Collaborative Teaching & Learning

25th November – 18th December 2009

Instructor: Deborah Elzie, Instructional Designer, Tulane University, Payson Center for International Development / Innovative Learning Center

TA: Mike Bagorozi Ndimurukundo. IT Manager, Tulane University/Rwanda Country Office

Interaction in the “Classroom”

Play

Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving

Lowers emotional stakes of failing

Learn through trial and error

Die and do over.

Gee (2003) notes the textbook is often depersonalized and the abstract prose may make children sometimes feel locked out of the worlds. This may also be true of those who are new to a discipline.

Players move through game worlds. “ Players feel a part of those worlds and have some stake in the events unfolding.”

Play

Further Reading:

Randy Pausch: Innovative Computer Scientist at Carnegie Mellon

Alice – a computer software for teaching students computer science – interactive 3D programming

Storytelling Alice (created by Caitlin Kelleher) for younger students interesting to explore high-level animations that enable users to program social interactions between characters.

Play - Games/Experience Learning through direct experience via a game.

Digiplay Initiative – http://digiplay.info

Try Engineering - http://www.tryengineering.org/play.php

RoboCup 2010 http://www.robocup2010.org

PlayGoogle Sketchup – 3D modeling software example model

3d Warehouse

What other examples of play have you found in your Web experiences?

Performance

Ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery

Virtual Worlds

Second Life & Virtual Worlds for Academic Healthcare & Education

Further Reading:

Parker, Jan (2009). Academics' virtual identities. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), pp. 221–224.

Storytelling

The Creative Process: A Computer Model of Storytelling and Creativity

Simulation

Ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes

Transmedia Navigation

Ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities

Negotiation

Ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

Participatory Literacy SkillsPlay — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving

Performance — the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery

Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes

Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content

Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details

Distributed Cognition — the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities

Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal

Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources

Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities

Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information

Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robison, A. & Weigel, M. (2006)

Forms of Participatory Culture

Affiliations — memberships, formal and informal, in online communities centered around various forms of media, such as Friendster, Facebook, message boards, metagaming, game clans, or MySpace).

Expressions — producing new creative forms, such as digital sampling, skinning and modding, fan videomaking, fan fiction writing, zines, mash-ups).

Collaborative Problem-solving — working together in teams, formal and informal, to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (such as through Wikipedia, alternative reality gaming, spoiling).

Circulations — Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting, blogging).

Note: “Interactivity (H. Jenkins, 2006a) is a property of the technology, while participation is a property of culture.”

Gee (2004) - informal learning cultures “affinity spaces