Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
for completing a task; the design also defines what the task means in the context of
the virtual environment and the impact of the task to the player.
Reorganizing the content configuration of e-learning and designing content for
the purpose of learner interaction may produce the same results, moving the learner
focus away from machine acts and toward the interaction and understanding of
the content and objectives. In practice, e-learning design often limits the partici-
pant's choices, rather than maximizing them, as it is feared that more choices will
detract from the learning objectives. However, by limiting user interactions with
the content, the learning may also be less effective because the opportunity for the
learner to understand the content through interacting with the content is reduced. By
increasing learner interactions there is also an opportunity to improve engagement
and motivation. However, just as with games, adding disjointed and nonmeaning-
ful interactions for the sake of interacting does not support the overall objective of
a game or a course and is not representative of good design sense. Like games, the
learning objectives are self-referential and the interactions should relate to the mean-
ing and purpose of the content. In following this approach of content development
through interactions, game designers have successfully managed to create an envi-
ronment where the learning objectives of the game, if designed well, are transferred
to the player.
Without reexamining the manner in which learners interact with the content
of the course, feedback will remain to be designed as a mechanical feature of
e-learning. Feedback in e-learning is typically explicit and takes the form of an
assessment, praise, or coaching and is another segment of the course separate from
the content. Separating feedback from content as a means of correcting learners'
choices does not help create an immersive and engaging environment. Integrating
feedback as a means of communicating consequences enables the learner to deter-
mine the correctness of his or her choices—thereby learning which the right choice
was without having to be told so explicitly. If the same type of feedback used in
games, could be used in e-learning to communicate the consequences of choices, it
would in turn allow the learner to achieve a sense of accomplishment by completing
challenges based on his or her problem-solving ability.
Lastly, goals in e-learning are often a direct representation of learning objectives
just as goals in games are directly related the purpose of the game. However in
games, goals are presented as problems to be solved, and the necessary informa-
tion required to solve each goal is integrated into game play rather than submitted
to the player as facts to be learned. Goal-based instruction for e-learning should be
very much the same, constructing circumstances in which the learner must demon-
strate acquired necessary knowledge in order to successfully complete the goal. In
this type of design, the learner discovers the information required to complete the
goal through interaction with the content within the context of the virtual environ-
ment. This allows the learners to demonstrate their knowledge in context and focus
on accomplishing specific tasks that can progress the learner through increasing
levels of difficulty. The conceptual shift for designing goals in e-learning design
is connected to the manner in which content is represented and interactions are
designed.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search