A comment about strategic design.

My preference, which is supported by Computer Supported Collaborative Learning theory of instructional design, is that the quality of the material take on a more prominent role than the quantity of material. Our tendency is to find out so much interesting information that we take our students, viewers, and readers down the same path where we learned, but that has become less necessary with the emergence of vast amounts of accessible digital information right at our fingertips. A conversation yesterday with my son reminded me of how digital natives learn, much differently than digital immigrants.

We were having the ubiquitous discussion about his schoolwork. He was griping about the workload and such, when the conversation led to what he enjoys learning. He brought up his love of anthropology and anything to do with ancient history. It wasn't a class he took or normal school project, prompting Matthew's interest in middle age Scottish culture or to ask to visit Hadrian's Wall on our summer vacation. The impetus for this academic passion was a game called Civilization.

While playing this online, turn-based game, Matt began searching for information in other areas. When he caught the Celtic bug, he read feverishly. Today, a couple of years removed from his Civilization days, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the early Scots and many cultures that interacted with them.

The point of this story? Matthew was inspired to learn about something and learn it he did. No educator or classroom were directly involved. Yes, a foundation was established through lifelong family, community, and educational support systems. But the young man chose the topic, made the effort, and learned through his own devices and access to the digital world. It took those other systems to get him to this level, but it was time for him to move on. The student becomes the teacher, don't they call that independent learning?

Bombarding him with homework didn't work, it works with some kids, but not this one. Inspiration was the key. Once he was motivated, he did all the work and thought he was only playing. Guess he was right. Learning is a game when its fun.