As he continues to study computer programming, Marcus has begun to
diversify his instruction by consulting sources other than Khan Academy. His searches have taken him to GameSalad (@gamesalad), a site that he, another IP student, and Mr. Stark are working through together.
GameSalad is an Internet portal that allows for streamlined game
design. Whereas users traditionally need to acquire rudimentary
programming skills before developing games, GameSalad allows novice and
expert programmers to jump into the fray and promptly begin to design.
Consumers can immediately commence product tests, enjoy easy
integration of images and videos, and publish to the App Store on Macs
and iPads.
What fascinating and entertaining game(s) will Marcus design this
year? Might we see a prototype in the near future? We encourage you to
sample GameSalad products in anticipation. For a video detailing the creation of a game of pong, please look below:
(GameSalad logo, pictured above. Image located at gamestorming.com.br. Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over the graphic above.)
American educator, parent, author, speaker, blogger, and co-publisher of Educating Modern Learners (EML)Will Richardson (@willrich45) has been called "a trendsetter in education" by The New York Times. He has spoken to tens of thousands of educators in more than a
dozen countries about the value of online learning networks. Two years
ago, he presented at TEDxMelbourne (@TEDxMelbourne), an event that encouraged
educators, parents, and students to think about the "changing nature of
education and how technology can shape the future of learning" (passages
taken from YouTube description of Richardson's talk).
Richardson raises some valid points that we in education must begin to discuss:
We have to start thinking differently about what school is. There's a
great quote that I read by a guy by the name of Justin Reich (the Richard L. Menschel HarvardX Research Fellow, based in the Office of the President and Provost at Harvard University: @bjfr)
who's a teacher at Harvard. And he said, 'You know, the problem right
now is that we're paying so much attention to the measurable part of
learning that we risk neglecting the immeasurable part of learning."
And it's that immeasurable part that - right now, in a world where we
have access to so much stuff - it's that immeasurable stuff, that
hard-to-measure stuff that's much more important. It's that creativity,
that gritty problem-solving, that persevering disposition that we have
toward learning. All that stuff that's really hard to measure? That's
the stuff that our children need right now.
For a post discussing Richardson at TEDxNYED (2011), please click here.
