Early Registration for MERLOT

Kelly Gritten states that the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) International Conference early bird registration ends July 6. MERLOT will be in New Orleans this year.

Presentations that touch on educational gaming topics include the following:

-         Web 2.0: Using Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Vodcasts, del.icio.us, Second Life and Other Tools to Facilitate Social Learning by Jim Formosa. “This workshop will bring participants up-to-date on the tools used in implementing social learning. Several current tools will be demonstrated with opportunities for hands-on experience. A brief overview of social learning will be presented. Participants will actively participate in blogs, wikis, Second Life and the building of tag clouds.”

-         Changing Approaches to Instruction: Instructional Media and Multimedia Design at Indiana State by Susan Simkowski. “Instructional Media and Multimedia Design Services at ISU is changing the face of instruction. We will share examples of multimedia approaches ISU faculty members use to better augment instruction, such as 3D IV insertion for nursing programs and animation used to teach science using an earth, sun and moon relationship.”

-         Leveraging Social Networking and Immersive 3D Environments for Better Online Instruction by Phillip Motley and Matthew Livesey. “Networked applications provide new possibilities for online course content delivery. Two areas of great potential are social networking and immersive 3D environments yet today’s students are much more savvy with these tools than their instructors. We will seek to diminish that divide by exploring ways to leverage these tools towards better usage of available technologies.”

-         How Interactive E-Learning Tools Can Jazz Up Our Teaching Techniques and Improve Student Learning in the Humanities by Scott Brewster, Nora Reynolds, and David Rivera. “Online e-learning objects are revolutionizing pedagogy, enabling us to tap into an array of new techniques to improve student learning. We will explore how incorporating interactive case studies, simulations, maps, games and related tools into our teaching of the humanities can take our courses to a whole new level.”

-         Physics 8.02: Faraday’s Law - Physics Classics Award Winner by John Belcher. “This collection of 16 animations and simulations covers the topic of Faraday’s law and induction. They illustrate the currents and fields induced by moving magnets and changing magnetic fields. The systems simulated are both realistic and complicated, illustrating the power of the combination of physics and computation to predict the behavior of real systems. The Physics Editorial Board selected this learning material because it moves the class beyond the simple, analytically solvable problems usually covered in introductory classes.”

-         Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics - Statistics Classics Award Winner by David Lane. “Rice Virtual Lab contains simulations and demonstrations for both the student and instructor that give a visual demonstration of the concept and further explain the concept. Practice exercises are provided for each of the statistical concepts in the package along with a section of Cases that provide independent practice for the student to develop “ownership” of the information. The Statistics Editorial Board selected this material as it is a very useful teaching tool and very resourceful in its applications.”

-         Introducing ISAW as an Example of Web-Based Science Simulations Constructed Using JavaScript and HTML Forms by Richard Bowman. “ISAW simulations introduce students to topics such as planetary motion, IFS fractals, exoplanet searches and the “Game of Life” in finite universes. Participants will explore how these simulations may be used in courses and how JavaScript and HTML forms may be used to construct simulations. Techniques demonstrated will include how to plot graphs and use cookies.”

-         S.M.I.L.E. Techniques to Enliven Education by Mary Teal. “When teaching left-brained, rigorous subject matter, innovative teaching can create an excitement and eagerness to learn. We will examine how the use of humor, fun, games and student interaction to enliven the classroom in highly stressful, analytical subjects is critical. If there is any doubt, just S.M.I.L.E.─ Sharing My Input Livens Exchange©.”

The list above serves to demonstrate the inroads educational video gaming is making as an accepted pedagogical tool in academia. Looks like a very good conference. MERLOT has a nice history and loads of online resources.