injenuity

Posted by Jennifer on January 31st, 2008 in VPD , Collaboration, EdTech, Presentation, SocialMedia, VPD

Educators current in social media trends often tout the importance of play in as part of the student learning repertoire. We know children learn and retain knowledge from games and simulations, both physical and digital. Yet, we hesitate to extend that same perspective to the technology education and training of adults. Some of the most successful soft skills classes I’ve facilitated have centered on role play and games. Why doesn’t this extend to technology training?

I think part of the problem is the logistical vision we have of a room full of people sitting at computers facing a projection screen. This classroom setup isn’t conducive to play and collaboration. However, you’ve probably noticed your students will often find a way to play. Hence, the emergence of the backchannel! I recall one training scenario where I was teaching a software package to a group of reservation specialists at a hotel. They were practicing entering comments on guest folios. I went through their reservations to make sure they were done correctly, and discovered an entire dialog about their boring instructor! Humiliating, but brilliant! This was more than ten years ago, long before social media, yet the social emerged and the backchannel flowed using the tools they had been given.

I am going to attempt something here to see if I can stimulate the playful nature of my instructors. I am going to schedule a monthly Play to Learn session in a computer lab and invite anyone who would like to come. I will bring technology toys and demonstrate a few fun things. Then I will let them play. I would love to see them work together, brainstorm, and produce creative content. I will create a wiki to post session results and allow participants to continue the conversation after each session. I will follow up here with the results!