journal :: Torres, R. J. (2009). Using Gamestar Mechanic within a nodal learning ecology to learn systems thinking: A worked example. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(2).

This "worked example" is taken from a game design research study conducted in the spring of 2008 using Gamestar Mechanic, an online game intended to help middle and high school students develop basic game design skills. Game design and systems thinking skills, in this study conceptualized as dialogic in nature, were regarded as having the potent...

Tags: design, video game, learning, education

journal :: Johnson-Glenberg, M. C., Birchfield, D., Megowan-Romanowicz, C., Tolentino, L., Martinez, C. (2009). Embodied games, next gen interfaces, and assessment of high school physics. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(2).

In this worked example we present ongoing research in the realization and evaluation of a new mixed-reality learning environment called SMALLab. Within SMALLab, students interact in real time with each other and with dynamic visual, textual, physical, and sonic media through full-body 3D movements and gestures. The environment fosters embodied a...

Tags: learning, media, technology, HCI, science, fluency

journal :: DeVane, B., Durga, S., Squire, K. (2009). Competition as a driver for learning. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(2).

As games proliferate, educators have developed an interest in how they function as a medium for learning. Given past research, which has stressed the importance of cooperative rather than competitive learning environments, one might expect competition to be detrimental to learning. This worked example illustrates one instance in which direct com...

Tags: competition, collaboration, video game, technology

journal :: Oh, Y., Zhang, B., Steinkuehler, C., King, E., Chu, S., Alagoz, E., Corez, A. B., Simkins, D. (2009). Identifying protoform practices: Leadership. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(2).

A growing amount of evidence points to a literacy crisis among teenage boys in the United States. Nationally only 65 percent of all boys graduate (Greene and Winters 2006), and of those who persist, by age 17 only one in 17 can read well enough to understand information from a specialized text such as the science section of a newspaper (Thinking...

Tags: literacy, dropout, reading, video game, wow

book :: Wilkening, S., Chung, J. (2009). Life Stages of the Museum Visitor: Building Engagement Over a Lifetime. Washington DC: Thee AAM Press.

Life Stages of the Museum Visitor: Building Engagement Over a Lifetime offers a rich array of new data about how and why museum visitors behave as they do at different stages of their lives, and how museums can respond to the changing needs and perceptions of their audiences. With smart and engaging analysis, authors Wilkening and Chung point to...

journal :: Szechter, L. E., Carey, E. J. (2009). Gravitating toward science: Parent-child interactions at a gravitational-wave observatory. Science Education, 93(5), 846-858.

This research examined the nature of parent-child conversations at an informal science education center housed in an active gravitational-wave observatory. Each of 20 parent-child dyads explored an interactive exhibit hall privately, without the distraction of other visitors. Parents employed a variety of strategies to support their children's u...

Tags: physics, everyday learning

journal :: Terzian, S. G. (2009). The 1939-1940 New York World's Fair and the transformation of the American science extracurriculum. Science Education, 93(5), 892-914.

At the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, several thousand boys and girls, all members of a growing national network of high school science and engineering clubs, displayed their science fair projects and conducted live experiments to more than 10 million visitors. Housed in the building sponsored by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Com...

Tags: science events

book :: G. Farnell (Ed.). (2009). Rethinking Learning: Museums and Young People. UK: MuseumsEtc.

Practical, inspirational case studies from senior museum and gallery professionals from the UK, USA, Europe and Africa. Rethinking Learning: Museums and Young People clearly demonstrates the way in which imaginative, responsive services for children and young people can have a transformational effect on the museum and its visitor profile as a wh...

book :: Falk, J. H. (2009). Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience . Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Why do people visit museums? In this groundbreaking new book, renowned researcher John Falk explains why we need to look beyond demographics and toward more personal factors to better understand—and serve—our visitors. Falk provides a predictive model that will help museums proactively manage the visitor experience and successfully predi...

Tags: identity, motivation, museum studies

report :: Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2009). Partnership for a Nation of Learners: Joining Forces, Creating Value (Publication No. IMLS-2009-RES-03). Washington D.C. : Kulpinski, D.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Institute of Museum and Library Services—recognizing an opportunity to leverage our shared public service missions— joined forces on a leadership initiative to help public broadcasters, libraries, and museums collaborate on the local level to meet community needs. This initiative resulted in th...