Comm.unities.of.Prac.tice 2.0

I just read some of the work by Martin Kloos in The Netherlands, who wrote a thesis on the use of blogs, wikis and social bookmarking in learning, in communities of practice. Fortunately I read Dutch so I am working my way through it and it it brings up a number of questions. Link
I am also working on some research amongst my MA in Lifelong Learning group that worked on the module 'ICT and Society' this term. They have used a group blog, a group wiki and made extensive use of del.icio.us. I will soon report back on this.

A theory of mobile learning

Working on the writing of the literature review for my thesis I came across a paper by Mike Sharples, Josie Taylor and Giasemi Vavoula theorising about mobile learning (2005). I found their emphasis on informal learning very interesting. When looking how Web 2.0 tools are currently changing the communications landscape on the Internet, I came to the same conclusion that formal education will have to be supplemented by informal selfdirected learning to ensure that learners can choose their own learning journey, but still verify the information out on the Web by communicating with others online.

Do we need new theories of knowledge and learning?

Over the ages numorous theories of knowledge and learning have been developed, including behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. The use of technologies in adult education has made that people think more about why they teach in a certain way, as the technologies used should be determined by what we try to achieve and why. If we want to facilitate extensive communication between learners in the learning environment, we will for instance use very different tools from when the tutor has the knowledge and she passes this on to the learners.

Of course this is not part of what happens in the visible class room, but it will influence the way we teach.

This week George Siemens published his book 'knowing knowledge' on his website elearnspace in which he introduces a new theory : connectivism. He argues that the new dimensions that online networks and extensive online connectedness will bring into the learning environment warrant a new theory of learning. A debate has started with Professor Plon Verhagen who argues that we should forget about connectivism as it does not really add anything new to earlier theories.

I would like to add that Siemens very easily disregards an area of expertise that has developed over centuries because some new tools have emerged. I agree that the Web2.0 tools add a new dimension to communication, particularly as the networks that can be reached are much larger than you would in a face to face class room and also that the use of RSS feeds helps to organise these globally positioned contacts, which gives you the potential to develop wider and a different type of knowledge. The control moves away from the institution and towards the learner. Anecdotal avidence by enthusiasts would suggests that this enriches the learning experience. Research into the effect of these new technologies is required though before it would be wise to build new theories.

Knowing knowledge

Just read about George Siemens' new book 'knowing knowledge'. As it is 157 pages long I haven't managed to read all of it yet, but it looks very interesting. He poses interesting ideas on knowledge and at the first instance it seems to me that he has very easily disregarded the way knowledge has been developed and created over the past centuries. I agree that Web 2.0 tools provide us with interesting new possibilities for networking and communication, but that they will be maningful in the creation of knowledge is in my view not clear yet. Communication theories by Habermas and Heidegger put in doubt the creation of knowledge in a meaningful way through the use of technology as the commmunication facilitated through technology is very different from face to face dialogue.

Getting back to the blog with a vengeance

I just realised how fast the time flies after looking at my first blog entry in June 2006. Currently really enjoying teaching the post-graduate course 'ICT in Society'. The students on the MA in Lifelong Learning are all very keen to learn about the new online developments and seem very surprised about Web 2.0 developments. Surprisingly enough although most students are over 30 years old, they have embraced taking part in the discussion forum, have set up their own MySpace sites and are involved in using a WIKI for knowledge construction. Prensky's paper on digital natives and digital immigrants has been thought and discussion provoking! On several occasions I have had to adjust my f2f teaching as their online discussion of papers found on the course del.icio.us site during the week has gone much further than I anticipated. The use of del.icio.us has been very useful and given students options for the exploration of popular course-related papers.

How to engage the Net-generation

There is currently a vast array of communications options available on the Internet. Especially young people have grasped the potential offered to them by blogs, web pages and increasingly personal spaces such as 'My Space' and 'youtube' to make links with like minded people and to invite comments and messages to their postings. The speed in which communities are being formed has surprised most observers. Participants in these developments, though, take them for granted as expressing themselves to the wider world has increasingly become part of their life style.

The education world has not grasped yet the revolution that is taking place outside the class room. The discrepancy in the way technology is being used inside and outside the class room seems to be growing.
The availability of blog and web authoring tools and their ease of use have made that a vast number of people are now engaged in interacting on the Internet. It has created a huge leap forward in moving people on from being consumers to becoming producers of information.

As educators know, the pace of change within institutions is a lot slower than outside the brick walls, which raises questions about the ability of formal education institutions to keep engaged the generation that lives in a technology saturated world and has grown up with technology.