EDEL20001: Learning theory in the digital age
Assignment 2
Design Rationale – the benefits of
elearning
Decisions about content
I chose the ‘short story’ to theme my video clip. Stories have a
logical flow with a start, middle and end – a simple structure to tell a
complex story.
The clip begins with an outline of the story, as it will be
presented:
From chalk and talk to tap and go...
From chalk and talk to tap and go...
- · Once upon a time
- · 3 foundational theories
- · New kid on the block
- · elearning conundrum
- · A happy ending
Learning is a complex business. To begin this story, it is important
to understand some basic facts on which to peg more abstract information and to
allow contextualization of the subject material (Mayes and de Freitas, 2011). The first
section of the clip establishes that learning and its epistemology have a very
long and interesting history. For example, although there is no primary evidence
to suggest that Socrates (469-399 BC) ever wrote anything historical or biographical,
details of his communication skills, ideas and public teachings were reflected
through his followers’ works – Plato, Aristotle and Xenophon for example (Ancient Greece, nd). The Socratic
method (elenchus) of breaking down a problem to a series of questions and the
teaching practice of pedagogy, influence Western philosophy to this day.
Theoretical links between information sources
The next chapter in the story presents the three foundational
learning theories, aligned with epistemological frameworks developed by Kop and
Hill (2008). The learning
web is one way of presenting the complex nature of learning to show the
relationship between epistemology, theory and researchers thus providing
theoretical links between the information sources.
Behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism are the three broad
learning theories most used in the development of instructional environments (Siemens, 2004).
A simplistic categorization follows (Learning theory, 2014):
- · Behaviourists consider learning an aspect of conditioning and often advocate a system of rewards and targets in education.
- · Educationalists supporting cognitivism are more interested in the complexities of human memory.
- · Constructivists posit that the acquisition of knowledge is an individually tailored process
It has been suggested that Skinner’s behaviourism, Piaget’s
cognitivism and Vygotsky’s constructivism can all be facilitated through
elearning (Nichols, 2003). This notion
resonates with my take on the application of elearning as a powerful toolbox
that may be applied to the learning process. However, according to some, not a
lot of evidence to support claims of elearning necessarily enhancing the
learning process have been found (Price and Kirkwood, 2010).
New kid on the block
The new kid on the block is connectivism. There has been much
discussion on whether this model of elearning is worthy as a new learning
theory (Siemens, 2004; Kop and Hill, 2008). I support
the argument that connectivism and the explosion of elearning technology
enables new design models for education and training including for example; communal
constructivism and community embedded learning (Leask and Younie, 2001; Kazmer, 2005), but this
does not automatically elevate connectivism to a new theory of learning (Kop and Hill, 2008; Mayes and de Freitas, 2011).
elearning conundrum
The concept of elearning is subject to constant change (Sangra et al., 2012) as technology
becomes more accepted and applied to everyday learning activities. A simple but
useful definition for elearning for the purposes of this clip is: the use of electronic media for learning.
- · elearning is widely accepted and used, however its purpose is sometimes misunderstood. For example, not being au fait with a particular technology may lead to a negative learning experience. For example, certain forms of cognitive load are beneficial to the learning experience, whilst some may waste limited mental resources (Nguyen and Clark, 2005; Anderson, 2008).
- · mlearning – focusing on the mobility of the learner interacting with portable technologies – seems to be the next step along the elearning continuum. mlearning reiterates the notion of learning anytime, anywhere (Crompton, 2013).
- · The provision of resources may be overwhelming and therefore it is important that a facilitator provides scaffolding for students to grow their knowledge and their personal discipline-centred discoveries (Anderson, 2008).
- · Enhanced interactivity may be achieved when basic technological fluency and pedagogic understanding has been achieved to overcome the novelty factor (Curriculum and Leadership Journal, 2008)
- · It is important for the learner to be attentive and motivated (Metiri Group, 2008)
Core messages
- · elearning is widely accepted and becoming more commonplace
- · elearning will not replace facilitator scaffolding and support
- · the pedagogy is more important than the medium
Final product – a happy ending
The learning milieu will continue to change and adapt as
technological advances emerge. Although
elearning has enabled massive open online courses to be available for thousands
of learners concurrently (The Weekend Australian Magazine, 2014), it also has
the potential to individualise learning and support closer interaction between
teachers and learners and amongst learners (Central Queensland University, 2014).
The benefits of elearning may include:
- · individualization of the learner
- · improved learner engagement
- · learning enhancement
- · sophisticated networking, social collaboration
The learning journey has gone from chalk and talk to tap and go…
Graphics
Giant chalkboard http://www.pickywallpapers.com/1280x720/miscellaneous/photography/giant-chalkboard-in-classroom-wallpaper/download/
iPad personal collection
Music
Concerto for
two violins in D Minor Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Classic 100
Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, The Classic 100
List of references
Crompton, H. (2013).
A historical overview of mobile learning: Toward learner-centered education. In
Z. L.
Berge & L. Y. Muilenburg
(Eds.), Handbook of mobile learning (pp. 3–14). Florence, KY:
Routledge.
Ancient Greece. (nd) Socrates. Available at: 33 <http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/People/Socrates/> viewed 19
May 2014.
Anderson T.
(2008) Toward a theory of online learning. In: Anderson T (ed) Theory and practice of online learning.
Edmonton, Canada: Athabasca University Press, 33-60.
Central
Queensland University. (2014) Learning theory in the digital age: . Graduate Certificate in elearning.
Central Queensland University.
Crompton H.
(2013) A historical overview of mobile learning: Toward learner-centred
education. In: Berge ZL and Muilenburg LY (eds) Handbood of mobile learning. Florence: K Y Routledge, 3-14.
Curriculum and
Leadership Journal. (2008) Fast,
frustrating and the future: ICT, new technologies and education. Available
at: 26 <http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/leader%3E.
Kazmer M. (2005)
Community-embedded learning. Library
Quarterly 75: 190-212.
Kop R and Hill
A. (2008) Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? The International Review of Research in Open
and Distance Learning 9 8.
Learning theory.
(2014) Learning theory (education).
Available at: 18 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education)%3E.
Leask M and
Younie S. (2001) Communal constructivist theory: Information and communications
technology pedagogy and internationalisation of the curriculum. Journal of Information Technology for
Teacher Education 10: 117-134.
Mayes T and de
Freitas S. (2011) Learning and e-learning: The role of theory. In: Beetham H
and Sharpe R (eds) Rethinking pedagogy in
the digital age. London: Routledge, 13-25.
Metiri Group.
(2008) Multimodal learning through media: What the research says. Cisco
Systems, 1-24.
Nguyen F and
Clark R. (2005) Efficiency in elearning: Proven instructional methods for
faster, better, online learning. Learning
Solutions Magazine, 7 November.
Nichols M.
(2003) A theory for eLearning: Pre-discussion paper. Educational Technology & Society 6: 1-10.
Price L and
Kirkwood A. (2010) Technology enhanced learning: Where's the evidence. Ascilite 2010 Sydney: The Institute of
Educational Technology, The Open University, UK.
Sangra A,
Vlachopoulos D and 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
13 145 - 159.
Siemens G.
(2004) Connectivism: A learning theory
for the digital age. Available at: 7 http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm.
The Weekend
Australian Magazine. (2014) Massive online open courses. The Weekend Australian Magazine. Warwick Farm: Nationwide News Pty
Ltd, April 5-6.
Video clip - From chalk and talk to tap and go...
