A thread started by Kim J. entitled "Times have changed...but not really" really intrigued me. It is one of my pet soapboxes. I believe that children are not learning the how systems work by being allowed to start the game over. I am embedding my original posting below.
To set the environment--it is still ski season here in the Pacific Northwest, it is a beautiful day, and I am sitting in my dining room where I can see the mountains and the sun, and I am working. Argh!
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| Phil Mahre |
I am intrigued by the ideas of simulation and virtualization. Some of you may have heard of
Phil and
Steve Mahre--the Mahre brothers--who were
World Cup and
Winter Olympics skiers from Washington State. They had a reputation for running the course in their heads before they ran the gates on race day. It was said, and at this far date I cannot easily find a source, that they would stand at the top of the course with eyes closed and run the course mentally before jumping into the start gate. The difference between them and many students is that they knew how to ski and they had skied the course before. They were practicing tactics and stategy in their heads. They knew what would happen if they hooked a gate or lost an edge. However, they reported that the virtualization worked for them. Their many wins support their assertions.
I wonder how these "simulations" relate to what is being taught using a computer simulation. The Mahre brothers could ski before they raced at the Olympic level. Naomi’s point about simulations being controlled resonates with me. I know what it is like to fall in a race course, rocket out of both skis, and slide over salted snow face first. When I crash in Wii skiing, it doesn’t feel the same at all. Is there a price that we pay for setting up situations in which a student can "reset" the game and start over?
Unfortunately, this whole area is one of my pet soapboxes. I have tried step on and off it quickly; however, I could not resist the invitation.
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