Author: Alx Alt

Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds

9 Dec 2014

WASHINGTON — Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association. The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects … More Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds

Dopamine helps with math rules as well as mood — ScienceDaily

8 Dec 2014

Rule-applying neurons work better under the influence of the happy hormone, researchers have found. The chemical messenger dopamine – otherwise known as the happiness hormone – is important not only for motivation and motor skills. It seems it can also help neurons with difficult cognitive tasks, they report. via Dopamine helps with math rules as … More Dopamine helps with math rules as well as mood — ScienceDaily

In world first, researchers convert sunlight to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency — ScienceDaily

8 Dec 2014

Australia’s solar researchers have converted over 40 percent of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported. A key part of the prototype’s design is the use of a custom optical bandpass filter to capture sunlight that is normally wasted by commercial solar cells on towers and convert it to … More In world first, researchers convert sunlight to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency — ScienceDaily

Chapter 4 Making Sense of a Toxic World

2 Dec 2014

When everything is lost, and all seems darkness, then comes the new life and all that is needed. -Joseph Campbell Highly sensitive children have highly sensitive senses that make them highly aware of their environments. But this gift can become a nightmare in today’s polluted world. Sensing intensely means getting affected more greatly by toxicity. … More Chapter 4 Making Sense of a Toxic World

RAGE-Control game systems

2 Dec 2014

The Regulate and Gain Emotional Control (RAGE-Control) videogame technology teaches individuals to simultaneously calm their emotions and engage their attention while performing a task designed to raise their level of anxiety, frustration, anger, or fear. The system does this by engaging subjects in an emotionally activating video game that requires their focused attention. While playing, … More RAGE-Control game systems

Stress the Invisible Toxin

29 Nov 2014

Highly sensitive children have highly sensitive senses that make them highly aware of their environments. But this gift can become a nightmare in today’s polluted world. Sensing intensely means getting affected more greatly by toxicity. These days, toxicity levels have reached incredibly frightening proportions. But the issues are difficult to understand as multiple problems overlap … More Stress the Invisible Toxin

How Can Teachers Prepare Kids for a Connected World? | MindShift

26 Nov 2014

Educators are always striving to find ways to make curriculum relevant in students’ everyday lives. More and more teachers are using social media around lessons, allowing students to use their cell phones to do research and participate in class, and developing their curriculum around projects to ground learning around an activity. These strategies are all … More How Can Teachers Prepare Kids for a Connected World? | MindShift

Beyond Minecraft: Games That Inspire Building and Exploration | MindShift

26 Nov 2014

Excerpt from  Beyond Minecraft: Games That Inspire Building and Exploration | MindShift. The success and popularity of Minecraft in and out of classrooms is no surprise. It’s one of the best examples of the potential of learning with games because it embraces exploration, discovery, creation, collaboration, and problem-solving while allowing teachers to shepherd play toward … More Beyond Minecraft: Games That Inspire Building and Exploration | MindShift

To Advance Education, We Must First Reimagine Society | MindShift

26 Nov 2014

Excerpt from the full article via To Advance Education, We Must First Reimagine Society | MindShift. Why haven’t education reform efforts amounted to much? Because they start with the wrong problem, says John Abbott, director of the 21st Century Learning Initiative. Because disaffection with the education system reflects a much deeper societal malaise, it’s imperative … More To Advance Education, We Must First Reimagine Society | MindShift