Play then build: a learning design pattern

Shaun Thompson
Nov 2 · 9 min read

Decades ago, in 1997, IBM supercomputer Deep Blue managed to edge out chess world champion Garry Kasparov in a tournament that has gone down in history. These days, garden variety chess programs — able to run on a typical smart phone — can beat even the strongest human players.

And yet computers are only now getting to the point of being somewhat adequate at detecting whether or not a photo has a cat in it.

Prove you are not a robot: Which photos have cats in them?

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Shaun Thompson

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Shaun Thompson is a senior learning designer with OpenLearning. He manages to work mathematics into virtually any topic.

The Learning Designers’ Toolkit

Helping each other design great online learning experiences. A blog by OpenLearning.

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