Weekly Roundup: Blog Picks for September 19, 2008
Posted in The Gnovis Blog
The debate between technophiles and technophobes rages on this week. From the CCT blogosphere, read two positive
reports on the impact of gaming on children and education. Compare these with the The Chronicle Review’s latest report that on-line reading is of a
lesser kind.
- CCT alumnus Jessica Vitak,
also a former gnovis staffer, drew
our attention to a new report from Pew Internet on Teens, Video Games,
and Civics. Vitak says "Kids who game are not missing out on life,
but are instead interacting with their peers, and in some cases, learning
from their experiences and getting more involved with their
community."
- Like Vitak, Garrison
celebrates the positive
potential for gaming by introducing James Paul Gee’s research. “I’m
hard-pressed to think of a scholar who is as accessible, as varied, and as
provocative as James Paul Gee."
- On the other side of the argument, Jakob Nielsen, In The Chronicle of Higher Education (Chronicle of Higher Ed, Sept 19) reports that online reading inhibits higher level learning. "We should accept that the Web is too
fast-paced for big-picture learning. No problem; we have other media, and each
has its strengths. At the same time, the Web is perfect for narrow,
just-in-time learning of information nuggets — so long as the learner
already has the conceptual framework in place to make sense of the facts."
I will admit that I prefer Vitak and
Garrison’s perspective but perhaps that is because I could not fully comprehend
Nielsen’s without killing trees. 😉
Elsewhere in the CCT Blogosphere
at gnovis
- Margarita explored directionality in
academic research. From the comments on her post: "Theory can
be scary and overwhelming, but the more you immerse yourself in it, the
clearer understanding you will have of why things happen the way they
happen." - Jed Brubaker completed the four
part series on a “Why we blog” by reflecting on the role of blogs in
the Ivory Tower. To this, Geoff
Livingston, blogger and author
of Now Is Gone, commented “Making
your blog a contribution to the larger community makes sense. It makes it
valuable and worthwhile. Smart.”
around CCT
- Gnovis Peer Review Manager, Ashley Bowen found herself
in a difficult position in between Sara Palin and anonymous informants. “The problem with “Anonymous’ ” actions is
that now everyone who doesn’t support Sarah Palin’s policies or governing style
is now put in a position where they (I) have to defend her right to assume some
degree of privacy” - On Sunday, Dr. Garcia discussed the ideology of objectivity. “Looking back from an historical
perspective, I was struck by how the term value free science has become a very value ladened word.”