Learning in 3D Review - Book Tour Stop #9

Its no secret that I'm a big fan of virtual environments, interactive3D, or whatever you want to call them. My biggest frustration has been waiting to see the acceptance of Virtual Immersive training Environments. I've been waiting for 15 years now since I built my first virtual training app for the semiconductor industry. It seemed so brain-dead simple to see how powerful and effective the learning experience was and yet we couldn't sell the continuation of the project to management.

My hope is that with this book we may begin to see the acceptance of VIEs in corporate training. And after reading it, if this book doesn't at least help then we are doomed to a 2D digital existence. Okay...so maybe that's a little harsh but I think you get what I mean.

Dr. Kapp and Dr. O'Driscoll lay out a powerful narrative about virtual environments. I think every reader will relate to at least one of the personal experiences told in the book. And I think that's what hooked me in. You definitely get a sense of the current state of industry and where people are in their willingness to accept the new technology. They have incredible case studies, and very practical advice on how to get past the hurdles I encountered 15 years ago. I certainly could have used this insight back then.

I've had many, many conversations about virtual environments of the years and I get the feeling that mainstream adoption is farther off than we would like it to be. Especially after watching how a new technology like TWITTER went from "this is stupid" to mainstream adoption. VIE user interface design needs LOTS of work. Designers could learn a LOT by simply mimicking the user controls of current MMORPGs. But even then I still believe it needs to be easier to use before they reach that tipping point.

Besides being simple to use they need to be culturally acceptable. That will simply take time. My 8 year old daughter enjoys World of Warcraft. She runs quests with other players, and contributes to team victories in the battlegrounds. I often wonder what these other players would think if they knew she was only 8. She will have no problem attending virtual schools, and building virtual content to test hypotheses, and join virtual groups for in-world social learning activities.

We certainly do have a few more years to go, but I'm excited for the future. Learning in 3D explores every angle of what makes it so exciting. But remember! Reading the book is great. But to truly understand you MUST experience these environments and see, and feel, what the book is talking about.


DevLearn 2010 Conference & Expo - November - San Francisco, CA

Mobile Apps that build Mobile Apps - Is there room for an eLearning Authoring App?

I have been following the UpsideLearning blog a lot lately because they have been focusing on mLearning. This Post pointed me to the RWW blogRWW blog and the PowerOne Calculator App for the iPhone. It reminds me a lot of what Wolphram|Alpha is supposed to do. Basically, for 5.99, you have the ability to create to your own calculations. This is great for real estate agents, and apparently nurses, and doctors and pharmacists who need to perform complex calculations.

My experience with Bento has been similar. Many people have written it off as being too simplistic of a database system, or just not what they need. Me too. That is until the Bento iPhone app came out. Now I create my own apps quickly and easily for many different things. No more cheesy little todo list apps. Now I make my own custom, cheesy, little todo lists (or libraries).

I've never really mentioned it but now that its been mentioned on MacBreak weekly as a pick of the weekpick of the week, I feel like its okay to mention that I use it ;-)

So, is the iPhone eLearning authoring tool that far off? Is anyone working on one, or something similar? And not just for the iPhone. Other phones too. Yes, I know everybody has an authoring tool that exports to a mobile format (okay maybe not everybody), but that's not what I mean. I want an mLearning authoring tool built specifically for the mobile platform. Who's gonna step up?

Submit a proposal for mLearnCon

DevLearn 2010 Conference & Expo - November - San Francisco, CA

True Mastery NOT possible without FUN! Take it from a 5 yr old drummer prodigy

I don't often follow viral video trends, but sometimes I do it just to find inspiration. Yesterday I found the video below and it got me thinking. I thought the obvious thoughts at first, ya know, "wow, a prodigy", and "there must be something genetic", and "he's just naturally talented", etc, etc, etc.



But then, knowing that my friend and colleague Aaron Silvers (@mrch0mp3rs) also appreciates heavy rock'n'roll (for lack of a better term. I hate to label), I sent him a tweet. I was right...

from @mrch0mp3rs: oh... my... lord...

The questions he asks, however, are different than mine. (BTW - THAT is why pinging your network is important.)

from @mrch0mp3rs: ...Look at the sense of flow. How much practice did it take to get to that mastery.

The key word for me there is mastery. Doesn't something like this just...well...in Aaron's words..."throw a whole wrench into it"? It being our idea of what mastery is. First of all, I'd guess that it took a LOT less than 5 years, because... well... he had to spend at least a couple years of his young life learning how to lift his head, sit up, eat without puking, ya know that infant stuff.

Perhaps this is a much better example of Shoshin or beginners mind. The Zen teacher Suzuki is quoted often, "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few". The beauty of watching kids is they just DO what they want. That normally means they do what they like or enjoy. Seeing pure joy in the face of a child is a gift that should be experienced every day by adults(experts). That must be why school teachers LOVE what they do.

Aaron's final tweet-reply was my favorite...

from @mrch0mp3rs: Look at his command of the whole set... you don't get to that kind of proficiency without it being intrinsically fun.

I know we avoid the word fun, but let's get real. Most children will stop an activity WELL before they achieve this level of mastery. Most kids at some point will bang things together and show an interest in making noise and yet have no desire to sit at a drum set. But you can tell by watching this kid that he truly enjoyed every moment of his time on the drums. Heck, most adults just don't even try new things. An adult's "expert" mind rationalizes the time commitment of gaining a new desired skill, and they decide no, without even giving it a chance.

So, why shouldn't we consider FUN a critical part of the learning process?

If the learning experience is not purely joyful and fun, then the pain associated with the learning process forces the child to quit and the adult to not even start. But let's also remember that does NOT mean the learning must come easily. No, in fact, the joy comes from overcoming a difficult complex challenge. The joy of learning comes from the DOING...over, and over, and over, until you get it right. During the over, and over, and over part you are certainly frustrated at times and even angry, but it IS still joyful because you are hopeful that knowing soon you will have overcome the challenge and success is right around the corner. And THAT feeling ROCKS!

How do you help your learners ROCK?

mLearnCon 2010 Conference & Expo - San Diego, June 15-17