Comments for wander@will

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Saqib Ali

Saqib Ali — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:54:36 +0000

Rani,

The answer is absurd as the question. Though, I like the other answer as well, “because Poe wrote on both”

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:01:23 +0000

Saqib – this gives great insight into your personality I finally googled this and realized that you are a bigger Alice in Wonderland fan than first suspected. What a tortuous answer!

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:02:32 +0000

Fascinating Joe. I took the game layer as more of an approach to the world rather than an literal “everything as a game”. Your reading is probably more true to Seth’s talk. When I think of a game overlay I think about the “airline game” of getting mileage points, yes, but also, of the maze you have to get through to check-in, check bags (at a cost – why don’t they let us use miles for this?), then the rest of the airport game of getting to your gate. If I think of it as a game, then I play it as a game — and it becomes about getting through the maze as quickly as possible.

I agree, the majority of the games are non-digital, but the tracking of games (“got through atlanta airport in record time) can be tracked digitally. Also, games are more than a way to make play social — I can play a game on my own, yes? whether that be Solitaire or the airport game I described above. I can play against my self — is that social? They are often social but don’t have to be.

Thanks for your thoughts and am interested in hearing what you thought about the rest of his talk. Cheers.

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by JOE H

JOE H — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:39:30 +0000

I’m 3 minutes into Seth’s TEDx talk and a little frightened/concerned. He has concluded that facebook is the infrastructure for digital social interaction and that ‘facebook owns our connections’ . That’s a disturbing concept, and akin to saying that AT&T owned our connections 30 years ago becuase we used the phone to connect.

I’ll go forward as I cringe, but wan to put this down before he continues: Play is a natural human process, as inherent as curiosity and breathing. Games are a way to make play social – agreed rules and winning states allow us to play together in a mutually satisfying way. I am not sure that ‘overlaying a game layer’ is really a possible thing, as the world is a series of games, and teh majority of them are non-digital.

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Saqib Ali

Saqib Ali — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:14:51 +0000

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?”
because there’s a B in both and an N in neither

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:44:48 +0000

Saqib – what a great way to reframe the experience – you’re exactly right parents should be asking what did you “discover” today! Love it. — ok I give, i suck a logic puzzles – what’s the answer to the raven question?

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Games as Discovery Learning «

Games as Discovery Learning « — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:33:33 +0000

[...] Don’t call it a learning game – Learning designer Rani H Gill writes in her blog post about the difficulty of selling anything called a “game” into corporations. “Call it anything but a game,” she writes, suggesting we use the name guided discovery learning. [...]

Comment on Don’t call it a learning game by Saqib Ali

Saqib Ali — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:37:36 +0000

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and a teacher of mathematics, often used games, puzzles, and whimsical humor to help his students discover logical premises. Interestingly enough, all the logic classes I had to take in the university, didn’t have a set agenda or a preset content that had to be covered.

I think the problem starts very early, when parents ask their children, “what did you learn in school today”. Why can’t it be “What did you discovered today”? Discovery opens up the doors for learning, and breaks down the walled garden of “right content”.

oh btw, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

Comment on 3 tips for avoiding design failure by Rani H. Gill

Rani H. Gill — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:26:48 +0000

JK – thanks for the feedback. Trying to put it out there without blame.
Tim – good point re: software. We have to do a better job of helping people imagine the end result, whatever the end-product is.

Comment on 3 tips for avoiding design failure by Tim Flood

Tim Flood — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:15:14 +0000

Rani, very good points here. I especially like your counsel not to design alone and getting sponsors to understand what the learning experience is like. Most of us think we know better, especially sponsors. This is also why a lot of software products fail — when the development process occurs without the client’s or user’s involvement.