Learning Philosophy 2.0
While in the past teachers were the main sources of information, this is simply no longer the case. Due to advancements in technology, people have access to the world’s collective knowledge resting in their purses or pockets. Smartphones, tablets, and other internet enabled devices have enabled a paradigmal shift in the fundamental purpose of education. Minimizing the importance of content memorization, the focus of education now is using content as a vehicle to create independent and civically engaged critical thinkers. Brown & Adler (2008) analogize the move towards social learning by moving learners from Descartes’ “I think; therefore, I am” philosophy to “We participate; therefore, we are.” This model better prepares students for life outside of formal education and serves as a catalyst for lifelong learning practices.
In order to inspire lifelong learning, the role of a teacher is to create learning environments rooted in real world contexts. Whether actually engaging in conversations with professionals in their fields or working within “practice fields” (Barab & Duffy, 2012), learning must extend beyond the physical classroom and invite in the larger audience. In Why Even the Worst Bloggers Are Making Us Smarter, Clive Thompson (2013) points out, “Having an audience can clarify thinking. It’s easy to win an argument inside your head. But when you face a real audience, you have to be truly convincing.” The “audience effect,” as Thompson describes it, not only would augment the quality of educational experiences but also demand a higher level critical thinking. Repositioning the goal of learning from content memorization to real-world engagement provides new, exciting opportunities for the trajectory of learning.
Not only will extending the audience beyond the teacher and classmates motivate students to perform better, students have the opportunity to learn “on demand.” Sites such as Khan Academy offer entire courses online for free, building upon the OER movement. Furthermore, Khan’s interactive “gamified” approach builds on the notion discussed by Gee (2011) that video games, and the problems presented therein, offers deeper learning that traditionally offered in schools. This not only improves the quality of learning by making it participatory, but also encourages “Arc-of-life learning” (Thomas & Brown, 2011). The role of the classroom teacher is now a learning facilitator who can connect students with resources, provide support when necessary, and offer feedback to inform future learning.
By rooting learning in real world contexts and shifting content delivery to online modes, students are able to learn in any conducive environment, especially outside of the four walls of a classroom via mobile devices. In Mobile Learning, Sharples and Pea (2014) suggest that mobile devices have the potential to create seamless learning experiences, uniting otherwise disparate learning experiences, such as the flow of learning from formal environments to informal, or vice versa (503-504). Web 2.0 technologies, when employed appropriately, facilitate active learning opportunities at any time and thereby democratize education; however, traditional classrooms create an educational dictatorship by positioning the teacher and textbook as the primary modes of learning. Technology unshackles learners to enable engagement with online learning communities at any time.
Click here to view a screencast presentation of my learning philosophy.
References
Barab, S., & Duffy, T. (2012). From practice fields to communities of practice. In D. Jonassen & S. Land (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments (2nd ed., pp. 29–65). New York, NY: Routledge.
Brown, J. S. & Adler, R. P. (2008). Minds on fire: open education, the long tail, and learning 2.0. EDUCAUSE Review, 43 (1). Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2008/1/minds-on-fire-open-education-the-long-tail-and-learning-20
Gee, J.P. (2011). Games and Education Scholar James Paul Gee on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNfPdaKYOPI&index=1&list=PLJrAxTHTQlftDL_RA0PZPNrDONxXZCmwl
Khan Academy. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from https://www.khanacademy.org/
Khan, S. (2011). Let’s use video to reinvent education. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?language=en
Sharples, M. & Pea, R. (2014). Mobile Learning. In: R. Keith Sawyer (ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. pp. 501-521. [Online]. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books Online <http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1017/CBO9781139519526.030> [Accessed 08 March 2016].
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.