So South Africa´s most valuable franchise has gone yet another year without anything to put into an already quite empty trophy case. So let’s have a review of the season shall we, and see what went wrong this time. At the beginning of the season, it was easy for Sharks fans to feel a bit […]
Steve Vosloo
Steve Vosloo is the 21st Century Learning Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation. He is a past Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University, where he researched youth and digital media. He blogs at vosloo.net.
Except where otherwise noted, content released under a Creative Commons License.
Posted inGeneral
Grand Theft Morals, or ultimate role model? (part II)
In part one of this piece I listed some of the powerful teaching and learning traits embedded in good digital games. Now, what happens in the case of GTA IV where we have good learning, with bad content? I’m afraid there are more questions than answers right now as we try to better understand games–based […]
Posted inGeneral
Grand Theft Morals, or ultimate role model? (part I)
I’m fascinated and challenged by Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV, the new, extremely violent, extremely popular video game. I need to tell you why in two parts. The first part describes the exciting potential of digital games for learning, listing a number of effective teaching qualities embedded in good games. Part two considers these qualities […]
Posted inGeneral
How to stem the Matthew Effect in education
There is unanimous agreement that South Africa’s education is in crisis. What we can’t agree on is how to fix it. It seems that everyone has their two cents’ worth of wisdom: “What we need is …”, “It’s time to …”, “The thing is …”, “You see, if only they had …” — we’ve become […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, Tech
YouTube’s OK for scholars, non-profits and the queen
What do Marilyn Manson, the Testical Festival and Queen Elizabeth have in common? They’re all on YouTube. No longer only the domain of the cute, the weird and the insanely boring (think family holiday videos), YouTube is becoming a platform for information dissemination and community engagement for more serious content. Scholars, international organisations and the […]
Posted inGeneral
YouTube’s OK for scholars, non-profits and the queen
What do Marilyn Manson, the Testical Festival and Queen Elizabeth have in common? They’re all on YouTube. No longer only the domain of the cute, the weird and the insanely boring (think family holiday videos), YouTube is becoming a platform for information dissemination and community engagement for more serious content. Scholars, international organisations and the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Fan fiction: Improving youth literacy
For many fans of Harry Potter, the last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, does not signify the end of the story. There are thousands of young people who write their own additions to, subplots within, and alternative endings or continuations to the world of sorcery and Hogwarts. At the time […]
Posted inLifestyle, Tech
Using MXit to learn
MXit, the very cheap, very popular mobile instant messaging (MIM) application (that is actually a lot more), is coming of age. To clear the way for the rest of the discussion, I am aware of the dangers and risks of MXit: addicts — teens and working people — who spend hours a day tap-tapping their […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Interview with danah boyd, social networking expert
danah boyd (she insists on the lower case) is one of the world’s leading experts on social networking sites (SNSs) such as MySpace and Facebook. She is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Centre for Internet and Society. I interviewed her to try to understand […]
Posted inLifestyle
Engaging problem learners through digital storytelling
South Africa’s educators are severely stressed. In the classroom they face potential violence, dismal working conditions and massive workloads. Cases of educators being assaulted are becoming more commonplace. According to the Sunday Times: “The biggest dilemma facing educators today is how to deal with unruly charges while simultaneously maintaining their sanity, professionalism and dignity.” Hold […]