Finding the Balance between Virtual and Real Worlds
Mannheim (GER), December 2012 - "Digital Relevance: Why Learning on the Computer Has a Future ... and Critics Are Not Always Right," is the topic of the talk to be given at the LEARNTEC Congress by Prof. Dr. Peter Vorderer, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Mannheim. Professor Vorderer recently sparred verbally with the psychiatrist Manfred Spitzer in the German newspaper die ZEIT about the question "Does the computer make us stupid?". He supported the thesis that computers possess great potential for learning.
Prof. Vorderer is convinced that digital media as well as computer games can have positive and negative effects, and he concentrates on benefits. "All teachers know, for example, that they do not get though to a large number of their students because they ask either too much or too little of them. This is where good learning software that adapts to the level of the individual comes into play. For some, the program provides additional explanations, for others demanding tasks", he says.
In addition, Prof. Vorderer staunchly defends serious games, having been involved with them on the international level for years. "Serious games show the potential that lies in computer games because they often reach young people better than teachers or parents." And even if Prof. Vorderer doesn't think every computer game is beneficial, he is still convinced that young people have always withdrawn into other worlds - more or less excessively. "Before, there were comics, Perry Rhodan books, or television. This is nothing that immediately deserves condemnation."
But Prof. Vorderer, of course, also advocates a good balance between the virtual and real worlds. His department is currently pursuing a project called "Dual Reality in Serious Games". The project description states: "Smartphones and notepads offer excellent opportunities to link the real world with virtual worlds using integrated sensors. In our project we are working to exploit these links for serious games. In collaboration with an architect, we're developing a game to provide students with knowledge about architecture."
The game provides images of historic buildings that appear when the students aim their smartphone in a real landscape and click on an actual building. Then, a hyperlink is made available on the smartphone that accesses information on the historic building on the net. In addition to the information-technology issues, the project team is also investigating mechanisms to motivate the gamers in serious games.
At the LEARNTEC Conference, Prof. Vorderer will offer much more information about the meaningful and potentially beneficial uses of computers on 29 January 2013 at 1:45 pm.
