Weekly Blog Posts
Week 12: Constructionism via Stop Motion Studio
What is Constructionism? Papert’s theory of Constructionism builds on the constructivist theory of Piaget and Vygotsky by bringing building, tinkering, exploring and presenting into the classroom (Donaldson, 2014). Essentially, it is about students using different materials, tools and technologies to construct their own creations to solve problems and complete projects. Types of Constructionist Tools…
Week 11: Robotics via BlueBot, Dash & Dot and Lego Spike Prime
What is Robotics? To many people robots seem like complicated devices, but in simple terms they are objects that we can program to move, use tools and perform specialised functions to complete tasks. Therefore, robotics education is all about teaching students to understand and adopt robotic technologies in a variety of different subject areas…
Week 10: Games-Based Learning via Scratch
As little as one decade ago computer games were an activity that children would engage in separately from classroom learning. During my primary and high school years the occasional visit to the “computer room” was dominated by subject-relevant research tasks or tutorials in specific software programs (e.g. Photoshop for visual arts). Now, the integration of…
Week 6: Virtual Reality via CoSpaces
What is Virtual Reality (VR)? Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive experience that shows the user a 3D computer-generated world from a first person (through their eyes) or a third person (looking on) perspective (Southgate, 2018). The user wears a ‘head mounted device’ (HMD) which picks up on boundaries or markers in the real world…
Week 5: Augmented Reality via Zapworks
What is Augmented Reality (AR)? Augmented Reality (AR) refers to technology that seamlessly combines real and virtual objects to create an enhanced interactive experience in the user’s environment (Azuma, 1997; Billinghurst et al., 2001). AR identifies markers or triggers in the user’s environment and overlays objects like images, text, videos, sounds and models (Bower et…
Week 4: Computational Thinking via Blockly Games and Micro:Bit
What is Computational Thinking? Computational thinking is a form of thinking that draws on fundamental concepts related to computer science/processing and applies them to solve problems (Wing, 2006). Ways that we can apply computational thinking skills in our everyday lives include organising data logically, finding patterns/models and breaking down problems into more manageable parts (ACARA,…
Week 3: Design-Based Thinking via SketchUp
What is design-based thinking? Design-based thinking is a collaborative learning process that encourages students to design and work through creative solutions to solve project-based problems (Scheer, Noweski & Meinel, 2012). The model below from IDEO outlines five steps that teachers and students can follow to guide their design process (IDEO, 2011, p. 15). The model…
Task 1: Technology Critique – Tilt Brush Virtual Reality Application
How Does Tilt Brush Work? To play Tilt Brush you need a virtual reality headset with hand-held controllers and the Tilt Brush application from Google. Tilt Brush allows the user to construct their own artwork using painting tools and special effects in a virtual 3D environment (Johnston et al., 2018) . One review from Wired…
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EDUC3620 - Digital Creativity and Learning 