A topic that seems to be very popular right now in education is MOOCs. Look how cool these MOOCs are! They have the power to change education! Look how much interesting data we can pull out of them! I kind of hope to never hear the word MOOC again. While I personally find MOOCs uninteresting, that's not why I get so frustrated with the emphasis on MOOCs. It is that we have seen this all before. Films are going to change education! Programmed instruction is going to change education! Games are going to change education! It seems like we haven't learned a thing about being realistic and sensible over the past 100 years.
In line with this, a sort of crisis I've been having over the past few months is the feeling that the work I have been doing on learning technologies, and games specifically, is useless. That I'm not going to accomplish anything. Why I am I here and what the hell am I doing? It's obviously not a state I'm thrilled to be in. However, perhaps this state isn't entirely a bad thing. My skepticism towards the learning technologies field is hopefully allowing me to look at things more clearly. To be able to be realistic about what I am attempting to accomplish and what can actually be done. Right now, I'm able to look at MOOCs and say, "Yeah, that might be cool. Maybe. You have to address some significant problems with the technology and format before you have convinced me." I suppose that that is better than being overwhelmingly positive. I think the same is true of other learning technologies, such as Twitter. I need more proof before I can get excited about it.
That said, this skepticism is causing me to struggle with my day to day work on learning games. It's hard to get excited about it right now. Yes, I am able to temper my expectations and being more realistic, but a certain amount of enthusiasm is needed to get you PhD. At a conference this weekend, I was chatting with someone who ended up talking about his experience getting a PhD. He described to me what he called the "Valley of Shit," a portion of his studies that was characterized by a lot of self-doubt and questioning. But he came out of that valley, and is now doing good work in his field. So I guess that this phase is a normal part of becoming a good researcher. We all need to develop a balance of enthusiasm for our work and healthy skepticism that keeps us grounded. In that way, we don't end up yelling about how MOOCs are going to change everything we've ever known about education.
I guess that this is how I am framing this course right now. I want to develop a balance of skepticism and enthusiasm for Web 2.0 technologies. I want to both understand why something like Twitter might be interesting and be able to be realistic about its actual benefits.
I think it's important to be a skeptic, and not just an evangelist. And it's also important to not just hype a technology but instead to think about what's really being accomplished with it.
ReplyDeleteMOOCs are not going to revolutionize education. I've taught one. Was skeptical at that time -- although it was a fine experience in large-scale ISD and was fun to network with all of the participants, I had no illusions of it being more than that. 2 weeks ago I co-led a workshop on MOOCs and Open Learning in China and was chuckling to myself along the way because I really don't think MOOCs are worth the hype. Everyone wants a MOOC, but I don't think they've even thought through why.
To me, the interesting part about social media is not the technology, but rather the networks people build with it and the knowledge activities they use it to support. Some cool stuff happens. Some bad stuff happens, too. And then there's a whole lot of boring stuff, narcissism, and hype. If we can figure out how to harness the good, then we're doing well, right? (BTW, as a researcher I do what I do because I find people and their communication endlessly fascinating. That's what fuels the fire, not any illusion that I'm changing the world -- although it's nice when people say that they've found my insights useful.)
I think to be an effective game-based learning researcher you need to go through this crisis of faith. Probably again and again and again. It's normal. Through it, you'll figure out why you do what you do. Your skepticism will allow you to see it clearly for what it is, and to develop a realistic (not blind) enthusiasm. Hang tight. It'll work itself out. :)
Thanks for your input Vanessa! I don't mean to be too personal, but these are the kind of questions I've been asking myself a lot recently. And this seemed like a good and relevant place to think about these out loud with you and other students in the course. To try to get at the heart of what we are doing and why. At the very least, maybe we can all develop an understanding that many of us are in similar places.
DeleteAnd I think that you are right on the money. It can't be about the technology itself. It needs to be about the things that happen around the tech. The interesting relationships that occur between people and various events. This is as true for games as it is for social media. It isn't about the game itself. It is about the behaviors, cognition, and communication of game players. If we can move past the hype of he tech, we can begin to harness the good and look at the benefits and weaknesses more clearly.
(And to be clear, I don't hate MOOCs. At the very least, they are an interesting experiment. I hope that we can find some use for them once the hype washes away.)
By the way -- I hate to tell you this but the Valley of Shit will most likely arise again during your career. I've taken my fair share of detours there. I think it's what keeps us on our toes, that we are able to doubt and to question what we're doing both individually and as a field.
DeleteI am in line with the Valley of Shit. I have been in the field of Educational Technology for almost 10 years. During my undergraduate study, I felt skeptical about how technology could change the education based on my K-12 educational experiences. I cannot vision how technological tools could be used in K-12 classrooms. During my graduate study in China, I have gradually participated in some projects and known better about the field. I felt a passion about it. I really saw technologies are improving students’ experiences. Here I am talking about soft technologies and hard technologies. I found I could apply those effective instructional design principles to develop fascinating lessons and courses. This made me exciting and fascinated. At the same time, I learned chances and challenges with Distance Education. I knew clearly that distance education had the problems of low dropping out, and controversial quality. However, I was passionate about the idea of open educational resources, and equal access to best courses and teachers. I came from a poor area. So I know how important educational equity is.
DeleteIn a nutshell, I agree that it is not about the technology itself, it is about where our passion is, and which we value most. I value the equal educational resources to anyone in any country. Meanwhile, I want to research on how to improve the quality of those online courses. But I admit I am not so productive now and still figuring out what I should focus on.
In your next post, Greg, you said that you thought this opening was heavy. Honestly, I sorta thought it was refreshing. I don't have a lot of feelings about MOOCs, but I wanted to share two things:
ReplyDelete1) My husband is a computer science PhD student and is doing research on freelance programmers, many of which are from less developed countries than the U.S. He and his research team theorize that online freelance technical work can be important for these countries, their populations, and economies. Many of these people are trained through online learning opportunities ranging from YouTube to fully online universities (and yes, MOOCs). The key that they are trying to investigate is the connection between skills demanded in the freelance industry and what people are learning. So, I agree that MOOCs may not change education...but I'm excited for what online education means for increasing access. And on that note, excited that you are training to be a game-based learning researcher!
2) I appreciated your reflections on the "Valley of Shit". I think I'm still sorta in this Valley, and I theorize that its occurrence is the result of WHERE I'm at in my program. I wonder if this is true for you, too? I think of it as a tunnel...when I started my program, I had the light of the outside world at my back. I couldn't "see the light at the end of the tunnel" yet, but because I was just at the beginning, some form of light was close by. The Valley of Shit started for me when I was far enough along in the pipeline to lose the light at the beginning, but also was unable to see the light at the end. It feels dark, sometimes lonely, and unending. But I'm getting closer to the end, I -think- I can see the light. Do you think if you see the light at the end of the tunnel, your Valley of Shit will feel less shitty?
1. That's really interesting to hear. I too am very excited about how the internet may be able to open education to people of all walks of life. I think that that idea is something we can all get excited about. That can hugely benefit many, many people. And even if MOOCs are not a feasible solution to our problem, perhaps they are a stepping stone to something good.
Delete2. If the tunnel analogy holds, then I am right in the middle. I started my PhD in Fall 2013, so I'm about halfway done. I guess I am as in the dark as much as I can be. There are a lot of question marks I haven't address yet, so there is a lot of uncertainty. So yes, I think that your ideas hold true for me as well. As I am able to address some of those uncertainties, I will be able to better see that "light at the end of the tunnel" and have a better idea of where I am at. I should make it clear that its not like life is miserable (far from it). It just that there is a lot self-doubt. At the very least, it's nice to here from you and Vanessa that I'm not weird in this regard. Good luck with everything!
Skepticism is going to change education! :)
ReplyDeleteEvery creative endeavor has troughs of disillusion. Have you ever tried to start a business? That's were your best problem-solving kicks in: when everything seems to stack against success, but you are determined to persevere.
ReplyDeleteHi, Michelle
DeleteGood point!