Archive | March, 2011

Challenge

I’ve written a couple of posts already about motivation (the motivation to learn and motivational momentum) but today I want to explore some of the issues associated with that powerful driver: challenge. The ability to overcome some conflict is central to the engagement of most narrative experiences.  Similarly the level of challenge associated with any […]

What is a game?

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been doing some thinking about the nature of games for the BBC.  With gamification the new hot idea and with it the attempt to apply game mechanics to just about every industry both online and real world, it felt like a good time to revisit the core concept of […]

Motivational momentum

In my previous post, I shared some thoughts about the motivation to learn. Today I’m thinking about the momentum that motivation generates. There are a number of factors that can generate motivation.  These can include: Active participation Intrinsic and prompt feedback Challenging but achievable goals A mix of uncertainty and open-endedness Active participation in a […]

Bothered? What motivation to learn?

The initial challenge for any learning is to determine, encourage and exploit an individual’s motivation so I’ve been thinking a little about what motivates us to learn and what motivation can acheive.  Particularly after enforced schooling has finished. K.Patricia Cross identifies a number of reasons why adults choose to learn voluntarily: For its own sake When it […]

Education builds your brain

I struggled writing the title for this blog because it’s so obvious isn’t it?  Of course education makes us cleverer, for many that’s the whole point.  I suspect that many people, like me, have assumed that it’s about ‘filling’ our heads with knowledge but learning offers much more than that – it’s not just about […]