CMS.611J / 6.073 Creating Video Games is a class that introduces students to the complexities of working in small, multidisciplinary teams to develop video games. Students will learn creative design and production methods, working together in small teams to design, develop, and thoroughly test their own original digital games. Design iteration across all aspects of video game development (game design, audio design, visual aesthetics, fiction and programming) will be stressed. Students will also be required to focus test their games, and will need to support and challenge their game design decisions with appropriate focus testing and data analysis.

MHCC - WR122

Short Description:
Using a combination of the newest findings in hemispheric science, neuropsychology, and brain development, along with the long-established rhetorical algorithms for analyzing the structure of arguments, this course explores the boundaries of critical and creative thinking in pursuit of developing a clearer and more robust model for the construction and deconstruction of various forms of argument. A variety of "texts" are used to help students develop rhetorical analysis skills, critical thinking tools and a diverse, integrative apparatus for establishing the veracity of truth claims in both academic and cultural contexts.

Long Description:
This project was funded by the MHCC Foundation OER Grant Program and published by MHCC Library Press. MARC record available at the end of the book.

Word Count: 10313

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically as part of a bulk import process by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided. As a result, there may be errors in formatting.)

MHCC - WR122

Short Description:
This text explores the nature and structures of academic arguments through the analysis and implementation of critical and creative thinking techniques. Through a combination of the latest research in hemispheric science, neuropsychology, and brain development, along with the long-established rhetorical algorithms for analyzing the dynamic structure of arguments, this text attempts to develop a clearer and more robust model for the construction and deconstruction of various forms of argument. A variety of "texts" are used to help students develop rhetorical analysis skills, critical thinking tools, creative problem solving abilities, and a responsive, diverse, and integrative apparatus for establishing the veracity of truth claims in both academic and cultural contexts.

Word Count: 16779

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

We can regard the wider incentive structures that operate across science, such as the priority given to novel findings, as an ecosystem within which scientists strive to maximise their fitness (i.e., publication record and career success). Here, we develop an optimality model that predicts the most rational research strategy, in terms of the proportion of research effort spent on seeking novel results rather than on confirmatory studies, and the amount of research effort per exploratory study. We show that, for parameter values derived from the scientific literature, researchers acting to maximise their fitness should spend most of their effort seeking novel results and conduct small studies that have only 10%–40% statistical power. As a result, half of the studies they publish will report erroneous conclusions. Current incentive structures are in conflict with maximising the scientific value of research; we suggest ways that the scientific ecosystem could be improved.

Software Carpentry lesson that teaches how to use databases and SQL In the late 1920s and early 1930s, William Dyer, Frank Pabodie, and Valentina Roerich led expeditions to the Pole of Inaccessibility in the South Pacific, and then onward to Antarctica. Two years ago, their expeditions were found in a storage locker at Miskatonic University. We have scanned and OCR the data they contain, and we now want to store that information in a way that will make search and analysis easy. Three common options for storage are text files, spreadsheets, and databases. Text files are easiest to create, and work well with version control, but then we would have to build search and analysis tools ourselves. Spreadsheets are good for doing simple analyses, but they don’t handle large or complex data sets well. Databases, however, include powerful tools for search and analysis, and can handle large, complex data sets. These lessons will show how to use a database to explore the expeditions’ data.

Humanitarian Demining is the process of detecting, removing and disposing of landmines. Millions of landmines are buried in more than 80 countries resulting in more than 10,000 civilian victims every year. MIT Design for Demining is a design course that spans the entire product design and development process from identification of needs and idea generation to prototyping and blast testing to manufacture and deployment. Technical, business and customer aspects are addressed. Students learn about demining while they design, develop and deliver devices to aid the demining community. Past students have invented or improved hand tools, protective gear, safety equipment, educational graphics and teaching materials. Some tools designed in previous years are in use worldwide in the thousands. Course work is informed by a class field trip to a U.S. Army base for demining training and guest expert speakers.

The lesson content focuses on designing investigations concerning the notion of scale through a series of investigations on their campus. The overarching goal is to foster a connection to the earth through an investigation of the local environment.

A diagram of cells changing shape from columnar to stratified, as they roughly may do as a transitional epithelium changes shape, as well as a diagrammatic explanation of why they must change shape to maintain a barrier.

This is a list of web based resources for exploring immigration and the lives of immigrants.

In collaboration with two multi-ethnic Filipino families and the Smithsonian Institute Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), resource creators have developed zines that present a personal history of how these families lived in Washington State through oral histories, family trees, interviews, family photographs, and a celebrated family recipe. The zines begin a conversation of how these families' histories connect with larger conversations of identity and belonging — a groundbreaking K-12 curriculum resource on Filipino American history.

The "Double-O-STEM" (educator guide) curriculum consists of STEM problem-solving activities. The curriculum is designed around projects that empower learners to apply STEM to creatively problem-solve community issues. These include designing bike lanes, community gardens, and other exciting STEM problems.

The activities are designed for both librarians and STEM educators. The curriculum is especially aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS (engineering; grades 3-5) and American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards.

Please note the student version can be found using the following link:
https://www.oercommons.org/courses/double-o-stem-learner-guide

The "Double-O-STEM" (learner guide) curriculum consists of STEM problem-solving activities. The curriculum is designed around projects that empower learners to apply STEM to creatively problem-solve community issues. These include designing bike lanes, community gardens, and other exciting STEM problems.

The activities are designed for both librarians and STEM educators. The curriculum is especially aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS (engineering; grades 3-5) and American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards.

Please note the educator guide can be found using the following link: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/double-o-stem-educator-guide

This web page features a collection of Easy Java Simulations developed by secondary teachers for use in introductory high school physics courses. Topics include astronomy, momentum and collision, projectile motion, Gauss's Law and electric field, special relativity, and more. Each simulation is accompanied by a standards-based lesson plan and printable student guides. Users may run the simulations as a Java applet or may directly download a jar file version. The materials in this collection were created with Easy Java Simulations (EJS), a modeling tool that allows users without formal programming experience to generate computer models and simulations. To modify or customize the model, See Related Materials for detailed instructions on installing and running the EJS Modeling and Authoring Tool. This resource is part of Project ITOP (Improving the Teaching of Physics), a graduate program offered at University of Massachusetts-Boston. The archived computer models are hosted and maintained as part of the BU Physics Simulation collection.

Ecology For All! Is an ecology text designed in modules so that instructors can choose the pieces that make sense to assign in their context. This book has been in development for several years and is a collaborative effort of authors at Gettysburg College, Franklin & Marshall College, and University of Pittsburgh. The textbook covers a wide range of topics including Introduction to Ecology, Evolution, Adaptations to the Physical Environment, various ecological communities, Population Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, Biogeochemical Cycles, Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, and Human Impact on Global Climate among others. The authors have presented on it at the Ecological Society of America meeting and the book continues to evolve.

This textbook, Economics: Theory Through Applications, centers around student needs and expectations through two premises: … Students are motivated to study economics if they see that it relates to their own lives. … Students learn best from an inductive approach, in which they are first confronted with a problem, and then led through the process of solving that problem.

Many books claim to present economics in a way that is digestible for students; Russell and Andrew have truly created one from scratch. This textbook will assist you in increasing students’ economic literacy both by developing their aptitude for economic thinking and by presenting key insights about economics that every educated individual should know.

Second Edition

Short Description:
The Economics of Food and Agricultural Markets is written for applied intermediate microeconomics courses.

Long Description:
The Second Edition of Economics of Food and Agricultural Markets is written for applied intermediate microeconomics courses. The book showcases the power of economic principles to explain and predict issues and current events in the food, agricultural, agribusiness, international trade, labor markets, and natural resource sectors. The field of agricultural economics is relevant, important and interesting. The study of market structures, also called industrial organization, provides powerful, timely, and useful tools for any individual or group making personal choices, business decisions, or public policies in food and agricultural industries.

Readers will benefit from a large number of real-world examples and applications of the economic concepts under discussion. The book introduces economic principles in a succinct and reader-friendly format, providing students and instructors with a clear, up-to-date, and straightforward approach to learning how a market-based economy functions, and how to use simple economic principles for improved decision making. The principles are applied to timely, interesting, and important real-world issues through words, graphs, and simple algebra and calculus. This book is intended for students who study agricultural economics, microeconomics, rural development and/or environmental policy.

Word Count: 49992

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

The Economics of Food and Agricultural Markets is written for applied intermediate microeconomics courses. The book showcases the power of economic principles to explain and predict issues and current events in the food, agricultural, agribusiness, international trade, and natural resource sectors. The field of agricultural economics is relevant, important and interesting. The study of market structures, also called industrial organization, provides powerful, timely, and useful tools for any individual or group making personal choices, business decisions, or public policies in food and agriculture industries.