Trends Associated with Learning Experience Design: “An Agile Learning Edutainment Method For the 21st Century Designer”
Trends Associated with Learning Experience Design:
“An Agile Learning Edutainment Method For the 21st Century Designer”
December 14, 2020
Abstract
21st-century augmentation and changing education scenarios are a significant part of the rapid development of immersive educational technologies over the years, especially now that the world is experiencing a global pandemic. Notable trends have started to emerge, having a significant impact on cognition and culture within today's society. Rather than necessity and continuity in student-teacher interactions, technical communication has witnessed significant social learning technologies. They provide a more constructivist approach to the inputs, processes, and outputs of gained knowledge and assessment of that knowledge.
Introduction
This paper aims to provide insights into the development of multimedia content in a 21st-century learning experience. We will explore the impact of emerging technology on cognitive activity and its relation to the "Division of Labor." It enables the capacity to augment needed innovation in Learning Experience Design and beyond. "To overcome the challenges of distance learning during the pandemic, higher education must seek instructional designers (ID) to develop new, accessible distance learning models and ensure equity and inclusion in learning experience design. As the world is taking a collective crash course in remote and online teaching, we are also looking at teaching and learning models for the future." (Pilbeam, 2020)
Learning Experience Design working in concert with game-based-learning, traditional curriculum, and innovative technology creates an immersive experience. Your mind doesn't even imagine it is learning, but it is learning. This has caused a worldwide explosion in the edutainment sector of immersive learning technology. We set the stage for educational advancements, and technological advancement supports immersive learning for individuals worldwide. Dr. Michael Allen, the "Creator of Adobe Flash" and the founder of Allen Interactions based out of Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Allen has developed a fundamental learning model which, unlike "ADDIE's Five Significant Sequential Steps," the "Successive Approximation Model (SAM)" is a more cyclical process that can be scaled from basic (SAM1) to extended (SAM2) to suit your needs. (E-learning Heros, 2020)
A successive approximation, the future of interactive learning experiences
"With its agile and iterative approaches, the Successive Approximation Model (SAM) is suggested as an alternative ISD model for ADDIE. However, few studies have been conducted to provide real-world examples of how instructional designers can use SAM to develop e-learning content." (Allen, 2012) I believe 2020 will be marked down as the most significant inflection point in education history. How do we re-invent learning during a pandemic and still reach our students effectively that is also scalable and measurable?
Walter Parks - CEO of Dreamscape, recently brought attention to the idea that if society ever finally recognizes it has both an urgent need, including a worldwide pandemic, but fortunate enough to have innovative digital tools to tackle the current situation throughout the world. These tools are the foundations of modern-day technological advancements as computer languages have evolved and built over decades of trial and error. The pioneers of technology have set the stage to receive first-class educational experiences. As we stay at home in this urgent time of need, the current and future technology trends can maintain diverse amounts of students in previously unimaginable ways. There is no limit to what creativity can do; in fact, the only way for humanity to beat artificial intelligence is to one step ahead of the simulation to use your imagination. Do not be afraid to utilize your creativity because it is impossible for artificial intelligence to out-guess the creative mind. Dreamscape Immersive (DI) is the world's leading virtual reality company that collaborates with Arizona State University. ASU is ranked number one by US News and Report—listed as the most innovative university in the United States. This unique team's mission is backed by some of the most prominent directors, studios, and video game companies. Designers are collaborating and teaming up to transform the educational learning experience. Learning power that harnesses Hollywood's most nuanced storytelling with emotional intensity and applying scientific methodology and problem-solving, we have provided ourselves with an incredible opportunity to operate within the confines of these exciting new trends in Education Technology. (Koerth, 2020)
Differential Learning as a factor in New Technology and Learning Styles
There have been significant breakthroughs in differential learning regarding the immersive experience; however, the hard part is taking the laboratory's online resolution and using it for real-world applications. Carol Ann Tomlinson, a differentiated learning leader and Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Virginia, describes differentiated instruction as factoring students' learning styles. Research shows "the effectiveness of differentiation shows this method benefits various students, from those with learning disabilities to those who are considered high ability." (EdWords, 2020) One must find creative ways to present course content, maximize efficiency, and create a new "Periodic Table of Learning Experiences." (Washburn, 2019) These interactive learning modules are transforming your students with cognition choices. Furthermore, every form of education or training has its advantages; however, the primary learning challenge is 90% of information forgotten days after it has been learned. How do we fix this?
We must examine the evolving trends in game-based learning technology. A safe environment where the learner can explore the subject until the learner feels a sense of accomplishment due to the lessons' mastery without consequences. By applying scientific methodology and problem-solving, we have provided ourselves with an incredible opportunity to operate within the confines of these exciting new trends in Education Technology. (Davies, 2020) The term edutainment has floated around for years. Entertainment and video games do have an educational value. Education and entertainment are like an off again- on again romance; they seem to have a long-standing ambiguous relationship. They seem to like each other one day. Dislike each other another day. They want to say that they are friends even though they don't act like it; in fact, they are sometimes downright bitter jealous rivals; slamming one another, stating that education is "no fun" and that edutainment isn't "serious enough."
The Oregon Trail and the Teletype - That's Edutainment
We are entering into a new era of storytelling. Education is where we will combine the emotional power of cinematic storytelling, programmed background experiences, and set by a personality-based algorithm. We will have the ability to be transported into a fantasy world beyond our imagination. Through these critical investigations, we develop a deeper understanding of the trends and how to implement them within our design process. Most of the up-and-coming technologies will help you as a designer deliver the transformation results you have always wanted for your learners. Scientific studies had confirmed what we had long known all along, that toys and games could be informative and educational, bringing me back to when I was a young boy in the 1970s going through elementary school.
From the start, I blended education in entertainment to understand the topics that I was exploring. If it weren't for my adventurous mind, I would not be the man I am today. I look back on Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Disney, Kenner, and the list goes on. These brands, movies, and information technology have molded my personality over the years and framed me into a life-time learner. That is powerful testimony and verification of how significant an immersive learning experience is for educators and the private sector. By embracing technology, the teacher can take on the responsibility of filling the gap in technological skills when a learner becomes stuck.
Don Rey, a 21-year-old college student majoring in History at Carleton College in nearby Northfield. Don searched to find creative ways to teach his history to his students, precisely when the idea of an interactive, immersive learning experience was formed and called it "Oregon." This teletype would do all communications between the user and the mainframe by text, accomplished through the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium's joint effort, most commonly known as MECC, founded in 1973.
The organization's goal was to coordinate and provide computer services to schools in Minnesota; however, its software eventually became popular in schools worldwide. (Jencer, 2016) During the 1970s, I attended Horace Mann Elementary in Highland Park, a small township in Saint Paul, where I spent my computer time playing the Oregon Trail on the teletype. When the user types "something on the keyboard, the computer would receive the message through the phone line and pass it along to the Oregon program." ( Bochard, 2020) The game's design was perfect. What followed was a flood of different game-based educational tools that started hitting the shelves; this was unknown territory for every educator and storyteller out there. Heck! I am would even be considered one of the first elementary students to participate in the first truly immersive learning experience in a public school setting.
Future Solutions in Technological Advancement and Innovation
Learning Experience Design has become the new paradigm for eLearning. The rules have changed, and the pandemic should not be looked at by its negative aspects but embraced as an opportunity to be a part of innovative thinking. What future solution platforms will push this type of innovation and creativity boundaries, you ask? I believe by creating an evolutionary LMS with functionalities of one tool—allowing teams to move from concept to course in one seamless ecosystem.
These tools will let various professionals work in harmony and synchronicity under one platform, empowering you to collaborate in real-time. The Learning Experience must focus on the learner and their expertise whereby solutions develop from the lunar "perspective; the goal is to have an exciting, flexible and engaging way to grow the skills and knowledge." (Jenewein, 2020)
The 5 D: A Collaborative Model for Learning Design
We must look past the traditional instructional design and focus our strategy on mindset and purpose. It must be user-centered, collaborative, empathetic, simple, transparent, demand-driven, flexible, holistic, and mindful. It is developing the framework and process of exponential learning, cognitivism, situated learning design, UX, and the proper use of technology like different authoring tools, social software, apps, performance support, chatbots, immersion, and machine learning. (Budd, 2016) Connectivism, a learning theory for a digital age (Siemens 2014), goes beyond the limits of previous learning models, which the endgame is to lead the world into a 5D Technological Framework. In this approach to learning experience design, there are some significant challenges ahead. That is why it is essential in opening the field of a learning experience.
Looking beyond traditional learning models and embracing the same model as the future of robust "program design and development relies on participatory collaboration between multiple parties and a model to support that collaboration critical to the all over success." Learning Experience Design SAM model, a professional development that uses a unique set of tools to change the principal focus from school management to instructional leadership. A successive approximation model for the future of the user learning experience. Massive open online courses called MOOCs have the potential for an enormous palette of possibilities. They are creatively affecting meaningful and successful learning experiences, along with essential issues and challenges addressing where education goes where no MOOC has gone before. (Melander, 2020)
The Future of Technology in Learning Experience Design
The Canvas Network Education Survey data suggests the most valued method of content delivery is video, and edutainment courses are uniquely positioned to explore the potential video-based learning the activities of the appropriate challenge. Education and game-based learning is the future of learning experience design, even though the module may appear merely a game. Underneath that, the game can capture our imaginations, helping us learn subject matter that perhaps was uninteresting or challenging in a traditional classroom setting. Does this sound like an excellent alternative to text-based learning? Maybe we shall see as the verdict is still out; however, the evidence shows exceptional promise. (Melander, 2020)
"Gaming Can Make a Better World," Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., proved that online games help foster motivation and optimization among players. Dr. McGonigal believes the power of video gameplay can help solve world problems; like hunger, eliminate obesity, climate change, and much more. You can even learn on exciting online educational platforms like Minecraft Education, taking classrooms and the game-based industry by storm since its release in 2016, wrestling into a phenomenon called the Super Mario Effect. (LaPierre, 2020) You will trick your brain into learning more as a vital part of your learning process. The Canvas Network data suggests the most valued method of content delivery is video, and edutainment courses are uniquely positioned to explore the potential video-based learning the activities of the appropriate challenge.
Conclusion
As the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on our global economy, the edutainment business struggles to keep pace. Circumstances are changing day by day and hour by hour as the incorporation of virtual reality has started to take center stage in learning experience design. The hope is it will assist the learning experience and build better capabilities to meet individual learning needs. Expert developers and designers in the edutainment arena apply these concepts both as a way to bridge the gap where public education left off. These trends in technological education are evolving daily, and the learning experience is forever changing. Innovation is the essence of our existence, and teaching students to be creative is pivotal for their success in the 21st-century. In a global economy, one of the leading factors of success a country possesses is its innovation capacity.
Societies value new technologies. Students must have the skills to be creative. Like any other discipline, it is a process that, once mastered, and there are many creative possibilities. Learning Experience Design is growing and spreading rapidly through the private sector's of higher education, K-12, and corporate environments. The future of the educational gaming industry is open to change. The increased popularity of digital game-based learning among teachers, policymakers, parents, and students, coupled with more affordable gaming, all but ensures the industry will continue its rapid growth. As our technology's capacity increases, it grows closer and closer to matching wits with our creative minds. Contemporary societies are globally connected and immersed in digital technology. Ideally, learning environments engage students in real-world experiences. This ideal ensures teachers create learning environments to prepare students for their future in the workforce, using technology to enhance the teaching of 21st-century skills with the Division of Labor "Technology and access to information aren't the most important factors in creating a twenty-first-century classroom; teachers are." (Martin, 2018)
References
?Allen, M.W., & Sites, R. (2012). Leaving ADDIE for SAM: An agile model for developing the best learning experiences. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development.
Bouchard, R. P. The Oregon Trail Game. You Have Died of Dysentery: The Oregon Trail Game.
https://died-of-dysentery.com/resources.html.
Budd, B. (2016, July 6). The 5 Ds: A Collaborative Model for Learning Design (Part 1). The
EvoLLLution.https://evolllution.com/programming/program_planning/the-5-ds-a-collaborative-model-for-learning-design-part-1/.
Davies, P. (2020) Paul Davies: Department of Physics. Paul Davies | Department of Physics. https://physics.asu.edu/content/paul-davies.
Dubai (2020). Differentiation in the classroom-pros and cons of differentiated instruction. Teachers License, Dubai, UAE.
https://teacherslicensedubaiuae.com/standard-2-professional-knowledge/differentiation-in
-the-classroom-pros-and-cons-of-differentiated-instruction/.
EdWords. (2020), “What Is Differentiation? - EdWords | Renaissance.” Renaissance, https://www.facebook.com/renlearn,
https://www.renaissance.com/edwords/differentiation/.
Greany, K. (2019, September 3). The big digital learning trends for 2019, according to the experts. https://www.elucidat.com/blog/digital-learning-trends/.
Jancer, M. (2016, July 22). How You Wound Up Playing The Oregon Trail in Computer Class.
Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-you-wound-playing-em-oregon-trailem-computer-class-180959851/.
LePierre, James. (2020) "10 Brilliant Game-Based Learning TED Talks | Filament Games."
Filament Games, https://www.facebook.com/filamentgames,
https://www.filamentgames.com/blog/10-brilliant-game-based-learning-ted-talks/.
Melander, H. (2020) That's Edutainment! : Go Where No MOOC Has Gone Before.
https://www.instructure.com/canvas/blog/6-lessons-build-better-mooc.
Mojang AB. (2020, November 30). Homepage: Minecraft: Education Edition. Minecraft.
https://education.minecraft.net/.
Siemens, G. (2014, August 9). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for a Digital Age. SlideServe.
https://www.slideserve.com/odeda/connectivism-a-learning-theory-for-a-digital-age.
Ubc.edu (2020). University of British Columbia - Game-based learning an emerging market analysis. UBC,ca. https://blogs.ubc.ca/gamebasedlearning/conclusion/.
Washburn, Brian. (2020) "Elements of Amazing Learning Experiences - Train Like a
Champion." Train Like a Champion, https://www.facebook.com/endurancelearningllc/,https://trainlikeachampion.blog/periodic-table/.