Summary: Intrinsically motivating instruction takes place in computer gaming software when it provides players with choice around three key categories: challenge, curiosity, and fantasy.
Digital citizenship
Digital citizenship is the state of having access to Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs) that help promote equal opportunity, democracy, technology skills, and human rights.
SWOT Analysis Tool
Summary: SWOT is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis is a tool or technique that can be used in business, design or personal settings to evaluate a project or company and to create constructive goals and strategies. Originators: George Albert Smith Jr., Kenneth Andrews, Albert S. Humphrey (1927-2005) […]
Network Effects
Summary: Network Effects describes the phenomenon how the value of a good or service increases as more people start to use that good or service. Originators: Theodore Vail (1845-1920), Robert Metcalfe (1946-Present) Keywords: network externality, demand-side economies of scale, marketing, customer base, value, monopoly, social media, congestion, good, service Certain products only have value if […]
Flipgrid: Video Discussion Tool for Fostering a Community of Learners
A common criticism of educational theory is that it is often separated from practice. Educational technology tools are a strategic way to bridge the gap and design instruction centered around targeted learning theories. Flipgrid is a seamless and user-friendly tool that prides itself on building a student-centered community of learners. The basic premise of Flipgrid […]
Padlet: Collaborative Canvas Tool
Padlet: An Easy to Use Online Collaboration Tool for Multimedia Sharing Padlet is a very user-friendly canvas or digital bulletin board that allows people to collaborate and insert anything (images, videos, documents, text) via drag and drop. This tool is very flexible and can be used creatively in a classroom context in many ways. […]
ExploreLearning: Active Experimentation
Science and math concepts are often some of the most challenging for students to grasp. It is not enough to listen to a teacher talk about concepts and then complete standard assignments. Rather, a learner must be able to learn from the teacher in addition to interacting with simulations and experiments. Physical science experiments […]
Educational Robotics and Constructionism (Papert)
Summary: Constructionism as a learning theory emphasizes student-centered discovery learning, and educators are currently expanding its reach to the field of educational robotics in order to engage students. Originators and Key Contributors: Seymour Papert took Piaget’s theory of constructivism and adapted it into his theory of constructionism. Keywords: constructivism, constructionism, learning theory, discovery learning, educational […]
Dopamine, Games, and Motivation
Summary: Dopamine plays a role in motivation, and this role is important to understand in the context of game design. Understanding how dopamine motivates can help game designers produce games that are interesting, effective, and ethical. Originators and Key Contributors: Henry Chase and Luke Clark presented a study in 2010 that suggested that dopamine was […]
Uses and Gratification Theory
Summary: Uses and gratification theory (UGT) is an audience-centered approach that focuses on what people do with media, as opposed to what media does to people. Originators and Key Contributors: Uses and gratification theory builds off of a history of communication theories and research. Jay Blumler and Denis McQuail laid the primary groundwork in 1969 […]