Despite coming from Nintendo, however, the first batch of Labo kits weren’t exactly great games; they were simple toys without much lasting appeal. If you weren’t into learning rudimentary coding or endlessly fishing a virtual sea, there wasn’t much to keep you coming back. Even with two young kids in the house, my Labo kits…
In the real world, there’s no textbook or curriculum. There’s no way to practice. There’s no source of continuous feedback. There are no teachers — it’s just you and whoever you can convince to help you. So how do you learn something no one can teach you? How do you become a world-class expert on something few…
Our digital lives may be making us more distracted, distant and drained, according to research presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. For instance, even minor phone use during a meal with friends was enough to make the diners feel distracted and reduced their enjoyment of the experience, one study found. Source: Dealing…
The mainstreaming of the popular roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has significantly changed how people address and understand the game. It’s become a spectator sport and a way for some gamers to earn their living. D&D gameplay and its symbolism have become a significant plot point in geek-oriented TV shows like Stranger Things and The Big Bang Theory. It’s the subject of copious scientific…
As a parent, it is obvious that children learn more when they engage their entire body in a meaningful experience than when they sit at a computer. If you doubt this, just observe children watching an activity on a screen and then doing the same activity for themselves. They are much more engaged riding a…
French schoolchildren will have to leave their smartphones switched off or at home as the new academic year begins in September, after lawmakers voted for a ban on Monday. The ban on smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, which will apply to pupils up to the age of 14-15, fulfills a campaign promise by…
But now, machines are also grading students’ essays. Computers are scoring long form answers on anything from the fall of the Roman Empire, to the pros and cons of government regulations. Developers of so-called “robo-graders” say they understand why many students and teachers would be skeptical of the idea. But they insist, with computers…
Maine Lobster Festival Strips Sea Goddess Taylor Hamlin of Crown | PEOPLE.com Taylor Hamlin dreamed of winning the Maine Lobster Festival’s prestigious Maine Sea Goddess pageant since she was a little girl, but two social media photos deemed “inappropriate” by competition officials would cause the 18 year old to be stripped of the title just 24 hours after…
Classrooms around the world have been the equivalent of open offices almost since their inception. Is this the best way? Some new research shows that schools may want to think about how the classroom affects their students. Open offices are as bad as they seem—they reduce face-to-face time by 70%: Employees at two Fortune 500…
When the Montgomery bus boycott electrified the struggle against segregation, it was all recorded in appeals bonds, court motions and $10 fines. A forgotten trove has turned up in a courthouse vault. Source: Found: Rosa Parks’s Arrest Warrant, and More Traces of Civil Rights History – The New York Times What a great source of information…