Barrier:
Students update their FB status in seconds, but wait three months to know their grades due to antiquated information management
November 24, 2010 at 4:15pm
Summary
It said that students have little to no attention span. Yet if we flip this idea, then we can see that it is in fact a higher requirement for more frequent feedback and increased personal interaction. This is info management at its worst.
Description
Taking the lead from Tom Chatfield (Fun Inc) and Jesse Schell who have both given TED talks on the subject of engaging content, mostly surrounding games. Make grade tracking and assessments for students happen online and active learning through fun and engaging content will follow by managing content in the right direction.
All the elements of games are there; experience systems, multiple long/short term aims, rewarding effort, clear and frequent feedback, certainty, enhanced attention through active learning, social influence and group learning. All these exist at a snails pace, and if they were trackable across modern devices through the Web I believe students can become more engaged with the value of what they are doing.
Think about it, how often is it said that students have little to no attention span ? Too often. Yet if we flip this idea, really turn it over, then we can see that it is in fact a higher requirement for more frequent feedback and increased personal interaction.
We need this and very nearly had it but a lack of forward thinking and resources left the project unfinished. As a lecturer in new media, graphic design and the head of a digital technologies department.. I call for help in managing information as refocusing it towards the students and above all make it fun!
Illustration
Students are the most important part of College, University or School. Yet they often have no idea how they are doing in their studies until a big long test at the end, or when the coursework comes in, even then they have to wait for real feedback. We are spending time and money making more administration for staff with little thought for students. Moodle and other VLEs do not cut it, students are not engaged by these..
Why do they or their parents have to wait so long to find out about attendance, positive feedback on coursework, grading and assessment and how it fits into their courses overall.. Games make it easy to understand where you are at, why are we not using this in education?
Root Causes
Web technology systems are based on paper systems, the work is often the same process yet it just exists online. Design is a secondary consideration, there is no investment in the end user experience and students suffer at the hands of applications which are easy for administrators(?) but hard for them to follow.
The way we manage information and use it to help people progress is outdated, too much data is already 'dead' when it reaches the user. It needs to be fresh.
Solution
Manage the flow of information with the student at the top, as the central focus. Get that right, make it interactive, fast and fun and we can turn people into active learners who see the constant value in their studies.
Credits
I noticed this as a teacher, other systems have tried but none have really succeeded yet. Tom Chatfield has brought the lessons learned from gaming into other areas, and for that he deserves credit.
Documents
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