Often, the concept of immersive learning is described almost synonymously with the environment in which the learning takes place. That is, the setting establishes immersive learning through technologies like 3D virtual worlds or augmented reality.
There are components of a virtual world, for example, that support immersion in the world (like identifying with your avatar). However, the immersive learning environment itself does not guarantee an immersive learning experience for your target audience. There is more to immersive learning than simply graphical treatments. A virtual world does not inherently achieve a sense for the learner of being drawn into the setting where he/she feels completely present and absorbed by it. A learner is not going to feel immersed in the environment without knowing what to do and where to go in a space, without understanding the purpose of being there, and without becoming adept at navigating throughout the environment. The result when obstacles like these are not addressed is cognitive overhead that interferes with the sense of immersion, and learners are never able to really feel present in the setting to sufficiently practice new skills in an authentic context.
For a learning experience to be truly immersive, we as designers need to create not only the environment but more importantly, we need to establish a holistic experience that helps our learners achieve a state of flow. We need to help learners see the value in the goal of the exercise. We need to eliminate extraneous bells and whistles that do not support either the learning goals or the sense of immersion. We need to design interfaces that are transparent to users. We need to structure activities that support the learning goals. If we have not designed with that (and more) in mind, we are not fully utilizing the capabilities of the virtual environment, and we are certainly not establishing an immersive learning environment.
Immersive learning environments have much less to do with technology than they do design. In my next posts, I’d like to explore the concept of an immersive learning environment that does not rely on technology at all, and what elements of design support immersive learning. In the meantime, share your thoughts on this topic!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Do-Over! Turning Back the Clock on your Old Designs
I have an almost uncanny tendency to completely forget about work I have done in the past. It is probably because of the pace at which I move from one initiative to another, and the fact that I am constantly thinking ahead about what needs to get done next (and hopefully it’s not early onset dementia).
When I’m trying to solve a problem, or have a sense of déjà vu and the strong feeling that I might have tackled a similar issue before, I poke around in old design work as one avenue for inspiration. Sometimes I get lucky and something useful turns up during that trip down memory lane, either ideas that were proposed but never implemented, or structures, concepts, or templates that can be reused for my current work.
The experience is kind of like when I look through old photos: one thing leads to another and suddenly I’m sitting there with snapshots covering every inch of the floor and I have a big grin on my face thinking about the good times they represent. Except when I’m reviewing old designs, I’m intensely critical about the decisions I made. I inevitably pick them apart and judge every aspect, completely forgetting about budgets, timeline constraints, or client demands and focusing solely on the design decisions as if they were made in a vacuum. Instead of a grin on my face, I’m wincing as if I just came across the 8th grade photo with the bad perm and braces. I think to myself: “Ugh, why did I do it that way?” or “That’s the strategy I used?” I quickly come to the conclusion that if I were to do it all over again, I would do it differently and it would be soooo much better.
This process might not sound like much fun, but looking back on my old designs is not just nostalgic and/or cringe-inducing, it’s actually useful! A fresh look at my own designs after time has passed and without the lenses of project constraints helps to refine ideas to a level that wasn’t possible when there were budgetary or timeline limitations. Those are the ideas that are recycled, revamped, and improved upon as inspiration for my next endeavor.
Today, I came across the design for a game that I did a year ago. When I reviewed the documentation, I thought to myself “Hey, this is actually good!” For me, this was a rare reaction. Maybe I ate my Wheaties the day I wrote that, or the kids slept through the night and I was feeling particularly well-rested, but I like to think this self-analysis exercise is actually working and helping produce better designs each time I do it.
Next time you have a window of time or need inspiration, try it! Look back on work you have done in the past and reflect on your own designs. I guarantee you'll learn something from it. And please: if you come across my 8th grade photo, let’s keep it off of Facebook, ok?
When I’m trying to solve a problem, or have a sense of déjà vu and the strong feeling that I might have tackled a similar issue before, I poke around in old design work as one avenue for inspiration. Sometimes I get lucky and something useful turns up during that trip down memory lane, either ideas that were proposed but never implemented, or structures, concepts, or templates that can be reused for my current work.
The experience is kind of like when I look through old photos: one thing leads to another and suddenly I’m sitting there with snapshots covering every inch of the floor and I have a big grin on my face thinking about the good times they represent. Except when I’m reviewing old designs, I’m intensely critical about the decisions I made. I inevitably pick them apart and judge every aspect, completely forgetting about budgets, timeline constraints, or client demands and focusing solely on the design decisions as if they were made in a vacuum. Instead of a grin on my face, I’m wincing as if I just came across the 8th grade photo with the bad perm and braces. I think to myself: “Ugh, why did I do it that way?” or “That’s the strategy I used?” I quickly come to the conclusion that if I were to do it all over again, I would do it differently and it would be soooo much better.
This process might not sound like much fun, but looking back on my old designs is not just nostalgic and/or cringe-inducing, it’s actually useful! A fresh look at my own designs after time has passed and without the lenses of project constraints helps to refine ideas to a level that wasn’t possible when there were budgetary or timeline limitations. Those are the ideas that are recycled, revamped, and improved upon as inspiration for my next endeavor.
Today, I came across the design for a game that I did a year ago. When I reviewed the documentation, I thought to myself “Hey, this is actually good!” For me, this was a rare reaction. Maybe I ate my Wheaties the day I wrote that, or the kids slept through the night and I was feeling particularly well-rested, but I like to think this self-analysis exercise is actually working and helping produce better designs each time I do it.
Next time you have a window of time or need inspiration, try it! Look back on work you have done in the past and reflect on your own designs. I guarantee you'll learn something from it. And please: if you come across my 8th grade photo, let’s keep it off of Facebook, ok?
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