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Contact the Webmaster: webmaster [at] minkhollow [dot] ca
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katrin becker, phd 2009 Edition |
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Table of Contents
welcome to the home page of Katrin Becker, Ph.D.
consultant, instructional and user experience designer, developer, educator
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Email: becker [at] minkhollow [dot] ca Blog: The Becker Blog |
Specialty: serious games |
 Photo: Ken Bendiktsen |
 Director and Educational Officer at Mink Hollow Studio Instructor:
Department of Mathematics, Physics and EngineeringMount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta,Canada) |
   The Farm 
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Adjunct ProfessorSchool of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) |
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Associate Editor:International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations |
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My Google Profile |
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Webmaster: Southern Alberta Rabbit Breeders Association Basic Health International Foundation |
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current passions / projects:
- cultural preservation through game technology
- teaching CS using games
| MY THESIS: (defended Feb. 6 2008): Understanding Learning Design in Commercial Video Games | |
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| online version | PDF version (425 pages) |
news
June 2009: My term at Mount Royal has come to an end. It was fun.
June 2008: 
I have a new job, at as an Instructor, in the
Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at Mount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta,Canada)
March. 2008: A new look for my website - I have re-designed my web site. Some pages have not yet been changed over, please be patient. Please also let me know of any problems, bad links, or other glitches.
Feb. 2008: I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation on Feb. 6. Yipeeeeee!
latest BeckerBlog headlines
- Fail: How NOT to do user experience design (II) (2010/02/08 08:38)Perhaps I should be more forgiving of people who really don’t know how to use “technology” yet. I try very hard to do that – when it is someone like my mother who’s never really had any need or use for it besides being able to surf the web and communicate with family. BUT, we are [...]
- Deconstruction and Takeaways (games) (2010/02/03 16:57)5 Lessons Professors Can Learn From Video Games - Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education Nice article. via 5 Lessons Professors Can Learn From Video Games – Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author suggests we might be in the “third level” of video games inside the ivory tower, one where people are recognizing that games are [...]
- Students fail at writing. (2010/02/03 08:20)Students failing because of Twitter, texting – Canada – Canoe.ca “Thirty per cent of students who are admitted are not able to pass at a minimum level,” says Ann Barrett, managing director of the English language proficiency exam at Waterloo University. “What has happened in high school that they cannot pass our simple test [...]
- Fun with Google Docs (Part 1) (2010/01/31 16:31)OK, this is just too much fun. It also has the potential to shift how we work together in some interesting and fundamental ways. This is the first of a multi-part post outlining my experiences with Google Docs in the classroom and in my own academic publishing. In late November, a colleague (Thanks Rod!) said he [...]
- Global Game Jam is this weekend (2010/01/29 20:10)http://www.globalgamejam.org/ Live video can be found at http://www.globalgamejam.be/livewall/ The local Calgary site begins at about 4 PM today; others have started, of course, as the various time zones join up.
where I've been (online)
history
Jan. 2008: Looking for work (academia, consulting, research, or design). Willing to travel but not move. Telecommuting prospects welcome.
June. 2007: I've finally joined the ranks of the bloggers. Not that I feel I have anything really important to say. I am using it mostly as a way to keep track of some of my own thoughts and interesting do-dads I happen across. It is public because sharing is a good thing and you never know…. someone else might find something of value. So, here it is. The Becker Blog
Nov. 2006: I've been awarded the J. B. Hyne Research Innovation Award [The Faculty of Graduate Studies created this award to recognize graduate students in any discipline who excel in research. It is named to honour Dr. James B. Hyne, the first Dean of Graduate Studies (1966-1989).]
Oct. 18 2006: CS problem directory A list of 103 assignment specifications, both collected and invented that can be used in programming classes. Most are suitable for 1st year classes, but some can be applied to other years too. (If you use any of these, please let me know. It's always nice to hear about where this stuff is going.)
July 1 2006: I have resigned as Senior Instructor at the University of Calgary. After 23 years, I quit.
- December 2005: I moved my web pages (including the farm site and my teaching/course pages) here: www.minkhollow.ca. For More info try my resources pages on: professional ethics (bullying in academia)
Sept. 28 2006, U. of C. Gauntlet News, “Professor wins suit against U.of C.” [http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/~gauntlet/eg/eg2/20060928/20060928.pdf] Vol. 47, No. 14, about Dr. Peter Bowal- Feb 16 2006, U. of C. Gauntlet News, “Professor Sues U.of C.” [http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/~gauntlet/eg/eg2/20060216/20060216.pdf] Vol. 46, No. 30, about Dr. Peter Bowal
- Is your Boss a Psychopath? an article about corporate psychopaths: citing one of the leading authorities on psychopaths (a Canadian!!) Thanks to http://www.slashdot.com/slashdot - Aug.19/05
- A short commentary on enrollments in CS and what we might do about it.
