Innovate

http://www.innovateonline.info

The first three articles in the April/May issue describe courses that use David Kolb’s experiential learning cycle to shape a combination of e-learning technologies and experiential learning pedagogy in “ee-learning.” Lindsey Godwin and Soren Kaplan describe how they used Kolb’s experiential learning cycle in a workshop to shape course activities and reflect on the broader implications of their experience for ee-learning approaches as a whole. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=489&action=article)

When instructional design is the subject of the course itself, ee-learning is a particularly effective method to ensure that students develop knowledge through contextualized, hands-on activity. Ana-Paula Correia describes an online master’s degree course at Iowa State University that incorporates team-based activities, customized projects, and a collaborative model of assessment to develop instructional design skills in the context of real-world situations.
(See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=495&action=article)

In turn, Joanna Dunlap, Jackie Dubrovolny, and Dave Young describe a similar graduate-level course at the University of Colorado in which students work together to design educational Web sites. As in Godwin and Kaplan’s workshop, these two instructional design courses apply Kolb’s experiential learning cycle to ensure a reciprocal relationship between experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation in the work of their students. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=490&action=article)

Our next two articles resume an ongoing discussion regarding the potential of gaming technology to enhance learning. Recognizing the mismatch that typically characterizes gaming practice and educational goals, Karl Royle argues that the only way to foster an effective fusion between the two will come from a willingness to embed learning opportunities within commercial modes of game design–an approach that will itself require much greater readiness to think outside the framework of current curriculum standards. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=433&action=article)

Stephen Yang, Brian Smith, and George Graham then consider how physical education programs may be enhanced by the emerging genre of “exergames,” which require players to engage in strenuous physical activity during game play. After providing examples of such games, the authors assess their value for reducing childhood obesity and promoting healthy behavior, while also acknowledging that further research as well as cost-benefit analyses are needed to discern the viability of this technology for broader adoption by schools. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=186&action=article)

We conclude the issue with two feature contributors to Innovate. For his Perspectives column, Reid Cornwell interviews Peter Suber who reflects upon the recent growth of open-access initiatives in the academy, as well as their long-term implications for the future of scholarly publishing at large. As an added feature to this column, you can download the audio as a podcast in the features menu within the article. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=564&action=article)

For his Places to Go column, Stephen Downes reviews the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Web site, which provides access to a series of reports that rank the test performance of students from participating nations. While PISA rankings have begun to influence many educational policy-makers, Downes cautions that the value of these rankings must be considered carefully in light of the methodological constraints of the tests. (See
http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=563&action=article)

We hope that you enjoy this issue of Innovate. Please use the discussion board within each article to raise questions or provide additional commentary. Your comments will be sent to authors for their response, which will become part of the record for their article.
Also, please forward this announcement to appropriate mailing lists and to colleagues who want to use IT tools to advance their work and ask your organizational librarian to link to Innovate in their resource section for open-access e-journals.

If you are considering submitting a manuscript describing how you use Microsoft technology to enhance the educational experience for publication consideration in the From our Sponsors section, please make sure that it conforms to the publication guidelines described at the Contribute link on Innovate’s navigation bar.

Finally, check out the Innovation 2008 conference at http://education-2008.org that Innovate and the Focus on Education Foundation are hosting this coming April 14-15 in beautiful Breckenridge, CO. If you cannot physically attend the conference, you can attend virtually, thereby allowing you to get a true taste of the attendee experience through informal real-time chats with keynote and session presenters, participants, and sponsors. Innovate’s partner, ULiveandLearn, will broadcast all sessions of the conference live and will archive the webcasts for later viewing in the event that you are not able to attend the live sessions. For more information and to register, please go to http://tinyurl.com/2nrhxa

Thanks!

Jim
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James L Morrison
Editor-in-Chief, Innovate
http://www.innovateonline.info
Fischler School of Education and Human Services Nova Southeastern University http://www.schoolofed.nova.edu/home.htm