In my previous post I spoke about using interactive mediums to create online experiences that engage the user to virtually experience something. This works great and dandy in the corporate sector but how does this work for education? Should we be applying these modern approaches to help improve education?
My short answer is definitely yes, these interactive technologies should be used as tools to support education. Interactive media should be used in education in ways that help the learner understand a concept that is easier to understood through visuals and sound, or a combination of both. But when I say interactive media I don't mean a chat window, an online video, or a static website. They are electronic mediums that require a click or two to get them started, yes, but by no means are they interactive to the degree I'm referring to. The interactive I'm referring to is a medium similar to the links I provided in my previous post, where a user must explore, participate in the environment, and think before clicking in order to receive a response of content or feedback based on their actions. It's media "that allow for active participation by the recipient," as defined in the Wikipedia website.
Following are a few good links that, although not developed for educational institutions, are interactive examples that exemplify what school systems should be developing as tools to support education. (Some of the links are not of a serious matter but the idea behind them is good interactive thinking).
American Cancer Association - Great American Eat Right Challenge
Los Angeles Conservancy - Curating the City
AXELab - The Stimulation Chamber
General Electric - Imagination at Work
It seems to me, however, that our educational institutions don't have a broad enough perspective of the possibilities and are always thinking within limitations of a box of options. Something that corporate marketing works well in avoiding. Of course, we also have to consider limitations such as budgets, work force, and laws. For instance limitations due to having a product be compliant to accessibility standards. Well, that kills 100% of these examples, but that brings one question, if accessibility is meant to provide an "equal experience" to disabled users then does this mean we have to take away from the experience that our non-disabled users get?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment