More instructors are including gamification in their courses, whether they’re online or in person. Gamifying class content could include turning lessons into competitions, doling out rewards different from grades, or creating playful scenarios based on the subject matter. The effects of gamification on learning are not always positive, however, and a researcher from Arizona State University recently analyzed how certain techniques affe...

A push for more flexible classrooms has led researchers to investigate how such adaptability affects student learning. One recent study conducted in England with over 3,700 students aged 5 to 11 years old in 153 classrooms across the country examined how flexible learning spaces affected student achievement. The results showed that there were many environmental factors that had a significant impact on academic performance, including light, temperature,...

People are increasingly watching news videos in a 360-degree format, but questions remain regarding how this experience differs from 2D news consumption in terms of both enjoyment and understanding. Unlike normal videos, 360-degree clips are best watched using a virtual reality headset such as Google Cardboard. A recent study compared how viewers responded to 360-degree news videos versus normal 2D news videos in four different areas: und...

Although there are many workshops and curriculum pushes for coding and computer science, the realm of artificial intelligence is only just beginning to make its way into elementary education. The Cognimates platform is expanding opportunities in this area by providing teachers and children ages 7-10 with AI programming activities and games. Using Cognimates, kids can get a better s...

The problem is two-fold: first, there is a disproportionate number of men in doctoral STEM programs compared to women; and second, women are less likely to complete their PhD in these fields if there are no other female students in their cohort. For many graduate programs, this is nearly a catch-22 situation. A recent study examined this problem by analyzing 33 STEM doctoral cohorts at six public universities starting in th...

My Child Lebensborn teaches players about the repercussions of a lesser-known historical situation that took place during World War II: namely, the Lebensborn program. This Nazi initiative aimed to breed Aryan children in isolated communities and usually involved unmarried women and German soldiers. The children would then be given to married German couples in order to expand th...

When Kiran Bir Sethi was disappointed with her son’s education, she decided to leave her design firm and undertake an entirely new pursuit: creating her own school. The Riverside School, located in Ahmedabad, India, is different from other institutions because by using design thinking principles, it gives students responsibilities in crafting their education and designing their school. From school uniforms to architecture to curriculum design, students...

Every day our staff writers share their favorite stories on technology and learning: 1. The annual digital holiday card contributions from universities around the country. Full story from Inside Higher Ed 2. Focusing on digital authenticity in 2019.

Every day our staff writers share their favorite stories on technology and learning: 1. A book list for edtech enthusiasts. Full story from ELearning Inside 2. A study abroad program for professional designers.