Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

University researchers: Video games are good for students

Eighty-two percent of video game players in the US are 18 or older.

Studies showing the positive effects of video games might give college students a research-based excuse for why, exactly, they eschewed homework for “Call of Duty.”

Papers published by researchers at the University of Rochester in New York and North Carolina State University (NCSU) document a laundry list of cognitive improvements linked to consistent video-game playing.

After a few dozen test subjects between the ages of 18 and 25 played fast-paced video games and slow-paced games, researchers saw participants from the former group improve their ability to collect auditory and visual information when compared to those who played slower video games like Sim City.…Read More

New design technique allows software to run faster

A new way to develop software could make security checks less time consuming.
A new way to develop software could make security checks less time consuming.

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new approach to software development that will allow common computer programs to run up to 20 percent faster and possibly incorporate new security measures, the university reports.

The researchers have found a way to run different parts of some programs—including, for the first time, such widely used programs as word processors and web browsers—at the same time, which makes the programs operate more efficiently.

To understand how the new technique works, first you have to understand how computers operate today.…Read More