I read with interest the article, 'Does eLearning Require a New Theory of Learning?'. This blog will focus on the overview of the paper and concepts introduced. I read the article in detail and i reckon it is important in completing my second assignment. It is interesting to note that the strategies , social contexts and design have been the focus of eLearning to date. Moore and Jewitt's conception were the main focus on different approaches to a theory of eLearning. Moore talks about transactional distance as being relative and involving a set of three variables that operate in relation to the degree of transactional distance between the teachers and learners, these variables are dialogue, program structure and learner autonomy.
Haythornthwaite(2009) suggests that participatory learning entails instructors ceding leadership and control of learning, giving it over to participants, and encouraging a new form of co-learning pedagogy. A scenario which is common in my classes is that i have industrial trainees, mining trainees and domestic trainees in one setting, encouraging participation results in the mining students having insight on domestic and domestic having insight on mining and industrial respectively. To achieve this participation is vital. I am therefore at the same wave length as regards participatory learning with Haythornthwaite.
He further went on to analyze the learner of today who has the need for choice as to how research is conducted, what sources are used, what degree of cross-checking is employed, etc. Such a wealth of choice can be disorienting for a student who is not used to such freedom. I have noticed that if young learners get the opportunity to research using ICT they feel empowered and also feel a level of trust from the trainers. This is motivational to the student and that has the ripple effect of the students wanting to learn more and also using that platform to be problem solvers. Learner autonomy mentioned as one of Moore's key variables in the theory of transactional distance is one that requires more attention from all concerned.
On the other hand Jewitt (2008) sets out framework for rethinking learning from a multimodal perspective in order to explore what real difference the use of new technology can make for learning. She sees learning as internalizing the representational and communicative means means of the subject. She also suggests that most theories of the internalization of social relations are based on verbal language, but that from a multimodal perspective all modes contribute to learning, in doing this there is a wider net of resources in the multimodal approach.
Definition Issues
eLearning in my opinion is essential if one is going to develop a theory of learning, which is why i reckon Andrews and Haythornthwaite took time to define eLearning. They define it as technology enhanced learning. The paper renders the term eLearning as helpful because of its hybrid nature which suggests that there is something distinctive about eLearning, and that it is in fact different from learning. My main focus on exploration on eLearning is that according to Andrews and Haythornthwaite part of their motivation is that existing theories of learning do not account fully for what happens in eLearning. It is also important to note that eLearning includes online and offline learning via electronic means such as blogs, wikis, images, video etc. Another interesting point to note is that these issues of online and offline, synchronous and asynchronous engagement are a different matter from the degree of blend in teaching programmes that combine eLearning with face to face or other kinds of non electronic learning.
Learning Theory
The authors of the paper focused on the work of Illeris as a writer in exploring the learning theory. Illeries sees eLearning as a site for learning a virtual space, hence he conceives of the notion of learning as a psycho- social activity, and then assigns it different learning spaces in which to operate. Students set their own goals and thrive to achieve them because internet based learning can constitute an appropriate supplement to learning in many contexts, but it presupposes that the relevant multi aspect programs are available and to an even greater extent than other learning that the participants have considerable motivation.
Illeris talks about transformative learning by Mezirow (2009) and Kegan (2009), Kegan in developing Mezirow's definition of transformative learning sugests that transformational kinds of learning needs to be better understood because transformational learning produces students with excellent employability skills since it goes beyond content. Transformation as applied to learning is helpful in the sense that it increases clarity, but is less helpful in contributing to the understanding of learning theory and its application in relation to eLearning, neither Mezirow nor Kegan mention eLearning, they however provide the beginnings of a foundation on which a theory of eLearning can be built, through their emphasis on transformation as a key characteristic of learning.
Towards eLearning Theory
Vygostsky
- inspired thinking by Rogoff (1992), regards learning as an effect of community which suggests that learning
is not
a psychometrically measurable entity that individuals register irrespective of their connection to other people, rather it happens as a result of close connection in cohesive social groupings.E - communities operate in a different way. They include gatherings such as social networking sites, virtual learning environments, simple email groups which come together for learning purposes. This is somewhat similar to physical groups, if students have good internet connectivity and know how to manipulate technology this approach produces the same results as normal classroom setup and even beyond.
The volume of paper and clutter that is reduced in activities that are distinctly different from real world learning practices such as egroups, subscription and access to ejournals, access to databases of information is phenomenal in this modern day whereby people are concerned with sustainable work practices. The major shortcoming of eLearning however is the isolation of the learner physically from other learners, he will have to make an extra effort to contribute to the eLearning community. It is interesting to note that learning requires some engagement and contribution, not necessarily feeding off the contributions of others.
The paper talks about social informatics which is an interdisciplinary body that includes consideration of design and uses the affordances of information and communication technologies particularly in social , institutional and cultural contexts. Kling, Rosenbaum, & Sawyer, 2005). Social informatics is undergoing transformation. This suggests that it will be increasing its usefulness in developing the theory about eLearning. It is sociology rather than social informatics that would seem to provide the best theoretical perspective for an understanding of eLearning.
Ever since i started this course i have been using the multimodal theory since its done via computer interface is multimodal in nature, this is highly relevant in eLearning. Kress(2003) explores the connection between multimodality and learning but not eLearning. He suggests that transformation is a key concept in a theory of meaning concerning how users reshape meaning according to the resources available. That will bring us to transduction which is more specific to denote the modal shift from one set of resources to another. Transformation is also central to a theory of learning because learning transforms a person', state of mind or knowledge. Ife we make the jump form learning to eLearning, we can see that transduction takes place in the recasting of meaning from one mode to another.
Most students thrive on digital media theory, this theory tends to focus on visual be it images or video. The relevance of digital media in building eLearning theory is mainly in its exploration of a variety of media that are availabe for learning, from hand held devices to desktop computersand their screens, and interactive television to portable radio and recording devices.
How conventional learning theory contribute to the development of eLearning theory was also considered in the paper. Conventional theory has commonalities to the eLearning theory which include an understanding that learning is a psycho social process, motivation to learn and a distiction between development and learning in which development is seen as naturally occurring and integrative, whereas learning is more specifically geared to shorter and medium term changes in states of mind and knowledge.
Having explored the theories of learning in Andrews paper , we go back to the question which is to be answered after all the exploration. Does eLearning require a new theory of learning ? I will be further exploring the paper and hence endevour to answer the above question in the next blog.
Reference
Andrews,R. (2011)
www.j-e-r-o.com/index.php/jero/article/veiw/84
