17
April
2008
My friend Jana has a really in-depth blog post on the article “Sand Castles go Digital“ and after reading it, I completely agreed with her view on the considerable advantages of using technology. I’m sure as a child, we’ve all made our share of sand buildings and mud cakes that we thought were fantastic works of art, but they’e never fared well with the passage of time. I still remember building a mud cake with flowers on the top. It was my best mud cake ever.
But with the introduction and involvement of technology in children’s schools, students have the opportunity to play and experiment like they would with a sand castle, but the sand castle can be saved, edited, and showcased to a vast audience around the world! So as the article said, these “digital sand castles” can continue nurturing the child’s learning experience, where they can return and continue improving their understanding on the subject or pursuing their goal further.
Posted: Education, Gadgets
10
April
2008
In e-learning today, we had to make a comic using Comic Life describing a pictorial metaphor about e-learning. I ended up making one by myself in class for fun (Since we had to work in pairs).
I felt a bit proud of the result since I’m so used to drawing comics as opposed to using stock images. I hope this makes sense! This is my general opinion on e-learning, etc.
(And yeah, we had to post our photo.)
This application could be very fun to use in the classroom and also encouraging for those who want to make a comic, but don’t feel confident about their artistic skills. Anyone can make a comic! And it’s another medium that is powerful in expressing one’s opinion. 
All images nabbed off flickr:(Panel 1, Panel 2, Panel 3, Panel 4, Panel 6)
Posted: Education, Gadgets, Games
8
April
2008
So I was looking through Erica’s blog when I came across her entry on the article “Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society.” I remember reading this article at the beginning of the semester and it’s definitely the best read when it comes to first getting into e-learning. It offers an interesting comparison between a computer and paintbrush, and thinking about it more wouldn’t it have been obvious to me? Paintbrushes are a traditional method of doing certain tasks, and even though computers offer digital results, you can still create the same outcomes only using different mediums.
Now, why would anyone use a computer as opposed to just a paintbrush? Many people might believe that computers are just an “escape route” and might result in little interactive learning (like a television), but this article totally proves that wrong. It moved on to talking about a girl named Jenny who created a bird house that took pictures of birds using a little computer called the “cricket.” 
Not that kind of cricket. (Source)
Source: Robotics
Not as cute, but certainly a helpful little thing!
Jenny had to experiment and test her little contraption for a period of three months before it was finally able to take pictures, and that is definitely a very dedicating hands-on experience! So computers aren’t all about sitting down, there are still so many activities that can be done, that require just as much effort as using a paintbrush on a canvas.
Posted: Education, Gadgets
7
April
2008
Wow, Veronica sure loves talking about video games.
This is a very good downloadable game for the PS3. The basic premise is that you’re protecting a bunch of little weird-looking villagers that are all collected in one big house and they seem to attract monsters! If the monsters get to the house, they eat a villager. Delicious!
So you need to stop them. You have three weapons to choose from: A cannon, an anti-air machine, and arrows. The catch is that these weapons do not work for all monsters. Sometimes you’ll get monsters that fly and therefore will only be affected by anti-air so you need to prioritise what weapons to build and keep your eye on coins, as weapons cost money!
It encourages strategy and problem-solving and it’s incredibly challenging.
Posted: Education, Games
3
April
2008
Source: Flickr
So I was reading Kevin’s blog and his post on the influence of video games in learning seriously hit close to home. I still remember the days when I would be sitting around playing Grandia II (A role-playing game for the SEGA Dreamcast) and getting told I should be doing something more productive like reading a book.
But then I would spend all night drawing little comic book narratives influenced by the plot of the game. I even remember during my senior year, my english teacher said that I tend to write in a “visual” manner, as if I enjoy describing and creating a picture through words.
Some people get really passionate about their interests, and in even the most unexpected game, skills can be learned and applied to different areas.
Hey, Tetris does require a bit of strategy!
Posted: Education, Games
