In my continuing following of the IDD blog at DePaul University in Chicago, to date my favorite article is the one posted by Daniel Stanford, “What Vegas Can Teach Us About Online Learning.” Stanford is a generation Y-er while I am at the tale-end of the Baby Boomers. However, like Stanford I always carry my laptop with me. I have even purchased a net book which fits in my purse to ensure that the Internet will always be available. Yet Stanford relies on his laptop as a major source of access to entertainment when he has free time, while I still rely on TV or books. For both of us, the laptop is a primary link to work or school.
Stanford mentions that younger generations get bored easily and considers Las Vegas as a metaphor for younger generations and those who get bored easily. Stanford gives the example of Vegas entertainment with several acts performing at the same time as a metaphor for online learning filled with bells and whistles. Often designers feel that keeping someone busy or keeping their attention is the main objective.
Vegas with its unlimited buffets, diversity of venues, etc. should be the perfect place for someone with a short attention span. However, reflecting on his trip to Vegas, Stanford mentions that he got bored after awhile and found that Las Vegas was a façade for concrete and commercialism. He states that the bells and whistles can lose their appeal.
The same can be true for technology; “sometimes what’s fun or easy isn’t what’s best” (Stanford, 2009). I was glad to hear a generation Y-er say this. This blog was a perfect follow-up to my teach-back as I raised the question in light of modern constructivism if adding bells and whistles was always a good thing.
Stanford, I believe, would agree with my words of caution about the use of technology and my belief that we need to consider why we do what we do. Stanford writes that educators have been creating wonderful, inspiring lessons before the use of any technology, even before the use of paper. Think about the great teachers of the past—they were effective educators by the stories they told or the lectures they gave. Technology does not always need to be the “driving force” behind a great lesson.
JLK
Stanford mentions that younger generations get bored easily and considers Las Vegas as a metaphor for younger generations and those who get bored easily. Stanford gives the example of Vegas entertainment with several acts performing at the same time as a metaphor for online learning filled with bells and whistles. Often designers feel that keeping someone busy or keeping their attention is the main objective.
Vegas with its unlimited buffets, diversity of venues, etc. should be the perfect place for someone with a short attention span. However, reflecting on his trip to Vegas, Stanford mentions that he got bored after awhile and found that Las Vegas was a façade for concrete and commercialism. He states that the bells and whistles can lose their appeal.
The same can be true for technology; “sometimes what’s fun or easy isn’t what’s best” (Stanford, 2009). I was glad to hear a generation Y-er say this. This blog was a perfect follow-up to my teach-back as I raised the question in light of modern constructivism if adding bells and whistles was always a good thing.
Stanford, I believe, would agree with my words of caution about the use of technology and my belief that we need to consider why we do what we do. Stanford writes that educators have been creating wonderful, inspiring lessons before the use of any technology, even before the use of paper. Think about the great teachers of the past—they were effective educators by the stories they told or the lectures they gave. Technology does not always need to be the “driving force” behind a great lesson.
JLK