Posted on Leave a comment

Instructional Techniques to Facilitate Learning and Motivation of Serious Games (Advances in Game-Based Learning)

The book introduces techniques to improve the effectiveness of serious games in relation to cognition and motivation. These techniques include ways to improve motivation, collaboration, reflection, and the integration of gameplay into various contexts. The contributing authors expand upon this broad range of techniques, show recent empirical research on each of these techniques that discuss their promise and effectiveness, then present general implications or guidelines that the techniques bring forth. They then suggest how serious games can be improved by implementing the respective technique into a particular game. 

Posted on 3 Comments

Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer

You have an enemy . . . and he’s dead set on destroying all you hold dear and keeping you from experiencing abundant life in Christ. What’s more, his approach to disrupting your life and discrediting your faith isn’t general or generic, not a one-size-fits-all. It’s specific. Personalized. Targeted. So this book is your chance to strike back. With prayer. With a weapon that really works. Each chapter will guide you in crafting prayer strategies that hit the enemy where it hurts, letting him know you’re on to him and that you won’t back down. Because with every new strategy you build, you’re turning the fiercest battles of life into precise strikes against him and his handiwork, each one infused with the power of God’s Spirit. New York Times bestselling author Priscilla Shirer, widely known for her international speaking, teaching, and writing ministries, brings her new role from the 2015 film War Room into the real lives of today’s women, addressing the topics that affect them most: renewing their passion, refocusing their identity, negotiating family strife, dealing with relentless regrets, navigating impossible schedules, succeeding against temptation, weathering their worst fears, uprooting bitterness, and more. Each chapter exposes the enemy’s cruel, crafty intentions in all kinds of these areas, then equips and encourages you to write out your own personalized prayer strategies on tear-out sheets you can post and pray over yourself and your loved ones on a regular basis. Fervent is a hands-on, knees-down, don’t-give-up action guide to practical, purposeful praying.

Posted on 3 Comments

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

[Read by Wil Wheaton]

From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd comes this hilarious and informative book of answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.

Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic. His stickfigure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.

The book features new and neverbeforeanswered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website. ”What If?” will be required reading for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, September 2014: What if everyone on earth aimed a laser pointer at the moon at the same time? What if you could drain all the water from the oceans? What if all the lightning in the world struck the same place? What if there were a book that considered weird, sometimes ridiculous questions, and it was so compelling that you found yourself skimming its pages to find out what would happen if you threw a baseball at light speed? With What If, Randall Munroe has written such a book. As he does in his extraordinarily popular xkcd webcomic, Munroe applies reason and research to hypothetical conundrums ranging from the philosophical to the scientific (often absurd, but never pseudo) that probably seemed awesome in your elementary school days—but were never sufficiently answered. It’s the rare combination of edifying and fun. —Jon Foro

Posted on 2 Comments

NPR Laughter Therapy: A Comedy Collection for the Chronically Serious

Looking for an alternative to the seriously reliable, soothing yet informative sound of NPR? Try NPR!

Prepare to be surprised by this collection of interviews with some of the funniest personalities on the planet, and by the memorable, unbelievable news that delights NPR listeners on the 1st of April each year. 

Posted on 3 Comments

Quote Junkie Funny Edition: Hundreds Of Hilarious Quotes By Some Of The Most Serious Men And Women In The History Of The World

Over 800 of the funniest quotes from some of the most serious people in the history of the world! The Hagopian Institute, LLC has compiled the Quote Junkie series. The overall series includes over 8,000 quotes, focusing mostly on short quotes that can be used in everyday life as sources of wisdom and inspiration. This particular edition of the series includes hilarious quotes by some of the most serious men and women ever to live on this planet. Please enjoy this edition of the series, and share these quotes with your coworkers, friends, and family.