A spike in readership on Sunday, so I'm intrigued to see whether it’s a one-off. It might just be that people have a little more time to catch up, but it's a busy time of year anyway. Only a few days before the holiday season starts in earnest and courses end.
I was wondering if your course ends with a bang or a whimper? Do students dread oncoming exams or look forward to completing projects. Are they relieved that it is all over or a little sad to be leaving you?
There will be a short break for Thanksgiving next week, and we'll return the week after, so keep sending me links and items, much appreciated.
Thank you for reading, we really appreciate your support and would love to hear more about what you like and what you've seen that might be useful to share. If you have anything you'd like to include in future issues, let us know.
Hotdog learns Chinese in a VR Chat Room.
People, Places, and Things
Learning, Education & Games, Volume 3 by Karen Schrier is available now to read online and download. The book explores 100 different games and how educators have used the games to teach – what worked and didn’t work and their tips and techniques. The list of 100 goes from A to Z Safari to Zoombinis, and includes popular games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Minecraft, as well as PC, mobile, VR, AR, card, and board games.
Among 32 instructional practices examined in a recent research project, teachers' general instruction and classroom management — and not their prowess with reading and writing instruction — made the difference to student achievement. Four practices had the biggest impact: fostering student engagement, having students participate in discussions, having fewer class period disruptions, and developing a classroom climate that was conducive to instruction.
We upgraded to Oculus Quest in the Global Languages & Cultures Room, but don't worry we'll keep the popular titles on Oculus Rift and Go. This new untethered headset has many improvements, from resolution to audio, but the key is the room for upgrades to come. In the next few weeks, you'll be able to tether to a PC so that you can play all the oculus titles in the catalog, and in the new year, you'll be able to dispense with controllers and just use your hands. Yes, really!
Here are a few titles that have caught our eye for Quest. There are new National Geographic experiences taking you from the Arctic to Peru. We also like to Wander, with is the nearest thing to Google Earth VR for the Quest and the incredibly moving "Travelling while Black" which explores racial discrimination, see the trailer below.
Traveling While Black is a cinematic VR experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
On Screen
Pure escapism in this trip to Puglia.