E-Learning Resources




Established by the World Wide Workshop Foundation in the spring of 2006, the Globaloria Program prepares young people ages 12 and up to create educational games and interactive simulations, for their own personal and professional development, and for the social and economic benefit of their communities.

Globaloria students work independently or in small teams to develop their own original games from idea to finished product. They learn game design and programming through a hands-on online curriculum that teaches Adobe Flash.

Students learn to use a wiki; make social profile pages and team game pages; produce and post interactive game content, prototype videos, simulations, graphics, music and sound effects; and write blogs about their gaming ideas and content research. They receive feedback and support from their classmates, Globaloria students at other schools, and professional game makers.

This course is suitable for students at all levels. No prior web design or programming skills are needed. http://www.worldwideworkshop.org/programs/globaloria






21ST CENTURY LEARNING TOOLKIT MODEL 

Key Research Summary Points

The 21st century classroom that is structured around the latest in brain research will function to help students articulate solutions to problems while thinking critically about the problem given, working to create new ideas while collaborating with other students, community members, or people around the world all while using appropriate technology. 

This model not only typifies the best practices already employed for many students with advanced learning needs, it is also a structure which helps the regular classroom individualize and differentiate learning for all students.


 Davidson Institute for Talent Development
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 Website: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10436.aspx

Best Practices in Gifted and Talented Education
 
To effectively teach the gifted and talented learner, teachers need specialized knowledge on best practices from the field. One common strategy used for teaching gifted and talented students is to differentiate instruction, which can be accomplished through several methods, including curriculum compacting and enrichment. Curriculum compacting is an instructional technique used for modifying the regular curriculum to meet the needs of high-ability students by carefully assessing the work they already know and substituting or streamlining it for more challenging content through curriculum enrichment (Reis, Burns, & Renzulli, 1992). Curriculum enrichment is a technique used to deepen students understanding of issues (Wasserman, 2001). Several instructional strategies and curricular enrichment activities that are commonly found in classrooms for the gifted and talented student are conceptual thematic units, questioning strategies, development centers, independent study, and mentorships (Troxclair, 2000). 

Best Practices in Information Technology
 
Computers can be used as a resource to help plan curricular activities (Veronikas & Shaughnessy, 2006). In recent years, information technology has become a common instructional method used with gifted and talented learners (Kalchman & Case, 1999; Wallace, 2005; Wasserman, 2001). It can be used to enhance and replace existing delivery methods and to improve education for the gifted student (McKinnon & Nolan, 1999). This same information technology can also be used to design a virtual learning environment that allows for enriched learning experiences and more advanced study for these high-ability learners.

Creating a Virtual Learning Environment
 
Creating a virtual learning environment is a way to differentiate instruction by merging the fields of gifted and talented education and information technology. Children of every ability level are motivated to create technology-enhanced projects using the Internet, online databases, scanned pictures and drawings, video clips, and hyperlinks (Bergen, 2002). A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) refers to computer-based environments for delivering learning materials on the Internet (Wilson, 1996). VLEs may be used to develop cultural experiences in the visual, creative, and performing arts; visit all types of museums, industries, governmental agencies, and institutions; expose students to different ideas through prominent and/or controversial persons; and provide advanced study in the content areas that include research activities (Belcastro, 2005). They can be an exciting learning approach for students because of the unlimited amount of information that is available online. Instant information is as close as a search engine away (Will, 2005).



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