Educational Gaming Commons - Press Start

ELI Spring Focus Session on Immersive Learning Environments

North Carolina State University

March 27-28, 2007

Richard Van Eck
Associate Professor, Instructional Design and Technology
Univ of North Dakota
Keynote Speech

Here's a synopsis - the full presentation will be posted soon!

Gen G – The gamer generation.

• Gen G are 2.0 learners.
• Gen G doesn't place boundries on work space, play space – it's all together.
• Flighty, spoiled, unwilling to work – untrue Gen G stereotypes.
• Nothing is technology because all is technology.
• Cognitive complexity of games and ILEs may be responsible. Must be quick, integrate info., etc.
• Gen G expect the environment to adapt to them.
• Gamers quickly analyze new situations, work independently and in groups, with others they don't know well.

Gen G Believes

• Organization important.
• Should be paid for performance.
• Team players.
• Lives in N dimensional world – living in dataspaces – ILEs, not spreadsheets.

GAMES

• Interactive
• Engaging
• Problem-based
• Situated Cognition
• Scaffolding - ZPD (see Vgotsky)
• Cognitive disequilibrium
• Assessment built in

Life 2.0
• Immersive
• Social
• Negotiated
• Collaborative
• Virtual

Misc.

• Flynn Effect – Every 10 years standardized intelligence tests must be re-normalized – intelligence is growing. Why? Unknown.
• Machinima – Self-produced by gamers, ILEers just for the fun of doing it.