Teaching for the Future

The interview I did with Irene and Colin from No One's Listening made me think a lot about the role of games in education. How can we harness the power of the medium of video games? A group of students at MIT's Comparative Media Studies Program under Henry Jenkins have created a game called Revolution. Revolution is a networked multiplayer video game that takes place in Williamsburg, Virgina circa 1775. The game gives students the chance to interact with each other in the 3D environment.



To find out more about Henry Jenkins check out an interview he did for Game Biz Daily. For more information about Revolution and other educational video games visit Education Arcade. I discovered the Henry Jenkins interview through Critics and Builders a blog by Bernie Heidkamp, an educator from Virgina.



Music Provided by Dan Flannery.




Here is the trailer for Revolution:









If you have a podcast I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com or send me an audio message through Odeo





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Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/28/2006 07:34:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I got the chance to talk to Bryan Minogue and Gene Fitzpatrick from the Hometown Tales Podcast/Radio Show. Hometown Tales is a program all about the stories that excite the imagination and makes a community unique. Gene and Bryan talk about confirmed or contested local history and legend.


Bryan and Gene will focus on certain themes and recently have started to talks at schools near where they live in New Jersey. They discuss the tales that are told to explain the unexplainable and talk about what makes these stories so special. Gene and Bryan are two talented people who bring a lot of energy to local history.



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Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, Hometown Tales



If you have a podcast I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com or send me an audio message through Odeo

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/25/2006 01:59:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

No One's Listening is a podcast about media literacy focused on young people. The show covers topics from reality TV to social networking and everything in between. The cast and crew of No One's Listening is a group of graduate students from San Francisco State's Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) Department I got a chance to not only interview Irene and Colin from No One's Listening, but I was able to talk about some articles and do the interview on their podcast. Whether I make it on the air is one thing, but I'm just happy to finally get a a chance to talk to them both.


A huge part of the mission of Teaching for the Future was to discuss the importance of media literacy in the 21st Century which was inspired first by No One's listening. If you're not familiar with their podcast definitely go to NoOnesListening.org and have a listen. They are a great group of people really looking at both sides of the media.




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Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, no one's listening

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/22/2006 11:20:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

According to a post on BoingBoing.net the LA County Council of the Boy Scouts of America are working on a merit patch with the MPAA called "Respect Copyrights". As an Eagle Scout myself I find this really troubling for four reasons. First, However you feel about the BSA or current copyright laws, it seems strange that a organization like the MPAA is targeting young minds so directly and blatantly. The Boy Scouts is a group that focuses on teaching skills and values to boys and by creating this patch the MPAA is masking their message as one of those values. Secondly, the Boy Scouts of America is an organization that has taught values and skills since 1910 by passing on information from leader to scout, scout to scout, generation to generation. However the MPAA by it's very nature is about protecting information from it's audience and has the potential to stifle this tradition of learning and teaching. Finally, I'm concerned that the Boy Scouts of America is so quick to be influenced by an outside organization that may not share its values. Though many could argue that the BSA has been influenced by many organizations over the years, I feel like this is a line in the sand that I'm totally uncomfortable with. Finally, this patch is just plain ugly. Though this is just another patch in a long tradition of ugly patches, I feel like it would be interesting if the BSA had an open call for designs and then, in MPAA fashion, copyright the image and protect it from person who creates it and the boys who will wear it.

If you're a former Boy Scout or Eagle Scout who is interested in getting involved please contact the Boy Scouts of America Concerned About Copyright by emailing them at BSACAC [at] gmail [dot] com.

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/20/2006 09:34:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I thought this was a great video done by the people at Dove to show how even their "everyday" models need to go through a lot of work to be ready for prime time. According to the poster of this video on YouTube this video was shot in four days (photo shoot and post production) and is totally real.



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Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/15/2006 06:47:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Next week I will be talking to Colin, Chris, and Irene from No One's Listening on the podcast. If you are not already a subscriber to their podcast I would go to their page and subscribe now. No One's Listening is a Podcast/Radio show that deals with all aspects of media literacy and media culture. If you have any questions for the crew at No One's Listening leave them in the comments on this post and I'll ask as many as I can.

Today I talk about some great new tools from the Web and the Boston Public Library, a huge step for the One Laptop Per Child project, and how Chevy's poorly executed comercial is just another teachable moment for Teaching for the Future.

Thanks to Jesse Thorn from The Sound of Young America for the great promo and for all his support.

News:

NickNeg signs up Libya for 1.2 million 2B1 laptops from Engadget: Libya has signed an agreement to purchase $250 million dollars worth of laptops from the One Laptop Per Child Foundation. Many argue that technology alone can turn a child's education around this is an important first step for Libya and Nicholas Negroponte.

Creating the Walled Garden from Miguel Guhlin: Miguel Guhlin talks about a new media technology that can be used on your schools intranet and can be used without exposing your classroom to the open web.

Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 1, Part 2 from Solution Watch: If your interested in free internet based tools that you can use in your classroom or in your own professional development and research this is a great article to check out.

BPL does online library card registration from Library Techtonics: Andrea Mercado talks about the Boston Public Library's new temporary online library service. Now anyone over the age of 13 in the Boston area can use the Library's services over the web for six monthes. This gives you full access to audio, video, and library databases. I love the internet.

Promo: This week I hung out with some of my fellow New England Podcasters. Check them out at NewEnglandPodcasting.com

In-Depth:
There has been a lot of talk and outrage over the new ad for Chevy's Silverado that uses a song by John Mellencamp behind images of Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 9/11, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Not only is this ad a shameless used of Patriotism, but it is also a great lesson in media literacy. Despite the over the top ad, we can turn this into a teachable moment. For more info check out some of the coverage of this ad from Slate.com, the NY Times, and see the video at Jalopnik. I think Chevy could learn a lot from Rocketboom.

If you have a podcast I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com or send me an audio message through Odeo

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Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, podcamp

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/15/2006 12:34:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Thanks to Chris Brogan from the NewMediaSchool for the wonderful intro to the show. If you want to record something and you don't have access to recording equipment or you just don't know how to use it feel free to contact me with questions and we can work out a solution and get you on the next episode of Teaching for the Future.

News:

Banned Books Week from ALA.org: "Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2006, marks BBW's 25th anniversary (September 23-30). BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them."

How-to Make a Kid's Draw Bot from Makezine.com: This is a great project that mixes art and robotics. Who needs to draw when you can create a fun little robot to draw for you. This is a great rainy day project.

The King is in your Xbox via Joystiq: Food advertizing has gone high tech as "the King" from Burger King is now the protagonist in 3 video games being sold at participating stores. So even if you don't watch TV you can be reached by "the King" through affordable video games.

Learning Through Play via EdbloggerNews: This is a great article from IGN.com that explains why games are a great education tool. This is a must read because of the great explaination of the pedagogy of video games.

Shameful Selfpromotion from In the Mind of a Kinder Teacher...: This is a paper that used Episode 25 of the Teaching for the Future Podcast as a reference. I'm not mentioning this to toot my own horn, but to ask a question. Do I talk too fast?

Promo:
Join the Revolution and check out all of the world class podcasts that are done right here in New England at NewEnglandPodcasting.com.

In-Depth:
The Mark Foley scandal has only solidified the need to keep an eye on our kids' virtual lives. There are many steps parents can take to keep the peace while keeping their children safe. Things like having passwords to social networking sites and keeping computers in common areas can go a long way to keep their online lives out in the open.

If you have a podcast or project I'd love to hear about it, so feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com or send me an audio message through Odeo

Tags:

Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching

Labels: dave lamorte, education, media literacy

Stumble It!

Posted by Dave LaMorte at 10/09/2006 05:10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post