Can Gaming Help Kids Develop Social and Emotional Skills?

Do video games have to be non-social, violent, or mindless for users to want to play?

The gaming center Games+Learning+Society doesn’t think so. Their role playing game Crystals of Cador is an action packed and engaging game that helps young people develop empathy, self-control, and other “non-cognitive” skills that are needed for success in school, career, and life.

“Why not build games that actually save people. Save the world,” said co-director of Games+Learning+Society, Constance Steinkuehler. In Crystals, you, the player, are a space travelling robot who gets marooned on a foreign planet. The goal is to enlist aliens to help you put your spaceship back together only using nonverbal cues. The game not only improves students’ social and emotional abilities through virtual interactions, the it is also fully equipped to assess the player’s progress while they play, making the playing of the game and the assessing of the player one in the same.

Watch the creators explain how their game is taking social and emotional learning into the 21st century in the video above.

 

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Are Millenials Really the “Worst Generation”?

Millenials have it rough. Not only are these 18-25 year olds struggling to complete college, land a job that requires a degree, and start a family, they get criticized for all these shortfalls, and on top of it, get called narcissistic, lazy, and lecherous.

Matt Bors is one Millenial whose “rage” over the headlines about his generation lead him to create the opinion cartoon below, “Can We Stop Worrying About Millenials Yet?“. Our own summer intern, Sarah, a college senior who works, has an internship, goes to school full time, and lives with her parents, also had something to say in response to the TIME magazine article “The Me Me Me Generation” with her article, “Long Live the Twixter!”

Check out the Cartoon below (via @CNN), and let know what you think.  Can we stop worrying about Millenials yet?

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Developing Thinking & Behavioral Skills to Reduce Youth Crime Rates

Could developing a kids’ thinking and behavioral skills cut crime among youth?

It’s a very good possibility, found a new study from the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab. In the study, about 1400 kids in 7th through 10th grade from high-crime neighborhoods in Chicago were chosen to participate in the 30-week program Becoming A Man. A similar group was tracked who did not go through the course. Researchers found students who had been through the Becoming A Man program were 44% less likely to have been arrested by the end of the year.

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LifeBound Joins the Summer Learning Day Movement, June 21!

It’s National Summer Learning Day on June 21st! This advocacy day aims to spread awareness of the critical role learning plays in the summer months for kids from all backgrounds and socioeconomic standing.

Why is summer learning so important? Research shows:

  • All young people experience learning loss when they are not engaged in a summer learning activity.
  • Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months.
  • Only about 10 percent of students nationwide participate in summer school or attend schools with non-traditional calendars.

There are many ways parents can give students summer learning experiences, from no cost/low cost experiences to structured day camps.

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More Technology Does Not Always Equal More Learning

The question of whether or not technology should be a part of learning in the 21st century is an outdated concern. Nearly 74% of teachers use some kind of technology in the classroom on a daily basis, and more than two-thirds of teachers desire more technology in the classroom.

Many schools agree: as  more jobs of the future require computer skills, computers technology must be taught in the classroom as a required 21st century skill.  As technology becomes more widely accepted in the classroom, new concerns have arisen which ask not if technology has a place, but rather how to make the most out of them now that they’re here. One concern is knowing when technology is superior to traditional learning materials. A question many educators ask to determine the value a piece of technology has is: “How does technology enhance comprehension and engagement for the students?” For example, a paperback book that is translated verbatim to a digital format is no more effective than it was in its original format. However, an electronic book that turns a flat image into an instructional video with the tap of a finger, pronounces a hard to read word, and ends with a game to test your comprehension could be more effective to a student than a book without.

Now that technology has flooded many schools, educators are also left to wonder if all technology is developmentally appropriate for all students. Just as a sixth-grade algebra textbook is ineffective in a first-grade math class, an iPad might be best used for independent study in a middle school class rather than a first-grade class.

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How to Save Billions and Better Prepare Students to Make Billions

This article was originally posted on The Huffington Post on May 8, 2013.

Last February, The National Center for Education reported that 50 percent of the 3 million students who begin college annually require some level of remediation. This trend costs students, parents, institutions, and taxpayers nearly $7 billion a year, while remedial students fail to earn a single college credit.

The high volume and costs of remediation have policymakers and education leaders scrambling to stop this financial hemorrhage. While reform in remedial education is inevitable, the unintended consequences of swooping changes can be harmful to students, institutions, and the economy at a time when the U.S. is struggling to fill the 21st century workforce with high-skilled workers.

Who are remediated students?

A report released today by the National Center on Education and the Economy states that many community college career programs demand little or no use of math, and high school students are taking math courses they will likely never use. In reading and writing, the group noted incoming college freshmen had simplistic and academically unchallenging skills. Finally, NCEE discovered that very little writing is required of community college freshmen, and when it is, there are low expectations for making a cogent argument and employing basic rules for writing, punctuation, and grammar. The report calls for the bar to be raised if students are to succeed in college, career, and life. Some of these same patterns exist for freshmen admitted to open admission four-year colleges.

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The Pros and Cons of Early College High School for Low-income Students

This week I was asked to contribute to a HuffPost Live segment with educators, policymakers, and students to discuss the pros and cons of early college high schools. The panel included:

    • Dave Taylor,  Principal of Dayton Early College Academy
    • Kathryn Young, National Education Policy Director for Jobs For The Future
    • Kesi Augustine, 2008 Graduate of Bard High School Early College; Ph.D. Student at NYU
    • Leon Botstein, President of Bard College

It was enlightening to hear all the different perspectives HuffPost Live was able to bring to the table to discuss this growing trend in education.  This coming Tuesday check out my article on the Huffington Post where I’ll continue the early college conversation. Watch the video below and let me know your opinion on early college high schools in the comments.

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Google’s CEO Shares the Best Advice He Ever Received

Professionals and athletes aren’t the only people who can benefit from a coach, students who participated in an academic coaching program found increased retention and graduation rates.  Through the process of coaching, students deepen their learning, take responsibility for their actions, improve their effectiveness, and consciously create their outcomes in life.

How can you use coaching to improve student outcomes? LifeBound’s Academic Coaching Training is a great professional development option for professors, teachers, administrators, counselors, and other education professionals who want to learn to be a coach for their student by listening, asking powerful questions, and encouraging problem solving. Our next 3-day coaching session is June 24-26. Let me know if you would like to learn more about our Academic Coaching Training in the comments or by sending an email to contact@lifebound.com.

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From Tragedy to Transformation: Harnessing Our Indomitable Spirit

After this week’s bombing at the Boston Marathon, I wrote an article on the importance of harnessing our indomitable spirit in tragic times for the Huffington Post. As more details are unveiled hourly, it becomes more  important to tap into our unconquerable spirits to get through the terror of this event and, eventually, begin to heal. The following is a section from my recent article I find to be just as relevant today as is was hours after the bombing.

For all those affected by the recent tragedy, I hope you may find wisdom and direction from the ancient Korean Martial Arts doctrine that I learned years ago in Tae Kwon Do. The fifth tenet is: indomitable spirit. 

Baek-jeol-bul-gul / 백절불굴

The word indomitable means “unconquerable,” or impossible to defeat or frighten. The “spirit” is the person’s core being, their willpower, cheerful & positive attitude, and desire to succeed. Having an “indomitable spirit” means that your fortitude, enthusiasm, and moral character are never diminished regardless of the hardships and adversities you face. Your determination to prevail is never vanquished, even in the face of what appears to be insurmountable odds, or seemingly overwhelming opponents. This concept is reflected in the following popular saying: “It is not so much the size of the dog in the fight, as the size of the fight in the dog.”

Continue reading at the Huffington Post  for examples of inspirational people who found their indomitable spirit when faced with personal tragedy.

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Upcoming at LifeBound: Now on Huffington Post, Summer Reading, Academic Coaches Training & More

 

This spring we’re definitely not sitting still at LifeBound. In the next few months we have many new events, trainings, blogs, and more that will reach communities who are dedicated to improving learning opportunities for students, teachers, and professionals. One initiative we’re supporting all summer long is to get more students involved in productive learning activities over the summer months.

Research shows all young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. That’s why LifeBound is offering summer enrichment workshops at Lighthouse Writers Workshop for students in middle school through high school that foster self-awareness, critical thinking, and practical know-how. You can find out more about our week-long workshops for teens at our website. We are also encouraging students to read over the summer with our book display at the Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax.

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