Learning (with) Web 2.0

I have to admit that as soon as a presenter or workshop leader says, 'It's time to play' or 'There will be time to play', I am instantly turned off. I'm not sure why, because I always enjoy the opportunity to use said 'play time' to explore new tools on my own and construct meaning for myself. It may be because the word play relates to amusing oneself and in a workshop, I prefer to think of myself as working, not playing.

Really, it's funny that I should feel this way since I'm all for using simulations and other types of game based learning tools with students.  The article A Second Life for Middle School Science, made my interest in Second Life resurface a little bit. I hear a fair amount of talk about Second Life in education, but so far I've stayed pretty far removed. I'm having a bit of trouble managing my physical life, let alone delving into a virtual life. The article helped me see how this type of environment could be beneficial for students, once proper security measures were in place. However, I can say that it will be quite some time before I'd be willing and/or able to make a case for Second Life in my district!

 The article about Disney games was also very interesting to me. My 5 year old nephew received a Mix Max for his birthday and his dad was marveling at how quickly he was able to pick up the skills needed to play the pirate game. Now, he is not playing the MMO version, - this was a new term for me - but I bet he could if we gave him the chance. This article made me think about Club Penguin, which I wrote about awhile back. We haven't visited the club in quite some time, but now that my son is a little older, it might be time again. I can tell you, that even as an adult, I enjoyed the game play features of Club Penguin. That might be why we haven't been there ~ I'm afraid of spending too much of MY time there!

The Educause article Game-Based Learning:How to Delight and Instruct in the 21st Century, written in 2004 seems even more important since it's now 2008 (nearly 2009) and many of the points have yet to be implemented in universities, let alone high schools. Here are some of the points in the article that stood out for me:

~In summary, up to this point, education has been based on a model of scarcity because it was very hard to get good academic material. It was hard to get the right kinds of books. It was hard to get access to the teachers. So naturally, school formed a solution, an economical way of delivering information, using the classroom model, using the teacher model. What you basically got is a really constrained environment. Today, it’s about abundance: what do the models for learning look like now?

~But it’s not about the technology. It’s about the way that your culture is organized.

~Because one of the most effective uses of simulation is as a mechanism to surface assumptions. You put the simulation up there, and people play it out, and in the course of playing it out, they question the underlying rules of the game.

~One of the hallmarks of a good game is that it creates a game community. In order to play this game, players have to get information from other sources. They have to explore. They have to communicate. They have to post.

Taking these ideas and putting them into practice in classrooms should have a real impact on learning, and in turn, achievement.  I know it may seem like a leap of faith for teachers and administrators, but I just think it is time to make that leap.