Science

I Forget Stuff – I Must Be Brilliant

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

Do you ever stand up to go somewhere, walk over and then wonder why you’re there? Happens to me all the time — wait, that doesn’t sound very reassuring. It happens to me some times.

My solution?

Often walking back to where I came from to trigger the thought that made me leave in the first place.

Doesn’t really leave one with a strong feeling of confidence in my abilities now, does it?

But, if you’re being honest with yourself I bet it happens to you as well.

What is it about our memory that makes some stuff ‘stick’ and other stuff appear to vanish? Looking back to my 20s I can still recall studying for university exams … reading a section of a text book … then reading it again … and again … all to no avail. That page of information just wasn’t going to stay in my head.

But why?

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The Left-Handed Advantage

/ Dave Eberwein / 8 Comments

Being a southpaw, I loved writing this particular post. I had a smile on my face the entire time, so be warned — I’m riding a wave of superiority at the moment.

As great as left-handed people are — we have suffered in silence for a very long time. While we make up about 10% of the general population the world has been constructed for ‘righties’. We have had a rough ride:

I despised these desks in university
  • Scissors — Just try using your left hand. Go ahead and try — I dare you;
  • Door knobs — made to turn to the right which is physiologically easier for righties;
  • Automobile manual transmission gear shifts — unless you’re in England, Australia or a small number of other places;
  • 3-Ring Binders — impossible for lefties to write on the right side of the rings where most lined paper is designed because our wrist is actually hooked when we write;
  • Ball-point pens — don’t work well for lefties because we push the pen rather than pull it;
  • Computer keyboard number pad — always on the right side;
  • University theatre desks (see above) – arrgh!
  • Can openers – arrgh again!
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Virtual & Augmented Reality – Are They Really Worth the Hype?

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are slowly making their way into schools.  Depending on the quality of the needed device a VR headset can be a few dollars (i.e. cardboard cutout that uses your smartphone) or a very expensive one costing hundreds of dollars per unit.  AR headsets can be just as expensive.

 

I’m admittedly a bit cautious when new tech is touted as the next ‘best thing’ for education.  Are these headsets just a gimmick with lots of fun entertainment value or are they really a way for students to actually go deeper with their learning?

Like most everything, I suppose it depends on how and why you use them.

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