Medieval Help Desk Reminds Us to Play to Learn

With new apps, new operating systems, and new devices delivering our daily information and entertainment for work and play, learning how to learn about new media technology is an essential part of media literacy. So how do we gain greater access to access? Start a discussion of strategies for learning new media technology with this classic video, "The Medieval Help Desk," from the Norweigan show "Øystein og jeg" (2001) written by Knut Nærum (with English subtitles).
The comedy setting is the moment when bound books replaced scrolls as the medium of choice for recording written knowledge. The difficulties between the monk and the new book medium offer opportunities to examine our own strategies for learning new interfaces, and the tech support character presents an example for us to compare to the teaching techniques that work and fail for us around acquiring new media skills.  For me, the new book-user monk's reluctance to play around with the book on his own is most poignant. His fear of messing up or losing data keeps him from engaging in the play that he needs in order to learn--and the tech support monk does not help him towards that exploration.

After the jump, I suggest a few questions for pre-viewing discussion, analysis of the humor and discussion about strategies for teaching and learning to use new communication technology.