What Will the Future Look Like?

Now, we know that there are enough pressing concerns in today’s world. We’re dealing with political issues, the environment, and a world that has rising inequality, and we should all be focusing our energies to rectify those problems. However, it’s also worth keeping one eye on the future - because like it or not, it’s going to be here quicker than we realize. So what will the world of tomorrow look like? We take a look below.

Source: Pexels.com

Everything Talking

It’s tempting to think the digital age has already arrived, but this isn’t really true. People must have thought the age of the car had arrived way back when there were just a few hundred on the roads; they couldn’t have envisioned just how widespread they would have become. The same is true of technology. In the future, everything will be connected - including ourselves. The internet of things has kind of arrived, but in the coming decades, it’s going to become much more widespread. Your door, fridge, windows, and just about everything in your home will be automated. If you’re a Luddite, then it might be time to start looking at that cabin in the woods, basically.

A Changing Workplace

The world of work is about to change dramatically, in ways that haven’t been seen since the industrial revolution. It’ll be in two main areas: the rise of artificial intelligence, and an overall changing attitude towards the workplace. You can expect the traditional work attire to be replaced by more casual clothing, and the 9-5 routine to be replaced by a more fluid, flexible approach to the working day. On the other end, AI will see somewhere in the region of 50% of jobs lost. If those who lost their jobs aren’t found something else to do, mass unemployment will follow.

The World of Politics

The world is getting smaller all the time, but that doesn’t mean that the problems will disappear. As technology improves and troubled international relations grow, we’ll see more attempts to undermine democracy. Indeed, this is already happening: as the AZ Sec of State says, last year there were instances ‘all over the country related to people trying to get into other people’s data and voter files.’ As such, cybersecurity related to voting will become a hot topic. So will the role of social media in elections, especially after Russia’s influence in the last presidential election.

A Move to Purpose

It’s not talked about anywhere nearly as much as it should be, but depression is a major concern among health officials. Indeed, it’s scheduled to become the world’s leading illness in the not too distant future. As such, we can see a greater move towards happiness, and to people choosing to live a life of purpose rather than being content with material goods and the traditional signs of success.

But Who Knows?

While the research shows signs of the above, it could also all be wrong. The future won’t be linear; it’ll be written by, well, whoever writes it.

What Is Hot In Science Right Now?

Trends and fashions seem to dictate everything that we do and experience in culture. After all, just look at how powerful fashion in clothing can be - when someone creates a new clothing fad, it can change the way everyone else starts to dress. You might think that these trends are only confined to a few sections of society and culture, such as music, clothing, and food. But that isn't the case In actual fact, trends are big news in almost every aspect of life - even in science and research!

Research in science is largely dictated by trends too. Sure, there are some fields of research, especially in healthcare and medicine, that won’t change as we are still striving to come up with new treatments and medicines. But in other fields of science, there are a lot of trends that drive the most popular research fields.

So, what exactly is hot in science right not? Read on to find out more!

Pexels

Xenografts

You will have no doubt already heard about organ transplants. This is when an organ from one body is taken out and transplanted into another body. The organ donors can be living when donating some organs, such as a kidney, but in most cases the donor is deceased. Well, have you ever heard of xenografts? If not, you need to listen up as it looks like these are set to be the next big thing. Right now, contract research organizations are looking into how xenografts can help cancer patients. These are basically cell, tissue, or organ transplants taken from a different species. The current tests are taking place on rats and mice, but this research looks set to develop soon, and it could be tested on humans before too long.

Pexels

Research Into Uploading Consciousness

If you keep up to date with news from the tech world, you might have heard about a new startup that is letting people join a waiting list to upload their consciousness to the cloud. This way, their whole consciousness will be able to, in theory, live on forever. However, there is just one problem - the whole process of preserving the consciousness is 100% fatal and isn't guaranteed to work. Regardless, there are still already a few people listed on the waiting list. There is a new branch of science interested in preserving life for the future and it is looking into whether or not we can code our consciousness and preserve is on the cloud forever. Is this really possible? It’s hard to tell right now, but there are lots of people who have faith in the science. This field of research is still in its infancy, so who knows where it will end up over the coming decades? It could be very exciting to watch!

Pexels

Anti-Aging Technologies

As well as trying to live forever by preserving our mind on the cloud, there are other scientists who are trying to research new anti-aging technologies. And by “anti-aging technologies” I don’t mean just applying some serums and anti-wrinkle creams to their skin, although there are of course some scientists who do look into that. Instead, there are other scientists who are looking into other more scientific-focused treatments. Many believe that the key is in our diets, and there are those who believe that an exceptionally restrictive diet can help us live for a  lot longer. There are also some scientists who believe that the key to anti-aging is locked in some treatments that are traditionally used for other ailments. One example of this is the group of scientists who are convinced that the treatment usually given to diabetic patients could help others live for longer while also preventing the aging process for as long as possible.

Pexels

Nanotech

Scientists have been researching the field of nanotechs for quite some time already, but now it looks like it is all set to get very exciting indeed! Not too sure what nanotech is exactly? It’s the study of structures at their atomic level. Basically, just looking at the smallest parts of things. One of the most exciting things about nanotech is that it affects almost everything on the planet. After all, everything is made up of atoms that we can take apart and look at and study. Everything from toilet cleaner to newly discovered elements could be studied through nanotech and its exact impact on us and the world in which we live.

Pexels

Robotics and AI

It’s impossible to write a blog post about the current biggest science trends and not include robotics and AI. This is likely to be the biggest scientific news of the century! It is now believed that robots will soon be able to join us in the workplace and help with all manner of tasks and responsibilities. Even though basic robots have been used in factories and warehouses for some time already, it is thought that they are going to become a lot more important and more sophisticated robots will be able to take care of more important jobs in dangerous workplaces. It is even thought that they will be able to take on creative tasks as well, which was once thought of as impossible as we previously thought it not possible to code creativity and imagination into robots. AI is also set to come on a long way. In fact, it could enter the mainstream a lot sooner than robotics. After all, just take a look at Tesla.  Elon Musk’s famous company that is developing self-driving cars uses advanced AI in its autos. So, the next time you need to buy a new vehicle, you might want to invest in a self-driving auto. You’ll have some very sophisticated AI at your fingertips!

There are always new trends and fashionable research areas that are popping up in the world of science. If you ever want to find out more, it’s worth googling some research areas to see what you can find out. There are lots of papers and news articles that break everything down so that the facts are easy for all us non-scientists to understand!

Do You Have A Love For Gaming?

If you know you’re a bit of a gamer geek, then there are ways in which you can nurture this love and grow it into something better. Gaming for a lot of people offers an escape from the real world. A place to make friends that you don’t feel as though you need to impress, and a place where you can let your imagination run wild. If this sounds like you, then we know how you can take your gaming experience to the next level. There’s so many new worlds out there for you to immerse yourself into, and so many opportunities for you that you might have been missing, If you’re intrigued, then read on to find out how you can grow your love for gaming.

Image Credit

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is one of the most exciting and futuristic things to bless the gaming world. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re definitely missing out. It allows you to literally be immersed into another world. Well, not literally, but it isn’t far off it. All you need to do is pop the headset on, turn on the headphones, and you truly will feel like you’ve left the earth. The great thing about this is that there’s so much variety to choose from in terms of what you do on the virtual reality headset. There are plenty of free games you that can download, but if you get a unit like the Playstation VR, there’s tons of paid games. Even if you don’t fancy having a go on the game, you can go on a nice nature walk through a documentary, and it’ll really feel as though you’re there. A lot of the games that you can buy are fully online, so you get that feeling of teamwork that a lot of people like about gaming. The one major downside to this marvellous piece of technology is the price. If you’re buying one outright, you’re going to be spending a lot of money. You can grab yourself one that’s second hand, but it is still a tad expensive. The games that you can buy are also pricey, but none more so than the normal PC or console games that you’d buy. They’re all fully interactive, and the characters move as you make the motions. It just makes things so much cooler and life like.

Making Money

If you really do have a love for gaming, and it is all you do whilst you’re at home, then why not try and make some money through it. There are a few ways of doing this. Firstly, you can think about becoming a vlogger. There are a lot of people out there that search for game tutorials, and turn to vlogs for guidance with regards to which game they should buy next. Whilst it may be hard to get the following up to a decent amount, it is still a worthwhile venture that won’t cost you much. Just use Twitter and other social media platforms to try and boost your views. You can then turn your vlog into a blog, and make money that way. Next you can think about some of the more unconventional gaming methods that make people money. Gambling is a form of gaming, and if you do it right you can make a lot of money from it. For example, the grand ivy casino has plenty of games for you to try your hand at if you’re interested. It is obviously the more risky way of trying to make money, but it does give you the same thrill as playing a normal console game would. Just make sure you’re always betting the money you can, and don’t get carried away with trying to win. If you lose, you lose, that’s just something you’re going to have to come to terms with when it comes to gaming through gambling.

The Future

The future of gaming is a pretty exciting place. There’s so much going on that means we’re going to have better games, better game play experiences, and more immersive games through the use of things such as virtual reality. Virtual reality at the minute is just 3D, but there are talks of trying to make it a 4D game play experience in the future. How many years that will take is a different story, but the prospect of being able to touch and feel things within the game you’re playing is exciting. In the short term, there are talks that Spyro is being remastered, whether that’ll come out in 2018, or 2019 who knows! There are also talks of more Crash Bandicoots being released in late 2018.

A Guide To The Ultimate Geek Cave

Do you crave your own little bit of space? A haven in the home where you can squirrel yourself away, partake in a hobby or two and simply unwind. With the stresses and pressures of modern life, it’s more important than ever to create some daily ‘me’ time. The best way to achieve this is to allocate an area of the home, whether it’s a room or a loft or a shed, which you can transform into a super geek cave. We’re not talking ever-flowing beer, a pool table and a couch; that’s student digs. We are talking the ultimate geek cave. Take a look to see how you can create your very own den of geekdom.

Image by

Collections

If you are the ultimate geek, you may have a collection of something; you might pride yourself on having every single action figure ever released by the Star Wars franchise, boxed and unopened. You may have all of the NFL gaming cards from 1989 through to the present day. Whatever your guilty pleasure is, ensure you make space to enjoy your collection. Set up a display area, hang up your Star Trek autographed photos and enjoy looking at them every time you settle into your geek cave for some chill time.

Image by

TV And Audio Kit

If you are something of a movie buff and love nothing more than unwinding in front of a great thriller, old classic noir or a 1980s cheesy blockbuster, then you need some equipment to make your film experience exceptional. Take a look at the soundbars and stereo systems available that you can hook up to your flatscreen TV. You want to achieve a fully immersive experience, so you feel like you’re actually part of the movie. 3D TVs have come a long way in recent years, so if your budget allows, consider venturing into the third dimension of viewing.

You might prefer to watch your favorite sport. You could be a baseball nut, a soccer fan or an NBA follower. You could take great pleasure in opening up your geek cave to your pals on a Saturday afternoon, having a dabble in some online betting, cracking open a few beers and enjoying some chill time with those you can have a laugh and a joke with.

Image by

Gaming

No geek cave is complete without the opportunity for a good gaming experience. After a long day at work, sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than slumping into your gaming chair and getting into a vintage role-playing game or a sporty classic. It doesn’t matter whether your console of choice is the PS4, the Xbox or even the humble PC, it’s vital that you have a comfortable space in which to play your games. Grab yourself a comfy gaming seat, lower the lighting and get immersed.

The point of a geek cave is to create a highly personalized space that endeavors to make you relaxed and it has to be somewhere that allows you to forget about the stresses of modern life. See if there’s a space that you can allocate for yourself and get started on your very own geek cave.

Everything You Need To Know About Creating The Perfect Gaming Room

Gaming is a good way of taking a step back from your busy lifestyle and clearing your head. If you spend a few hours every weekend playing games and catching up with online friends, you might want to create the perfect relaxing environment for enjoying some quality time. You can design your own gaming room in the basement of your home, or use a spare room for your hobby. Below you will find some advice on how to create the perfect gaming room.

Image by cadenaser.com

Comfort First

Chances are you are going to spend long hours in your gaming den. You don’t want to get up with pins and needles or a lower back pain. You can get a beanbag seat or special gaming seat that will help you maintain your focus and posture. Make sure that your seat is the right distance from the screen, and you don’t have to twist your neck to look at different screens if you game on multiple platforms at the same time.

Special Lighting

To help you focus and relax at the same time, you might want to install some colorful lights. Check out other people’s designs, and get some dimming lights that help you focus on the game. Don’t use flashing lights or color changing ones, as they can distract you in the important task of beating your enemy and winning the game.

Must-Have: Mini Fridge

In case you want to hide in your man’s cave for a long time, you will possibly need ammunition and drinks. Ask any of your friends, and they will agree that installing a mini fridge full of your favorite drinks and snacks is a good idea. You might even get your own bar in the corner, if you often invite your friends over for a gaming party in your den.

Wall Mounted Screen

You should certainly have a large gaming monitor installed professionally, making sure that it is in the right angle. The screen should have a high resolution, and a good sound quality. You might invest in a sound bar or an audio system to enjoy the effects of the game even more. Make sure that your screen shows all the games available at https://gameaddik.com in a good quality and the monitor’s refresh rate is set by a professional.

Make Sure You Get a Lock

Image by Eglin Air Force Base - AF.mil

The last thing you want when you are winning with your master strategy is people walking in the room. To ensure you are undisturbed, install a do not disturb sign on the door, and get a lock as well. You don’t want to lose just because one of your family members has a question. Let everyone know that you are disappearing for a while, and will need your own space. Tell them how long you will be in the room for, so they can ask you all the important questions beforehand.

Being a gamer is a serious thing. While people think that all you are doing is pressing buttons and screaming at the screen, you are indeed building a strategy and improving your tactics. Make sure your gaming room allows you to relax in style and comfort.

Are You Truly Gaming In Comfort This Winter?

Pexels

Gaming is a hobby which many of us enjoy. Sitting back and relaxing in a short or marathon session of our favourite FPS, MMO or strategy game can help you unwind and explore new worlds. It can also help satiate your competitive spirit. This article will be focused on the PC Gamer, the person who demands the best both graphically and competitively.

If you’re a PC gamer, you likely have an interest in performing well. Keyboard and mouse configurations are often more accurate than consoles, especially in FPS games. Some titles are only available on the PC itself, such as some MMO’s and strategy games. However, to enjoy these titles you must interface with your computer in the best way possible.

In the march up to Christmas, we have collated a list of some of the best gaming peripherals you can find. We hope they serve you well in all of your gaming discovery.

Keyboard

A reliable keyboard can be hard to find. There are so many on the market these days that finding one which truly suits your aim can be difficult. More and more people are making the transition from the membrane keyboards of old, and recognizing the importance of using mechanical keys. This is because they both have faster actuation key response times which are perfect when attempting to score that latest frag, but they are more comfortable to use.

‘Cherry’ switches are popular at the moment, thanks to their million press warranty and overall premium feel. There are three different colors to choose from - red is fastest for gaming, blue has more tactile feedback which is excellent for typing, and browns are considered a solid mix between the two. We’d recommend the Corsair K95 Platinum for those looking for a premium RGB keyboard.

Chair

Your chair will be highly subjective in terms of what works for you. Depending on your size and individual anthropometry, you might find one style works better for you than another. A good gaming chair often balances comfort and support well, supporting the marathon gaming sessions you might indulge in on a Friday night. There are many racing chairs out there, and they are quality. We’d recommend allocating your budget, and sticking within those parameters. Don’t be afraid to spend slightly over the odds for quality, as your chair will be something that subconsciously dictates your entire experience playing games.

Mouse

In order to truly perform well in online games, and to keep the comfort and reliability of grip, it pays to choose a premium option. The Logitech ‘G’ line is one of the most celebrated these days, thanks to their programmable buttons, great Logitech gaming software, and overall fast actuation times. We’d recommend the G502, the G602 or at the top of the line, the G900. These mice allow for hours of clicking, and have long warranties. If you’re a MOBA or an FPS player, you’ll surely appreciate the added versatility.

With these awesome peripherals, you’ll be sure to be gaming in comfort and style this winter.

What Higher Ed Can Learn From Remote Work

Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the concept of remote work (also referred to as working from home, telecommuting, etc.). It can be something someone does full-time or part-time for their job, and is becoming increasingly common (with the exception of some recent high profile retractions from companies like IBM and Yahoo in the past few years). When remote work policies are done right, you're maximizing the potential of your team who have the flexibility to work in whatever way is best for them. I read a great book recently on this topic about Wordpress and their entirely remote global team. That book really set me off on this path of being an avid supporter of these sorts of policies.

My theory is that if higher ed supported more flexible work structures, we could move towards better student support and access as well as improved employee wellbeing.

Here are the main lessons I'd advise higher ed professionals takeaway from remote work best practices:

Presence Doesn't Equal Productivity

So the first and biggest barrier to remote work is typically the perception that it will reduce productivity. This is not the case, and there is pretty definitive studies to support that stance, this being one of them. It definitely requires supervision and support, but so does in person work. As long as you're providing the right tools (like using Slack, Google Hangouts, and the like to keep everyone connected) and guidance, as well as consequences if someone isn't meeting expectations, then remote work can be successful.

The fallacy people keep falling back to is the belief that being in an office with other people automatically makes us more productive, or that we will miss out on things if we aren't physically present.  Someone can be just as productive (if not more so) working remotely. I know for me personally, I need to move around to different locations to keep being continuously productive throughout the day. So if I'm working on personal projects, I'll sometimes start at home, then go to a coffee shop, then at times I've gone to co-working spaces. All we need to do to address the other concerns is make sure we work deliberately to help everyone feel included and involved no matter where they're working from. We can't treat remote workers as if they're working onsite. Similar advice can be helpful, but it is a different setting, so it needs to be treated as such. 

Whether you're implementing policies like this or not, your takeaway should be the same; employees need proper guidance, consistent communication, adequate resources, and fair consequences to be best positioned for success. 

Make Sure Your Whole Team Feels Included

Great remote teams really necessitate that the manager make everyone socially involved and feel comfortable contributing to the team dynamic. In-person teams obviously benefit from this as well but managers tend to let it happen naturally (which can be hit or miss). Intentionally fostering positive team interactions can be simple and quick, but have a big impact over time.

Generally, you need to abide by some ground rules to set the stage for everyone to feel included if you have people working in the office and remotely. The big thing here is making sure everyone is on equal footing versus some people in a conference room together and others calling in. This never works well with someone always getting lost in the conversation. Also, make sure you're emailing/chatting out important info, versus just popping in to let people know. Lastly, invite everyone to gatherings, whether they're in the office or not. They'll appreciate the thought even if they can't make it.

Also, team building activities are important since especially with remote teams, it can be hard for the small talk and bonding to happen that might be easier in person. There are some you can do with any team, whether they're together or not. This will help greatly with everyone feeling comfortable communicating and collaborating.

The lesson here for higher ed folks, is that people need different things to feel included and to let their voice be heard. Make sure you're creating space, respect, and camaraderie to allow for your team's dynamic to flourish. 

We Need to Support Employees' Whole Life

This is really the emotional core of this idea. We all lead complex, busy lives. We need to be able to take care of things during the day during the week. This can help tremendously with letting some of the pressure and stress off ourselves since it can be hard to find the time otherwise. Being flexible with working hours and location can be a huge load off of your employees shoulders. They can be home for repairs or deliveries, to look after a sick family member, or to have an important appointment. This way, they are feeling better, don't have to deal with a commute, and are able to focus and be more productive.

In education, our work can be physically and emotionally tiring. Allowing for some flexibility, especially after a tough time, can be highly beneficial. You can make sure someone is physically present in the office if you expect walk-ins, but otherwise, you can still get most of our administrative work done virtually nowadays. Plus, you could make digital platforms available to connect with students on if you really wanted it, which could be helpful for people to be remote more often and maybe work varied hours.

Modern work life has evolved greatly to allow for more possibilities in how we each are able to contribute to our teams. You'll miss out on great talent if you limit how people can work. If you open your mind to new ideas and ways to get work done, you can take your efforts to new heights and maximize each of your employees' potential. Which in the end, is going to help your students too.

Want even more advice on remote work? Check out this great guide from Trello!

Reading Up: Bookish Ways To Improve Your Life

https://www.pexels.com/photo/blur-book-girl-hands-373465/

When you’re a bookworm, there’s nothing quite like the idea of getting your hands on the next book in your favorite series, or cozying up with a new discovery that you picked up in a second-hand book shop. Reading can quite easily consume your life, and you wouldn’t want it any other way. But if you’re not much of an avid bookworm, but you do love to read, you may find that you could benefit from adding a little more literature into your life. Because reading is a really great way to better yourself.

There are many benefits of reading. But many say that it makes you smarter. So if you’re looking to improve yourself while at college, or at any point in your career, you should always look to books. However, that being said, you don’t have just to assume that you have to read textbooks or classics. Of course, they will help you to broaden your understanding of both literature and the world, but they’re not your only options. There are so many weird and wonderful ways that books and bookworm related ideas can help you to flourish. So, we’re going to talk through ten different bookish ways that you can improve your life.

Challenging Yourself

First up, we’re going to talk about those classics. Because they really should be read at some stage. Not every classic is going to appeal to you, but you will find that reading one or two will really help to open your eyes to words and literature, and inspire your mind too. If you’re new to reading the classics, or you want to push yourself, this classic books challenge could be exactly what you need to get inspired. Simply slotting in a classic every now and again should be enough for you to challenge yourself and benefit from some of the best literature the world has to offer.

Researching

And you really ought to consider picking up a nonfiction book every now and again if you want to grow. We’re not necessarily talking straight up textbooks here, but if you fancy flicking through one, give it a go. In general, if you commit to doing some kind of research within your reading, you’re going to improve your life. You’ll be learning, taking in new things, and broadening your understanding of a certain topic - and that can only ever be a good thing.

Reading The News

Now we’re going to talk about another form of reading you should commit to on a regular basis if you want to improve. Newspapers are still wildly relevant. Even if you tent to pick up snippets of world events on social media, don’t forget about the classic dailies and more in-depth broadsheets stuffed full of interesting articles and thought-provoking insight. Yes, you can get a lot of this online, but there’s nothing like a paper.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/background-bench-blur-book-346735/

Taking On Different Opinions

Similarly, what about reading a magazine or two? And we’re not talking the gossip rags or something about cars. Of course, feel free to take these in two if they’re what you really love. But, if you’re trying to push yourself with your reading, opt for something criticism or comment lead - every a literary magazine. These are the kind of options that are going to challenge you to think differently.

Learning A New Language

Maybe you’d like to take the idea of learning something new a step forward and opt for a new language? Although you may be used to this being taught in a lesson format, you can learn a new language by reading literature if you put your mind too it. And that’s always going to be something that’ll allow you to better yourself.

Discovering A New Interest

Perhaps you’re curious about one type of literature in particular, or even a topic in life? Reading can help you with this. Whether it’s reading up on literary fiction, or getting to know more about lakes, reading can certainly increase your interests. Sometimes, you never really know that you’re going to discover said new interest. So you have to be willing to pick up a book in order to access the opportunity at all.

Reading Up On The Past

And what about history? Are you fascinated by the fifties? Or have you always wanted to know more about the battle of Britain? Either way, reading is the best way to find out. After all, not only are there several texts written about historical events, with even more being published each year, there are titles that were written in history too. So you can get to know a topic via the words of someone that was around at the time.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-reading-a-book-256546/

Escaping

But reading doesn’t just have to be about intellectual growth; it can aid in emotional growth too. Because sometimes, we all just need to escape. When that’s the case for you, you need to try something such as LitRPG books or even some romance. Anything that feels far enough away from your daily grind to give you some kind of escape as you read.

Increasing Your Knowledge

However, we can’t really ignore the fact that reading does really increase your intellect. Because as you read anything, you learn more. From new words to new ideas, it’s all something that we can absorb. So you should always look to have some kind if reading material with you, no matter what it is. When you do, and you commit to reading something each day, you will increase your knowledge. And as knowledge is power, this will always improve your life.

Teaching Yourself Something New

Finally, you could also use reading as a way of teaching yourself a new skill. Yes, you can learn things and discover new information, you can even teach yourself to speak a new language, but you can also gain practical skills when you read too. From woodwork to fishing, there’s a lot of skills that you could choose to teach yourself when you make more time for reading. So the world really is yours at the flick of a page.

The Very Many Mental Benefits Of Online Gaming

Pexels

Video gaming has become such a popular hobby in recent years that almost everyone enjoys the experience. From long, strategically dense games to story rich games and online twitch shooters, the genre has never known such breadth, diversity, and incredible scope. Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry, and for good reason. No other hobby can provide such a range of experiences outside of reading books. The tactile feeling a great video game gives, provided it’s quality and directed, can be almost incomparable to any other form of media.

However, the detractors still exist. To some extent, this is wise. Not everyone is able to control their gaming hobby, and many people are addicted, clocking up hundreds of hours a fortnight playing the latest releases. However, this is often a fringe group, and many people enjoy gaming responsibly, and we’d say beneficially.

For our reasoning on this last point, read the following article on the many cognitive benefits of online gaming:

Co-operation & Socializing

Many online shooters, from the wildly successful PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS to Rainbow Six Siege all require solid co-operation, teamwork and careful forethought. Even more importantly, they develop your social ability, as conveying the most important information in a small timeframe is essential to success. Even those who are otherwise socially shy will find this a platform to develop their social training. Of course, random online teammates can be a mixed bag, but if you find a good community or environment to play in, you will be sure to experience some wonderful social experiences. Over time, you’ll find that your confidence in speech grows greater, and you use more brevity in your sentence structure.

Reaction Times

We all know that reaction times are one of the main benefits of gaming. Even someone with no experience of console and PC play could watch someone handling themselves in game and recognize the skill on show. Reaction times are important, and they’re trainable through this medium. Online twitch shooters such as Counter-Strike Global Offensive or Quake can help a person’s hand-eye coordination to a great extent.

Accomplishment

Winning team matches can be profoundly satisfying from an achievement perspective. To get to grips with the games, using a service such as ILikeCheats can prevent you from being stomped online. Once you develop your skill and understand the mechanics, winning team matches might come naturally. Playing in ranked lobbies helps match you against people around your skill level. Slowly raising the ranks after solid, good play can help you progress towards something. While some might consider this a superfluous method of goal orientation, there are major parallels you can draw to real life. Overcoming an objective when you’re doing badly requires critical thinking, fast responsive solutions, and even thinking outside of the box. There’s truly no better microcosm to learning the value of small challenge achievement than achieving things in a video game.

Learning Alien Systems

New video games are often quite deep. They have systems that allow you creative freedom and expression in how you play, no matter the genre. Learning these alien systems and becoming competent in them can help you develop that attitude of competence in all areas of your life. Getting good at the unknown helps you develop tactics to research, practice and execute new skills well. There’s nothing that procedure can’t be adapted to.

So purchase an online game and try it today! You might just have more useful fun than you originally thought.

The Value of Student Engagement in Digital Education

We often write off online students as wanting to be anti-social and avoid people. But the reasons why people pursue digital education often deal with anything but. It can stem from work/life balance, not wanting to uproot your life to get a degree, family obligations, convenience, cost, not having to deal with commutes, and simply wanting to get the best degree from the best institution you can since you aren't limited by geography. The value of digital education is immense, so we're definitely seeing a lot of growth because of that both in terms of offerings from schools and student interest. You can learn on your own time, in your own way, at a price point you feel comfortable with.

Working for the past year and a half in digital education has been eye opening. I've learned so much about supporting students from afar and making sure they have a positive student experience. While we still have a lot to learn with the pursuit of digital education being so new, there have been some trends I've seen of what works well.

Student engagement in the digital realm takes more work when you can’t sit them all down in front of the same classroom digital displays each lesson. These students still want connections to their peers, faculty, and the institution. We can help make those interactions easier, and we can help coach students to navigate everything they want and need while they're studying with us.

What I've seen be successful is proactive communication via email and other channels with relative information about deadlines, resources, and course offerings. Also, regular check ins to make sure students know you're there for them and willing to talk about whatever they need. Some students won't need you as much, or will prefer email over calls. Regardless, I've found that it goes a long way to know someone cares and is in touching base with you, even if any conversations are short. Students regardless of whether they're on-campus or online, are going to have a lot of competing priorities, so we shouldn't take it personally if they don't talk to us all the time. That doesn't mean though we should ignore them and wait for them to come to us. A lot of what I've written before about great student support and increasing access to student support efforts holds true here with students in the digital space.

My main takeaway for you here is to maintain the same values with students online that you would with those students who happen to be in-person. Don't be afraid of reaching out. Make them feel like they're a part of your community, no matter where they are. Create opportunities for these students to meet with each other in person or connect them with on-campus students, faculty, and staff. These students are typically strongly connected to your institution's brand, that's why they sought it out to get an education from there. If they maybe happened upon your offering another way, then take it as a challenge to build the affinity in them with great service and inclusive practices. Once it all comes together, these students will be proud ambassadors all over the country (and perhaps the world) who are able to get an awesome education from your institution without disrupting their lives. 

If anyone is interested in learning more specifics of the work I do, or have cool ideas from the work they do in digital education, please connect with me! I always love talking shop.

Thanks for stopping by!