More on Technology: Rules of Engagement


A recent article in eCampus News rehashes the issue of engagement in online courses. Like most pieces, this one misses the fact that online learning is not a simple translation of the physical classroom to a virtual environment.  The gaming industry—and the gaming generation—has been telling us this since at least 2004 in the book Got Game.  Engagement online is much more than peer review of student work, imbedded videos with chat exercises, or “live campus experiences” like interviews.  Virtual engagement is a sophisticated approach to keeping anyone—students included—connected to content, whether that content is a game or a learning object.  In short, sitting in a classroom is not the same as sitting in a chat room, any more than meeting with friends at a coffee shop is the same as logging into an online chat room.  The difference has been clearly laid out for a decade. It is time for higher education—and those who report on it—to catch up to the rest of society.

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