Author: TechCommGeekMom

Danielle M. Villegas is a technical communicator who currently employed at Cox Automotive, Inc., and freelances as her own technical communications consultancy, Dair Communications. She has worked at the International Refugee Committee, MetLife, Novo Nordisk, BASF North America, Merck, and Deloitte, with a background in content strategy, web content management, social media, project management, e-learning, and client services. Danielle is best known in the technical communications world for her blog, TechCommGeekMom.com, which has continued to flourish since it was launched during her graduate studies at NJIT in 2012. She has presented webinars and seminars for Adobe, the Society for Technical Communication (STC), the IEEE ProComm, TCUK (ISTC) and at Drexel University’s eLearning Conference. She has written articles for the STC Intercom, STC Notebook, the Content Rules blog, and The Content Wrangler as well. She was very active in the STC, as a former chapter president for the STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter, serving and chairing on several STC Board committees, and most recently was the STC Board Vice-President before the organization closed.. You can learn more about Danielle on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemvillegas, on Twitter @techcommgeekmom, or through her blog. All content is the owner's opinions, and does not reflect those of her employers past or present.
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A Parent’s Guide to Minecraft: 5 Reasons to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Cubes

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

See on Scoop.it – M-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

I was, of course, a noob about to die inside Minecraft. Calling Minecraft a game doesn’t do it justice; Available on nearly every device where games can be played, from computers and consoles to smartphones, Minecraft boasts more than 100 million registered players, many of them barely out of kindergarten. Minecraft worlds are made up of chunky graphics reminiscent of the earliest video games.

Danielle M. Villegas‘s insight:

This is a Minecraft household! It’s good to read the many benefits of Minecraft, which can be used for both e-learning and m-learning (as it’s available for desktop and mobile devices, although my son, the expert of the family, says the desktop experience is much richer and shuns the mobile version). Love the cubes!

–techcommgeekmom

See on www.yahoo.com

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Nintendo’s Game Boy turns 25 today

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

See on Scoop.it – M-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

Now we feel really old.

Danielle M. Villegas‘s insight:

Gee, I’m feeling old now. But, the point of me bringing up this anniversary is that GameBoy’s descendants, the DS models (like the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS) are considered mobile tools for m-learning. Software can be used to communicate between devices and games can be used for learning as well. So, Happy Birthday, Game Boy! You were the start of something big! 

–techcommgeekmom

See on www.engadget.com

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How 3D printing is changing the shape of lessons

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom
Photo courtesy of BBC News

As many readers know, the “geek mom” side of me comes out when I see new technology. One of the new technologies that has been attracting my attention is 3D printing. So, yes, this is another article about 3D printing. In this case, it’s about how 3D printing is becoming a more embedded part of the British school curriculums, which is something I had heard about a year ago. Britain is making a concerted effort to bring more computing and other STEM technologies into the classroom for children as young as kindergarten, as they feel that technology training starting at a younger age will help prepare students for a world in which technology will play a greater part in the workplace as they become adults. I agree with this. I’m still amazed to see teenagers who have no to little basic software skills, like barely know the basics of Microsoft Office, let alone having a basic understanding of how computers and the internet works. In the United States, very few school systems are adopting any kind of similar curriculums simply because a)it’s too expensive, or b) the teachers don’t have the training to teach the information, or both.

This article is mostly about a young girl who is taking advantage of the 3D printing available to her through her school, and she is taking off with big designs and ideas. This is the kind of inspiration that we need to encourage in more students! She is definitely the future, and I’m hoping there will be more like her out there, given the opportunity.

How 3D printing is changing the shape of lessons

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Research: Wearable Device Sales Set To Triple in 2014 — Campus Technology

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

See on Scoop.it – M-learning, E-Learning, and Technical Communications

The number of wearable computing devices sold in the United States will triple in 2014, according to a new forecast from market research firm International Data Corporation, to top 19 million shipments.

Danielle M. Villegas‘s insight:

This seems to be the theme of the week on TechCommGeekMom–wearable technology. It’s interesting to see that fitness wearable devices are leading the way, while the article implies that these are just the beginning. Read the entire article for more details. Emerging technology, people! 

–techcommgeekmom

See on campustechnology.com

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Larry Kunz – This Is The Future We Talked About

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

This is an STC talk that I had wanted to attend, but had other commitments. Larry Kunz is an experienced technical communicator as well as a frequent commenter on TechCommGeekMom, and I appreciate his support. He always has great insight. Based on the slideshow below alone, he brings up some excellent points about what tech comm is now, and where it’s going.

Here are Larry’s slides from the presentation–take a look!