[game_edu] The New "World Processor" (was ESA Foundation Computer and Video Game Scholarship)

[pawlicki at cs.rochester.edu]

It's kind of a nice story, but there is an ironic twist.

While we do learn a lot of word processing "on the job", it turns
out that you can take courses formal about it at college.
At most institutions of higher education, what we would call
"word processing" is taught by the computer science (or information
technology) departments. It goes under the heading "CS0" or
"computer literacy". All major publishers have textbooks which
support it (usually MSword, a few have OpenOffice).

Computer Science departments consider these courses "service courses".
They typically are not for CS majors. However, the use of these
"productivity tools" (word processors, spreadsheets, data bases) is
recognized as being useful to all disciplines, that CS departments
teach them.

So, if we accept the analogy, then one would argue that 20 years from now
everyone at the university would learn the "world processor" from the
CS departments - if they hadn't picked it up in high school - and then
be users of it in their respective disciplines.

Ted

PS: I actually *WAS* alive when the first hardware dedicated
word processors and desktop publishing software packages were released.
It wasn't that long ago.


> Hello all,

>

> I very much like how Ian expressed his point.

>

> However, I have a slightly different perspective, if you could indulge me

> for

> using a parable.

>

> Suppose we were alive when the first hardware dedicated word processors

> and

> desktop publishing software packages were released and schools considered

> this

> the next 'wave of the future for writing'. (Well, I was alive then, but

> that's

> beside the point.)

>

> So the different school departments debated which of them should teach

> "word

> processing".

>

> Since most documents were written in English, the English dept. thought

> they

> should teach this new "word processing".

>

> But, since most of the written works created by authors (in all languages)

> with

> these new "word processors" were fictional works created purely for

> entertainment, the Multilingual Creative Writing dept. thought they should

> teach "word processing". But, they insisted the software be called

> "entertainment designing/developing software for words", and, for other

> uses of

> "word processors", such should be call "serious entertainment

> designing/developing software for words".

>

> The CS dept. thought they should teach "word processing" since all "word

> processors" were created by software programmers and the software had

> key-stroke macros and scripts which would make everyone's writing faster

> and

> more accurate.

>

> The Engineering dept. described how "word processing" documents were

> essential

> for explaining the "how" and "why" of their engineering diagrams. So they

> wanted to teach "word processing for engineers".

>

> Because "word processing" words were the same as hand written words

> really, the

> distinguishing feature of "word processors" were the new resizeable, color

> fonts and layout of illustrations and photos, the Art dept. wanted to

> teach

> "word processing" to create the right emotional visual effects.

>

> Since all words and expressions originated in the mind before ever being

> expressed in the real world and one needed to train the mind and hand in

> this

> new, non-linear form of thinking, the Psychology dept. wanted to teach

> "word

> processing".

>

> Business folks could use "word processing" to communicate more quickly

> between

> businesses and the government as well, so the MBA dept. wanted to teach

> "word

> processing".

>

> The Law dept. was afraid that if just anyone used "word processors" it

> would

> lead to confusion, so they want to teach everyone concise, precise ways of

> using the "word processors".

>

> Because most documents created by "word processors" needed to be printed

> and

> published, the Typography, Printing, and Publishing dept. believed they

> should

> teach "word processing".

>

> Universities wanted to teach "word processing" to improve scientific

> papers and

> set the "word processing" curriculum standards for other schools.

>

> The best "word processing" professionals knew that this was an extremely

> technical, complex, and multi-disciplined field and so desired it to be a

> school of learning in its own right, an equal among peers.

>

> ...

>

> So, most students learned "word processing" because they thought that if

> they

> could be the best users of "word processors" they could get lucrative jobs

> in

> Hollywood as writers. [Strike that.]

>

> The schools taught "word processing" because they wanted to be known as

> centers

> of the best and most creative "word processing" students and attract all

> the

> businesses to the area that needed "word processing".

>

> And they lived happily ^E^E^E^E^E^E productively ever after. The End key.

> _________

>

> Well, it didn't work like that.

>

> Word Processors, and systems which provided that function, are a

> "communication

> medium". They became prevalent in all industries and fields of study for

> storing, sending, and printing the written word. One learned on the job

> and/or

> from friends just the bits to make one's life a little better.

>

> I assert that immersive, interactive, rule-based, emotive, shared,

> creative

> worlds are a new communication medium, the "meta-medium" which encompasses

> all

> the others. Hence, this medium will be used in all industries and fields

> of

> study (emphasizing one aspect or another of the medium capabilities as

> needed

> in the spectrum between "game", "simulation", and "performance"). It will

> store, send, and share expressions of operations, processes, and rules of

> known

> and imagined systems and systems-of-systems.

>

> "Metaverse world creation tools" will appear in our productivity suites

> along

> with the word processors, spreadsheets, slide show presentations, database

> management, non-linear video editors/players, and social networking tools.

> The

> metaverse world tools will then gradually absorb and supercede the

> functionality of the other tools in the suite.

>

> Folks will learn just enough to self publish on You-World, their Wlog

> (mirror-world-blog), or add a little to the shared corporate

> history/forecast

> simulation. In reality, accounting/ERP systems are simulations but only

> expressed in numbers, words, and graphs to represent place, time,

> performance,

> expectations, etc.

>

> In time, one's avatar will just be a logo for, representation of, and

> doorway to

> one's own system of worlds and the operations, processes, and reflections

> of

> ideas expressed therein for others to visit.

>

> Or so it seems imho. So, how do we teach that?

>

> Cheers,

> Darius Clarke

> edusims.com

> ________________

> Ian

> Sun Mar 1 20:38:45 EST 2009

>

> I think you could make a case for placing game design just about anywhere.

> It's

> one of the most interdisciplinary fields I've ever encountered.

>

> You're making the rules that govern a living world. You could argue that

> this is

> essentially what is studied in a school of law... or theology.

>

> A game designer doesn't build the game, but they make the specs and design

> docs

> that other people follow in order to build it. That is essentially what an

> architect does with buildings, so we could be in the school of

> architecture

> (especially when you consider the use of architecture in level design).

>

> A game designer is like a party host; we invite the player in to our world

> and

> try our best to make sure they have a good time. Game design could grow

> out of

> the field of hospitality services.

>

> Game design has a huge amount of crossover with education; so much has

> already

> been written about flow theory, and how the "fun" of games comes from

> learning

> and skill mastery. So we could be in the school of education.

>

> Game design is about creating a specific mental state in the player, so an

> understanding of how the brain works would help greatly. We could be in

> the

> department of psychology or neuroscience.

>

> Game design involves taking a lot of separate mechanics and putting them

> together in a way that the whole is more appealing than the sum of the

> parts.

> This is essentially what a chef does too, so there is crossover between

> the

> skills that make someone great in the kitchen and great on a development

> team.

> Game design could arguably be part of the culinary arts.

>

> I realize some of these are more of a stretch than others. My point is

> that it

> doesn't really matter where it goes, because it can really go anywhere...

> as

> long as the people teaching it know what they're doing, and as long as the

> department can play nice with all the other departments that are dealing

> with

> other aspects of game development.

>

> - Ian

>

>

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