MEIEA Summit 2025

               Katy Richards, Moderator
5:00- “XQ” – Towards a Dynamic Interplay of Intelligence Within the Experience of Learning
5:30 - Immersion in Entertainment: Is it Worth the Effort?

“XQ” – Towards a Dynamic Interplay of Intelligence Within the Experience of Learning
  Joe Miglio, Berklee College of Music
My objective is to share my (ongoing) study of experiential learning as a powerful tool for multiple levels of meaning making and demonstration—where knowledge is gained through direct experience, reflection, and the synthesis of active participation—and how this model (XQ) creates subject matter and self (as subject) knowledge. The goal of this study is to investigate, analyze, and assess instructional design and delivery being utilized as the educational ‘event’ and as ‘experience’ leading to discovery and ‘explanation’ Emphasizing the aesthetic of artistry—the interaction activities within the learning can be defined as ‘practice’ and the demonstrable integration of the teaching learning collaboration (“TLC”) in its outcomes as ‘performance.’ My hypothesis is that this serves dual purposes in the way learning as intelligence (“-Q”) is both a visible demonstration of content and learned skills (externalized demonstration defined as “IQ”) and a less visible journey of self-discovery (internalized discernment as “EQ”), creating a bridge between content-action and context-awareness for all members of the “TLC”—both faculty and student as lived and learned ‘experiencers.’ The synergy between external demonstration and internal discovery is what makes experiential learning so powerful. These two dimensions—doing and discovering—feed into each other. The activity itself, whether it’s a simulation, a collaborative project, or hands-on practice, serves as a mirror reflecting back to the learner not only what they know but who they are in the learning process. This dynamic interplay nurtures both skill acquisition and self-awareness, laying the groundwork for a form of learning that is not only “skill-deep” but “skin-deep” as self-transformative.

Immersion in Entertainment: Is it Worth the Effort?
  Ray Eddy, University of Central Florida
Immersion is understood to be a heightened state of focus, causing everything outside of the movie, concert, video game, sporting event, or theme park to “disappear” from the user’s consciousness. Designers seem to believe that many activities need to promote themselves as “the most immersive experience ever.” However, because immersion often requires a certain amount of effort from the consumer, this article challenges the assumption that immersion is every patron’s goal in an activity. Immersion can be enjoyable, but there are certainly circumstances where individuals simply want to relax and spend time with friends without the imposition of technological interactions or “staying in character.” 
Starting with a definition of immersion that brings it into the modern era and modifies the ways it should be measured, this research article goes on to examine immersion from various perspectives, such as the quality of the immersive experience, the effort the user must expend, whether immersion is optional or forced, and crucially, how much the user actually enjoys the experience of being immersed. The paper concludes with recommendations for entertainment designers on how to best incorporate immersive options into their experiences, maximizing both consumer attraction and potential repeat visitation.