March 25, 2005
Useless, Functional, Creative, and Engaging!
amaztype: A fun little app.
Thanks to Alan for posting this link to his blog. Go give it a quick try (maybe type in "design", wait for the word to build, then click around a bit), then come back to this post for a Fun Friday Rant!
As I think about issues related to design, I am increasingly convinced that creativity is sorely lacking among most learning professionals (LPs). Some might blame ISD process models (i.e. ADDIE) for such lack of creativity but I disagree. Having a process does not mean you cannot be creative!
We have become so focused on making "effective" solutions that we (LPs) often forget that we are designing for human beings! I think there might be a couple of reasons for this.
One is that there is that we do not spend enough time understanding what it means to design as opposed to develop something. Our master's and doctoral programs spend time on ISD process, technology, instructional and learning theory. These are all necessary but not sufficient conditions for being a successful LP! Where is the course on creativity in design?
A second reason (i.e. excuse) is that many of the emerging learning technologies tend to make people think there is even less room to be creative. One of the areas I am researching, the dreaded "learning objects," can be especially oppressive and decidedly uncreative. Some will argue this is a reason not to use an object-oriented design approach (OOID). I argue that you can be creative with any technology and it is the outstanding designer who will bring creativity to the design.
My point is that any medium has constraints, it is how we work within those constraints that determines how creative we really are (e.g. you can say print-based training is "boring" - and the way designers create it, it generally is, but it is not the fault of the paper and ink - have you ever read a good fiction novel? The paper and ink are the same, aren't they?).
This little Amaztype application someone wrote is not a pragmatic or efficient tool. But it made me smile! It made me want to use it, to play, to have fun with an Amazon search. Would I use this for a quick search for products? Of course not. But it did inspire me to think (this post is part of the result). How many of your instructional designs have inspired learners to think for themselves, smile, and enjoy their day just a little bit more?
LPs please stop taking everything so seriously, open up your own playful side, and try, at least once today, to build something into a design that has no other purpose but to make your learners smile and think! (note, if you think taking a multiple-choice Flash(TM) applet and calling it a "Fun Quiz" with a flashing exclamation point is what I mean, you need to go back and use the Amaztype site again).
You'll enjoy your job more and so will your learners!
End Rant.
Posted by Rovy at March 25, 2005 7:17 AM