technology in practice webinar series presents:

Shouldn’t learning be fun?

Atsusi “2c” Hirumi and a good friend from the video game industry have recently had several experiences where they were asked to help design educational video games. They met with educators and administrators who cautioned against playing games in schools. Education, they say, is “serious business” and should be about learning in schools, not playing games. It appears that even those who advocate the use of digital games to enhance student learning often want the benefits that games provide, but are unwilling to allow the mechanism through which that benefit is created. 2c believes that if one of the reasons for designing a game is to engage the student, then “fun” must be present. What do you think?

Dr. Hirumi is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Central Florida. Born in New York, Dr. Hirumi spent most of his formative years growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. He received his B.S. in biology from Purdue University with a secondary teacher certification in biology and general science. He received his M.A. in Educational Technology from San Diego State University and his Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University. Dr. Hirumi's work focuses on developing systems to train and empower K12, university and corporate educators on the design, development and delivery of interactive distance education programs. His research concentrates on the design and sequencing of e-learning interactions. He has published over a dozen articles, several book chapters, and has made over 50 presentations at international, national and state conference on related topics. Recent awards include the Texas Distance Learning Association award for commitment to excellent and innovation, the Star Faculty Award for outstanding teaching, research and service, and he is the only two time recipient of the WebCT exemplary online course award.