Continuing Education Gaps: Part Deux

This is a bit of a carry over from a previous post where i discussed gaps in continuing education. Although the focus of that discussion was about form and function, Raph Koster’s book on game design [A Theory Of Fun] made me realise something else about continuing education: it’s just boring.

A large part of it at least. There’s no shortage of content and no shortage media and presentation variety. But it’s still mostly boring and hence, difficult to engage with. From the learner’s perspective that is.

As a continual learner, most of my time is spent is spent gathering information from blogs, stories and special cases. I will use MSDN, and the like, for a point of reference on technical detail, but if really want to “learn” something- to grok it- i read a story about it.

I read about the human being behind the problem: how and when they discovered the challenge. What did they try, what *almost* worked and why not. What frustrations did they experience and finally, what solution do they suggest. In the story, i pick up on the mood and get to feel with the writer and become part of the adventure. In doing so, i am having fun because i’m engaging in all sorts of patterns thread into the story [implicit and explicit]. I also get to use my imagination: what does the writer look like? what kind of cubicle do they work in? what kind of boss is breathing down their neck? what time of day is it? what is the look on their face when they make their discovery? how do they feel about it? And i know that this is real.

It’s not another hypothetical Bob and Alice story but a real life event. Real blood and sweat and tears are involved in finding the solution and so, in turn i integrate more than one sense into the story. It’s interesting and above all, it’s fun and that’s how i learn.

Then i stare blankly at the table of contents in front of me for a .NET Fusion course. As much as i would love to learn all about it, where do i start? How do i apply all this to my real life; the here and now? As good as it might be for a reference, it’s definitely not something i can learn from…