voyeurism

arrogance

the follies of arrogance have been so apparent this past week, that they form the unfortunate inspiration behind the ninety-fourth episode of ventriloquy.

it's especially irksome when a global news network who really ought to know better once again betrays its colonial imperialist paradigmatic view of the rest of the world.

sadly, i feel obliged to end this 4.1 MB episode on a cautionary note for my own country, based on conversations i've recently had with people whom i greatly respect.

Show notes:
- Crash inquiry to focus on points (BBC News article)
- railroad switch (wikipedia entry)
- Comment is free 23 February entry 'I see no troops ... '
- What was he thinking? (CBS News article)

come fly with me

the ninety-third episode of ventriloquy honours Captain Ahmedou Mohamed Lemine of Air Mauritania.

his story serves as a launch pad for me to introduce you to the blog that has been set up to support and extend learning from the citizenship game Space Station Leonis.

this 3.8 MB download also gives you a sneak preview of my next pedagogical research intervention exploring podcasts in geography, this time in preparation for a paper that i've been invited to present at the annual international conference of the Royal Geographical Society - Institute of British Geographers (RGS - IBG), in August.

if you happen to be in London in a couple of months' time for the conference of the British sub-committee of the International Geographical Union - Commission for Geographical Education (IGU-CGE), i'll be there too - this time, as an attendee, not as a presenter :-)

Airliners.net Photo ID 0348811: Click photo for large version!

Show notes:
- the Leonis journals
- the conference of the British sub-committee of the IGU-CGE
- the annual international conference of the RGS - IBG
- Fast-thinking pilot foiled hijack (CNN article)
- Mauritania pilot outwits hijacker (BBC News article)
- Air Mauritanie: les ailes du désert

life imitates art

a power failure in school prompts me to reflect, in this ninety-second episode of ventriloquy, just how much we are taking for granted in our classrooms today.

the parallels are too close for comfort in digital worlds two hundred years apart.

please join me in this 3.8 MB download :-)

Show notes:
- Michael Wesch's page at Kansas State University

Space Station Leonis

the ninety-first episode of ventriloquy describes how an earnest question asked by a teacher during my recent workshop prompted me to realize the implicit assumptions i was making about teaching, learning, education technology in general, and the pedagogical applications of videogames in particular.

the workshop in question was one designed to familiarize teachers in the schools piloting the citizenship education videogame - Space Station Leonis - that my colleagues and i at the Learning Sciences Lab, at Singapore's National Institute of Education, are developing, with the key theoretical underpinnings behind the relationships between serious gameplay and the construction of epistemic knowledge, skills, and values.

yesterday was especially significant for my fellow curriculum writers - Billy Tan and Isaac Ho - and myself, because it marked the signing off of the activity book which is designed to support learning from the game. Billy and Isaac have gone way beyond the call of duty in the effort they've put in, and i don't think they will ever quite fathom the degree to which i've been inspired by their input and enthusiasm.

how else can one explain a learning resource which combines teddy bear droids and manga-esque artwork within its pages?

learn more in this 3.9 MB download :-)

sharing session on podcasts, at MOE's geography coordinators' meeting

the ninetieth episode of ventriloquy is a recording of a talk i gave to geography teachers, during their annual coordinators' meeting organized by the Ministry of Education (MOE), here in Singapore.

it's essentially a combination of two earlier conference sessions - represented by episodes 58 and 80 - in which i share my thoughts on how podcasts might be used as pedagogical tools in general, and in geography education in particular (referring to a project that my colleague William Yeo and i undertook last year at the Nanyang Junior College (NYJC)). it's a 16.9 MB download :-)

on a side note, yesterday was also the launch of the serious game Peacemaker, which is a simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. as for the game that my colleagues at the National Institute of Education's Learning Sciences Lab, and i, have been developing - Space Station Leonis - will be piloted in three secondary schools in Singapore starting this month. over the past week, i've been busy conducting briefings with the students, as well as training sessions for the teachers, to familiarize them with how the game might be used in citizenship education.

Show notes:
- the views of NYJC students who took part in the podcast project
- the teacher's perspective on the project and sample audio extracts of students' work
- Peacemaker