TCC 2002 Presentation: Cronje, Ryneveld

2002 Paper Presentations

DARE TO PLAY

JC Cronje
University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa <jcronje@up.ac.za>
L van Ryneveld
Telematic Education, Pretoria, South Africa <lindavr@techpta.ac.za>

INTRODUCTION

For a small child there is no division between playing and learning (Buckleitner). They learn through everything they do and make no distinction between things that are 'just for fun' and things that are educational by nature. As Jean Piaget once said: "Providing children with an environment conducive to exploration, and offering our children time to share their ideas with us is perhaps the most important ingredient in developing their intelligence."

Somewhere along the line though, maybe due to a lack of creativity, learning becomes serious business . Once grown up, most people indulge the myth that work and play are two distinct entities that should never overlap. This idea embodies itself in applications for adult learners that are, more often than not, duller than dust. The inherent human motivation to play and to have fun can, however, be tapped and harnessed for educational purposes, even in an adult learning environment.

DARING TO PLAY

At the University of Pretoria, learning and playing are melded in the Master's Program in Computer-Assisted Education. Faculty here believes that learning experiences should, amongst other, provide enjoyment and learner satisfaction.

THE EXPLORATORIUM

A visit to the sites below will show how high engagement of fun and humour can be combined with the content adult learners need to master. The virtual museum (the exploratorium) demonstrates the use of these elements in a collaborative and highly interactive adult learning environment. You are invited to stroll through the museum and to experience the creative and rewarding outcomes of this course.

Participants are encouraged to take a closer look at the Virtual Rag, the Virtual Halloween and the Virtual Opera that were produced by the various students on the program. Other sites demonstrating the integration of fun elements are:

Calvin, Hobbes and Lucy

Bettie's Poem

CONCLUSION

The learners in the abovementioned course responded with enthusiasm to the challenges they were confronted with. They understood the quality added value that humour and collaboration brought to the course and consciously used elements of humour in their own learning products.

Some educationists still object and argue that fun and games can sugar-coat learning and make regular instruction seem dull . They maintain that fun and games can detract from the actual learning time. Some even argue that fun and games can distract learners' attention from the learning content. Others, however, reason that playing can help focus a student’s attention on content and can do a lot to increase a student’s positive affect (Lepper & Malone).

It would seem that it would be fare to state that placing learning materials for adult learners in a pre-packaged instuctivist learning shell, may create an impoverished learning environment in which the creativity and imagination remains unchallenged. This course demonstrated that the introduction of elements of fun and humour can be tremendously motivating, encouraging learners to work for hours whilst learning at the same time.

REFERENCES

Warren Buckleitner (ed). Active Learning: The Opportunities of Technology and Education in
Children's Software Revue. Available online at:
http://www.indiana.edu/~w200denn/howto/active_learning.html

Lepper & Malone. Available online at:
http://www.stanford.edu/~percival/LepperMalone.html

TCC Online Conferences
Kapi`olani Community College
University of Hawai`i
Honolulu, HI




Welcome About 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007	2002 Paper Presentations DARE TO PLAY JC Cronje University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa <jcronje@up.ac.za> L van Ryneveld Telematic Education, Pretoria, South Africa <lindavr@techpta.ac.za> INTRODUCTION For a small child there is no division between playing and learning (Buckleitner). They learn through everything they do and make no distinction between things that are 'just for fun' and things that are educational by nature. As Jean Piaget once said: "Providing children with an environment conducive to exploration, and offering our children time to share their ideas with us is perhaps the most important ingredient in developing their intelligence." Somewhere along the line though, maybe due to a lack of creativity, learning becomes serious business . Once grown up, most people indulge the myth that work and play are two distinct entities that should never overlap. This idea embodies itself in applications for adult learners that are, more often than not, duller than dust. The inherent human motivation to play and to have fun can, however, be tapped and harnessed for educational purposes, even in an adult learning environment. DARING TO PLAY At the University of Pretoria, learning and playing are melded in the Master's Program in Computer-Assisted Education. Faculty here believes that learning experiences should, amongst other, provide enjoyment and learner satisfaction. At the University of Pretoria, learning and playing are melded in the Master's Program in Computer-Assisted Education. Faculty here believes that learning experiences should, amongst other, provide enjoyment and learner satisfaction. THE EXPLORATORIUM A visit to the sites below will show how high engagement of fun and humour can be combined with the content adult learners need to master. The virtual museum (the exploratorium) demonstrates the use of these elements in a collaborative and highly interactive adult learning environment. You are invited to stroll through the museum and to experience the creative and rewarding outcomes of this course. Participants are encouraged to take a closer look at the Virtual Rag, the Virtual Halloween and the Virtual Opera that were produced by the various students on the program. Other sites demonstrating the integration of fun elements are: Calvin, Hobbes and Lucy Bettie's Poem CONCLUSION The learners in the abovementioned course responded with enthusiasm to the challenges they were confronted with. They understood the quality added value that humour and collaboration brought to the course and consciously used elements of humour in their own learning products. Some educationists still object and argue that fun and games can sugar-coat learning and make regular instruction seem dull . They maintain that fun and games can detract from the actual learning time. Some even argue that fun and games can distract learners' attention from the learning content. Others, however, reason that playing can help focus a student’s attention on content and can do a lot to increase a student’s positive affect (Lepper & Malone). It would seem that it would be fare to state that placing learning materials for adult learners in a pre-packaged instuctivist learning shell, may create an impoverished learning environment in which the creativity and imagination remains unchallenged. This course demonstrated that the introduction of elements of fun and humour can be tremendously motivating, encouraging learners to work for hours whilst learning at the same time. REFERENCES Warren Buckleitner (ed). Active Learning: The Opportunities of Technology and Education in Children's Software Revue. Available online at: http://www.indiana.edu/~w200denn/howto/active_learning.html Lepper & Malone. Available online at: http://www.stanford.edu/~percival/LepperMalone.html TCC Online Conferences Kapi`olani Community College University of Hawai`i Honolulu, HI