Learning Theory Mind Map Revisited

Perspective on Connectivism

The rate at which digital tools are evolving is increasing at an ever faster rate. The Macarthur Foundation (2008) states that

          Social network sites, online games, video-sharing sites, and gadgets such as iPods and mobile 

          phones are now fixtures of youth culture. They have so permeated young lives that it is hard 

          to believe that less than a decade ago these technologies barely existed.

Not only have these technologies become a part of everyday life, they undeniably have had a major impact on how we interact and communicate. As educators, we have a responsibility to create learning environments in which our students feel comfortable and to promote student learning outcomes. The 'look' of learning environments needs to undergo a shift to take advantage of the way students inter-relate in virtual environments, collaborate in social networks and develop understanding by participating in this inter-connected way.

Connectivism provides some guiding principles that are extremely useful for the above purpose, but there are still some questions around whether this can be classed as a new theory of learning or is a framework to guide our approach to structuring learning experiences for digital natives. 

The de Bono's Hats Wiki Connectivism in Education provides an insight into a couple of perspectives when considering the validity of Connectivism as a learning theory. Value is placed on the current connection to the ways in which some learning occurs in social networks and how learning is advanced through this process. Concern is expressed with regards to the narrowness of its scope as Connectivism doesn't recognise that not all bodies of knowledge will evolve through making connections in online learning communities. The main point that I can share from this engagement activity is that Connectivism has a lot to add to the process of understanding how e-learning is different from traditional learning and over time with empirical testing, Connectivism may become an accepted learning theory.

University of Illinois-Urbana (2011), Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism, retrieved 29th August 2013 from http://ci484-learning-technologies.wikispaces.com/Behaviorism,+Cognitivism,+Constructivism+%26+Connectivism

The Macarthur Foundation (2008), Living and learning with new media: summary of findings from the digital youth project, retrieved 29th August 2013 from http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf

e-Learning Theory or a shift in the teaching/learning paradigm?

Over the past term, I have come to reflect on the differences between learning in the traditional context and learning in the e-learning context. Up until recently, I had thought of online learning as a different mode for teaching the curriculum content, with some degree of students taking control over the learning process. One of the most important differences that I am now able to identify, is that when learning is taking place in the e-learning environment, 'the means by which the learning takes place changes the position of the learner in relation to the content/existing knowledge' (Andrews 2011, p.117). The social interaction that takes place within online learning communities allows us greater opportunities to reflect on our understanding of what we are learning, but probably more importantly, to be able reflect on and even critique the understanding of others within these communities, creating knowledge that is changing and evolving. The concept of 'transduction' as discussed in Andrews (2011) is an important characteristic of e-learning, as the process of presenting materials in a different mode than originally viewed, allows for active interpretation of the meaning rather than just the 'ingestion' of the materials. As the SAMR model guides us to provide transformative learning activities, transduction can be part of this transformative process as the learner reinterprets their understanding of the body of knowledge and shares this within their online communities.
The process of transduction was used when collaboratively developing the lessons for Project 600, but I am only now starting to realise the full implications and benefits of this process. Through this whole process, though, I am still undecided as to whether a new theory of e-learning is justified or not, as many of the characteristics of e-learning can be positioned within the main learning theories.

http://home.comcast.net/~abstover/learning_arch/learning_arch_05.html

Andrews (2011) state that 'the notion of transactional distance is important to understanding how e-learning is different from conventional face-to-face learning. Such extension requires more from the learner in that he/she has to make selections from the possible available resources, as well as decide how and when to engage in the e-learning community.' This image above depicts this notion of transactional distance very clearly and reinforces the active participation level required of the learner as the transactional distance between the teacher and learner increases. This is one of the ways that e-learning changes the nature of learning, according to Andrews (2011) and so supports his reasoning that a new theory of e-learning is required. In my opinion this doesn't automatically require a new theory, as learner autonomy can be increased in the conventional learning environment when learning tasks are designed for this purpose. 

It is very interesting that Sandy's image linked in her blog is very similar to the one I chose and even though we accessed them through different links, they both appear in the website that I accessed for the above image. Sandy mentions the 3D impact of her image and I believe that is one of the elements that drew me to select this image. 

Andrews, R. (2011). Does e-learning require a new theory of learning? Some initial thoughts.
Journal for Educational Research Online, 3(1). Retrieved from www.j-e-ro.
com/index.php/jero/article/view/84

Stover, A. (2004). Learning architecture online: New directions for distance education and the design studio? Unpublished master's capstone project, University of Maryland University College. Viewed 25th August 2013. Available:http://home.comcast.net/~abstover/learning_arch

Learning Theory in the Digital Age: Assignment 1 Reflective Synopsis

What is e-Learning? After being involved in Project 600, an online project designed to engage learners while developing literacy and numeracy skills, for the past 2 years, my understanding of this teaching pedagogy has undergone a continuous evolution. There are so many dimensions that can be considered in order to be able to define this term. When attempting to define e-Learning, it is necessary to consider the focus of this construct. Are the existing and developing technologies being used for delivery the focus of a definition or the ways in which they are used to enhance learning? Sangra, Vlachopoulos and Cabrera (2012) conducted a study to create an inclusive e-Learning definition.

E-learning is an approach to teaching and learning, representing all or part of the educational model applied, that is based on the use of electronic media and devices as tools for improving access to training, communication and interaction and that facilitates the adoption of new ways of understanding and developing learning. (Sangra, Vlachopoulus and Cabrera 2012, p.152)

This definition embodies the main elements that I consider important while allowing for what I believe is the most essential element: the need to consider the learning outcomes. The desired learning outcomes will guide the structure of classroom tasks, with the design being based on the most appropriate learning theory as discussed in my blog posts, Learning theory Mind Map and Context Matters! 

There is ongoing discourse about creating 21st Century learners. Dr Noelene Wright (2010, p. 5) describes 21st Century learning as 'collaborative, active, contextual and social' so that active construction of knowledge can occur. Just providing access to web 2.0 tools doesn't automatically ensure that this will occur. These types of learning environments need to be deliberately designed based on relevant pedagogical frameworks (Dr Noelene Wright 2010, p. 5). The SAMR model developed by Ruben Puentedura, provides an excellent reflection tool that can be used to guide the decisions made as to the learning experiences developed to create divergent thinkers and 'knowledge-able students' (Wesch 2012), essential qualities needed to enable students to develop the skills and confidence to be global citizens. My blog post
Technology to Transform Learning, expands on my thinking on transformational learning.

There is a gradual paradigm shift towards encompassing a blend of online, face-to-face and collaborative learning models, which provides favourable conditions to develop the ICT skills of digital natives while also providing increased collaboration, utilising the best of both worlds (New Media Consortium 2012, p. 7).
The road to transformation shares some of my insight into this change.

Turning Students into Teachers
Cognitive learning theory is based on the premise that the process of learning is an individual process and by each learner trying to make sense of new information, each learner will construct their own individual meaning (Beattie and Dabagh 2003, p. 2). Giving the students the opportunity to create tutorials explaining new concepts or skills makes it possible for them to develop a deeper personal understanding of these ideas. By using a variety of digital technologies for this process, this type of learning task is redefined as it wouldn't have been possible without access to these technologies. When another dimension is added to the process by having the students share their tutorials in an online space with the ability to provide feedback, students can reflect on their own and their peer's learning. This collaborative element enriches the learning process.

Picture Book Location Tour (Learning Activity 4)
Creating authentic tasks is highlighted as a goal of 21st Century learning and when these experiences are created for students in the early years, there can only be positive outcomes. Taking advantage of tools such as Google Maps as shared in my Scoop.it collection, and redefining the task as I have suggested in a supported environment for younger students, allows teachers to encourage students to take ownership of learning tasks. In this type of learning environment, our young students can start to develop creative and divergent thinking skills.

Online Literature Festival-Collaborative Writing Workshops
Students all seem to love being given the opportunity to interact with 'experts', add in the personal element of collaborating and working with small groups of students and highly motivated students is often a positive outcome. A couple of years ago, I organised for three reluctant readers to participate in an author web conference with Andy Griffiths during the Online Literature Festival. They were so impressed by this experience, that we had trouble keeping up with their requests for Andy Griffiths books and then they went in search of similar books. They started to take control of some of their own learning journey, sharing their enthusiasm with peers and teachers. This opportunity to gain the benefit from interacting with famous and inspirational authors wouldn't have been available in Mackay without the use of web conferencing. The effect on these individual students was truly transformational.

Reflection

Over the past several years I have attended several professional development sessions where new technologies have been shared, become involved in online teaching projects and started using a variety of digital hardware and software in my teaching context. I have been willing to try new technologies and utilise online tools. The area that I have been reticent to embrace has been the online social communities. I had justified this by reasoning that I didn't have the time to respond to read and then respond to blog posts as my life was already too busy. I also didn't believe that the benefit would outweigh the time invested and so have resisted becoming involved in online communities such as Facebook and Twitter. The benefit I have received from collaborating in our online environment has propelled me on a significant learning journey. As I'm relatively new to this type of discussion, it has taken me a while to find my place and even though I still have a long way to go, I feel inspired to keep travelling. At times, it has been easy to get bogged down in the amount of information so easily accessible, so my goal is to be more critical in my choices I make about how much and the type of information I try to access. Most importantly, not allow myself to feel that I have to keep searching for 'just the right bit of information'.
Even though I have been using various online tools for quite some time, I can now envisage the possibilities of adapting current learning experiences and adopting new ones for the benefit of my students and teachers that I work closely with. As I support many teachers and classes in a Learning Support role, there are limitations as to the extent I can personally implement learning tasks and embed them in the class program. Rather, my aim is to support class teachers to select e-Learning experiences that will enhance the school curriculum while directly supporting the students I work with.

Sangra, A., Vlachopoulos, D. & Cabrera, N. (2012). Building an inclusive definition of e-learning: An
approach to the conceptual framework. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, 13(2), p. 152. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1161/2185

Wesch, M. (2012).  viewed 12th August 2013,  http://www.youtube.com/watchv=z56SNAQNOqs&list=PLA3FB753E843A762D&index=2

Wright, N. (2010). e-learning, outcomes and pedagogy In D. Gronn, & G. Romeo (Eds) ACEC2010: Digital Diversity. Conference Proceedings of the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2010, Melbourne 6-9 April. Carlton, Victoria: Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACEC). p. 5. Retrieved from,http://acec2010.acce.edu.au/proposal/938/e-learning-outcomes-and-pedagogy

New Media Consortium (2013). NMC Horizon Report>2013 K-12 Edition.
NMC reference. New Media Consortium (NMC). p. 7. Retrieved from 
http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-horizon-report-k12 

Beattie, M. and Dabbagh, N. (2003). Constructivism and its implications for teaching and learning. CLE Project Paper. George Mason University. Edit 732. p. 2. Retrieved from classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/.../MarkBeattie/constuctivism.doc‎