Now What? (Education and Technology in a Post COVID World)

I love a good metaphor. Maybe it’s because my brain is drawn to figuring out ways to bring the abstract into focus. Maybe it’s because of my 12^th grade English teacher who loved them like the springtime loves a warm breeze. (See what I did there? Or, wait, is that a simile?)

In any case, I was drawn to Gee’s (2008) article for the very reason that he creates an elaborate metaphor for how the human brain works by comparing it to effective game design. In fact, he states that “Good game design has a lot to teach us about good learning” (Gee, 2008, p. 21). His article is also a great explanation of various contemporary theories about learning. In short, I found this article as helpful as a cold drink on a hot summer’s day.

Gee (2008) explains that “humans primarily think and learn through experiences they have had” which makes my experiential learning-loving heart happy to read (p. 21). But this only works if that learning is organized around certain goals or outcomes. For example, if our goal is to become an expert at online platforms and user-friendly language in weekly annotated bibliographies, what better way to accomplish that then by writing weekly posts as blogs? (insert meta wink here)

This strategy works best when feedback is given while the experiences are happening (Gee, 2008). This allows the ‘experiencer’ to see if they’re on the right track as the process of learning unfolds. The learner then is able to apply what they’ve learned to their schemata of previous experiences to see if things hold up or not. In fact, Gee states:

“When the above conditions are met, people’s experiences are organized in memory in such a way that they can draw on those experiences as from a data bank, building simulations in their minds that allow them to prepare for action” (emphasis added) (Gee, 2008, p. 22).

This article is packed with concepts and theories that have begun to interest me during my doctoral journey. Gee (2008) discusses social identity and how it is formed through ‘communities of practice’ where collaborative learning takes place (p. 22). We then create social identities based on the role we play in those learning communities, for better or worse.

The article also mentions the role that empathy can play in both educational communities/classrooms and in games….a topic I am definitely interested in learning more about. Additionally, Gee (2008) examines the roles of collaboration and what he calls “cross-functional teams” leading to “distributed knowledge” or expertise among team members (p. 32). This allows for the team of learners to create new knowledge and sets the stage for the whole becoming greater than the parts.

Gee’s (2008) article also discusses motivation, another key area of interest for me. What motivates students to learn? What keeps them engaged in learning? He posits that contributing to a team and the ability to take risks without fear may be components of this (Gee, 2008, p. 34). After all, a person can take risks inside the insular world of a video game that they couldn’t normally take in ‘the real world.’ Hopefully, educators create a safe learning environment that allows for the same.

Overall, this article was a refreshing breeze of relevant research and ideas. I found its content to be an oasis in a desert of journal publications with well-meaning but dry numbers and analysis.

Hopefully, you found this blog about the article a map to the treasure trove of concepts and theories related to education, as I did. But then this is starting to sound like one giant metaphor…and that’s where I came in.

Til next time….

Gee, J. Learning and Games. The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 21–40.