Immersive Learning on Tablets
Serendipitously, on three occasions in as many days, I have been in the presence of three 3 year olds (just love all those 3's). Each time, I was filled up with joy watching them engage with content on their iPads.
First time, we were at dinner with a couple when their three year old pulled out the iPad, tapped into one of her favorite apps and was immediately engrossed as she tapped, swiped, dragged and, from time to time, sat up, tilted her head confidently to reflect on the objects she was engaging with. Her fullest absorption in her iPad totally attracted the attention of older people in the restaurant, amazed at her competence with the tablet device.
Next day at a friend's house for dinner, their 3 year came up to the table with her iPad, opened the Netflix app, picked out a movie she wanted and downloaded it and started to watch it without asking help from any adult.
Earlier that day, I had offered my iPad to a three year old and she immediately took it out of my hands with a big smile, and started tapping and dragging and swiping, immersed in the content, participating in the cute animations and sounds that delighted her.
As described in Huffington Post this week,
“The iPad's sensitivity to touch preserves the intimacy of the magazine-reading experience. It also puts the reader in control. You are the navigator. Because the content is non-linear, interesting connections become possible and immediate. ……..You can venture as deep into the experience as you like….[this] digital technology has enormous potential. It brings a new dimension to our storytelling, making the experience more immersive than ever. It's exciting to think about where it will take us.”
Immersive Learning & Interactivity
I am very caught up in this new way of experiencing content, as a consumer and now as an author and content creator. My first app is about to be launched. Called “Embracing Change”, it's a self development app that takes readers on a personal learning journey following the Appreciative Inquiry framework. As a learning and development professional, I advocate using all the tools we can, in all the ways we can, with as many others as we can, to create the best experience learning experiences we can.
In the tablet format, content, theory, charts, images, interviews come to life, in fullest color and sound with the consumer interacting physically as well as cognitively and emotionally. No wonder kids love the aliveness of this new form factor. It's playfully engaging. And as adults, we, too can we re-connect with our inner kid, as we discover what it's like to interact with content in this immersive, engaging way.
