What is learning?

Learning is the journey we take through life, it’s the road we follow and the objects we pick up as we progress along it. It never stops as we travel and we all find our own ways to learn. We chose what we want to hold on to and what lessons we wish to keep. Our mind also plays a part as we lose some lessons along the way. 

So what actually is learning?

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.(Wikipedia 2011)

Has the understanding of learning changed over the years? 

A visit back to 1983 saw (Curry 1983) put it rather eloquently as he explains the term ‘Learning’.

The term will refer to intended learning in contrast to unintended learning. Intended learning is both a process and a product. The process is adaptive, future focussed, and holistic, affecting an individual’s cognitive, affective, social, and moral volitional skills. The product is observable in the improved ability of the individual to adapt to environmental stimuli. (Curry 1983)

However surely it can be summed up a more succinct manner, ‘relatively permanent change in behavior that results from practise.’(Atkinson et al 1993) or ‘Process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behaviour or potential behaviour’ (Hamilton.K 2003).

It would seem to be all about behaviour and positive changes in that behaviour. What is clear is that there is no clear definition of learning and the debate will no doubt continue.

Has the meaning of learning changed over the years?

With the introduction of modern classroom innovations, blogs wikis and electronic media it surely has. All learning invariably requires some form of interaction and possibly some feedback but whereas the media being used to disseminate the learning may have changed the process of learning has not. We now talk of social learning as if it is new, it’s always been part of the learning. Whereas the social website may now open up opportunities to talk to hundreds of fellow learners the playground / workplace offered the same facility with a smaller group This has been an opportunity for learners long before computer assisted media ever came along.

What is slightly more obvious though is the emphasis is more on the learner than the learning, as educators strive to meet the aspirations of ‘Netgens’ and the modern student, trying to fuel interest without resorting to traditional didactic methods of learning too often.

Experiential and collaborative learning play their part in fact according to Bruffee (1998) if educators continue to teach in the stand-up-and-tell-'em way,  students will miss the opportunity to learn mature, effective interdependence—which Bruffee maintains, is the most important lesson we should expect students to learn.

So it is safe to say that learning is about change in behaviour which more or less sticks and is the product of interaction within the learner’s  environment and within the learner’s lifespan.

This is more or less the point that Atherton (2011) makes although I am not so sure on the use of organisms as he puts it. As for the educator well we don’t have exclusivity to learning there are many avenues in which learning appears.

References

Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; What is learning? [On-line: UK] retrieved 27 February 2011 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/whatlearn.htm

Bruffee (1998) Collaborative learning: ‘Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge’, Publisher, The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Curry L (1983) ‘An Organisation of Learning Styles Theory and Constructs’, [online] Available from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED235185.pdf  (Accessed 27 February 2011).

Hamilton.K (2003)’Learning Definitions’ [Online ] Available from: http://webhome.idirect.com/~kehamilt/psydef5.html

Accessed 25 February 2011.

Wikipedia (n.d) ‘ the free encyclopedia’ [online]  Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning (Accessed February 2011).

Week 4 already 'Just what is learning'?

H800 is flying along.
Just what is learning?

Write out your own definition of ‘learning’.

This should be your first thoughts, i.e. how you might respond without any research if asked: ‘What is learning?’ Take some time doing this and consider what wider implications your definition might have.

Well here goes

Learning is being able to do something new as a result of reading something, listening to someone/thing or by experimenting (trial and error). I think that just about covers it.

Mmm  now I am off to find out how close I am to the real thing.

Activity 2: On two metaphors for learning – reading Sfard

I agree it was a bit of a dull read, to be honest is she (Sfard 1998) not stating the obvious learning is about 'acquiring' knowledge and 'participating', there doesn't seem to be one without the other.

'AM stresses the individual mind and what goes into it, PM shifts the focus to the evolving bonds between the individual and others' (Sfard 1998).

Again fair comment but obvious, I don't think I would refer to it as an evolving bond, surely we are just referring to development of students and their professional relationships.

Sorry I just find some of the reading really hard work, the author uses phrases and terminology that means you have to read paragraphs over and over again to get the gist.

'Learning a subject is now conceived as a process of becoming a member of a certain community', I guess social networking is the point she makes here and again happy to agree with this as we sit in our H800 community.

I thought I would end with a metaphor:
Spiral learning: learning comes about through frequent re-encountering of similar ideas in different contexts (Bruner 1996).

Bruner, J (1966). Towards a Theory of Instruction, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Worth a read I think

http://p2pfoundation.net/Three_Metaphors_of_Learning

Illuminate What?

What is Elluminate and how does it enable Open University students to communicate?

In the words of the manufacturer;

Elluminate is a virtual environment optimized for learning. Whether you have two students—or two hundred—Elluminate enables world-class communication, collaboration, and education that transforms teaching and learning.

It enables the synchronous transmission of speech within a classroom environment, the moderator is able to display a presentation and talk at the same time to a groups of students. Students can either talk in conference mode or type in the chat interface. Students can put up their hands or use smiley's to indicate confusion or request clarification.




The above screen shot gives some indication of the screen.

Recorded demonstrations can be viewed from the following link.
http://www.elluminate.com/demo/recorded_demos_list.jsp

It is also free for personal use the only limitation is that only three users can be in the conference at any one time. A particularly useful feature is the ability to share the desktop with viewers and communicate which has many benefits.

It does rely on good connection speeds though therefore the faster your internet connection the better the experience.

The Open University uses elluminate within a number of courses and tutors have access to the software from within the course framework as expected online support is available on its use from the following link http://www.open.ac.uk/pc4study/communicating/using-elluminate.php

References
Elluminate(2010), 'Where bright ideas meet', (online) Available from: http://www.elluminate.com

Open University (2010), 'PC4Study, Using Elluminate', (online) available from:
http://www.open.ac.uk/pc4study/communicating/using-elluminate.php Accessed January 2010.

Want to Build Better E-Learning Courses? Think Beer » The Rapid eLearning Blog

Want to Build Better E-Learning Courses? Think Beer » The Rapid eLearning Blog

I felt for a colleague today, just started a new job full of enthusiasm and ready to transform the training at his college. He has recruited a couple of very knowledgeable learning technologists so its all systems go. Only to be told to transform the training to level 1. Talk about restricting capability and stifling creativity. There must be some room for some creativity.
My suggestion, produce some level 1 stuff then,  ''Show them what you could have had'', I wish them luck and hope they don't jump ship yet, the wheels can sometimes turn slowly. 

Rapid eLearning Blog

They could also approach using the beer metaphor it may go down better but then again they are probably larger drinkers anyway.

H800-11B: Week 3b: What it means to learn – metaphors and practices: A2: On two metaphors for learning – reading Sfard

H800-11B: Week 3b: What it means to learn – metaphors and practices: A2: On two metaphors for learning – reading Sfard:

How Sfard defines the acquisition and participation metaphors.
The idea that learning is the process of acquisition; taking the learning however it is presented to you and making it your own. Taking ownership and moving forward with your new found knowledge ready to continue the journey. 'The knowledge is considered a commodity it can be applied , transferred and shared with others' (Sfard 1998).

Learning is not not just about states it involves activity and participation, 'Learning a subject is now conceived as a process of becoming a member of a certain community' (Sfard 1998). Learners may well be the the newcomers and potential reformers of the practice it is very much up to the teachers to preserve its continuity. What we acquire we store in our minds and by participating and sharing we consolidate learning, giving further authority to the learning, enrichment and depth. 

How she distinguishes between them
The two metaphors are seen as the parts and the overall learning the sum of the parts, they are seen as integral to the learning. It is difficult to separate the, 'Act of acquisition is tantamount to the act of becoming a participant'  (Sfard 1998).

The significance of Table 1 and the difference between questions of what learning is versus how learning happens. It interesting how the two metaphors are linked succinctly within a table making it clear where the comparisons blend. separating in a table almost implies they can be treated as separate metaphors but on closer scrutiny both are clearly related.

Table 1 (Sfard 1998) 

Note that Sfard sees social theories of learning drawing on both acquisitive as well as participatory models of learning. There cannot be one without the other when considering the advantages of each it is clear that one metaphor can draw out the weaknesses of the second. We have in fact represented a patchwork of metaphors (Sfard 1998)

Reference

Sfard, A. (1998) ‘On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one’,Educational Researcher, vol.27, no.2, pp.4–13; also available online athttp://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176193 (last accessed 21 February 2011).

What do institutions say/reveal…

http://www.firstcollege.co.uk
I was intrigued with this example it caught my eye.
First College is an online school, the website is not too impressive but there is a certain feeling  that leaps out at you as you explore.

Why is it called "First College" when it's a high school or secondary school?
We train a strongly collegiate style of studying so that the student learns to take responsibility for their own work and deadlines. It means the transfer to later qualifications, University, or (self) employment is much easier as a result. (First College 2011)

If you look at the school how we teach page it is clear that group work is an essential part, well it would need to be teenagers growing up without interaction with fellow teenagers would raise a few eyebrows.

http://www.firstcollege.co.uk/online_teaching.html
To Quote
There is a strong emphasis on the school as a learning community, not just a bundle of tutored subjects.

In order to study efficiently students need to learn
~ how to work in groups,
~ how to mix with others from different backgrounds,
~ how to get help from teachers, and
~ how to both get help from and give it to other students. (First College 2011)

OK I get it further more the school goes on to emphasise the importance of group work and the way it deals with differentiation online.

An extremely important, vital part of online learning is the facility to carry on private conversations alongside a class. This means a teacher can without the rest of the class seeing it, give extra help to a struggling student, support or rebuke a misbehaving one, or give a high flyer some extra challenge. An online teacher must be able to handle up to six conversations at once!

Practical experiments and real life projects, the use of games, quizzes, and recommended interactive software keeps things lively! There are also self-test quizzes and sometimes timed tests set by the teacher to check no one has got lost on the way!

Students are encouraged to get to know each other and help each other learn, both in general, and by creating group projects (First College 2011).

I found this quite interesting there is certainly an emphasis on group work and clear acknowledgement that it is a necessity,  but I would like to see it in action.

First College(2011) Online School for the 21st Century [Online] Available from : http://www.firstcollege.co.uk/index.html Accessed 15 February 2011

Habits and Habitats: Introducing the IDEA

I want a wall, where can I fit one in my classroom. Just been sidetracked by a tweet and took time out to view this. It goes on a bit but you'll get the idea fairly quickly. A flexible learning space and a wall for learners to share ideas. Sounds great !!
Want to learn more than
http://www.ryanbretag.com/blog/?p=2024