Keynote: Iowa Distance Learning Association #iacon2011

Boise State University

Designing for Serendipty in Educational Innovation Lisa Dawley, Dept. of Educational Technology

“I feel myself ge5ng smarter.”

“To innovate is not to reform” Edmund Burke

1How we become

innovators

2Importance of

serendipity

3Design for serendipitous learning

How do we become educa?onal innovators? 1

Educa?onal Innova?on

•  Innova?ve breakthroughs require years of intensive prepara?on

•  Enthusias@c immersion in a domain results in deep, rich knowledge

•  New ideas spur on more new ideas, networks generate cycles of innova?on

•  Give freedom to innovate Geoff Colvin

How: Deliberate Prac?ce & Opportunity

•  A lifelong period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain Geoff Colvin

1.  Know where you want to go, and iden?fy next steps 2.  Prac?ce directly, master what you don’t know 3.  Self-‐regulate: set concrete goals, observe in ac?on, evaluate 4.  Deepen your knowledge with mental models

**Mul@plier effect: improvement over ?me increases drive. Extrinsic mo?vators can be useful in early stages.

2 Importance of serendipity

making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated

A trip to Finland??

Serendipity is a major component of scien@fic discoveries and inven@ons Key component of business intelligence

•  Penicillin •  Silly puYy •  Mauve •  Teflon •  Scotchguard •  Cellophane •  Chocolate chip cookies •  Christopher Columbus •  Grounded theory (paYerns) •  Used in business intelligence

How do we go off-‐course when curriculum is standardized, accountable, and tested?

3 3 Design Ideas for

Serendipitous Learning

and innova?on

Personal Learning Networks

Personal Learning Environment

Why PLNs? •  Supports connec?ons among teachers/learners •  Supports serendipitous knowledge construc?on through distributed nodes and networks

•  Empowers learners to become self-‐led, independent knowledge seekers and creators

•  Allows customiza?on of learning paths specific to individual interests or needs

•  It’s fun and you can take it with you!

Organizing Informa?on in the Network

Social Network Knowledge Construc?on

Construc@on & Crea@on Opportuni@es

•  Blogging/twee?ng •  Social media crea?on


•  Simula?ons •  3D prin?ng

•  Virtual Worlds


Growth Trend in virtual worlds: tweens and teens

Virtual World Popularity by Age • Poptropica 144M • Barbie Girls 22M • Buildabearville 21M

• Jumpstart 4M

5-‐10

• Stardoll 94M • Neopets 65M • Club Penguin 63M • Whyville 7M

10-‐15

• Habbo 200M • IMVU 50M • WeeWorld 40M • Gaia 36M

15-‐25

• Second Life 25M • Utherverse 7.5M • eRepublic 2M

25-‐35

Virtual World Types by Age

HAND: movement (somato-‐

sensorymotor system)

HEART: rela@onships,

emo@ons, long-‐term memory

(limbic system) HEAD: Intellect, decision making, planning, impulse control (frontal cor@cal networks)

•  Quest-‐Based Learning

Learner Choice to Demonstrate Competencies

3dgamelab.org!

To sum it up

•  Excellence and innova?on come through deliberate prac?ce

•  Serendipity is a necessary aspect of innova?on

•  Opportuni?es for serendipity can be designed into learning environments and curriculum – PLNs, content crea?on, learner choice