MUCH ADO ABOUT MACARTHUR (DML 2012): Last week’s third annual Digital Media and Learning Conference, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation and held in San Francisco, delivered on its theme of "Beyond Educational Technology." The breakout sessions, presented by a stellar cast of academicians, technologists, and educators, focused less on the "coolness" factor and more on critical pedagogy emerging around media and technology. Keynote speaker, Mr. John Seely Brown, offered soaring rhetoric about how learning comes from doing. Education, he noted, tends to focus on the world of Homo Sapiens—man as knower. To this Mr. Seely Brown added two extra descriptions: Homo Faber—man as maker and man as player—Homo Ludens. A video of his--dare we say--play-filled video is here.
