Archive for the ‘Online Learning’ Category

I’m increasingly conscious of the gap between the urgent calls for more effective math education in the U.S., and the seemingly low expectations some parents have for their own child to advance in math. It’s as if the pressing national need has nothing to do with us on a personal level. I hear parents talk [...]

Edu-tainment was initially envisioned to be the perfect hybrid between education and entertainment. In the abstract, the idea that educational software could be equally effective and engaging remains a good one. Most edu-tainment companies, however, got the mixture wrong and thus never fully realized this promise. This is because of the natural tension / difficulty that exists in trying to serve both parts of the hybrid well. The products that rarely caught on were hardly entertaining and somewhat educational. The ones that got traction were decently entertaining but barely educational. Initially, parents felt good about the edu-speak they were hearing and seeing in an entertaining product. But as time went on, parents got wise to the fact that these same products had defaulted to a basic model of practice-based lessons, rather than differentiating themselves with real instruction that leads to effective learning...

I just got back from a great three day "Dust or Magic" conference run by Warren Buckleitner for people who create children's technology products. (The title is a quote from a 17th century philosopsher named Matsuo Basho: "An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.") Guided by Warren, about 65 of us viewed products, learned from each other, and discussed best practices to create "magic" products and learning games that use technology to improve children's lives. And yes, we ALL agreed that children should spend most of their time playing with other children and adults, using real things, and going outside! And we also agreed that many -- perhaps the majority? -- of technology toys and online media are "dust". But, and this is an important but, many products use technology in ways that open up new opportunities for children, and let them learn and explore and play in wonderful new ways. These are the products that are "magic"!

As we get closer to launching DreamBox Learning’s first product, an online adventure game that teaches serious math, and we see more and more kids in beta testing, we’re realizing how many advantages there are to online learning games. In the classroom children get the very real benefit of interacting with their teacher and with other students. Online learning has distinct advantages too. That’s because online teaching can be tailored to individual students in a number of important ways. Benefits:

1. Online learning is self-paced
2. Sophisticated online education products can offer self-selected learning.
3. Online learning games encourage engagement.
4. Online education can support a range of learning styles.
5. Advanced online tools can provide real-time assessment
6. With an internet connection, there are no geographical barriers
7. Learning happens when it’s most convenient.
8. Online learning enhances computer and Internet proficiency.

I know parents wonder what’s the appropriate age for their children to begin learning to use the computer. Common sense dictates that there’s probably an age at which it’s too early to begin exposing children to computers, even though children are often attracted to it quite young because they see family members using it; and many parents quite naturally see the computer as an opportunity to make learning fun for their children. I recently came across a great resource for answers to this question, published by the Illinois Early Learning Project (http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/computers.htm).

I had the opportunity to talk with a number of parents over the last few weeks while their children were in the office testing the upcoming version of our math learning adventures, DreamBox Learning K-2 Math. And as we often hear, many parents wisely limit “screen time” for their children. But aside from the fact that kids need to play in other healthy ways, there’s another issue that I’ve become very conscious of: exposing young children to commercial messages in online games, even on so called “learning fun” sites. According to Consumer Reports magazine: "young children have difficulty distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world." (There’s a good article about this on the Media Awareness Network site: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/issues_kids_marketing.cfm)

It’s almost Fall and pumpkin season is coming alive. I’ve seen signs for corn mazes, harvest festivals, and of course, Halloween candy out in the shelves at the store. I love this time of year! One thing I love to do in my classroom is explore the anatomy of pumpkins with my students. Even though [...]

Late in 2005, when my co-founder Ben and I first started talking about the notion of DreamBox Learning, we knew that the eLearning market was, as one person put it, “an elusive quarry” (btw, this same person wanted to bet that the discovery of an alien life form would happen before one eLearning company was profitable, let alone an established public company). You have to understand that much of this cynicism stemmed from two decades of near misses. But being the curious (fine, stubborn) guys we are, we wanted to understand why all of these well-meaning and otherwise enlightened companies became road kill. What we found was neither surprising nor intellectually deep: their timing was off.