Posts by Sintjago

EDPA 4xxx – Innovation Lab

(Class should be cross listed so that it can fulfill a requirement for most CEHD students)

Credit Hours: 1

Number of Students: 5 to 10

Course Grading: Pass or Fail (No A through F)

(Alfonso Sintjago and Isaac Bolger)

Course Description:

Prerequisite: None

This course will serve as a space where CEHD students will be able to expand on their innovative ideas by collaborating with other students within the school of education. They will develop projects of their interest and contribute to other project being developed by their peers. While students are currently learning about a wide number of innovative ideas taking place within the field of education, there are few opportunities for students to go beyond the textbook and develop projects that can impact the local and global community during their studies at the University of Minnesota. Having a very capable, highly educated and self-motivated group of students, this laboratory could serve as an empowering space, where individuals could learn to develop, collaborate on, and implement innovative projects transforming and improving society. The course would promote the regular discussion of ideas. A bulletin board would be developed where ideas would be visualized and discussed by all the members. Through the bulletin board, students will be able to share their innovative ideas and obtain feedback and support for their concepts from other students. Everyone will be encouraged to promote various ideas throughout the course of the semester. Students will be able to submit these ideas either openly or anonymously. As a number of ideas are explored and refined, every year the most captivating ideas would be realized. Students can either chose to collaborate on a particular project or use the space to develop their own unique idea. With the school’s purchase of iPads for CEHD undergraduate students, one of the particular projects that will be discussed will be the establishment of an iOS application development team and the implications of mobile technology for education.

The course will be located in Wulling Hall and students will have access to examples of educational technology available in the market (such as the Kno, Nook, Kindle, $100 laptop, etc). The space will include white boards, bulletin boards, conference tables, small work spaces. There will be areas where students can pin up photos, physical articles, as well as other physical objects that are ed-related.There will also be a PC set up with some recent, and older, simulations and bookmarks connecting to education software examples. Through the use of a Moodle site students will be able to communicate and discuss, not only within the confines of the physical laboratory, but anywhere in the world. Through a number of semesters, successful projects will be continued and expanded. Particular attention will be given to national and international educational innovation competitions. The class will consist of 2 hours/week for 7 weeks and can be re-taken for up to 3 credits for students wishing to undertake longer projects. Students will not be required to sign up for a credit to be engaged. Yet, students will be required to apply to be admitted into the laboratory.

Some of the topics that may be discussed include the impact of incentives on a student’s motivation, the growing use of Open Education Resources (OER), the “gamification” of education, rapid growth and spread of online education, growing use of blended learning, one laptop per student initiatives, the implications of cloud computing, mobile learning, invisible learning, the impact of innovative design, diversity within the charter school movement, the movement towards a personalized education, increased access to educational material outside of traditional education settings and its implications for lifelong learning and its impact on formal schooling, as well as other innovative education policies currently being discussed and implemented in different communities and countries across the world. Students will be evaluated based on their attendance, their contributions to the innovation lab, and on a final report and presentation.

ICGC-COMPTON INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP (Application 2011)

January 18, 2011

As a PhD student within the Comparative and International Development Education program, I am interested in exploring and researching the concept of dependency, development, technology and inequality. Having met other ICGC-Compton fellows during my first year at the University of Minnesota, I found myself to have a strong relationship with several of these students and would be very interested in being part of this learning community. I have a strong interest and an affinity with Latin America, and it is my goal to spend my professional career working in the region. “A man’s feet must be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.” George Santayana. During my time at the University of Minnesota, I hope to learn the skills and obtain the knowledge to help steer Latin America or a developing country to a more equitable and inclusive future. Through both critical pedagogy and experiential learning, I hope to give back to the region from which I came. As with my master in Latin American Studies – Development, I hope throughout my graduate studies to further explore the question of “development” and society. As the best trained individuals migrate to improve their socioeconomic conditions, developing countries periodically lose a portion of their human capital investments to the international brain drain. During my PhD studies I hope to find ways in which technology can help reduce the impact of the brain drain, influence brain gain initiatives and “knowledge remittances” as well as study the ways in which technology can provide a space for both youth and marginalized voices to empower themselves and address societal problems. The improvement of the education system in developing countries should address issues such as peace education, conflict resolution, environmental sustainability, civic values, and service values. These objectives can be address by the proper inclusion of technology within society and the classroom and the promotion of best practices. As modern technologies become more ubiquitous, they will increasingly influence the global economy, and, as a consequence, formal education.

Despite their promise, modern technologies can accentuate rather than reduce inequalities. They can strengthen the influence and the advertising capabilities of the richest countries, eroding local traditional values. Modern technologies also may improve the terms of trade in favor of the northern states, developed or “center” countries who export their technological innovations to developing states at a cost which surpasses the income generated through the exportation of raw materials (least developed countries most common export goods) and the discretionary income of the majority of the population. It is therefore not unfair to question whether the acquisition of modern technologies improve living conditions throughout third world countries, or whether it increases a country’s dependency on foreign goods that develop new societal “needs” or wants rather than address the pre-existing needs and problems. The erosion of local communities, local dialects and cultures in an increasingly globalized world is a subject that has been extensively studied. In many instances modern technologies have increased dependency and inequality. As certain technologies such as television sets and computers and mobile phones become more ubiquitous, the debate has shifted towards how to best use modern technologies within developing countries. Information Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is a rapidly growing field addressing some of these questions.

Within my research, I am particularly interested on the possible influence of Open Education Resources (OER). Some of the most common and well known OER projects include the OpenCourseWare Consortium, Connexions Consortium, Educational Arcade, and Open Source Software as well as other freely accessible knowledge repositories such as Wikipedia. Today in the United States, an individual could obtain a free computer through a “learn to pay” program and access a freely accessible internet hotspot through a library or a business such as McDonalds or Starbucks.  In addition, the need for a powerful personal computer may decrease as more and more companies invest on web-based programs and move their services to the cloud. Studies show that the cost of technology has decreased rapidly over time and individuals are increasingly storing more digital information. Currently Google offers any individual seven gigabytes of free cloud storage. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and other freely accessible websites allow individuals to upload their own media content, develop social or business relationships and share their thoughts and opinions instantaneously to the world, requiring a increasingly reduced personal investment. However, the internet has become increasingly “balkanized”. While one out of every four servers runs on Apache OS software (Linux), companies such as Macintosh, Microsoft and Google are providing services that are yet only accessible to the affluent members of society. Technological innovations such as augmented reality devices, motion sensors and touch screen interfaces are providing a different technological experience to a segment of society remaining inaccessible to the general population. Despite the introduction of iPad and other technological devices into various educational institutions during the past year, it can be questioned whether they will have a strong pedagogical influence on education or simply act as a novelty item. The rapidly changing nature of the system further generates difficulties in developing best policies and evaluating the impact of the technological changes. When moving into the future, which technologies must developing countries invest on? How will developing countries move from being programmed to becoming programmers?

Not only is technology changing rapidly but with it so has the general society. The way scholarship, business, and government are conducted today are very different from how they were conducted a few decades ago. Within this rapidly changing context, what will be the influence of Open Education Resources? Will they lead to a transformation of education as we know it as in order to meet the needs of an information and an innovation based 21^st century society? What role must governments take to increase computer literacy and reduce the digital divide? To what degree should technology be prioritized within a country’s development plans and what future should developing countries attempt to leapfrog into? How must developing countries transform their education system to meet the challenges of the 21^st century and improve their terms of trade and diminish their long term dependency? To meet these research objectives during my time at the University of Minnesota, I plan to obtain a minor in evaluation studies as well as an online learning certificate.

Modern technology has a strong influence on today’s youth. Technology can empower youth and allow them to both develop and publish media from a very early age. Generations Y, and Z grew up and have lived in a world characterized by rapid change and technological improvement. Having only ten years in existence, Wikipedia is used more frequently than traditional encyclopedias such as encyclopedia Britannica. Beginning less than 8 years ago, Facebook today has close to $700 members and is valued at over $50 billion. The rapid growing costs of a university education, may lead to unexpected changes within the higher education industry. How will these changes affect individuals in developing countries? According to some, the United States itself can be considered a “developing” country, under these lenses what are the objectives and what path must be taken by developing countries as they adapt to meet the needs of the 21^st century? Unlike their parents, “digital natives” are expected to change jobs on a regular basis. How will teachers meet the challenge of teaching “digital natives?”  What will education be for developing countries in the later part of the 21^st century?

During my studies, I will analyze innovative programs taking place throughout Latin America including initiatives such as the One Laptop per Child (OLPD) program, rural connectivity program, technological community center programs, and other programs which are helping students obtain the skills to not only use modern media and improve their computer skills, but learn the basic of programs, finding reliable sources, creating media, and networking. Some of the countries which I am currently surveying include the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico and Haiti. I plan on researching in one of these countries both during this summer and in future years.

Some of the Dominican Republic recent technological initiatives include the establishment of the Technological Institute of the Americas, (ITLA) founded in 2000, the Dominican Telecommunication Institute (INDOTEL), established in 1998, the Cyberpark of Santo Domingo, founded in 2001, and the new Network Access Point (NAP) of the Caribbean built in 2008 as well as various innovative programs such as LINCOS (Current CTCs), and Educando.edu.do, among others. The government’s investments in ICT technologies recently resulted in the First Lady of the D.R. receiving the World Information Society Award in 2007 from the United Nations. While the Dominican Republic education expenditure accounts for a below average 2.2% o the GDP (2007), during the governments of Leonel Fernandez (1996-2000 & 2004-today), and Hipolito Mejia (2000-2004) the Dominican Republic has greatly improved and expanded its telecommunication industry.

The increased investment and emphasis on ICT development has contributed to the rapid expansion of Internet use in the D.R. in recent years, increasing from 183.687 Internet accounts in 2006 to 508.603 Internet accounts by June 2010.  Based on the average users per Internet connection, INDOTEL believes that 33% of Dominicans, or 3,214,371 people, had access to the Internet by June 2010 (INDOTEL, 2010). The D.R. has a cell phone use rate of 0.91 cellular phones per person (INDOTEL, 2010), and mobile phone coverage is increasing in rural areas. In addition, through the rural connectivity program, INDOTEL hopes to bring broadband access to every town with over 300 inhabitants by 2012 (San Roman, 2009; INDOTEL, 2010). The telecommunications industry has grown by over 15% annually between 1997 and 2004 with most of the traffic from the D.R. is destined for the United States (Stern, 2006). With 1 million, or 9%, of Dominicans living outside the country, most of them in the United States, the D.R. received 3.477 billion dollars in remittances in 2009 (World Bank, 2010). Remittances are not only a major source of foreign revenue but they have also fueled the growing development of ICT as families are in favor of investing to increase communication with their loved ones.

Having family living in the Dominican Republic, the country of origin of my paternal grandfather, I am currently networking to make a study there possible in the near future. Haiti has also promoted the use of ICT4D during the past year instituting an innovative mobile banking program. Mexico, through FLASCO, developed relationships in the past with a number of faculty members at the CEHD. Working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Andrew Furco, Associate Vice President for Public Engagement, I will likely be travelling to Argentina during the summer session were apart from fulfilling my requirements at a graduate assistant I will be networking with various organizations within Argentina that are involved in education technology and community engagement. Through my research in these organizations as well as others I hope to not only research but explore ways in which Latin America could appropriate modern technologies and transform them into tools that will guide them into a better tomorrow. Open Education Resources will increase the accessibility quality academic material among the population. A 1997 report by the Inter-American Development Bank identified the lag in education as the single greatest obstacle to future economic growth in the region (Cited in Birsall, 1999).[1]

Latin America today is one of the most unequal regions in the world. The promised trickle down effects of economic growth have failed to materialize, and in many countries the gap between rich and poor is actually increasing. This inequality breeds insecurity, increases social tensions and deepens divisions within societies. Education has been shown to be the most effective investment for raising both productivity and income among the poorest sectors of society and has therefore been identified as “the key factor for reducing the poverty, social tensions, and inequality that continue to plague the region” (Birdsall, 1999).[2] As stated by Anderson (2004), “education is one of the few sustainable means to equip humans around the globe with the skills and resources to confront the challenges of ignorance, poverty, war, and environmental degradation.”[3]

The biggest issue for Latin America is not the number of schools but the quality of the education they provide. The rich tend to educate their children privately, in schools equipped with the latest technology and textbooks, whilst the public school systems often suffer from a chronic lack and/or misuse of resources. It is my belief that online education may provide a cost effective and efficient way of expanding access to educational resources to include even the most marginalized groups within a society. Inspired by the pedagogical theories of Paulo Freire, I intend to examine how new linkages can be made between the life experiences and priorities of students and the online revolution.  Information Technology is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich in Latin America, and cybercafés can be found in some of the most remote and sparsely populated areas.

I hope that, after obtaining a PhD in Comparative and International Development Education, I may be able to participate in the formulation of such an initiative. My objective is to work for the educational ministry of a developing country or as an instructor and researcher in South America or another developing country. I am also interested in working for a non-profit or international organization linked to educational policy making and implementation and exploring the possibilities for cross-regional partnerships in this area.

Education can radically transform a human being, it can awaken our consciousness and opens the door to innumerable possibilities and opportunities. Education, formally or informally, empowers an individual and sets him free from the chains of helplessness. It challenges us to question our preconceptions, examine our values and moral codes and can foster a sense of civic and moral responsibility. Through a high-quality education the linkages between our own lives, the economic and political systems and the environment in which we live become clear, allowing for greater understanding of the consequences of our actions and our position in global society. Ignorance breeds fear and misunderstanding, which can lead to conflict and instability. A good education, therefore, represents one of our greatest tools in our struggle for peace, security and greater understanding among people from all around the world.

For these reasons I believe that my goals and objectives coincide with those of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change and the Compton International Fellowship. I firmly believe in the advantages of an interdisciplinary approach to education, receiving Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science, History, Sociology and Spanish from Ouachita Baptist University and an MA in Latin American Studies with an emphasis in Development from the University of Florida. During my graduate studies I was able to take courses in a number of subjects including economic development, gender and development, anthropology, political science and International Relations. I feel that my Master’s degree has provided me with a firm theoretical grounding in some of the main theories of development and the most pressing issues facing Latin America today. In addition, I was introduced to, and inspired by, the writings of Paulo Freire and theories of critical pedagogy and eco pedagogy. I intend to continue to develop my understanding of educational theory during the course of my PhD studies. By fostering social change through educational policy I hope that I will be able to participate in the construction of a fairer, more equal world, and bring real improvements to the lives of people in Venezuela and make the most of the fantastic opportunities I have been granted to help some of the poorest people in Latin America and begin to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Adoption and Implementation of the iPad (Draft Survey)

 January 7, 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that relate to the adoption or nonadoption of the iPad by PsTL faculty.

Research question

How do organizational characteristics and perceptions of the iPad’s attributes relate to the adoption and implementation of the iPad?

Models

• Rogers’ (1995) Diffusion of Innovation
• Davis’ (1971) AVICTORY model for organizational change

Dependent variable

Whether or not faculty are classified as an Adopter or Nonadopter.

Adopters are those individuals who either intend to implement the iPad into courses, or those who already have implemented the iPad.  Nonadopters included faculty who have heard of the iPad and are in the process of gathering more information and those who do not intend to implement the iPad.

Independent variables:

• Perceptions of an innovation’s attributes (Rogers, 1995)
• Organizational characteristics (Davis, 1971)

Survey

The purpose of this study is to learn how faculty make decisions about implementing innovations in their courses. The specific innovation for this study is the iPad.

This survey consists of the following 3 sections and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete:

(1) Your stage in the decision-making process

(2) Your views of your organization’s characteristics

(3) Your views about the innovation’s characteristics

I.  Your individual stage in the innovation-decision process

Note:  This question should reflect your stage in the decision-making process, NOT CEHD’s stage (if they are different).

1.  Which statement best reflects your stage with regard to the iPad?  (check one)

(dependent variable)

q  I have not heard of this innovation.  (0)

q  I have heard of the iPad and have some understanding of what it can do.  (1)

q  I am in the process of gathering more information about the advantages and disadvantages of the iPad.  (2)

q  I do not intend to implement the iPad.  (3)

q  I intend to implement the iPad.  (4)

q  I have implemented the iPad in at least one of my courses.  (5)

q  I plan to continue using the iPad in my courses.  (6)

II.  Organizational Characteristics

Adapted from Davis’ (1971) AVICTORY model for organizational change.

For this section, focus on your perceptions of CEHD’s characteristics
with regard to the iPad. 

2.  Ability—Capacity to implement the innovation

a.   CEHD has sufficient information (knowledge) about the innovation and knows how to implement it.

b.   CEHD has the hardware and software necessary for implementation and maintenance of the innovation.

c.   CEHD has personnel available to implement this innovation.

d.   CEHD has the funds to implement this innovation.

e.   CEHD faculty are given enough time to learn about new innovations.

3.  Values—Pre-decisions, beliefs, manners of operating

a.   The iPad represents a significant departure from traditional practices of our organization.

b.   The iPad is consistent with our organization’s beliefs and values.

c.   CEHD has developed a commitment to implementing the innovation.

d.   CEHD faculty is/was involved in the decision to adopt the innovation.

e.   CEHD leadership supports this innovation.

4.  Idea—Information relevant to taking steps to solve the problem

a.   There is someone in CEHD who functions as a change agent, i.e., has championed implementation of the iPad.

b.   In CEHD it is difficult to obtain needed information about iPad.

5.  Circumstances—Prevailing factors pressing for or detracting from adoption

a.   External circumstances affecting CEHD are influencing or have influenced the implementation of the iPad.

b.   Internal circumstances affecting CEHD are influencing or have influenced the implementation of the innovation.

c.   CEHD is open and flexible with regard to implementing innovations.

6.  Timing—Synchrony with other significant events

a.   The time at which the iPad was first introduced was not the best for its adoption and implementation.

b.   We have/had flexibility as to when we can implement the iPad.

7.  Obligation—Felt need to do something about a problem

a.   The iPad is appropriate to the needs of our students.

8.  Resistance—Concerns for loss if the innovation is adopted

a.   There is/was staff resistance to implementing the iPad.

b.   We expect/expected negative consequences from adopting the iPad.

c.   CEHD faculty is/was suspicious of the reasons the iPad is being adopted.

d.   Ongoing work relationships may be/were disrupted by adoption of the iPad.

e.   CEHD faculty is/was disinterested in the iPad.

9.  Yield—Felt rewards or benefits

a.   Implementation of the iPad will be advantageous to CEHD (e.g., in terms of economic benefit, competitive edge, social prestige).

b.   Implementation of the iPad will be advantageous to me (e.g., in terms of economic benefit, competitive edge, social prestige).

III.  Your individual perceptions of the innovation’s characteristics

Adapted from Rogers (1997) Perceptions of an innovation’s attributes

For this section, focus on your views about implementing the iPad.

10.  Relative advantage—The degree to which the innovation is perceived as advantageous

a.   I think that implementing the iPad will be advantageous to my career.

b.   I think that implementing the iPad innovation will give me satisfaction that I’m enhancing student academic success.

11.  Compatibility—The degree to which the innovation is consistent with existing values and needs

a.   The iPad represents a significant departure from the way I traditionally teach. 

b.   The iPad is consistent with my beliefs and values. 

c.   I have a strong commitment to implementing the iPad. 

12.  Complexity—The degree to which the innovation is difficult to understand and use

a.   This iPad is difficult to understand and implement. 

c.   I do not know where to find information on the iPad. 

d.   The information I have found on the iPad is easy to understand. 

13.  Trialability—The degree to which the innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis

a.   I know how to test the iPad on a limited basis before implementing it in a course.

14.  Observability—The degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others

a.   I have seen the iPad in use. 

b.   I know other faculty who are using an iPad in a course.

c.   I have seen students using iPads.

Other

Answer ONE of the following questions:

Thank you for your time.

University of Minnesota – Rochester –> Center for Learning Innovation (CLI)
http://www.r.umn.edu/research/cli/

Thinking of A CEHD Innovation Lab

December, 29, 2010

INNOVATION STUDIES CERTIFICATE
http://cce.umn.edu/Innovation-Studies-Certificate/index.html

Education Innovation Laboratory (EdLabs) – Harvard
http://www.iq.harvard.edu/programs/education_innovation_laboratory_edlabs

Student Run – A space where students will be able to cooperate and collaborate on education projects with a future oriented perspective. By being part of an innovation lab students will be able to share ideas and discuss what they consider to be most relevant to the future of education. Topics such as invisible learning, gamification of education, open education resources, the achievement gap, and the growing impact of online education will be discussed by the members of the innovation lab. To insure that projects will expand away from the drawing board, project will be monitored and regularly discussed.

The lab hopes to bring students together from a wide range of fields. Other universities across the country have established innovation labs but unlike other labs in the country, our initiative hopes to be student run and student centered.

–        Discuss Topics – Share Ideas – Books and Information about other projects

–        Make a list of project with implementation steps

–        Recruit students for these projects through an intensive marketing campaign.

December, 19, 2010

Research Questions:

How will OER influence the inclusion of local voices in the educational curriculum of developing countries?

How will the growth of online education affect access to education in developing countries, in particular South America?

How will the growing ability for individuals to generate their own videos and other electronic forms of media and the increasing availability of high quality OERs affect traditional higher education?

What are the ways in which mobile technology will impact education (K-12, Higher, Vocational, Formal, and Informal)?

Will the growing use of the internet and the growing access to mobile technology impact the way in which remittances are sent to third world countries? Will the links from migrants with their country of origin continue to strengthen?

Will the increasing use of technology transform the transfer of knowledge, the brain drain, and led to the rise of technological transfer and knowledge remittances?

Sources:

(These are books in my short reading list. Since the questions interrelate, these books will be equally relevant to all of these research questions). Hopefully, my research will take place in the Dominican Republic. For this reason I included additional sources). All of the following sources are books.

–        The Tower and The Cloud – Katz

–        Invisible Learning – Cobo and Moravec

–        Classroom of One – Maeroff

–        Evaluation and Implementation of Distance Learning; Technologies, Tools and Techniques – Belanguer and Jordan

–        Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World – Perralton

–        Reconsidering Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World – Kember

–        From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity – Kuttan and Peters

–        Bridging the Digital Divide – Servon

–        Innovation in Open Distance Learning – Lockwood and Gooley

–        Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide – Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury

–        Technology and Social Inclusion – Warchauer

–        Digital Divide – Norris

–        The Digital Divide – Compaine

–        Educacion Dominicana y Construccion del Conocimiento – Alvarez, Billini, Billini, Mella, Zaiter

–        Un Camino Hacia el Desarrollo – Hector Valdez Albizu

–        Desarrollo Economico Local – D’Aza

Tentative Timeline

– Preliminary readings – Christmas and Spring 2011 semester

– Apply for funds through the Global Spotlight – Emphasize the impact of urbanization in the spread of technology and my interest of researching in Latin America

– Visit Argentina with Dr. Furco – EdPA 4801 – and find connections and linkages with my interest. This includes visiting their ministry of education as well CDI and other NGOs which are empowering children through technology and service learning.

– Continue my course work – Link my studies with the Learning Technologies Media Lab

• Build relationships with the Innovation Studies Program

– Work on a preliminary paper and research project that involves part of the question to be evaluated. I am currently interested on the impact of OER in the Dominican Republic. I am hoping to work with INDOTEL in the near future. Having family in the Dominican Republic will facilitate the study. I am interested in the CTC initiative as well as their video game design and OER initiative at ITLA. Since all of the organizations are run through the government, being able to contact the ministry of education direction will hopefully facilitate further exploring any of these tentative questions.

– The time that will be needed to graduate will depend greatly on my wife situation. At the moment I am hoping to finish most of my requirements (all but dissertation) in two and a half years.

A Video Game Learning Curriculum

December 18, 2010

Video Game Design Course:

–        Students will develop a character (including time projections of who they want the character to be 5/10/20/50 years into the future and how will the character get there). Students will develop both realistic and imaginative characters.

–        Students will develop a number of characters throughout the school year as well as continuously adding information to their particular characters which will then be compiled into a database. Characters can be related and linked through family or social relations.

–        Students will research the different professions they would like their character to work in, and what constitutes their regular daily schedule. Students will be encouraged to find information about particular professions through different types of media and sources.

–        Students will discuss the positive and negative aspects of their characters, as well as compare and contrast their realistic to their imaginative characters. They will discuss how the development of both realistic and imaginary characters differs.

–        Steps in the design process may include: Choosing a Goal and a Topic, Research and Preparation, Design Phase, Pre-Programming Phase, Programming Phase, Play-Testing Phase, Post-Mortem (Crawford, 1982)

–        Students will map the city and/or areas they wish to include within the video game. These areas can be mapped by the use of either drawing or pictures. The possibility for mapping them through video should also be researched as more students have the ability to record videos through mobile phones. Creative ways of drawing the city, from simplified, cartoonish versions or accurate representations will be encouraged.

–        Open source software will be used for editing and to bringing ideas together. To encourage creativity and cooperation, students will encourage others by providing a positive comment to their work before providing any constructive criticism.

–        Students will interview adults and other people about their life experiences, asking questions about their history and what is important to them. They will act as anthropologist as well as cross pollinators, not only asking and recording individual’s statements but also seeing how they interplay with other individuals’ experiences. After returning to school students will discuss their findings.

–        Through their research, students will learn about the hurdles and struggles individuals faced during their lives and how they reacted to them. Students will be encouraged to record and write a family history.

–        Students will discuss the concept of memes as units of culture (a concept developed by Richard Dawkins in the Selfish Gene, 1990) and analyze which memes are prevalent and how they interrelate. They will discuss what makes a meme to fail while others replicate. Within this discussion, students will think of ways in which the games embody the concept of memes.

–        Game designs will be posted on a bulletin board where students will be able to learn more about different students’ ideas, incorporate others’ concepts, and collaborate and promote the projects that appear most appealing.

–        The instructor will serve as the director, making sure that the project keeps moving along the timeline.

Video Game Making Course:

–        Students will begin by using block building tools such as Scratch or Google mobile apps developer. Older and more advanced students will learn programming codes such as Visual basic, C++ or Python. Through tutorials and trial and error students will be expected to learn to debug programs. Students will also learn Flash and html.

–        Students will be responsible for evaluating and learning about the limitations of various programming languages.

–        Games will be developed for a number of platforms, and students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of every system. An evaluation of the game control system as well as the interface are important to provide the best gamer with the best possible experience.

–        Advanced students will analyze how a number of open source games were built by reverse engineering and fragmenting their code. They will then attempt to improve on some of those games’ features. Students will work on projects independently or in groups. To promote creativity, game improvements do not have to be educational in nature.

Video Game Evaluation: Despite the increasing number of resources available over the internet, one of the greatest frustrations for teachers who hope to integrate games into their classrooms is the lack of a major website or online space where teachers can obtain both the games and a detailed lesson plan that includes ways in which these games could be used in a class. While some wikis (http://games4learning.pbworks.com) are increasingly collecting this information, students within this program can help! When evaluating games, students will analyze the following criteria:

–        What is the objective of the game? (What is the game trying to solve? How does it end?)

–        What is the genre of the game? (Role Playing, Adventure, First-Person Shooter, etc)

–        What is the topic or environment in which the game is played? (18^th century, poverty in the 3^rd World, etc)

–        What are some of the spatial properties of the environment? (list, specify what you found interesting)

–        Is the game captivating? Why? ( 1 to 5 and open ended response)

–        What is the difficulty of the game within its expected audience? (1 to 5)

–        How is this game marketed, how should it be marketed?

–        How long does the game take to understand? (Learning Curve)

–        How long does the game take to complete? (Game Playing Time)

Students will make a list of all the games they plan to, and have, evaluated. Depending on the game, various students may be assigned to evaluate the same game and provide separate, asynchronous reports. Individuals who use their time to play without evaluating the game will be removed from this pilot program. Students will be asked to consider themselves as part of a game in which they must find and evaluate games in order to save the planet or their space ship from ignorance, inequality, hate, and indifference.

Learning through Games

Students will play different games, usually each game for less than a week. Students will play games to learn about a variety of subjects, including history, language learning, scientific concepts, and mathematical equations, among other topics.

–        Students will play all types and generations of group computer games. Budget constraints may limit the use of other platforms. Mobile games will also be used. The titles of the games as well as the lesson plans will be predetermined. This list of games for the course will be evaluated at the end of every semester to include additions from the games students who took the video game evaluation class found insightful.

–        Students will not only learn through video games, but will also play traditional games such as Life and Monopoly.

–        Students will play games such as World of Warcraft, Runescape and Minecraft for a longer amount of time. Within these games students will forms groups to solve quests and build a guild or an online community.

–        The students will periodically write reflections of their experiences.

–        The students will switch between these major game titles various times during the year. In Minecraft they will be building group cities.

–        Other games such as the Total War series, as well as the Sims series may take longer than a week per game to explore. SimCity, SimEarth, Spore, and the Sims are all complex games that may benefit from longer gameplay sessions and reflection.

Games for Change (G4C) – Poverty Games – Video Game Evaluation

3^rd World Farmer (11 and up) – In this game a player acts as the manager of a family experiencing financial hardship in a developing country. During the game, the player can decide what crops to plant. With a limited amount of funds and a fixed amount of land the player must help the family to survive, and escape poverty, while possibly obtaining an education. Some of the decisions players must make include which equipment to buy and whether or not to invest in the community. It’s a basic game with a short learning curve. The game could be supplemented with a documentary or an explanation of the number of people that currently live under these conditions. By playing the game, students will be able to better understand the decisions people living in poverty must make to survive and how their lives are different from people living in countries with a higher income level. During the game the family is affected by theft, war, illness and other undesired circumstances. Developed in flash and freely available online, the game can easily be accessed by a teacher or a student with a computer without installing any additional programs. The game could easily be ported to a mobile phone.  (Difficulty: 6-10)

Ayiti: The Cost of Life (11 and up) – Similarly to 3^rd World Farmer, the player controls the decisions of a family while managing their limited resources. This game is very difficult, and despite playing it over ten times I was unable to keep the family alive! Hurricanes, theft and sickness are the three main catastrophes players can experience. Sickness greatly handicaps the family and it may have been exaggerated for educational purposes. Two different NGOs randomly provide support for the family, but it is often not sufficient. The most likely outcome of the game is a sense of frustration. The balance between work, revenue, and managing the characters health is very difficult. The game includes more animations and is more colorful than 3^rd World Farmer. Designed in Flash, the game could also be ported into a mobile phone. The game ends with a quiz where students are asked what they learned from the experience. These questions help you reflect about the family’s experience. It’s a great game, and worth playing at least once! (Difficulty: 9 out of 10)

Karma Tycoon (11 and up) – In this game you are in charge or developing an NGO chain from the ground up. The game takes place within the United States and the player’s objective is to try and serve as many people in the community as he or she can without getting indebted. The game is won when your Karma reaches 100%! To reach the goal, the player must expand their NGO to five different locations. This is possible by applying for, and obtaining, grants. Unfortunately, as a teaching tool, Karma falls somewhat short. While to win the game a player must have a good credit history and a history of providing services to the community, the most important variable in the game is an artificial rapid trigger!  Making decisions and expanding as quickly as possible is the easiest way to win and a player can figure this out shortly after the NGOs first monthly bill.  If more grants are obtained before the bill is due, the NGO can expand and increase its Karma at a quicker rate by serving more people. This aspect of the game may be teaching the opposite of what students maybe should learn, such as the importance of making decisions after carefully weighing other options. At the start of each game session, a player can decide whether to open a homeless shelter, an animal shelter, a performing arts center, a senior center or a youth center, yet, because of the need for a rapid response, little reflection goes into which building improvements would have the best cost-benefit ratio when improving a particular center. In addition, the operating costs of the center do not increase as the center expands and adds technological equipment and amenities such as a swimming pool. After a couple of runs, it becomes evident that the game formula stands in sharp contrast with the reality the students are expected to understand. The game has a great concept but requires an improved design. This game is also built with Flash, but it requires the player to open an account. (Difficulty: 3 out of 10)

Real Lives 2010 (11 and up) – Real Lives 2010, the sequel to Real Lives 2007, does not differ greatly from the original. Unfortunately, many of the game design problems remain. The game is at first very interesting and uses a very expandable concept. When the game starts you are randomly assigned an individual in some country in the world. You have just been born and, for the beginning year of your life, the decisions you can make are limited. In many instances going to school will not be an option for you and you may have to migrate legally or illegally to another country. The cost for all of these factors is taken into consideration. The game is very rich and broad, yet it quickly becomes dull as the game progresses. For the player, most of the decisions are attached to a numeric value and, regardless of the country in which you are living, they “feel” the same. The table where living expenses are calibrated does not provide for a visual reinforcement or a definition of what a normal diet or an ample diet is in that particular country. What are the results of living in a small house compared to a wealthier estate? Students will greatly benefit from two or three runs through this game (what the trial version allows) where the player will be presented with information regarding a person’s life conditions in different countries. Real Lives 2010’s addition of 3D character representations falls short and the characters look generic. Marketing the software on a shareware model, at a cost of $25, rather than using adware, donationware or freeware models, limits its potential users. Reducing the cost would likely increase sales, awareness, and even revenues. Cost could be reduced to $1 or $2. (Difficulty: 4 out of 10)

Hurricane Katrina – Tempest in the Crescent City (11 and up) – Unlike the other games in this category, Hurricane Katrina is a first person adventure. As a young African American heroine, the character tries to rescue as many people in New Orleans before night falls. She has to swim under obstacles, break roofs, and provide people with flashlights and canned food. The game is simple but would be particularly appealing for young students. While it is rated as a game for people who are 11 or older by G4C, the game should probably be marketed primarily to elementary and middle school. The game is very short and would only contribute to half of a class session. More levels including different lessons could be built. The character remains flat and without a complex personality. Apart from expanding the game, Hurricane Katrina would also benefit from a post-quiz similar to Ayiti’s. The basic drawings, animation and nature of the game suggest it could act as a model for students to aim for in their initial projects. (Difficulty 2 out of 10)

Food Force (7 and up): Despite being rated for younger children than the other games within this category, Food Force was probably the most captivating game. The game explained the functions of the United Nations Food Program in a comprehensive and appealing manner. Through interactive videos a player was invited to become a crewmember of their rescue mission. In the game, the player needs to drop food aid bags without hitting refugees, map refugee camps, drive a truck through a number of obstacles, figure out the right recipe for a food pack, and distribute food to five projects within the village rebuilding initiative as part of the “Food for Assets” program. As is the case with Real Lives, the game must be downloaded and installed. It would beneficial if the game could be adapted to also run virtually.  The game is diverse but lacks depth and the difficulty level needed to increase its replay factor. Various aspects of the game could easily be expanded into games of their own. Apart from the complication of installing the program on a series of computers, adapting the game to the classroom should not be difficult. The game is designed so that a player can play through the whole game in less than an hour. (Difficulty 5 out of 10)

World of Warcraft (WoW) / Runescape / and Minecraft – Unlimited Education Possibilities

World of Warcraft, or WoW, is without contest the most used and best known MMORPG currently available. World of Warcraft has over 11 million active accounts, most of which are located in the United States, with a strong following in Asia and Europe. Despite being developed 6 years ago, the game continues to grow and evolve. On December 7, 2010, the WoW changed once again with the release of Cataclysm, a new expansion pack. Since its beginnings, World of Warcraft has captivated hundreds of thousands of youth through its extensive and interactive world. Unlike other games, WoW is constantly changing and providing players with new and exciting experiences  (McKenna, Gardner, & Myers, 2010). In World of Warcraft individuals create characters on a server which has close to 20,000 players and help characters within their faction to succeed (Nardi & Harris, 2006). The game characters are divided into two groups; The Horde and The Alliance. In the game environment the characters complete quests for experience points and to win favor with a particular faction or city. While there are a few neutral cities inhabited by goblins, the cities accessible by the Horde cannot be peacefully visited by members of the Alliance, and vice versa. As such, many players create a second account to visit other cities and learn more about this virtual world.

Because of the appeal of the game to K-12 students and its emphasis on cooperation, various initiatives have developed to incorporate World of Warcraft into the afterschool curriculum (Pirius & Creel, 2010; McGonigal, 2010). Educators have explored the collaborative aspects of the game, as players are able to form guilds and battle through instances together (separate environments where only the five team members who entered can face a group of enemies. The instance requires each player to agree to enter. Other teams of players entering would fight in a separate, exact replica of the instance), allowing them to have a shared experience and to learn about the importance of teamwork. Surviving and thriving in Warcraft requires students to work together, particularly when completing an instance.

A balance of powers and abilities is needed for players to survive through the most difficult arenas. WoW is also tailored to an individual player’s taste as he/she can choose to join either a PvP (Player vs. Player), non-PvP (Non-Player vs. Player), or a role playing server, each of them with a different community and traditions. Pirius (2010) analyzed cultures within WoW and argued students could be required to write interesting backgrounds for their characters, and learn about the math behind the character categories, as well as the inner workings of supply and demand through an action house (Pirius & Creel, 2010). Cognitive Dissonance, a wiki and a guild designed by educators, focuses on the applications of WoW to engage at risk students. Reaching at risk students is imperative for decreasing the achievement gap, and reducing inequality in the United States and other parts of the world.

Competing for children’s attention against the entertainment business, it is not surprising that teachers are increasingly using games such as World of Warcraft to reach their students. Yet unlike other games available other the internet, World of Warcraft may not be the most useful tool to reach students in developing countries. While these students are also playing video games, most of the games they play are either pirated versions or available free of charge over the internet. As such, conducting a similar study in the Dominican Republic would likely involve a different gaming environment. During recent visits to South America it was common to see groups of students playing Runescape at cybercafés. Allowing students to play free of charge, there are currently millions of Runescape accounts and it is currently one of the five mmorpgs with a strong user base. Similar to World of Warcraft, Runescape also offers an expansive world in which to interact with thousands of other players and the ability for individuals to personalize their characters and sell their goods to other players. Both games are unofficially affected by “gold farming” or individuals selling game goods and game currency to other players for real money outside of the game environment, and both games exhibit the generation of peer groups where players compete and collaborate with each other. While Runescape is more individualistic, lacking a permanent team system comparable to the guilds in Warcraft, Runescape will probably have a greater rate of success than World of Warcraft in retaining students involved in developing countries.

Another software program which could be studied in the future in relationship to its use both in the United States and developing countries would be the increasingly popular Minecraft, where the world is an individual’s sandbox. Players have been known to create rollercoasters, cannons, castles, a working 16 bit computer, and the battleship USS Enterprise in this lego-like environment. Minecraft could allow K-12 students to develop a community and create items such as a school, a sculpture or anything that occurs to their imagination. This virtual sandbox does not require a very powerful internet connection to function. Having a lifetime fee of 10 dollars (less than the monthly cost for WoW), and being able to run offline after logging in for the first time, this game would allow some students to work in their projects at home without an internet connection. Exploring these games at telecenters, cybercafés and information centers in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Argentina could serve as the basis for a comparative analysis of the impact of games and their possibilities for learning in Latin America and their use in the United States as well as comparison between different games, observing the strengths and weakness of different games in regards to education. This information could possibly help to later develop a video game that builds on the positive, inclusive aspects of MMORPGs while reducing the traditional hack and slash in favor of  stronger educational components.

A Background Overview of ICTs and Dominican Republic

With 10% of the population receiving close to 40% of the country’s GNP in 2007 (San Roman, 2009), the high level of inequality in the Dominican Republic (D.R.) raises questions as to whether expenditure on ICT, rather than on improving the quality of the primary and secondary education levels, represents the best way for the country to increase equality while improving its economic outlook. Yet, as technology plays an ever increasing role in modern society, it could also be argued that in order to leapfrog into the future, the D.R. needs to prepare its workers for the increasingly knowledge and innovation driven nature of the economy (Davison et al, 2000), attempting not to imitate the west, but develop in its own style. With a limited tradition of research and innovation, the D.R. could invest in the development of OER to not only increase access to quality education material for all, but also to promote innovative and more constructive ways of teaching and learning. However, without an increased investment in education, present reforms will likely have a limited impact within the poorest sectors of the population.

The high level of inequalities in the D.R. dates back to the colonial era. Despite governmental efforts, the educational system and economic system developed by European colonists made increasing economic prosperity and reducing inequality a difficult challenge for former colonies to overcome (Bulmer-Thomas, 1994). The D.R. and neighboring Haiti had in place a plantation system in which only a small number of whites, constantly fearful of a revolt, controlled a much larger black slave population, who were constantly monitored and whose education was not encouraged (Moya Pons, 1992). As argued by Rodney (1972), the colonizers were fearful of educating slaves as it would make them more difficult to control. Out of up to 400,000 “taino” natives that inhabited Hispaniola when it was “discovered” by Columbus in 1492, only 3,000 remained by 1519 (Ibid. p. 29). Most of the natives died from epidemics as well as from the harsh treatment to which they were subjected by the colonists.

To continue the economic production and “development” of the island, the Spanish crown quickly began to import slaves from Africa and organized the island’s economy along various agricultural plantations. According to local documents, by 1546, black slaves accounted for around 12,000 individuals and were controlled by a white population of only 5,000 (Ibid. p. 34). While over time most of the population intermarried, and 84% of the population considers themselves mixed or of African ancestry, vestiges of the colonial system remain (CIA, 2010).

Just a few decades ago, in 1937, the then Dictator of the D.R,. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (1930-1961), ordered the massacre of over 15,000 Haitians for having migrated to the D.R. without authorization. It is believed that many Dominicans with darker skin, and who resembled Haitians, also lost their lives. Trujillo’s government encouraged Europeans to migrate and open businesses with the aim of increasing the business sector as well as whitening the Dominican society. As a consequence, to this day, the poorest citizens of the D.R. are often of Haitian origin and tend to be of darker skin than wealthier families (Prado, 2009; Lozano, 2008; Murray, 2005; Lilon, 1999).

Recent demographic trends as well as a transition to a service economy have also increased the challenges faced by the government in fostering development. In recent years, the Dominican economy has transformed from a primarily agricultural economy to a service economy. Primarily through the growth of tourism, the service industry has grown to over 66% of GDP. This change has been beneficial to the D.R.’s economy, which has grown steadily since the 1980s, having an average economic growth rate of 5.43% from 2007 to 2009 and a Per Capita GDP of $8,300 (CIA, 2010). Free trade policies have led to the improvement of aggregate economic statistics for most Latin America countries, including the D.R. (UN Millennium Project, 2005). However, in 2008, 42% of the population lived below the poverty line (World Bank, 2008). In 2007, 11.2% of the population continued to live with less than a dollar a day (UNESCO, 2010), and the country had an unemployment rate of 14.9% (CIA, 2010).

Rapid urbanization and population growth has contributed to the government’s difficulties in developing the human resources needed to deal with the demands for new skills from the changing economy (OECD, 2008). While in 1950 the D.R. had a population of 2.134 million, of which 23.8% were urban dwellers, by 2010 the population had increased to 10.169 million inhabitants, with 68.54% living in urban areas (CEPAL, 2010). Similar to other developing countries that rapidly urbanized, the D.R. was faced with a complicated development challenge, a challenge that could be best met over time by empowering individuals to be creative and critical thinkers through a student-centered, progressive and competitive education system.

Previous governments attempted to increase both quality and access to primary and secondary education through a number of reforms (OECD, 2008, p. 92). In 1992, the country approved a major education reform through a 10 Year Plan (Plan Decenal) which promoted: 1) modernizing the educational structure, 2) the introduction of new technologies, 3) the promotion of literacy, 4) strengthening vocational education, 5) increased investment in education and 6) increasing community involvement (p. 104). The government programs yielded various positive results. Among them, the literacy rate increased steadily from 60.8% in 1980 to 70% in 1990, 78.5% in 2000, and 81.6% in 2008 (World Bank, 2010). Through Plan Decenal, the proportion of children between 6 and 17 that were attending school increased from 71.3% in 1991 to 86.4% in 2002 (p. 10).

However, despite moderate success in some areas, several indicators remain below expectations. By 2008, the average enrollment rate for Latin America and the Caribbean in secondary school was 94%, while in the D.R. enrollment was only 80%. The literacy rate remains below the regional average of 91% at 88.2% and total public spending on education (% of GDP) is low, at a level of 2.2% in 2007, compared to a world average of 4.6% in 2006 (World Bank, 2010). Primary education enrollment rate is also lower than the regional average, at 104% compared to 116%. In addition, according to a 2001 assessment of education throughout Latin America  by PREALC, urban children in the D.R. performed worst, and rural children only outperformed children in Bolivia and Peru, for whom Spanish is often a second language (Murray, 2005). The limited quality of the public education system has led to the rapid growth of private education institutions. While there were only 24 private schools in 1961, there were at least 2,500 by the year 2000 (Murray, 2005).

In recent years, however, the despite the implementation of the second Plan Decenal (2008-2018), the government has not substantially increased its education expenditure, instead focusing to a large extent on increasing access to ICT technologies for the general population. The government’s investments in ICT technologies recently resulted in the First Lady of the D.R. receiving the World Information Society Award in 2007 from the United Nations. She was honored for her contributions to building a more equitable and inclusive society by empowering Dominican families to improve their living standards through access to ICTs at Community Technology Centers (CTCs) (Cedeño Fernández, 2007). However, it is hard to assess to what degree these technologies are reducing inequalities and influencing primary and secondary education.

Other recent technological initiatives include the establishment of the Technological Institute of the Americas, (ITLA) founded in 2000, the Dominican Telecommunication Institute (INDOTEL), established in 1998, the Cyberpark of Santo Domingo, founded in 2001, and the new Network Access Point (NAP) of the Caribbean built in 2008 (INTEC, 2010; INDOTEL, 2010; PSCD, 2010; Dominican Today, 2008; ITLA, 2010).

The increased investment and emphasis on ICT development has contributed to the rapid expansion of Internet use in the D.R. in recent years, increasing from 183.687 Internet accounts in 2006 to 508.603 Internet accounts by June 2010.  Based on the average users per Internet connection, INDOTEL believes that 33% of Dominicans, or 3,214,371 people, had access to the Internet by June 2010 (INDOTEL, 2010). The D.R. has a cell phone use rate of 0.91 cellular phones per person (INDOTEL, 2010), and mobile phone coverage is increasing in rural areas. In addition, through the rural connectivity program, INDOTEL hopes to bring broadband access to every town with over 300 inhabitants by 2012 (San Roman, 2009; INDOTEL, 2010). The telecommunications industry has grown by over 15% annually between 1997 and 2004, with most of the traffic from the D.R. destined for the United States (Stern, 2006). With 1 million, or 9%, of Dominicans living outside the country, most of them in the United States, the D.R. received 3.477 billion dollars in remittances in 2009 (World Bank, 2010). Remittances are not only a major source of foreign revenue but  have also fueled the growing development of ICT, as families are in favor of investing to increase communication with their loved ones.

Regarding ICT and education, the government has promoted ICT through CTCs, the Educando.edu.do online community, Red-Wan, Virtual Areas for Education (AVES), and OER and software development at ITLA (ITLA, 2010; Khelladi, 2003) The most popular initiative in ICT for Education has been the CTCs. CTCs originated from the Costa Rican Little Intelligent Communities (LINCOS) initiative which was built in partnership with the MIT.  The project’s innovative approach of using decommissioned shipping containers to house computer labs proved enticing to donors (Granqvist, 2003; Granqvist, 2005; MIT, 2001).

This model was appealing to donors, but it was perceived as foreign, temporal, and inconvenient to Dominican users. LINCOS originated in Costa Rica, but it was exported soon after to the D.R. where it was subsequently modified. Granqvist (2005) argued that the lack of participation by the community in the planning stage of the program resulted in designers ignoring the fact that the containers felt hot and crowded, and that some of the software and manuals, including the operating system, were sp,eto,es not provided in Spanish (Granqvist, 2005). The container model was dropped and replaced with a traditional building during the Hipolito Mejia administration (2000-2004). It was further modified during the second presidency of Leonel Fernandez (2004-2008) to include meeting rooms and a radio station (Prado, 2009). They are also hoping to include libraries and other educational materials within the CTCs in the future. Working in collaboration with the Technological Institute of Monterrey, a pioneer in virtual education and OER, the CTCs include a variety of educational software and material (ibid).

Originally, most of the software and manuals were in English and they were limited in quantity and scope, yet that has increasingly changed as the initiative has developed (Granqvist, 2005). By the spring of 2009, there were 49 operational CTCs (Prado, 2009) and the Office of the First Lady has set a goal of building 135 CTCs in the upcoming years (Cedeño de Fernández, 2005). Comprehensively, the ICTs for Education initiatives in the D.R. are slowly bridging the digital divide. More and more individuals are obtaining access to advanced technologies.  In doing so, the D.R. is meeting the last Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 8-8f, which promotes increasing access to telephone lines, cellular subscriptions, and Internet use per 100 population (UNDP, 2010). The likelihood that OER and other educational technology tools will improve over time and the constructionist nature of their design allow for individuals who were previously unable to study to have the opportunity to learn how to use computers, operate a radio, and learn how to read, as well as use the educational software within the computer. Such resources provide a one of a kind opportunity for the individuals that have access to these newly built centers (Lozano P., 2007).

However, are the centers visited by a large percentage of the population? Who visits them? Prado’s (2009) study showed that, despite being located in rural areas where there is a higher poverty rate than in the cities (54.1% live under the poverty line),  most of the users of the three CTCs she surveyed had a higher level of education than the average population (World Bank, 2010; World Bank, 2008; Prado, 2009). According to Prado (2009), 61.5% of the CTC users in the locations she studied had completed high school, a level which is significantly higher than the national average in 2004 of 40%. In addition, 12.8% of the CTC users had a university degree, in comparison to the 3% nationwide enrollment rate in higher education in 2008 (pg 80).

Therefore, are these ICTs programs reducing or increasing the digital divide? Being unable to find a job with computer or IT skills in rural areas, individuals who become competent in ICT are likely to migrate to the cities. ICT also do not seem to be targeting individuals of Haitian descent. Prado’s (2009) studied showed that, as a result of anti-haitianismo, individuals were hesitant to label themselves as Haitian or of Haitian descent (Prado, 2009). Similar to previous studies mentioned within the InfoDev’s ICT Knowledge Map (Trucano, 2005), studies of the D.R. and the effectiveness of ICT are not supported by education outcomes data. After modifying the LINCOS project and increasing the participatory element of the CTC establishment process, individuals appear to be more supportive of the project (Prado, 2009; Granqvist, 2005) yet the initiative appears to be serving only a limited number of individuals, at high operating costs.

While CTCs and increased broadband access, as well as the introduction of educational programs through mobile phones, could, in the future, extinguish the digital divide and promote lifelong learning, current international indicators show that the D.R. public education system is failing to meet the MDG for universal primary education, while only a few students are benefiting from their ICT initiative. As such, the D.R. could pursue two courses of action; either increase, and perhaps as much as triple, the budget allocated to public education in an attempt to better national results, and/or increase access to ICT for every individual in the country by joining the OLPC initiative and providing every single child with a laptop and CTCs in all communities. In order to leapfrog and properly meet the challenges facing the D.R. in the 21^st century, a much greater national emphasis needs to be given to all areas of education, not just ICT. This effort should be linked to the national Dominican identity, by promoting athletic activities such as baseball, and music education after school programs similar to Venezuela’s “El Sistema”, but with a bachata or merengue emphasis. While there have been noticeable improvements during the past decades, the D.R. continues to lag behind in educational achievements compared to other Latin American countries (Murray, 2005). ICT development and reducing the digital divide are part of the solution, but to fully reduce the inequality that have plagued the D.R. since the colonial years, a greater expenditure on education and improved relationships with Haiti would be beneficial.

Video Game Learning Dominican Republic

ITLA recently developed a freely accessible video game about the early history of the Dominican Republic. The game was built by a group of students and employees at ITLA and it was acclaimed after its introduction as a symbol of success and progress. Unfortunately, since the release of La Trinitaria (http://www.itla.edu.do/softwareeducativo/trinitaria/), there has not been any further development in the area of video game learning in the Dominican Republic. Instead of building on these achievements, the program has since been marginalized and the links to download half of the files needed to run the game are broken. Under a freeware platform the game intended to reach a large proportion of Dominicans with access to personal computers and the internet. Unfortunately, the game files are quite sizable and the game cannot currently be emulated in a hand held device. ITLA, through its partnership with the Technological Institute of Monterrey, and its promotion of OER, could act as the springboard for a future, nationally promoted, ICT enhanced curriculum with a video game learning component. The following section explores a prototype for such a project.

Video Games in the Curriculum:

This section develops one approach by which students will be able to obtain a video game learning certificate after completing four different classes. To ensure that students understand both the technology as well as the methodology behind video game development and learning, and have a perception of the historical development of video games, students will study courses in: video game design, education video game evaluation, video game making, video game enhanced learning. The completion of all four courses will result in the students receiving a certificate. The students will be encouraged to be innovative and different activities to encourage innovation will be undertaken. While modern technology has increased the average IQ in society, studies show a drop in the creative quotient (CQ) scores of students. Building on the giant shoulders of Einstein, if “imagination is greater than knowledge”, then for our society to move forward, imagination must be promoted.

The Future of Education in the Dominican Republic

December 18, 2010

The Future of Education – The Volatile Nature of Change and the Growing Impact of Technologies

Moving into the 21^st Century it will be important for countries to prepare for a more flexible work place and economy. No longer will individuals retain the same job for their whole careers, but in society 3.0, as “knowmads,” will work for different bosses, changing jobs on a regular basis (Moravec, 2010). In an increasingly complex and volatile market place, children must be educated for an innovation, rather than an industrial, society. Learning is becoming ever more often invisible and personalized while modern media increasingly plays a greater role in extending the reach of the ivory tower (Katz, 2008; Cobo, 2010). Through the growth of OER and by freeing up data, information will reach a greater segment of the population (Downes, 2007; Berners-Lee, 2009; Rosling, 2007). With the ability to access information anywhere in the world, the politics of knowledge are changing. Previously unheard or marginalized voices can create a space for themselves in the largely accessible and deregulated worldwide web. Through the mobile phone individuals living in the poorest countries are now able to communicate with loved ones, rapidly find help when needed, and even have access to financial services (Donner, 2008; Sunkel & Trucco, 2010). The growing use of mobile phones is a clear example of leapfrogging by some third world countries (Moravec, 2009; INDOTEL, 2010). Within just a few decades, mobile phone subscriptions extended from 12.4 million in 1990 to 4.6 billion by 2009, the Internet has reached most places in the world, and “research firm Gartner, Inc., predicts that there will be 2 billion computers in use worldwide by the year 2014” (Katz, 2008; Heeks, 2008; ITU, 2010). Facebook, a social network site which launched only in 2004, already has an estimated value of over 30 billion dollars (Hardy, 2010). All of these changes and the increasing flattening of the world lead one to ponder what the future holds (Sachs, 2005; Friedman, 2007). The future is difficult to predict, and few people a hundred years ago envisioned a world similar to the one in which we live today.

As the world flattens, more individuals obtain the capacity to generate media and reach a wide audience. Marc Prensky (2009) recently argued that Youtube and other online media have increasingly replaced printed media as a mainstream form of communication (Prensky, 2010) Through Youtube and other media uploaders, individuals can publish their homemade or low budget TV series, recorded family events, remixed videos, personal news accounts, or even transform education through initiatives such as Khan’s Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/).  Salman Khan teaches anyone interested in learning about a wide variety of subjects through his NGO, Khan’s Academy using ten minute video clips.  Ten minutes, Khan believes, is the ideal length of a lesson because of students’ short attention span (PBS, 2010) . Other OER initiatives such as MIT’s OpenCourseWare video allow a person to take a class by a world renowned scientist free of charge online (Abelson, 2008). The OpenCourseWare consortium (http://www.ocwconsortium.org/) and the Connexions consortium (http://cnxconsortium.org/) are spreading educational material across the world, promoting lifelong learning, supplementing traditional classroom lectures and discussions, increasing the availability of study materials for students, and in the future might possibly provide a free accredited education (http://www.uopeople.org/). Programs such as Nixty (http://nixty.com/) and OpenStudy (http://openstudy.com/) are trying to bridge the gap between having access to OER and quality information but lacking a learning structure, a curriculum and a certificate. Currently, the University of the People, a free online institute, is attempting to obtain accreditation. Also, the Technological Institute of Monterrey recently began offering free course to a limited number of students.

In the near future, perhaps through an algorithm tailored to the students learning style or through crowdsourcing, a “glocal” free online accredited university will develop where a large number of students will be able to obtain a quality education independent of their economic means. Having both the tool and the demand, it is only a matter of time before this happens, particularly in developing countries. The increasing rate of technological improvement allows for previously weaker economies to gain ground on G-8 states, and transform the relationship between the center and the periphery. Harkins (2010) argued that without modifications to the educational system of the United States, the US may increasingly revert towards becoming a developing country (Harkins, 2010). And this may well be the case, but as important to this recent change is the question, what is development? When have countries stop transforming and changing? Which country today could be argued to be truly developed? Should developing countries follow shadows of countries that have not yet developed, or should their chart their own water, leapfrogging into an unknown future. This paper looks at ways in which the Dominican Republic could move beyond a traditional development agenda by reforming their education system through the increased use of ICT, augmented reality, OER, and educational games (Faber, 2002; Benkler, 2008). If the trends of the Moore’s Law are to continue, the world may eventually reach a technological singularity where change will be a daily occurrence (Kurzweil, 2005; Schaller, 1997). The Dominican Republic and other countries need to enact the best policies to meet this challenge. These are the exciting times in which we are living!

Video games are one of the recent changes that have rapidly expanded and taken the world by storm. According to Prensky (2009), young people today have spent twice as much time playing video games than they have reading books. They have spent even more time watching television, which together with video games have allowed individuals to visualize and learn about every area of the globe. Instead of being captivated by novelty in school, children increasingly “power down” during their school hours (Prensky, 2009). A small industry dominated by a monochromatic game in 1975, Pong, and the video game system (VGS) Atari allowed popularization of the playful interaction between men and an electronic program of limited astuteness but lightning fast reflexes. Today, VGSs are in their seventh generation. According to Tom Chatfield (2010), the video game industry has expanded at a very rapid rate, from 10 billion in 1990, to 20 billion in 2000, and 50 billion in 2010 , surpassing the net worth of the music industry (Chatfield, 2010). The video game industry is expanding and is expected to continue expanding. While a recent PEW (2008) survey showed that 97% of teenagers play video games, a large percentage of people at every age level are playing video games, including 60% of individuals between the ages of 50 and 64 (Lenhart, Jones, & Macgill, 2008).  The average video game player is 35 years old and has been playing for more than 10 years. Women represent  40% of gamers and almost all children do not remember a world without games (ESA, 2008 ). To them, video games are a place where they are truly engaged, where they can be part of a colorful, interactive, rapidly changing and exciting environment. People are increasingly spending greater amounts of their free time playing games and over 10,000 hours playing video games throughout their youth (McGonigal, 2010; Prensky, 2007).

Whatever their intellectual contribution, or lack of, games are a major component of modern day life. Not understanding games may make an instructor ineffective or distant to students. To harness the influence of games for the benefit of society, serious games have been developed in health, defense, religion, education, among other sectors (www.seriousgames.org). The term serious games was defined by Michael Zyda, author of Serious Games (1970), as “Serious game: a mental contest, played with a computer in accordance with specific rules, that uses entertainment to further government or corporate training, education, health, public policy, and strategic communication objectives.” (Zyda, 2005)

Within education, MIT’s The Education Arcade (www.educationarcade.org) and Games for Change (www.gamesforchange.org) (G4C) are two well known initiatives that are focus on developing, increasing access, and popularity of video game learning. However, despite the best intentions, serious games developed with an education purpose in mind have yet to evolve into a mainstream application and their quality is generally inferior to that of traditional games. Even so, many of them are increasingly engaging students. In this essay I evaluate a series of educational games, evaluating all of the games included in the G4C poverty games category. I will analyze these games based on the understanding of successful games from my personal experience as well as Tom Kelley’s 2007 archetypes developed in his book, The Ten Faces of Innovation.

Education and Games – Endless Possibilities for Growth and Research

“The possibilities for using a game like Civilization as a springboard into studying history are endless, but so far, there are less than three magazine or journal articles published on the topic and no one has done empirically-grounded research in the successes and challenges of using such a game to support learning (See Berson, 1996; Hope, 1996; Lee, 1994; Prensky, 2001; Teague & Teague, 1995) (Squire, 2002)”

The term educational games can be seen as an oxymoron (Kolson, 1996). While games can be informational and useful, labeling them as educational could reduce their appeal. Yet, as games continue to expand, this underperforming genre may transform in the context of the new challenge, the new frontier for education. The ability to replicate virtual products allows a game to potentially reach every child with a computer or a cell phone, thus increasing the impact an individual can have in education, particularly in places that are experiencing a brain drain and limited human capital. Through video games and other modern technologies individuals that have migrated from their home countries, can send back not only cash remittances, but “knowledge remittances” through videos they record and upload on YouTube, software they develop, or information they type on a forum or anywhere in the World Wide Web.  OER and educational video game development is also a way in which people from anywhere in the United States or another developed country can enhance the education of another person anywhere across the world, a way in which to transfer knowledge without borders. Yet, despite the promise of educational video games or the regular use of video games for education, Squire (2002) contends that neither video games advocates or opponents have scientifically demonstrated to a large extent the detriments or benefits of video games (Squire, 2002). Greater research is needed, and as more information is recorded and replayed, perhaps educators will work collectively on open education software projects to find a way to better tell the same old stories.

Taking aside educational games, many of which are included in the aforementioned websites, some highly popular traditional games have been used for education. Games such as Civilizations, SimCity, SimEarth, Colonization, Age of Empires, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Rome Total War and World of Warcraft have been studied for their educational potential and contribution (Kolson, 1996; Lobo, 2004; Pirius & Creel, 2010; Gee, 2003). Many of these, and other, games were developed to model a simplified version of reality while holding certain variables constant. Yet, because of their structure, it has been difficult for teachers to integrate video games into the classroom, and they are currently relegated primarily to a child’s “invisible learning.” More should be done to encourage the use of games in education, yet opponents to video game learning have other reasons to fear their increasing use, many of which are not unfounded.

Unfortunately, for some individuals, the urge to play video games can be difficult to control. Video game playing can be addictive and is an increasingly recognized medical condition (APA, 2007). Yet how many gamers use games in an unhealthy manner is highly debated. Trying to better understand the nature of Gamer, Yeh (2006) developed 10 categories and aggregated them into three groups: achievement, social, and immersion. His study found that playing games for achievements such as gaining power, competing with others, and optimizing character performance were most common with male players, while women tended to emphasize socializing and building relationships. Immersion was divided into discovery, role playing, customization, and escapism. After coding and quantitatively analyzing 3,000 surveys, and analyzing for problematic usage of online games, escapism and hours played were there the best predictors (Yee, 2006). A recent an Iowa State University study showed that 8.5% of youth gamers between 8 and 18 were considered addicted to video games (Gentile, 2009). Video games allow individuals to live in an environment where anything is possible. These are places where a person can look a different way, be of a different gender, have special powers, solve world-saving mysteries, or control the planet with God-like powers. Working primarily under a for-profit model, most games are also designed to develop a brand, to retain players, create a following, and make a profit, inadvertently, developing  an addiction for some users, as with other forms of entertainment. While this is only the minority of video game player, it is a factor that needs to be taken into consideration. Not only for parents and teachers to be observant of unwarranted behavior, but to learn what elements of games and which games are primarily linked to players’ addictions.

Games can reach students in ways that few other stimuli can replicate. Merrilea Mayo (2007) argued that video games massive reach, use of effective learning paradigms (experiential, inquiry based, goal setting, cooperation, continuous feedback, tailored instruction, cognitive modeling), enhanced brain chemistry, time spent on task, and the well documented outcome data, were ideal for engaging math and science students (Mayo, 2007). Not only are games increasingly “gamifying” education, but they can also influence others sectors of society, such as the workplace (Corcoran, 2010). Tom Chatfield (2010), in a very engaging TED talk, explained seven different ways in which games engage the brain and how this could be adapted for business, education, and government (Chatfield, 2010). He summarizes the impacts of games into: experience bars to measure progress, including both long term and short term aims within games, rewarding participants for their efforts, having rapid, frequent and clear feedback, including an element of uncertainty, providing windows of enhanced attention where a person can feel special, and developing an environment where individuals can interact with other people.

As education and other sectors of society increasingly become gamified, more detailed analyses of how different games could be utilized should be developed. The introduction of basic programming through programs such as Scratch (which uses actions blocks rather than code to program) to students is also very important (Corcoran, 2010). Games have a large number of genres and some genres may be more effectively used for educational games, yet all being capable of captivating a particular audience, it would be beneficial if a number of games in different genres were developed for different subjects to explain the same or similar concepts or topics. By doing so students would be able to learn from the game that best fits their ability. Mark Wolf (2001) categorized games according to interactivity with the player rather based on iconography, as normally used to categorize films. Some education games he mentions include basic math games; typing games; number games; spelling games and word games. (Wolf, 2000)