Learning Development: Leveraging Mobile Technology

“Personal, portable, wirelessly networked technologies will become ubiquitous in the lives of learners”, (Looi, Seow, So, Chen, & Wong, 2010) and informal learning through mobile technology represents a potential fundamental shift in the way people learn. Using mobile technology, learners can actively participate in learning outside of formal learning environments.

“Use of these technologies facilitates communication, collaboration, sharing and learning in informal settings with their peers, friends, and family unbounded by time and location.” (Looi, Seow, So, Chen, & Wong, 2010) However, learners can also use mobile devices as a supplement to formal learning in the classroom by connecting the mobile device to an online learning portal created by his/her learning community. “An online portal provides a platform where students can move from the individual space on the mobile device to the public space to facilitate collaboration and sharing.” (Looi, Seow, So, Chen, & Wong, 2010)

Distributed cognition theory, proposed by Edwin Hutchins, determines that learning occurs through three processes: social group, events/experiences in time, and between the interaction of material and environmental structure. In the case of mobile technology, learning can occur by way of distributing cognition among social collaboration in public learning spaces via a platform in the “cloud”, and through experience and/or artifacts found individually via informal learning in both real and virtually augmented environments.

Some of the difficulties encountered in evaluating the potential for informal and technology-enhanced learning through mobile devices are: individual student’s access to mobile devices, compatibility and cost of software and operating system of devices, inability to evaluate all learning activities outside a controlled environment, and ethical consideration.

“The notions for place, time, and space for learning have changed” (Looi, Seow, So, Chen, & Wong, 2010). With that, we must try to harness the potential impact of informal learning experiences upon students. The cognitive distribution of learning objects across social platforms, individual experiences, real and virtual spaces, and time through mobile devices has the potential to change how we learn, and should be used to leverage both individual and formal learning opportunities.

Reference:
Looi, C.-K., Seow, P., Zhang, B., So, H.-J., Chen, W. and Wong, L.-H. (2010), Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning: a research agenda. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41: 154–169.

Learning Development: In the Cloud

Cloud computing refers to one of three models: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and/or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

The idea is that businesses save time, money, and resources by outsourcing some or all of their internal applications, networks, platform integration, and server access to companies that provide these tools as a service. This allows for on demand virtual collaboration via social learning tools such as wikis and blogs that can replace costly travel and in house learning labs currently used for training. Cloud computing could potentially "reduce IT and related expenditures between 50 and 90 percent." (Gilmore)



The biggest concern surrounding cloud computing is a fear for the privacy and security of company information. The biggest challenge for users is integrating cloud computing experiences with established in-house IT and merging the two independent systems to communicate with eachother. Regardless of these concerns, cloud computing will change how people learn and will change how companies structure training and employee development. "It's not a matter of if learning executives should consider using cloud services, but when." (Gilmore)

Reference:
Gilmore, Agatha(2010)Learning in the Cloud. Retrieved from: http://clomedia.com/articles/view/learning_in_the_cloud

Learning development: Mobile and social technology

Yes, the mobile device is projected to be the world’s primary connection tool to the internet in 2020. As a member of the learning and development field and Generation Y, I can't help but realize that the future of my field lies with these handheld devices. Let's all start jumping on the mobile learning train. While we are at it, let's keep creating ways that social technology, the premiere media of today, can be used as a learning tool.

eLearning Design: self directed or social?

Two types of e-learning, self directed and collaborative, are the means of both workforce training and education, with self directed e-learning often applying more to workforce solutions and collaborative e-learning often applying more to higher education. Using only self directed learning for eLearning workforce solutions is outdated, and we need to rethink our approach due to current emerging skill sets, the fundamental differences between training and learning, and learner preferences. Learners actually prefer social learning to self directed learning, and current important skill sets are often “learnt by practice, including learning from peers and colleagues and through tailored feedback” (Sloman, 2009).

Workforce solutions in conjunction with Web 2.0 technologies will take us “towards using the Web as a platform for sharing and collaboration among peers, both within and between organizations”. These Web 2.0 technologies include wikis, asynchronous and synchronous discussion forums, social networking sites, and blogs. However, with all the hype of Web 2.0, some critics argue that we are putting too much emphasis on technology and losing our focus on learning itself. “The application of technology to learning is far more complex and multifaceted than the current debate would lead us to believe” (Sloman, 2009).

So, with e-learning modules now consuming up to 1/3 of all workforce training in the U.S, we need to alter our approach to accommodate emerging skill sets and learner preferences along with organizational goals. We need to evaluate our e-learning modules based on organizational value, learner satisfaction, and time and cost efficiency. Lastly, including the following Web 2.0 tools will help strike a good balance of learning and training: content repositories, webinars, discussion threads, expert opinions, virtual world based activities, online pre-assessments, and online performance support.

Reference:
Sloman, M. (2009). Learning and technology – what have we learnt? Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning, 1(1), 12-26.

Learning Theory: Constructivism

A case for the use of constructivism in distance learning:

Aligning constructivist and adult learning theories within online technologies can help gauge how they are used successfully for learning at a distance. Constructivists view knowledge as constructed by learners through social interaction with others, and place great importance on the “socio-cultural context in which learning takes place and how the context has an impact on what is learned” (Huang, 2002). Learners learn actively and construct new knowledge based on their prior knowledge, and with the support of cognitive tools, learners can discover rich resources to solve problems and construct knowledge. For example, “synchronous and asynchronous discussions focus the development of knowledge-building communities where participants share information in the pursuit of a meaning, and reflect on the knowledge that they have constructed” (Huang, 2002).

To address concerns that “distance learning loses some humanity or it forms social isolation”, or “collaborative learning is in conflict with individual differences” (Huang, 2002), successful constructivist and social constructivist models provide a safe environment conducive to interaction, social negotiation, and individual experience. Students are able to express themselves freely, share ideas, and ask questions that promote reflective responses. Through asynchronous and synchronous discussion, students are given freedom to select and arrange their learning processes with other learners. By being distant from instructors and peers, the student takes ownership of his/her learning process through autonomy, self direction, and motivation.

Another concern of distance learning environments is authenticity of learning. Critics argue that only real-world, case-based environments can provide for meaningful and authentic knowledge. However, learners “must learn how to manage, analyze, critique, cross-reference, and transform the information presented to them into valuable knowledge” (Huang, 2002). When given a safe environment to interact with teachers and peers, the learner constructs knowledge in a way that is authentic to them. Using a constructivist approach to distance learning provides students the social interaction necessary to elicit reflective responses where the learner is able to build his her own authentic knowledge based on individual experience.

Reference:
Huang, H.-M. (2002). Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1), 27-37.