Schank is no outsider to the educational establishment. He is the director of Northwestern University's Institute for Learning Sciences. He holds three faculty appointments at Northwestern, as John Evans Professor of Computer Science, Education, and Psychology. Previously, he was professor of computer science and psychology at Yale, a visiting professor at the University of Paris and a faculty member at Stanford.
Failure gets our attention, it fosters an emotional response, which is essential for learning.
Computer-based learning is best suited to an individual work station, not a classroom. Talking or social learning lends itself to small, coffee shop-like spaces, where learners can gather informally.