Bror's Blog

SKYRIM: How far r uu??!!

Pretty far, compared with typical learning environments. Not just for kids either: according to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of video-gamers these days is 37, with 29% over the age of 50! (You know who you are. . .)

Oh, sorry: some of you may not know that Skyrim is a game. From a company called Bethesda Softworks. A video game. A role playing game.

According to sources I'm connected to who know this well (who are now banging their heads on their keyboards and calling me “the aging bald guy” at home and away), that's like saying a Bentley is a passenger car. Yesss, it is, but. . . arghh!

Why can't learning be more like this?

The Roots of STEM challenges

With apologies for the pun (in honor of fall, I thought about doing something with school-leavers too, but spared you), an interesting article about the loss of science majors in higher education turned up in the New York Times recently. The article by Christopher Drew pointed out that America's challenges with educating in science and math are not confined to K-12, which draws much of the press and international comparisons. They point out that once in college, there's an enormous attrition from science and math majors as well.

Some colleges are successfully weaving more projects into the earlier college years. However, there may be even more benefit to learners by investing in restructuring courses to weave real-world tasks together with concept instruction.