Look into the Face of Student Engagement

» 25 November 2008 » In Commentary, Ed Tech, Students » No Comments

It's easy for teachers to feel like their students are far too distracted by the many glowing screens that light up their lives.  Robbie Cooper, a photographer and video artist, explores the impact of these information screens in his new "Immersion" project.  It offers a fascinating look directly into the faces of British and American kids playing video games (with varying levels of violence) - including Halo 3, Call of Duty, GTA 4, Tekken and Star Wars Battlefront. Cooper uses a system that stations a high resolution video camera right behind the projected game screen.

Immersion
It's painful to look into the faces of students so caught up in the (sometimes) violent world of video games. I wonder if the students are attracted to the violence or the fact that video games create environments that provide them with an engaging mix of interaction, feedback, and information control?  View more project still images here.

He has edited some of his material into this short video. 

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Principal Academy – Rigor and Relevance Walk-Through Training

» 25 November 2008 » In Leadership, PD, Presentations » No Comments

This past week I conducted a series of walk-through training sessions for principals. Our workshops were hosted by North West Regional ESD and they took us through NWRESD's four-county service area in the northwest corner of Oregon – Washington, Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook. Each day opened with a discussion of rigor and relevance "look-for's." I [...]

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European DBQ Source Goes Digital

» 20 November 2008 » In History / DBQ's, Strategies » No Comments

Interested in source material for your European history DBQ's? Paintings, music, films and books from Europe's galleries, libraries, archives and museums.  The new European Commission's Europeana digital library project has been launched with 2 million digital documents including paintings, audio files, maps, videos and other artifacts at http://www.europeana.eu

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21st Century Skills or Adequate Yearly Progress?

» 03 November 2008 » In Ed Policy, Leadership » No Comments

The Boston Globe (October 30, 2008) recently reported on efforts to redirect district curriculum to "skills the district has deemed necessary for survival in the 21st century, including critical thinking, invention, problem-solving, and multicultural collaboration." In a town known for top-notch schools, a Sharon School Committee member has launched a grassroots movement that she and [...]

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