The picture looks simple enough: A simple but well-made outdoor classroom. But it's more than that: The benches and supports make up a "math playground," where kids can play games that simultaneously teach them arithmetic. Dubbed the Learning Landscape, it was designed by Project H Design, which tested the concept in the U.S. before rolling it out at a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda. (More images here.)
Ingenious as the project is, it's interesting to contrast it with another high-tech project just presented at TED, involving computer-powered "tiles" that can be stacked and shuffled, in myriad interactive learning games:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP0w9lZoLwUThe two projects accomplish similar things: Providing an intuitive way to relate with abstract concepts. But I'd argue that technology-which we often view as an unalloyed savior-probably doesn't add much, when you compare what the kids are actually learning. That's germane to both educators and designers: Technology's ultimate goal is invisibility, while the best lessons are the ones that live in the world around you.Via BLDGBLOG.
Ingenious as the project is, it's interesting to contrast it with another high-tech project just presented at TED, involving computer-powered "tiles" that can be stacked and shuffled, in myriad interactive learning games:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP0w9lZoLwUThe two projects accomplish similar things: Providing an intuitive way to relate with abstract concepts. But I'd argue that technology-which we often view as an unalloyed savior-probably doesn't add much, when you compare what the kids are actually learning. That's germane to both educators and designers: Technology's ultimate goal is invisibility, while the best lessons are the ones that live in the world around you.Via BLDGBLOG.
