I follow a whole lot of e-Learning blogs, and they typically cover topics like web 2.0, social media for learning, e-Learning technology, the state of the industry, etc. Once in a while, they do tackle interesting, chewy e-Learning design questions (but not as often as I could wish for).
Where I do consistently find conversations about interesting, chewy e-Learning design questions is on Gamasutra – a gaming industry blog. Few, if any, of those articles are actually about e-Learning (and, according to Patrick Dunn, they are on the other side from e-Learning, separated by a huge and uncrossable chasm.”).
Gamasutra does also cover topics like the industry, tools, etc., but they also have amazing things to say about e-Learning design. Here are some of the best examples:
- Funativity: Want to learn about how to motivate learners to engage with your e-Learning?
- Boss Design: Trial & Punishment: Want to learn about rigorous evaluation for e-Learning? Work on your boss fight.
- Rethinking Carrots: A New Method For Measuring What Players Find Most Rewarding and Motivating About Your Game: How do you handle motivation and rewards in your e-Learning?
- Behavioral Game Design: It’s all about the feedback.
- Gamer Archetypes and Lack of Authorial Control: Just tweeted this today — how much control do you allow your learners? Is their experience push or pull? What about Social Media in learning?
- Achievement Design 101: Are your learners able to achieve in your learning?
- Creating the Illusion of Accomplishment: Are your learners able to accomplish in your learning? (I blogged about this here)
- Persuasive Games: And you should read pretty much all of Ian Bogost’s columns on persuasive games. Really.
Frequently, Gamasutra does deal explicitly with games for learning, and it’s a beautiful thing:
- Learning by Design: Games as Learning Machines: by James Paul Gee, the Jedi Master of Games for Learning
- Learning to Play to Learn – Lessons in Educational Game Design: by Nick Fortugno & Eric Zimmerman
- Proof of Learning: Assessment in Serious Games by Sande Chen
(This more or less goes with my previous post about the Acagamic – another great site about e-Learning that isn’t about e-Learning. Go there too).
Thanks for this list. Reminds me of all the Gamasutra articles I’ve delicioused to read later and some that I hadn’t.
Thanks Dan — did I miss any of your favorites?
Excellent.
This is my big project for next year – working on discovering the new centre (centre 2.0, if you will. I hope you won’t)
You have eLearning (or training or org dev or whatever you’re into) at the centre. And all of this great stuff is floating around the periphery. What if we’re the periphery? You can guess what I think.
That’s what I’m going to be spending my time thinking about next year, anyway. And this is a great start.
Nice.
This is what I’m going to be thinking about next year. Where’s the centre?
We have all this great stuff floating around the periphery? What if we’re not the centre? What if they are? You can guess what I think.
Anyhoo. This is what I’m going to be thinking about next year. And this is a good start.