Discussion Question: "Stealth" Learning
Elizabeth A. Evans
games discussion list. I thought it would be interesting and useful to
think about this question among us, too.
The definition of stealth learning varies, but one summary definition
might be that it is learning that happens quietly with no explicit
reference to what is being learned. Some think it's a valuable way to
learn. Others don't. Some extracted comments from the serious games
list on this topic are below.
"We should not be tricking the learners in educational games. We
should be giving them the tools to learn in a more palatable way."
"If we want kids to learn - tell them why and find ways to make the
learning engaging for them."
"I think there is an alternative interpretation than one where we are
tricking the learner or somehow deceiving them. The goal of stealth
learning is to fully embed learning activities into a meaningful
context so that they merge seamlessly into the game play. Children and
adults will know they are learning even if we did try to deceive
them."
Clark Quinn has a blog entry on the topic: http://blog.learnlets.com/wp/?p=145
I like his comments about the "explicit discussion of transfer." That
is, he recommends explicitly discussing how the lessons in the game
can be generalized, whether that discussion takes place in the game or
afterward. It's reflection about the learning.
Comments?
-- Libby
===================
Elizabeth A. Evans
Information Technology Services
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Home Page: http://www.unc.edu/~uevans/homepage.html
UNC-CH Home Page: http://www.unc.edu
Facebook and LinkedIn Profiles: Elizabeth Evans
Interested in teaching and learning with technology at UNC-Chapel
Hill? Subscribe to the learn list:
http://mail.unc.edu/lists/read/subscribe?name=learn