ICT Intent

There is a long interview in Popular Science with Will Wright the creator of Sims. One of the interesting themes in the article is the role of failure in learning with simulations and games. Will describes how a child will begin a game and fail many times as they work out the rules and how to get better at the game. He then contrasts this as a method of learning with common educational practice that is aimed at protecting children from failure.

For me, the facility to fail repeatedly without judgment is an important dimension that computer based learning can bring and is related to provisionality– the ability to re-edit, change, cut & paste and never actually be finished.

Furthermore, simulations, augmented reality and the provisionality of IT based work all represent areas in which technology can also transform assessment. Much of the current assessment using IT is based on automating existing methods (from multi-choice through to checking for plagiarism). A recent article in The Guardian exemplifies this by missing the point about what technology can add:

The benefits are obvious. It’s quicker, cheaper and more efficient. The really dull components, such as multiple choice or simple questions such as “name four things that contribute to global warming”, can be marked automatically or by less experienced markers, whereas questions requiring a more nuanced, longer answer can be left to the old hands. Your best markers don’t have to be wasted on the straightforward stuff.

A lot of current assessment practice is out of date and does not measure the things most important for a successful life in the modern world. So why waste time and money on making it more efficient. We need to measure new skills and capabilities in new ways.