The Role of Play in Learning with Technology

Editor's Notes

• #5: Give you an overview of what the “experts” are saying about play Example in higher education – and hear what faculty have to say about play and learning Sometimes it’s more important to know the questions than to know the answers, so we provide questions designed to help you succeed in your design and use of play This is a HUGE field that can take up a lifetime, not just an hour. So we’ve developed a wiki that provides additional resources should you want to pursue the topic in greater depth after today FINALLY – heaven forbid! – we’ve built a bit of play into the webinar so that we “walk our talk.” For example, as you played around with the circles at the beginning of the webinar, you were “playing” at collaborative brainstorming in which the goal was to get lots of ideas on the table and to help you transition into a playful way of thinking.
• #6: When doing the poll – have them ham it up (imaging they are playing with their selection – what are they doing? If you wish, tell us about it in the chat) Puzzle – this is an example that has a “right” answer, the enjoyment comes from wresting coherence and order from apparent chaos. When we talk of “play” the first thing that usually comes to mind are games that have a “solution.” This is really only a subset of a much larger set of “play” possibilities. Tim Brown – thinking with your hands (craft paper) Gregory Bateson – child is playing at being a bishop not to become a bishop, but to explore what a bishop is – those who selected the costumes may learn though imagining the possibilities Paper airplanes and Legos – the engineers and designers in the audience – tacking a challenge and prototyping possibilities Kaleidoscope – exploring the world around from a range of perspectives – what would it look like if everyday views were reordered? Etch-a-sketch – fun is in the making, the process. As with the Circles exercise, the goal is to get a lot of ideas on the table, not necessarily to retain them for posterity Jump Rope – Perhaps the most kinesthetic example. Unfortunately, much of formal learning is disembodied, so kinesic learners are left to fend for themselves. With recent developments like the wii, perhaps more of technology-mediated play will be designed to include those of us who learn through movement.
• #7: For a one page synopsis, see the wiki! Ralph Koster: A Theory of Fun for Game Design Fun is the act of mastering a problem mentally.  It is the feedback that our brains give us when we are absorbing patterns for learning purposes.  If a problem is too easy or too hard, it's not perceived as "fun."  As a person's mastery increases, things that used  to be "fun" may become boring (e.g. Tic Tac Toe). National Institute for Play: Types of Play Attunement Play: e.g., the parent-child bonding that takes place during peek-a-boo with an infant Body and Play Movement: fe.g., jumping, skipping, or twirling just for the sake of it * Object Play: e.g., banging pans, skipping rocks, shooting marbles Social Play: This type has three subsets (belonging, rough and tumble, celebratory) Imaginative and Pretend Play: e.g., imaginary friends, dress-up, make-believe * Storytelling / Narrative Play: e.g., puppet shows, shaggy dog stories Transformative-Integrative Play: e.g., Einstein imaginatively riding pleasurably on a sunbeam at the speed of light, playing around with ideas for new products, play + science = transformation  Scot Osterweil: The Four Freedoms of Play Freedom to :Experiment , Fail , Try on Different Identities Freedom of Effort (to stop at any time)  Brian Sutton-Smith: The Ambiguity of Play Play is "liminal" in that it occupies a threshold between reality and unreality. Ambiguity of  Reference - Is that a pretend gun sound, or are you choking?. * Referent - Is that an object or a toy? (stick transformed into a sabre) Intent - Do you mean it, or is it pretend?  Sense - Is it serious, or is it nonsense?  Transition - You said you were only playing * Contradiction - A man playing at being a woman  Meaning - Is it play or playfighting?   The Strong National Museum of Play: Elements of Play Anticipation, Surprise, Pleasure, Understanding, Strength, Poise * Each of these elements increases and grows stronger as you play
• #8: What are some of the common themes across all these theories? Open-endedness, bricolage (for example, a phone used as the recording studio -- using technologies in unanticipated and inventive ways - cite "Tinkering as a Mode of Knowledge Production in a Digital Age" - Carnegie Foundation - Videos at http://vimeo.com/2183356), Collaboration (group process in which each member contributes -- the strengths of one benefit the others) Experimentation (ad lib is the "pre writing" for script development) Composition process that spans several media (f2f improv, text, video), (Youth) student-directed and student-generated content Imitation and fantasy (learning through pretending a la Gregory Bateson) Deep engagement and personal investment (flow).  How can we infuse more of these features into the learning experiences we offer to our students?
• #10: Brain based learning – plays / games builds on: Intent to learn, interest and, memory Builds on student knowledge Strengthens synaptic connections Provides immediate feedback Assists with the amount and quality of college learning Plugs into their creativity Seeing the need and value of learning outside the classroom Increases student responsibility Example – “who wants to pass the final”
• #11: Using simulations in business – Introduction to MarketPlace Encourage play in group allows them practice with decision making Role of the faculty – coach – not telling them what to do but guiding them in the decision-making process”
• #12: Created a multiplayer online decision making game based on OPEC Goal – put them in the situation – you are going to figure it out. Roles that they can take given the cards they’ve been given
• #13: 8 minute clip – want you to hear firsthand from a faculty member about her thoughts, perspectives, and experiences designing a game for her students