Reading Response2

In Norman’s Chapter 4: Fun and Games, many intrigued examples are used to illustrate his major point of view: Why not have information displayed in a pleasant, comfortable way? (P101)

                            

There are so many data and information surround us via various forms or channels at present day. Can we grasp all of them? Or can we just take a glimpse at one of them? I would say no at this point and don’t mention that we can remember several pieces of them. People have an intention to just listen or remember what they need and leaves out all the others. It seems ok to do so, but what if we bring this subject to education? From my perspective as a student, I would unconsciously be absence-minded when I am having chemistry class or geography class (Especially when teacher putting their effort on telling us how to remember the topography in Africa. I mean, what is the point for deliberately remembering this? I might never set foot on this continent!). So what would teachers do? From those who are at undergraduate or graduate studies may know exactly what information or knowledge they want in certain courses due to their fully developed sense of studying. But how about those one who are in younger age? How should the teacher make sure that their students have absorbed what they need? (Or maybe this “What they need” it is an question itself.)

I might wander too far to the subject but it is a concern that first comes to my mind…

However, this chapter did catch my attention. When Norman describes the table tennis, he said: “Is this a good way to play table tennis? No, but that’s not what it’s about: it’s about fun, delight, the pleasure of the experience. (P100) The statement once remind me the Iphone App “ IdragPaper”. Here is the game description from official website: “Have you ever had the impulse to drag the whole roll of toilet paper at one go? Now you can realize your evil idea just in iDragPaper!” What is the point for this game? It’s not a motion game that makes you feel satisfied when you kill all the bad guys and save the princes at last and it’s not a wii tennis that exercise your body. There is no intellectual or physical objective in this game. But it definitely entertains people and they have fun!! I remember the boys are roaring to struggle pulling out the whole roll of toilet paper and the girls are screaming when I showed my friends this purposeless game. This game is definitely a ice-breaker when you have new friends sitting together not having conversation but stare at each other awkwardly. Maybe…Maybe this is the purpose of this game. The purpose is not what you get from the game but what it gives to you. Apparently this game lit up the awkward atmosphere and act as a conversation starter.

In this chapter he also put forward a question that how can we maintain excitement, interest, and aesthetic pleasure for a lifetime?(P110) If we pay attention to the world surround us, indeed we can find numerous examples that maintain excitement, interest, and aesthetic pleasure for a lifetime. In the field of Architecture, from ancient to present, we have Great Wall in China, Eiffel Tower from France, London Eye from England, Burj Al Arab Hotel from Dubai, etc. For music, there are Blue Danube, Clair De Lune from Debussy, etc. There fascinating architecture and enchanting music are imprinted in our hearts from generation to generation. At this point, the long lasting art trigger me to think of a question that can technology(website, application, device) related to education can do the same? I believe this question will bring myself to a dilemma because on one hand the education technology should maintain excitement, interest and aesthetic pleasure for its users in terms of knowledge acquisition, but at the other hand, knowing that teaching methods and the way students how to learn is ever-changing, it is hard to develop a classic software that influence people from generation to generation. I might not taking Norman’s question in a wrong way as I am not digging to much in educational field. But I think what we could do is continuously study students’ needs and keep improving the educational technology. I think that’s the purpose for inquiring in this field. The educational technology itself is a process of “discovery-learn—improve-solve-discovery…”.