The Art of Learning Community: Technology and Gamification As A Recipe For Learning Umami

Abstract

School reform efforts purport to create engaged learners that can think creatively beyond the standards, however, teachers struggle with how to reconcile the culture of standardized testing with the learner engagement and motivation that is key to student success. When designing learning experiences that promote creativity, via information and computer technology, teachers need to adopt an ecological approach that encompasses people, practices, values, and technology interacting- with the spotlight being on human activities. The Japanese word umami describes how humans engage all senses to form judgments about their food. This provides an apt metaphor for instructional design. Food should be nourishing, presentable, and delicious- a feast for the senses. This is a worthy standard for any lesson- the goal of “learning umami.” The author proposed to create an analogous process in crafting an online learning community (http://edvislee.wix.com/rehearse-for-life), which consists of a mash-up of tools, apps, content, gamification, and collaboration with artists as “flavors” for engagement. This paper will review the community’s features before and after modifications, discuss design implications and rationale for changes, and make recommendations for additional improvements. The results demonstrate how pedagogy, design, and evaluation can be used to tailor existing apps, tools, services, and content to create a compelling learning community to meet any instructional design challenge.