My Top 5 Edu-live for Monday 4^th Feb

The things that caught my biased eye since last week.

1. Game-based learning is changing the way we teach  Edsurge ran this sponsored content by Minecraft today here  If you’d like to find out more about Game-based learning, Edutopia has an easy to consume summary here Of particular note is the use of #edtech as empathy machines

• The Benefits of Constructionist Gaming  On this theme, this one is important as they are making the link between education theory ‘Constructionism’ and ‘Gaming’ Playing and building games helps students understand complex systems—including their own systems of thinking. From Edutopia

Sparvell Cheat Sheet: What is Constructionism?

Constructionist learning is when learners construct mental models to understand the world around them. Constructionism advocates student-centered, discovery learning where students use information they already know to acquire more knowledge. Students learn through participation in project-based learning where they make connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than using lectures or step-by-step guidance.

1. Social and Emotional Data might Identify Problems, but can schools fix them?

This is important as FRESNO, one of hero stories @Maria Langworthy features prominently in this article which examines research  where seeing survey data about school climate and students’ self-perception of social and emotional strengths motivated educators to change their practices.

From Education Week

1. Google opens up data analytics program in Singapore for undergrads The inaugural batch of 25 students is in the midst of completing a 12-week digital analytics technology course prerequisite, including sessions with industry subject matter experts from Google and its partners. STRAIT Times   

• Australians are largely happy with tech use in schools with some reservations The regarded EducationHQ Australia shares results from research conducted by Monash University here

The key curious findings of the report include:

•      66 per cent of adults agree that digital technologies make a positive contribution to Australian schools
• 37 per cent of adults believe ‘Big Tech’ companies cannot be trusted to play a role in school technology
•      79 per cent of adults support schools banning the use of mobile phones while students are in class
•      44 per cent of adults are happy to see online exams; 34 per cent want blended learning opportunities