It was nice to meet and reconnect with colleagues at the UCLA/CRESST Conference โ focusing on making games and technology work for learning, assessment and instruction (a topic very close to my heart).
โDo or do not. There is no try.โ – conference theme (uttered by Yoda, advisor and mascot)
Themes included constructionist vs. instructionist learning โ โmaking gamesโ vs. โplaying gamesโ to learn (Dr. Yasmin Kafai), an approach that I was fortunate enough to explore in detail through a project I consulted for at USCโs Information Sciences Institute: PedGames (run by Erin Shaw and Jihie Kim).ย A little more on PedGames in my Gamasutra blog.
Path to enlightenment? Atrium leading to the conference hall.
We also talked about having active, aware learners โ rather than creating games that hide the learning process in a โstealthyโ or covert way (which could put a negative slant on learning rather than empowering the learner to take ownership of the process). This is in contrast to a lot of theories that have been around for a few decades โ possibly part of the backlash that occurred in response to the subpar โedutainmentโ games that were much more about overt learning than having fun. Weโve learned a lot since then!
Rise and shine! Coffee break as seen through a kitschy/retro wall mirror.
Finally, there was some discussion on teaching as a form of learning โ where students take charge of finding out what they donโt know, and share their new knowledge (or assumptions) with others. Weโve seen a dramatic rise in YouTube tutorials created by โnon-professionalsโ โ contributing to what Iโve referred to as โthe age of the amateurโ (in the most positive, original sense of the word: โa person who does something for the love of itโ). This in conjunction with of a method of teaching shared by Salman Khan and others, including Pete Markiewicz (where educators who donโt have โall the answersโ go find them through research and then share them with their students), a form of collaborative (dare I say โcrowdsourcedโ) form of education is taking hold.
After a full day of presentations, the conversation continues over dinner . . . by the pool!