Educators internationally gathered together at Qatar Academy on February 20 to
discuss 21st Century Learning. As a result they decided to take action and share
their experiences in the hope that others will be inspired to embrace change in
education using new tools, new skills and a new mindset. See http://elearning.qataracademy.wikispaces.net/21C_Learners for
more information.
1) Leadership roles are often temporary. Perhaps the most striking aspect of leadership in online games is the way in which leaders naturally switch roles, directing others one minute and taking orders the next. Put another way, leadership in games is a task, not an identity — a state a player enters and exits rather than a personal trait that emerges and thereafter defines the individual.
2) Dashboards, or cockpits, display both status and communication functions on the same densely populated user interface and often on a single computer screen, eliminating the need to open and close different software applications. Constantly visible during play, the cockpits allow a leader to stay within the narrative of the game while acquiring necessary information about players and communicating instructions to the group. Unlike a corporate dashboard that is located on a handful of computers at headquarters, with access limited to the senior executive team, these personal, view-as-you-go game cockpits give people in the field access to information as soon as it is available. That, in turn, allows game players to act on it without waiting for instructions from a guild leader. What’s more, the information allows players to assume impromptu leadership roles as needed. In many of our video clips, we see three or four people barking orders to team members during a raid, briefly taking the lead in the improvisational style of a jazz ensemble.
3)Leadership demands speed. A game hour is unlike 60 minutes at your desk or in a meeting. Actions that might take weeks or months to unfold in real life are often compressed into hours or even minutes online. The lightning pace of games is unlikely to become widespread anytime soon in the business world, except perhaps in selected contexts such as high-velocity financial trading. However, business decision making is accelerating, driven in part by the almost instant, if not always complete, availability of certain kinds of data. To keep up with rivals, real-world leaders will increasingly need to be willing and able to act on such information without pausing for long periods to weigh options.
We have Facebook accounts and actually see it as a wonderful, and valuable, resource. However, just because Facebook says that anyone 14 years or old CAN use Facebook, doesn't mean that they should. It isn't an age-appropriate or developmentally healthy place for our children and younger teens to hang out. Facebook is not working to protect our children and the laws in our country are terribly inadequate to safeguard our children online, in general.These are pretty hefty charges, and, by the way, the allowable age for a Facebook account is not 14 years, but rather 13. I know this both because by noon the day of his 13th birthday, my son had established his fb account and had nearly as many friends as I have on mine. It's also pretty clear at the extensive "Facebook Safety" page the folks at fb offer at their website. Let me quote from that site, to support the counterpoint I'm about to make:
And here, friends, is my point: Families need to talk with their children, monitor (not constantly, sheesh, but sporadically) their children's use of the platform, just like they would any online activity. As interesting as ChildrenOnline's arguments can be--and I truly do not disagree with many of them--their conclusion that I don't believe that social networking is inappropriate or damaging to our children. I FIRMLY agree with one of Fodeman/Monroe's proclamations: "We need to help our students become more media-savvy, understand the value of personal information, and how to protect it." I just don't think that the way to do that is to label good tools "inappropriate." I have absolutely no doubt that the ChildrenOnline folks are well-intentioned, or that they have carried out the years of research they lay claim to at their website. I just have seen too much good connection to agree with their conclusion. It's simply not that simple.Facebook aspires to be an environment where people can interact safely with their friends and the people around them. We have implemented many safety and privacy controls on Facebook as part of our goal to enable people to share their information with only the people they want to see it. And we are constantly improving our systems for identifying and removing inappropriate content and people from the site.
Children under 13 years old are not permitted access to Facebook. In addition, parents of children 13 years and older should consider whether their child should be supervised during the child's use of the Facebook site.
Hi y'all. May 6th here. Up in the morning and dedicated to getting something online for this month so here: Up at 6:30 a.m. after sleep...
