:: The 4th Era ::

by Benjamin Harold

"Forget No. 2 pencils, or even the new computer-based common-core exams that have schools across the country scrambling.

"Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are convinced the tests of the future will look like Crystals of Kaydor, a role-playing video game about aliens.

"Designed to measure children’s learning in real time while rewiring their brains to help them be more empathetic, Crystals offers a potentially transformative response to two cutting-edge questions now being debated in the world of testing: whether digital games can effectively blur the line between instruction and assessment and how educators can better gauge children’s social and emotional skills.

“Our job is to provide compelling examples of what assessments can be,” said Constance Steinkuehler, an associate professor of education and former White House policy analyst who co-directs Games+Learning+Society, a center based here that is dedicated to designing and studying video games."

by Jane McGonigal

"I'm going to tell you a secret.

"The TEDTalk you're about to watch probably seems like a pretty ordinary TEDTalk, maybe even a pretty good one, given the standing ovation at the end.

"But here's the truth that almost no one in the world knows: This talk, my talk, went down in TED history as the single biggest disaster to ever happen at TED.

"That's right. My TEDTalk is officially the biggest disaster in TED history! And you know what? I couldn't be prouder of that fact.

"I think it's time to tell the true story behind "The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life."