Technology to Support Learning

For sometime, many have expected that technology would eventually provide some sort of educational panacea. When technology did not produce the desired outcomes, many early believers became skeptics. However, as Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000, p. 218) state, “good educational software…developed with a full understanding of principles of learning, [has] not yet become the norm.”

However, I think that it is ironic that the most technologically current software applications, which utilize effective pedagogy, may be videogame applications, not educational applications. Videogames may be effective partly because they are interesting and compelling. Many students, such as my son Jason who have difficulty attending to schoolwork often devote 30-40 hours learning how to play complicated videogames. Interestingly, Gee (2003) suggests that certain videogames are compelling because they employ effective learning theories. Additionally, Gee and other researchers (Pillay, Brownlee, & Wilss, 1999) believe that videogames, even games with violent or other controversial content, promote the use of cognitive skills to solve problems and to comprehend explicit and implicit information.

Therefore, it seems to me that it would be efficacious to incorporate the learning principles, which theoretically make videogames so enticing, into educational software. Unfortunately, from what I have read, companies that produce educational software are unwilling or lack the financial resources to produce comparable programs. In addition, because of a perceived stigma, videogame developers are reluctant to produce programs that have overt pedagogical relevance.

Nonetheless, I believe that other technological resources are relevant, compelling, and pedagogically significant. For instance, students can contribute, collaborate, and communicate using social network applications, such as wikis, blogs, and instant messaging. Furthermore, students have opportunities for unprecedented creative opportunities by producing videos and podcasts of their schoolwork that they can proudly share with everyone. Moreover, the entire world, at least theoretically, can provide feedback. Feedback enables students to gain a broader perspective, make improvements, resubmit their work, and obtain additional feedback. This process is perhaps the first perpetual beta version of schoolwork. While I realize that this may seem farfetched to some, it is a familiar scenario for many students. I cannot help but wonder if we are not playing “catch up” to the present generation of learners.

Ever the optimist, I hope that education, especially public education, will become effective for all students. On the other hand, I find it disconcerting when I compare lackluster educational software to the innovative, exceptional, and exciting products produced by the electronic entertainment industry. Additionally, it is perhaps even more disturbing that apparently videogame software, "developed with a full understanding of principles of learning" is the norm (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000, p. 218).


Reference:

Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. (Expanded ed.). Washington: National Academy Press.

Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Pillay, H., Brownlee, J., & Wilss, L. (1999). Cognition and recreational computer games: Implications for educational technology. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(1), 203-216.