Serendipity and Learning

It is indeed the age of the autodidact and the world is filled with Ekalavyas . It is fascinating to see how they learn - especially on the things that they are motivated about. There is new fad called the Rainbow Loom that has somewhat taken the kids by storm. This involves making things using special rubber bands which are I think specially manufactured for this purpose. (I say that, because the rubber bands are better in quality than the cheap ones we are used to and have some designs on it - among other things). There is an entire body of knowledge on the internet on the design of these bands. It has its own jargon - with names for the design. There are a million youtube videos from which they learn. The process is also fueled by somewhat of a social component. The kids talk and show each other the newest designs they have learnt to make and they come home and try out new stuff. All in all it fuels a vicious cycle of learning and creativity. This is the nature of learning ...

We are still into clash of clans -the third week running. We have joined a clan, we donate troops (good citizen), we attack and defend with gusto etc etc. while keeping up with the levels. It is engaging. No doubt. Addictive – perhaps yes. But then, well, the positive side is that if something so engaging is addictive as well, surely, it means that one has the capacity to stay engaged and get deep into something. And the addiction can be controlled by setting a few rules to the children, who in turn follow it. But what is fascinating is the learning out of games like these – not a direct learning, but an indirect one. In games, unless your resources are kept rolling, victory is not assured (whatever victory means). And these games, help you get there by small victories – in the form of points, trophies, achievements and so on. Almost any game with resources follows this simple premise. Keep the money in circulation. Make your money work. If you have played Monopoly ...

The little one is now a fan of Clash of Clans . Whatever the merit of the game - I like the way it is organized. And since gamification is the rage now, it made me think of a combination of gamification and 'social' as the means to achieve a goal. Now if you 'gamify' and 'social' anything, does not mean it will work. But I think there are some thumb rules - purely based on what I see in Clash of Clans. Degree of difficulty - it has to be 'so near, yet so far'. Anything too easy is not worth a challenge, anything too difficult may cause the kids to give up. You play by yourself upto a point and just at that point of inflection where you may feel inclined to give up (because with stingy dads who wont buy you anything, it is a steep climb) there comes a breather and a new motivation -you get to join a clan and meet your friends online and play. Small rewards along the way - not too easy and not too tough. Even if you lose you dont lose everything...

Imagine you have a choice of trainings. One is a training format with teams competing against each other in predetermined subjects in a league format. Each team "owner" gets to select a captain, coach and then they build their team from there on. From that point on, it is the teams responsibility to build their skills so that they could win the competition. The members of the team were purely volunteers - so there was no conscription. Contrast this with a training where you attend as individuals, show up for classes and a stick hanging over your head in case you miss a class. The mode of instruction is classes - normal facilitator led sessions spread over a few days. At the end you give an exam which decided if you pass or fail. Imagine that both of these have a spread of about 6-8 weeks. Which one would you choose and why? Sure, the same commitment is required for both and the people who are committed in one will also be committed to the other. But dont you think...