Virtual Spaces Increasingly Shape Our Learning

By Wesley Fryer On January 1, 2016 · · Add Comment

I like and agree with this quotation from a recent interview with Jennifer Magnolfi (@magnolfi):

The world is changing to create the basic building blocks of a digital society, which means that many of the things that shape our lives — our memories, our pasts, the way we connect with others, the way we create new ideas, the way we are inspired and sometimes the way we learn new things — doesn’t only happen by walking through the physical world. It also often happens by interacting with the digital world.

Having spent an alarming number of hours playing Minecraft over this holiday break, some with my sixth grade daughter as well as cousins, I have been thinking more about the reality of virtual worlds and their power to both entertain us and help us learn. There is a tangible reality to virtual experiences which I think some adults are unable or hesitant to acknowledge, possibly because of a lack of personal, virtual experiences. The “holodeck” of Star Trek is not a reality yet, but we are rapidly moving in that direction.

Playing minecraft with the dad! He's a sharp shooter 🙂 pic.twitter.com/6FpHZkLsnw

— RachelArtist (@RachfMC) December 31, 2015

The rather amazing and deeply interactive learning experiences which my wife and I have had these holidays through @EdCampVoxer is also a case in point. These conversations have energized our enthusiasm for MakerSpaces as well as opened up new ideas for classroom learning, like “gallery learning,” for my wife.