I imagine a public policy & civics research and education institute
that works to put information in more accessible formats. People learn
differently when the information they're getting isn't intimidating, and
even more so when it's fun. They like to be entertained. Unfortunately,
the mere mention of public policy, government, or civics immediately
makes people think "boring". Then their brains shut down.
I think this is one of the reasons why the U.S. government has so much
trouble solving big problems like the cost of health care, or our broken
education system. When people stop paying attention, political games
take over. Then the discussion isn't about the best solution to a
problem, but whether or not someone is going to be re-elected.
This is one of the reasons why I think Urgent Evoke is such a great
project. It can be hard to make learning fun; learning feels like work
for most people. But I think much of that has to do with the way in
which the information is presented.
I like video games. At the GDC conference last weekend a game with the
unfortunate name '
Power
Gig: Rise of the Six String' was announced. This game basically
teaches people how to play electric guitar, with an actual guitar. But
it's a game. According to the press release, "
Power Gig: Rise of the
SixString will transport players to an
entirely new universe, with its own mythology, politics, settings,
heroes and villains, where music rules all. "
It seems to me a natural evolution of the traditional button controller.
There are just a lot more buttons. It's interesting, though, that this
game will be used to teach a real-world skill. I've been "trying" to
learn how to play the guitar off and on for a while now, but to be
honest, as much as I want to know how to play, learning can be boring
and frustrating.
I want to explore new, fun ways of learning, and apply what I find to
solving social problems. I want to explore new ways of communicating
with people, making use of communications technology that has only begun
to develop. There is so much potential in the increasing ease with
which we can communicate with each other, and in the new communities
that are developing around new technologies.
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