, and 2011 is going to see a whole heap of new ones, as well as existing ones really take off.

The first I just can’t get away from (this week) is called ‘Quora‘, and is effectively a simple question-and-answer site.

“Whatever your question, type it in the search box and, if there isn’t already an answer there, users will pile in and attempt to answer it. Information is organised more like Wikipedia than Google, with answers prioritised by how useful they are, but the site uses Twitter-style following to track the best contributors.”
From the Guardian UK website.

While the comparison to WikiAnswers and Yahoo Answers is not unkind or unfounded,  the possible advantage of Quora is that you are expected to use your real name and even link it to Facebook or Twitter accounts (which is really easy to do as you can sign in with your Facebook or Twitter user accounts, which will need authorising through the respective API methods) and Quora is also benefiting from the fact that its rivals have largely abandoned people-based question-and-answer systems.

You want to see it in action, here is a short video explaining it better than I can …

The interface is clean, uncluttered (at the moment), and easy to find your way around:

Click to enlarge

Quora is also being touted as a scene-stealing platform that will mean the end to blogging and the like (according to TechCrunch anyway) … but we’ll wait and see on that, I’m sure many will have something to say about that (on their blogs no doubt!).

But what of using Quora in learning and teaching? In an effort to find out about this I asked Google “quora in education” and … low and behold, I got a result of the same question posted to Quora – “Would Quora be a good learning tool for middle- and high-school students?” which has the following (edited) items that the author of the question/post thinks are good for education:

• Quora promotes the creation and access of knowledge beyond the classroom. Quora allows students and researchers to access an entire community of “teachers” for different interests (like other social networks, but perhaps more directly)
• Quora can connect students with different communities of mentors and knowledge-owners.
• Quora is currently very intellectual and thoughtful, and also fairly prompt – curious students can post questions and receive good answers very quickly.

But we must also recognise any potential pitfalls in such a system; can we trust the authors not to ‘mess’ with each other and post stupid questions … ? One author that commented on the question said how his 6 year old had him post a question on Quora and the “excitement of seeing other people post great answers quickly … makes learning and curiosity feel like a game.”

Quora is still very new and very small (in comparison) and has yet to reach the critical mass that will really see how well it could be used in education, but it’s potential is certainly there. It’s one I’ll keep an eye on .. what about you?

PS.  Here is a resource list for you in my Delicious bookmarks on, or about, Quora (while Delicious still works and I still use it!)

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“By now, we’re used to letting Facebook and Twitter capture our social lives on the web – building a “social layer” on top of the real world. At TEDxBoston, Seth Priebatsch looks at the next layer in progress: the “game layer,” a pervasive net of behavior-steering game dynamics that will reshape education and commerce.”

TEDx – Seth Priebatsch: The game layer on top of the world

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The iPad is here, and there seems to be no escaping the fact (even though it’s not in the UK yet). I wrote previously about links and resources I kept finding in a previous post – iPad, is it any good for the classroom or learning – at the beginning of April.

Here we are at the beginning of May and people are writing about it with more authority as they are actually using and trying it out. Here are a few I’ve found useful and think you might too.

Jodi Harrison; iPad on Campus:

“Within higher education, there are a variety of aspirations, expectations, skills, and abilities. The iPad will be helpful to some, and to others it won’t make the slightest difference. By focusing on what we do with technology, instead of the technology itself, we put our institutions in the best possible position to increase the value of what we provide to our students.”

Scott Weidig; Love your feedback – The iPad for English Language Learners:

“The overriding objective in providing the iPad, as opposed to a different computing platform, is to provide ELL [English Language Learners] students with current technology that will allow them to access thousands of learning applications. This access will positively impact their English language acquisition in ways that would not be afforded to them on conventional computing devices.”

Lauren Barak;  Educators weigh the pros and cons of the Apple device:

“But ordering the devices for every classroom? That’s not on the immediate agenda. Knowing that applications are still being developed—with just 310 educational ones available on a recent check of the iTunes store—[Beth] Knittle says it’s critical to try the devices on a smaller scale before committing to larger integration.”

Miss Signal; iPad in Education:

“For a piece of technology that has created such a buzz through the world and the education sector it has been interesting to read through many articles and see the difference of opinions that are circulating about the iPad. The key to this conversation though is the students – it will be about what students think about iPad in comparison to the technology they already have access to in our classrooms.”

DigMo; The iPad in your classroom:

“As a parent I see the iPad as the perfect solution for my own children. An affordable alternative to buying a laptop and a media player coupled with excellent parental controls it seems to make perfect sense.”

Nick Provenzano; The iTouch and iPad in the classroom:

“As teachers, our job is to make the information as accessible to the students. The information is out there and the students can get it without us if they really want to. We need to teach them how to find the information and the true capabilities of the devices the have. It will always be tough for teachers to learn and manage new technology in the classroom, but this movement toward free flowing, social networking, global education is not going to go away. The iPad and the iTouch could be used to knock down walls and introduce our students to a world they would never see otherwise.”

Nick Provenzano; The iPad in my classroom:

“I feel confident that I could run my classes effectively and have even more students engaged in learning if I had a full set of these in the room. I would no longer be chained to the computer lab sign up sheet. My lessons would be able to flow freely to my students and back to me without all of the walls that separate the free flow of information.”

iPad in the Classroom: First Impressions of iPad in Schools:

“My 5 year old picks the device up, navigates to an app he’s familiar with, and begins to play.  This bodes well for younger students who often spend a great deal of time learning what a mouse is, how to log in, how to open a program, and so on.  More time learning actual content is always a good thing.”

If you have any experience of using it, and even getting students working on an iPad, then please share and share alike.

Related posts:

1. iPad – is it any good for the classroom or learning?
2. Reading “The iPad for Academics”
3. Games in the Classroom … are you sure?

Well, it’s here; the iPad has finally landed.

I had said on Twitter that I wouldn’t blog about it until I actually had one (and I’m still thinking about it) but I have read quite a bit over the weekend about and wanted to bring together the various threads of thoughts and ‘research’ already out there on whether it will be good for students, and the classroom, or not.

I’ll start with my final words (!) and they are simply how can we be sure that the iPad will be any good if we’ve literally only just got it (not in the UK we haven’t!)? We may know how the theory fits in with technology and student fashion, but will it work, will the students buy one (or even can the afford one, given that they’ve already got a smartphone and high-end laptop?) and will they see the benefit to their education, or is it just another shiny Apple device? It could be that we, the educators and facilitators, are the only ones who see its potential, and talk to each other about it as the students carry on with their existing kit.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve found …

Tony Bates: Educational affordances of the iPad:

“Although the iPad suggests an exciting future for the design of teaching and learning, we need to bear in mind that many people still have limited broadband access, which is essential for such developments. So the iPad will at least initially further widen the digital divide.”

Elliot Masie: iPad First Look for Learning:

Frederic Lardinois writes on ReadWriteWeb: Colleges Give iPads to All Incoming Students:

“Seton Hill University plans to give every first year undergraduate student a 13″ MacBook and an iPad. Just last month, George Fox University in Oregon also announced that it plans to give its new students a choice between a MacBook or an iPad. The question, though, is if programs like this aren’t a bit premature, given that nobody has actually used the device yet and that we don’t really know how well the iPad will work for textbooks and other school-related activities.”

Brian Chen writes Colleges Dream of Paperless, iPad-centric Education:

“One hitch in the universities’ plans [see above by Frederic Lardinois] is that Apple has not inked deals with any textbook publishers to bring their offerings to the iPad’s iBooks store. So far Apple and publishers have only formed partnerships around e-books for fiction and nonfiction titles, like those available for the Kindle.”

Bridget McCrea writes Measuring the iPad’s Potential for Education:

“The fact that ninth graders like Nothstein are somewhat blasé about a device whose heavily anticipated launch attracted millions of eyeballs around the world isn’t exactly surprising. Call them jaded, but today’s K-12 students have the world at their fingertips when it comes to technology, and are only limited by budget when it comes to getting their hands on items like Apple’s new iPad.”

James Tubbs writes Powering Your Classroom with the iPad, Part 2:

“The effective uses of the iPad in the classroom will multiply as educators adapt to this exciting new technology and find ways to innovate their teaching methods accordingly. As Robert Reynolds notes in his article about the iPad’s future in education , the ultimate educational use of the iPad and similar technology will depend entirely on how students respond to it.”

iPad in the Classroom:

“Today, iPad is probably not the answer, but as a concept it is a stage-setter that gives us a glimpse of what the technological landscape may look like in the classroom of the not-so-distant future.   While the iPad may need several iterations before it becomes a sleek and elegant classroom solution (multi-tasking?!?), this should be a wake up call for the educational publishing industry.”

Bob Brogan writes First Look at the iPad for eLearning:

“Another drawback for eLearning and purely from my viewing the initial demonstration, was the appearance of a lack of multi-tasking capability. This may also be a hindrance. Quite often someone wants to working on a document or some other material as they are reviewing eLearning content or sessions.”

Steve Kolowich writes iPads on Campus:

“The e-learning giant Blackboard, meanwhile, today is announcing that it is launching an app for the iPad that will allow students to access their courses from the new device. “

WISE Pedagogy: iPads for Education: How Much is Hype?

“Unless you are a devoted Apple fan who would use a new Apple device anyway, or you teach at a school that is giving each student his or her own iPad, you might want to wait a few months before you buy one solely for pedagogical purposes. Time may tell whether this new device will have enough advantages to surpass the others that are already available. Even if you and some of your students already do have iPads, it may be a while before we can expect to design lesson plans that incorporate them into course activities.”

Robert writes Is education ready for the iPad?:

“iPads are been handed out to students from three universities and faculty with hopes that Apple’s tablet will transform education. These universites … pre-ordered bundles of iPads with plans to experiment with how the tablet could change learning in the classroom. Officials from each university saw the iPad as having potential to render printed textbooks obsolete. One dent in the universities’ plans is that Apple has not inked deals with any textbook publishers to bring their offerings to the iPad’s iBooks store. So far Apple and publishers have only formed partnerships around e-books for fiction and nonfiction titles.”

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Even when I try and get on with something else, I keep finding excellent resources about game- and simulation-based learning. So, here we are again. Below are some links and choice quotes from the resources. Enjoy …

Jeffrey Young: “5 Teaching Tips for Professors—From Video Games”

“Learning is no game on today’s college campuses. It’s serious work that many students dread. Yet when those same students play video games like World of Warcraft, they happily spend hours on difficult tasks, and actually learn quite a bit in the process. Ms. Steinkuehler … noted how players in a chat room had used complex mathematics to argue for a certain plan of attack against some unruly beast.”

Abhijit Kadle: “Top 100 Learning Game Resources”

“So here they are – a Top 100 Learning Game Resource list. If you are already developing learning games, these links will broaden your horizons, as they did mine. If you are contemplating beginning – it might help to look at links that interest you to get some grounding ideas.”

Lucy Cockcroft: “Computer games should be used to assess pupils’ ability instead of traditional tests”

“Professor James Gee believes that the games are an aide to learning, a view that is at odds with that of many parents who consider them a distraction from school work. He has also suggested that the games should become part of the curriculum because they offer pupils a more efficient way of learning by not bombarding them with a large amount of information all at once.”

Karl Kapp: “Using Virtual Worlds in the Conspiracy to Create an ‘ah-ha’ Moment”

“Conspiracies take coordination, effort, planning and a deep understanding of what needs to be done. These adjectives rarely describe the level of effort dedicated to organizational efforts to change behavior through learning experiences. We need to stop creating awareness and start to create conspiracies. What better place to start than in a 3D Virtual Immersive Environment. Involving learners in a story where they can interact and react is the first step in the conspiracy in which we should all partake.”

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Augmented Reality (AR) is still in its infancy, but as people like me look further afield to find interesting technology to use in (and out of) the classroom, it has been on my radar a bit recently. So, what is it?

“Unlike Virtual Reality (VR) that aims at replacing the perception of the world with an artificial one, Augmented Reality (AR) has the goal of enhancing a person’s perception of the surrounding world. Being partly virtual and real, the new interface technology of AR which is able to display relevant information at the appropriate time and location, offers many potential applications; these include aiding in education, training, repair or maintenance, manufacturing, medicine, battlefield, games and entertainment.”
Source: Asia Research News, Augmented Reality: The Future of Education Technology

Check out this YouTube video that demonstrates AR from the SMLXL blog;

It is also worth watching this video, this time from TED Talks: “Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos augmented-reality maps“. Here Blaise shows a new Microsoft online mapping enterprise called Bing Maps, which is amazing (dependent, I would think, on the quality of your Internet connection?) in the implementation and scope for it’s uses. How about a virtual tour around a museum, a building, or even an archaeological dig by a member of the team  or organisation involved (in a different country?) while the class stays in the classroom but interacts and even directs the proceedings – bring the field into the classroom:

But what of AR in the classroom? The wiki from Trends in EdTech for “Classroom Learning with AR” (currently) lists the following applications for Augmented Reality in the classroom environment;

• Learning styles: rich examples of complex phenomena (engineering, earth sciences, medicine, environmental applications to name a few) while being engaging.
• Authentic Learning: AR can tremendously enhance vocational studies for those wishing to enter the trades: auto and aviation mechanics, electricians, carpenters, etc… The ability to annotate real elements and the ability to add to reality by superimposing virtual aids, will aid in instruction and learning for those disciplines where a specific spatial configuration of elements must be learned and remembered (auto mechanics, medicine, chemistry).
• Realistic models: AR provides a means of “seeing” phenomena in 3D, thereby bringing the contextual three dimensional nature of the real world to the their learning. Textual and pictorial information in the typical 2 dimensional print-based resources loses much of the richness of the “real” world elements, and involves an element of interpretation that is difficult for some students.
• Engagement/Interactivity: Illustrations in books can come to life with AR technology and can captivate readers of all ages.

Rob De Lorenzo, on the Mobile Learner blog post “Augmented Reality and On-Demand Learning” says:

“… that using AR apps is unrealistic given the current reality of school board policies and certain teacher attitudes concerning the use of cell phones for learning. Granted, if students are not allowed to use their cell phone to help them learn then AR apps are useless.”

We have a huge shift in expectations to overcome before technologies such as AR, game-based learning, simulations, etc are accepted in anything more than a fad or ‘suck-it and see’ mentality.

Further reading:

• “Augmented Reality in Education”: Mark Billinghurst
• “Augmented Reality in the Classroom”: New School Technology
• “Cell Phones in Education Part 4: Learning on Location”: The Mobile Learner
• “Augmented Reality and On-Demand Learning”: The Mobile Learner

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The subject of games and simulations in education and learning has been talked about quite a lot again recently. There is no way I can cover all the work that is being done in this area (or do it justice) so I’ll link to as many of the work I’ve been reading as I can remember and find, and point out some of the choicest quotes.

Ben Betts: “The problem with E-learning games”

“Where goals are included as a part of the Plaything a Challenge is created. Challenges played without Competition are defined as Puzzle’s. Typically, this is where the majority of E-learning games and interactions lie. Whilst many of these E-learning objects are goal orientated, they do not actively present a competitor for the user to play against. Crawford defines this competitor as “an active agent against whom you compete”. Where this agent is apparent we have defined a “Conflict”. Conflicts in which you cannot interfere with your opponent’s performance are defined as “Competitions”.”

Chris Brannigan: “Simulated Death”

“Simulations are all about performance; undertaking actions, behaviours and thinking in a situation that closely approximates the reality to promote understanding and transfer. A big focus has been on ’suspension of disbelief’ – the degree to which learners can engage with the authenticity of the experience and produce realistic behaviour.”

Real Projects: “Game-based Learning Resources for LT2010”

I was honoured to be in the audience for Scott’s seminar at the LT2010 exhibition. Scott showcased some well-received games / simulations, and the link above is to the list of resources he used or spoke about in his presentation. Well worth spending time looking over and through them, there are some gems in there.

Steve Wheeler: “Just a game?”

“Around the table at lunch, in the Headteacher’s office, we sat eating pizza and drinking fruit juice with five year 10 students. The talk inevitably turned to Internet games … and suddenly the students because very animated. They enthused over Farmville, the Sims and other long games and talked about how much they enjoyed playing them.”

These are extremely well defined, well documented, and well designed games (and quite expensive to develop too) that have managed to make the subject of learning enjoyable. It isn’t until quite far into the game that the player realizes that they’ve learned something (time and/or character management, organisation, planning, etc).

“Such games are often maligned by some teachers and parents as a ‘waste of time’ and children do, if allowed, play for long periods of time on such games. But doesn’t that tell us something about the power of these tools to engage, enthrall and educate? How can we harness this power in the classroom – that is the question…”

I find that the name ‘game’ has negative connotations for some, which can be overcome very simply by calling them a simulation. Similar is that some people don’t understand why children or students would want to play a simulation, but a game is a given. The wrong terminology can turn people on or off. Get this right and you could be over the worst hurdle in presenting the idea of these ‘games’ for education.

Tony Bates: Moving educational games forward

“A useful introduction to some of the issues around educational gaming.”

Paul Pivec: “Does Game Based Learning Really Exist?”

View more presentations from Learning Without Frontiers.

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I’ve just got offline from the ALT / ELN  ”Instructional Design for Serious Games” webinar.

We set up the Twitter hashtag ‘#altgame‘ and the archive of tweets can be found using the Twapper services here – http://twapperkeeper.com/altgame

Thinking Worlds was one application/software that was mentioned a few times, as were;

• Unity - unity3d.com
• Open Simulator – opensimulator.org

Both look very interesting and worthy of future investigation into their abilities.

The ALT Repository will have the recorded webinar available online (soon) here: http://repository.alt.ac.uk/view/divisions/ALT=2FELN/

Food for thought.

PS. Also worth a read is the “The Art of Computer Game Design” by Chris Crawford.

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Following from my recent posts about games (and simulations) in education I came across this wonderful presentation by Aki Järvinen. Although written 3 years ago, it still seems relevant to the theory behind a game , especially if, like me, you are just starting out on creating games / simulations in an educational setting.

Introduction to the Theory of Game Elements

Interesting stuff.

Also worth a note is this post I found through Tony Karrer on “Games and Simuations” where Karl Kapp is interviewed about everything from “video games to virtual 3D worlds, their cognitive advantages and future trends in online learning.”

Karl says;

“As learning professionals, we need to leverage 3D virtual immersive environments for real, contextual-based learning. These virtual environments are great learning tools but are not being used properly.”

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