It has been quite interesting to see the progression of one learning theory to the next that we have studied this semester. Connectivism is intriguing to me and I still don't know what to make of it. I do agree with some aspects of the theory, such as how we can learn from connecting in to other networks, which has some overlap in the Communities of Practice theory. Perhaps the phrase from the title of one of the readings, "A Learning Theory for the Digital Age," is what makes me critical. I feel as if though it is more of a learning strategy for the digital age, rather than an explanation of how we learning in a hyper technology world. I also disagree with the idea that learning resides in non-human appliances, such as technology. Technology is a tool for learning, yes, but technology IS the learning instrument? No.
That leads me to the Massive Open Online Courses. I need more convincing to understand the excitement about MOOCs. Working in online education, I have been hearing about MOOCs and how they will reshape online learning for so long, but it seems schools are still trying to figure it out, and are working under the idea of "build first and they will come." I believe there are benefits to people from all over the world being able to take free online courses that can benefit them in some way, such as Computer Science based courses, or any courses focused on life skills, which would equate to an online version of a continuing education course. However, I do see some drawbacks too to the idea of large networks of learners. Taking this Adult Learner course via an online MOOC format where I might be one of 10,000 learners would have resulted in a very different learning experience than the one I experienced.
Perhaps after this post, I will tap in to Google and the various technologies at my fingertips to get more perspective on MOOCs...
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Communities of Practice
When my team formed earlier in the semester, our presentation date felt so far away. Flashforward to this week and all of a sudden we are near the end of the semester! My the time did fly.
I am disappointed that I had to miss last week's presentation on Experiential Learning, as it paved the way for Communities of Practice and it was my second choice topic.
This was such an interesting learning theory to get to research in depth over the last half of the semester. In applying the concept to my own work environments, I find it fascinating that prior to even knowing about Communities of Practice, I can definitely attest that the work environments that I have worked in that have had unintentional CoPs have been better environments than those that did not. In our presentation, the first scenario was clearly from my own work life because I work at Boston University in the Office of Distance Education as an Instructional Designer. Our Director encourages but does not force or require that we seek out other knowledge sharing opportunities and trainings on campus and we typically have informal once a month breakfast sessions, where different people in the office can share updates on a training or any new type of instructional design development they are working on. Not only does it allow information to be shared within our larger team, but it allows for relationship building, so that this type of scenario can continue to flourish.
In my last job, the opposite was quite true as people had this idea that if they shared too much work knowledge, they would be expendable and therefore it was quite difficult to do my job.
During the break between semesters, I hope to be able to read in full the Cultivating Communities of Practice text to see what other insights I can bring to my work environment.
I am disappointed that I had to miss last week's presentation on Experiential Learning, as it paved the way for Communities of Practice and it was my second choice topic.
This was such an interesting learning theory to get to research in depth over the last half of the semester. In applying the concept to my own work environments, I find it fascinating that prior to even knowing about Communities of Practice, I can definitely attest that the work environments that I have worked in that have had unintentional CoPs have been better environments than those that did not. In our presentation, the first scenario was clearly from my own work life because I work at Boston University in the Office of Distance Education as an Instructional Designer. Our Director encourages but does not force or require that we seek out other knowledge sharing opportunities and trainings on campus and we typically have informal once a month breakfast sessions, where different people in the office can share updates on a training or any new type of instructional design development they are working on. Not only does it allow information to be shared within our larger team, but it allows for relationship building, so that this type of scenario can continue to flourish.
In my last job, the opposite was quite true as people had this idea that if they shared too much work knowledge, they would be expendable and therefore it was quite difficult to do my job.
During the break between semesters, I hope to be able to read in full the Cultivating Communities of Practice text to see what other insights I can bring to my work environment.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Constructivism
Prior to the last class, the learning theories we have covered thus far have focused on the teacher as leader and student as follower relationship, as well as objective knowledge passed from the instructor to learner.
The constructivist learning theory takes these prior ideas and shifts our way of thinking 180 degrees, to that of a focus on learning occurring in the individual, who "constructs" knowledge in their own way. Even more interesting is the concept of social constructivism, which focuses on the social aspect necessary for constructing knowledge. The presentation and readings for this class coincided with my readings of the same topic in the Intro to Instructional Design class and I found it very helpful to have the constructivism team present on this topic at the same time as I was learning about how this theory could be incorporated in to designing instructional design models, or more-so, how these concepts can be incorporated in to the design of instruction, by fostering a more critical thinking focused learning event.
Social constructivism is also a theory that paved the way for my own presentation topic of situated learning and communities of practice. Watching the class presentations as we do research on our own topic helps enhance my understanding of how all of the topics relate to one another, and even helps me gain a better understanding of my own topic.
The constructivist learning theory takes these prior ideas and shifts our way of thinking 180 degrees, to that of a focus on learning occurring in the individual, who "constructs" knowledge in their own way. Even more interesting is the concept of social constructivism, which focuses on the social aspect necessary for constructing knowledge. The presentation and readings for this class coincided with my readings of the same topic in the Intro to Instructional Design class and I found it very helpful to have the constructivism team present on this topic at the same time as I was learning about how this theory could be incorporated in to designing instructional design models, or more-so, how these concepts can be incorporated in to the design of instruction, by fostering a more critical thinking focused learning event.
Social constructivism is also a theory that paved the way for my own presentation topic of situated learning and communities of practice. Watching the class presentations as we do research on our own topic helps enhance my understanding of how all of the topics relate to one another, and even helps me gain a better understanding of my own topic.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Cognitivism
The readings for both this course and the Intro to Instructional Design course, which I am currently taking as well, are really the first exposures I have had to understanding psychology and more specifically, cognitivism and how that plays a role in understanding learning. These are concepts I didn't really consider much of before starting this program. I've only really observed learning challenges in adult learners in the online course environment and based on my experience, I could see some initial issues with the way the courses were formatted, such as having too much content to cover on a weekly basis, etc. but I never thought about how the way in which we learn can also play a part in making recommendations to faculty for course re-design considerations.
After this week's presentation on cognitivism, I also better understand how essentially all of the learning theories we are going to learn about on a weekly basis all interact with one another. Our presentation on communities of practice certainly take cognitive approaches in to account. I'm looking forward to seeing the presentations each week and get a clearer picture of how they are all interrelated.
After this week's presentation on cognitivism, I also better understand how essentially all of the learning theories we are going to learn about on a weekly basis all interact with one another. Our presentation on communities of practice certainly take cognitive approaches in to account. I'm looking forward to seeing the presentations each week and get a clearer picture of how they are all interrelated.
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