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Interactive Learning
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We know that there are different ways to learn, and that different people seem to do better at some ways than at others. Some people are verbal learners and do well with reading and lecture based instruction. Some people are visual learners and learn best with diagrams, maps and charts. Still others are kinetic learners and require a hands-on approach. Most people actually learn from a combination of all three ways. Our educational system, however, puts a heavy emphasis on verbal learning - in the form of lecture, assigned reading, essay, and testing - and usually only employs visual and kinetic elements to support the verbal foundation. The potential to enhance the learning experience by using computers was recognized many years ago. Yet, most forms of computer based learning are still shrouded in the traditional verbal teaching methods based on lecture, reading, and testing. Many developers of computer based training modules are simply using the computer to "decorate" traditional learning methods in an attempt to make them "fun". But in the end, a multiple choice test is still a multiple choice test even if it does have animated dinosaurs. The computer gaming industry has recognized the potential of non-verbal learning and has developed it to a high degree. Computer game playing is extremely visual and kinetic - the user must learn to identify and evaluate colors, shapes, and relationships in order to succeed at the game. Some level of learning always takes place during game play, but such learning is often dismissed because the kind of learning that takes place in the average game is not relevant to anything outside the game. Games are designed to teach you how to play them as you play them. In gaming, much of the learning is almost subliminal, but it does happen. (If nothing else, computer games encourage the development of visualization and evaluation skills, and those are critical thinking skills which everyone can use.) The most important lesson we can learn from game developers is this: Learning does not have to be fun. Learning in games is not easy, yet learning happens because the user knows that the knowledge gained will help them win the game. So, as teachers, we should not be trying to create "games that teach" in an attempt to make learning fun. Rather, we should be trying to create learning opportunities in which the student recognizes that learning has value. As a model for teaching, computer games have many characteristics which make them different from traditional learning methods, but there are three characteristics which make them especially effective learning tools. First - Learning is incremental and knowledge is immediately useful within the game. The user is given a series of small goals which they must learn how to reach on the way to winning the game. So the user always knows what they need to learn and why they need to learn it. Learning is rewarded by allowing the user to proceed with the game. Second - Failure is not a bad thing. Mistakes are accepted as part of the game and the user is able to recover and learn from their mistakes. Success comes to the user who is able to make mistakes and learn from them. Failure is acknowledged, the user knows how they are doing, but is not punished except by preventing the user from winning the game. Third - The user is in control. Although the game designer creates levels and controls in which order the user can access the levels, how the user chooses to learn within each level is entirely up to the user, so different users can learn in different ways. There are even websites for games where users can discuss and compare notes about their learning within the game. We designers of interactive learning materials would benefit by employing some of the techniques developed by game producers. Appendix 1 - Characteristics of a Successful Game Appendix 2 - Characteristics of an Effective Learning Activity ©2003, Stephen Wroble Last updated August 2005 |
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