Discussion+5

If you have a discussion post this week that doesn't fit into the timeline, you may post it here.

TD

While we're thinking about the past, let's keep an eye on the future
The timeline is an amazing resource for capturing the past sixty years of ELA, but I came across a few articles that reminded me to keep an eye on the future too. The Institute of Play is a non-profit research group that "studies the relationship between game-playing, learning and engagement" (Cromidas, 2011). From what I gathered, the future of ELA instruction in a digital classroom looks a little bit like a holodeck simulation (begin at 1:18) from //Star Trek: The Next Generation//. I find this type of school and approach to teaching incredibly ambitious and innovative, but my worries stem from socio-economic factors and whether or not this type of school will contribute to the current polarization between public and private schools. I am hopeful that this model can find a place in the educational system, partially because I believe an ideal learning environment involves and engages students, and partially because, well, //I like games.// Katie Salen, the executive director for the Institute of Play said, "We believe kids should be producers, not just consumers." I strongly agree with the sentiment, and although the articles and research group focus on the digital classroom, I believe Salen's statement applies to ELA instruction on the whole.

As a subtopic, I also want to address the growing trend of "gamification" in education. Remember, //I like games.// Khan Academy is another website that offers a learning environment based on gameplay, but through interactive challenges where students earn "badges" or points as measures of progress. It's a much more involved system than I'm describing, so please do take a look for yourself. I see games as a way to bridge problem-solving with purposeful learning, but I also just really like games. -Shama Jacover