I don’t want anyone hurting themselves so I warn you straight off that this is a 30 minute video but well worth it if you’re even considering a future in media arts. Even if you’re not Mr. Schells’ ideas, should they indeed come to fruition, are at once an astounding and terrifying glimpse of what our lives might become one day.
I did warn you it was long. I thought he meandered a bit too much at the beginning and I really had no idea where he was going with what almost seems a flow of consciousness. I think what really stood out for me at first was his mention of a colleague who uses experience points and level ups in class as opposed to a grading system. I find the concept staggering. Forgive me educators, but I have long since viewed school as a game. One which I never had any incentive to play. Sure, good grades mean a better pool of universities to choose from, but more often than not the game for me was to see how far I could bend the rules of this system and do just enough to get by. I was never a motivated student in subjects that I had no interest in, and I know that I’m not alone in this. I can already see my son doing the same thing though I advocate the proper parental concern about grades, discipline, etc. The problem I see is that there is no real incentive for the desired cookie cutter student. This is why the gaming concept appeals to me, there is a tangible way to reward students for effort. The potential for this system goes beyond just a good grade and allows students to achieve in more than an intellectual fashion. I for one would love to see this method at least considered as an approach to encouraging kids to view school in a different light.
My initial reaction to Schells’ world of LED tattoos, and passive sensors was mixed. It was exciting to imagine the possibilities presented by real time rewards and points for everyday interactions. It would be a dream come true for marketing and advertisers. In the same thought I find myself abhorring the raw glut of consumerism at its worst. My paranoia of the invasive nature a system like this would entail is a privacy nightmare. Of course maybe we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. Eric Schmidt doesn’t think you should have anything to worry about, unless you’ve been naughty. This is indeed Schells’ parting thought. In a world where everything we do is recorded and stored will we change our habits out of necessity? Do you really want to leave a legacy of rickrolls and farmville tokens to your grandchildren? My neglected posterity is already a matter of record, so it’s unlikely that my progeny will be further discomfited by what I have yet to do. Nevertheless Schell might be right. The psychology is certainly plausible, it just remains to be seen what effect something like this would have on our society.
