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Background: Many studies are currently researching the effects of video games, particularly in the domain of cognitive training. Great variability exists among video games however, and few studies have attempted to compare different types of video games. Little is known, for instance, about the cognitive processes or brain structures that underlie learning of different genres of video games., Objective: To examine the cognitive and neural underpinnings of two different types of game learning in order to evaluate their common and separate correlates, with the hopes of informing future intervention research., Methods: Participants (31 younger adults and 31 older adults) completed an extensive cognitive battery and played two different genres of video games, one action game and one strategy game, for 1.5 hours each. DTI scans were acquired for each participant, and regional fractional anisotropy (FA) values were extracted using the JHU atlas., Results: Behavioral results indicated that better performance on tasks of working memory and perceptual discrimination was related to enhanced learning in both games, even after controlling for age, whereas better performance on a perceptual speed task was uniquely related with enhanced learning of the strategy game. DTI results indicated that white matter FA in the right fornix/stria terminalis was correlated with action game learning, whereas white matter FA in the left cingulum/hippocampus was correlated with strategy game learning, even after controlling for age., Conclusion: Although cognition, to a large extent, was a common predictor of both types of game learning, regional white matter FA could separately predict action and strategy game learning. Given the neural and cognitive correlates of strategy game learning, strategy games may provide a more beneficial training tool for adults suffering from memory-related disorders or declines in processing speed, particularly older adults.

This paper examines the participatory approach used by a group of academic support staff in evaluating an academic professional development resource designed to support e-learning and teaching. The resource, titled Designing Electronic Learning and Teaching Approaches (DELTA), showcases examples of electronic learning and teaching approaches developed at Monash University, Australia. The evaluation included individual and collective reflection, dialogue and action, drawing on the features of participatory action research. This paper explores the value of this critically reflective, participatory approach for evaluation to improve the use of new learning technologies, demonstrating how it provided a clear decision-making framework for iterative improvement of the DELTA site by identifying consensus items for action and recording other items for later consideration, while also contributing to team members' own professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the authors' reflections on the development of a masters unit in a faculty of education. This development, driven by a reflective action framework based on Kemmis and McTaggart's action research spiral, is measured by a qualitative evaluation using three distinct viewpoints: lecturer, educational designer and student. The unit evaluation highlights our 'thematic concerns' of student centredness, reflective practice and designing for active learning as being a cyclical 'action reflection' process. This paper explores the journey taken by the lecturer and educational designer from concept to delivery and the lessons learned through the evaluation of the collaborative and reflective development process. The paper is a follow up to a previous paper that described the development of the unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]