You have probably heard of games such as Battlefield, Minecraft, Candy Crush, and Just Cause. If you have not, then we would like to know where you have been living the last few years. According to a report that the Swedish Games Industry company, Dataspelsbranschen, published, 1 in 10 people across the world have played […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: December 2020
Sweden’s growing game industry may be running short of design graduates to hire
K-12 schools need to take cyberattacks more seriously
Teachers in Baltimore County Public Schools knew something was wrong late in the day on Nov. 24 when they began to experience trouble entering grades into the school district’s computer system. Around the same time, the video for a meeting of the district’s school board abruptly cut off. Both situations were the result of a cyberattack that had hit […] … learn more→
Covid’s forced review of teaching practice has taught me a lesson
As we approach the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the summer now feels like a long time ago. But while the salubrious effects of the sunshine on my vitamin D levels may have long since run out, I am still benefitting from all the thought I put into my teaching back […] … learn more→
Stressed out, dropping out: COVID has taken its toll on uni students
It’s a tough time to be a university student. Amid a global pandemic, overstretched mental health services and sweeping university staff cuts, students have had to attend classes and hand in assignments while juggling work, family and finances. For international students, isolation, cultural differences and extra expenses added to their worries. Unsurprisingly, university enrolments have […] … learn more→
Creative dance teaches all-round skills – it should be valued more in primary education
Dance, by its very nature, is inclusive. It belongs to everybody and may appeal to young people who cannot engage in, or do not enjoy, traditional team games. Creative dance does not require formal training, making it ideal for all children – no matter their body type, cognitive ability, or skill level. It is not […] … learn more→
The future of agriculture: why unis must prepare students to secure both our food and our planet
Agriculture will soon be worth A$100 billion a year to Australia. The industry employs more than 250,000 people, stewards 80% of our land area and drives world-class agribusiness and food sectors. In an uncertain employment market, every new agriculture graduate has a choice of six job opportunities. Agriculture today is fast-paced, global, diverse, reliant on high-end scientific discovery and increasingly responsive […] … learn more→
Racial stereotypes drive students of color away from STEM, but many still persist
Dominique, a Black electrical engineering doctoral student, found herself in an awkward situation in the lounge of a hotel where she had been attending a conference on science. A white man at her table assumed a nearby Black woman was on the hotel cleaning staff, so he asked her to clean their table. The woman […] … learn more→
Academics must not rage against ‘death by blank screen’
What have been the main talking points among academics as we’ve adapted to online teaching this year? The logistics of managing Zoom or Teams? Developing curriculum content? Making learning sessions engaging? At my own institution, much of the conversation has been about something quite different: what one colleague called “death by blank screen”. Why, colleagues […] … learn more→
Why getting back to ‘normal’ doesn’t have to involve police in schools
Since COVID-19 forced many of America’s schools to teach kids remotely, parents and elected officials have been rightly concerned about when things will get back to normal. But there are certain aspects of education where a return to a prepandemic “normal” may not be in the best interests of America’s students. I believe that stationing […] … learn more→
Working up a first draft: a twelve step strategy
If you are drafting, it is pretty easy to find a lot of advice about the benefits of free writing. Lots of people find that timed writing sprints help to generate content. Unstructured writing is useful to work out what you want want to say. The pomodoro sprint works really well for many academic writers, […] … learn more→