The excitement and news-worthiness of social media derives from the fact that, as all social media are communication from many to many, it is a fiercely effective way to collect a reference group around any issue. Something that used to demand a lengthy campaign of communication from few to many, can now happen in an instant with no discernible effort at all. For advertising and marketing this has enormous implications in terms of reaching potential consumers. For education, or moreover the girl who could not sit still, social media can create a connection with a community that she needs to thrive with her own potential. "Finding your tribe" as Robinson (2009) calls it, is immensely important especially for the young learner who is not only faced with learning skills but finding their place in the world. In most cases there is no specialist or psychologist to point the student in the direction of his or her natural abilities. Social media, at best, can facilitate an authentic learning environment in the sense that there exists a community in which and with which to learn.
This is not to say that social media in itself is the salvation for every failing student. There is no added value in the existence of social media tools if there is no motivation or effort involved from the part of the student. Social media is however an avenue for the growing number of people who find it hard to find an anvil to their hammer. And at its very best it can help the people who have misplaced their hammer in finding it.
While there was a tech-utopia period in e-learning (or multimedia learning in those days) towards the turning of the millenia, it seems to be the technically fairly simple social media practices that have changed the world. The struggle away from old methods of text-based learning has turned in on itself in the sense that social media tools are largely text-based (though video and audio follow suit they haven't caught on in a major way). In fact, it is the two simple but novel ways of publishing text that seem to have had the most effect: the tag and the comment.
The tag is most commonly only a one word definition for a subject. Yet the fact that anyone can tag, anyone can participate in defining the subject holds great power. The comment is similarly only a short text but the fact that anyone can participate and anyone can comment on a comment generates a contextual web around the subject. With an infinite amount of things to comment on, only the commentators genuinely interested on the subject will gather around it. Genuine interest sparks relevant conversation. Much more so than university degrees or job titles. Not all subjects enjoy intelligent discussion, but social media does afford a chance to discuss and the chance to find your tribe.
So, in accordance to the title of this text: e-learning and social media have not moved us away from text at all but completely the opposite. They afford us new ways of using text and in so doing take us deeper into text. The fact that what we write is now published and read and reacted upon in ways that no-one could have predicted, is generating a new future for us. How that future will play out, is for anyone to tag and comment.
Showing posts with label e-learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-learning. Show all posts
Monday, 29 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Away from text
The Education Technology Centre eEDU in Tampere University of Applied Sciences was founded 2001 to coordinate and develop web-based learning (e-learning) and teaching in TAMK. It's function was and still is to assists teachers with the use of learning environments, support teachers with the implementation of on-line teaching materials and offer consultation in the educational use of ICT. Besides support for teachers eEDU is responsible for research and development in its field of expertise at Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
To perform it's tasks, eEDU needs to keep up with the development of e-learning (the concept as well as the tools), to form our own view of e-learning on the basis of domestic and international signals. The following is an insight into the type of discussion that forms our view.
Since its conception e-learning has been struggling to find alternative media to text-based learning. The whole concept has been wrapped around the premise of being something other than text printed on paper. Visions of that otherness have varied from video walls to brain plug-ins. As in any technology driven field, innovation, new applications and new gadgets have moved the concept forward and guaranteed funding. Now, we are entering a period in which technology is not the main issue. The main focus is coming back to people and their goals of learning. It is this shift in thinking that has been the basis of conversations towards what is e-learning for eEDU. It is extremely important to have open discussions about what learning is and what it is that we want to achieve via education. The following video is one of the sparks for conversation about long term goals and profile of the education system. It is a 20 min. video and well worth watching for anyone working in education.
(The video is from TED.com which is worth while the visit if you are looking for quality academic disussion about social issues.)
There are two key issues in the video. First, the education system is geared towards producing university professors. Traditionally, the goal of the student is to succeed well in your studies. The best possible success is to become a university professor. This however omits completely the students individual tendencies. For a small percentage of students, it is desirable and worth while to seek the ultimate goal of professorship, but what about the rest 99,9% of students? (Finland is, and has been for a while, producing doctoral thesis at an alarming rate.) What is the role in society for those students who are not and will never be university professors? This brings us to the second key issue in the video: the girl who could not sit still. The girl had intelligence which did not include sitting silently in rows of desks, reading and producing text. She had to move to think. Then, and even now the girl would have been doomed as a failure to life outside the society. BUT through the appropriate discourse and proper supportshe became a successful dancer/choreographer and has had a merited and fulfilling career. This is not to suggest that all children who cannot sit still will become the lead in Bolshoi's next production of Swan Lake. What it does suggest is that there is a definite demand for diversified education and diversified learning environments. This demand and the potential for social media and authentic learning environments to answer the demand make this a revolutionary and exciting time in education.
(to be continued)
To perform it's tasks, eEDU needs to keep up with the development of e-learning (the concept as well as the tools), to form our own view of e-learning on the basis of domestic and international signals. The following is an insight into the type of discussion that forms our view.
Since its conception e-learning has been struggling to find alternative media to text-based learning. The whole concept has been wrapped around the premise of being something other than text printed on paper. Visions of that otherness have varied from video walls to brain plug-ins. As in any technology driven field, innovation, new applications and new gadgets have moved the concept forward and guaranteed funding. Now, we are entering a period in which technology is not the main issue. The main focus is coming back to people and their goals of learning. It is this shift in thinking that has been the basis of conversations towards what is e-learning for eEDU. It is extremely important to have open discussions about what learning is and what it is that we want to achieve via education. The following video is one of the sparks for conversation about long term goals and profile of the education system. It is a 20 min. video and well worth watching for anyone working in education.
(The video is from TED.com which is worth while the visit if you are looking for quality academic disussion about social issues.)
There are two key issues in the video. First, the education system is geared towards producing university professors. Traditionally, the goal of the student is to succeed well in your studies. The best possible success is to become a university professor. This however omits completely the students individual tendencies. For a small percentage of students, it is desirable and worth while to seek the ultimate goal of professorship, but what about the rest 99,9% of students? (Finland is, and has been for a while, producing doctoral thesis at an alarming rate.) What is the role in society for those students who are not and will never be university professors? This brings us to the second key issue in the video: the girl who could not sit still. The girl had intelligence which did not include sitting silently in rows of desks, reading and producing text. She had to move to think. Then, and even now the girl would have been doomed as a failure to life outside the society. BUT through the appropriate discourse and proper supportshe became a successful dancer/choreographer and has had a merited and fulfilling career. This is not to suggest that all children who cannot sit still will become the lead in Bolshoi's next production of Swan Lake. What it does suggest is that there is a definite demand for diversified education and diversified learning environments. This demand and the potential for social media and authentic learning environments to answer the demand make this a revolutionary and exciting time in education.
(to be continued)
Sunday, 29 November 2009
New Technologies in Education and Training
Information and Communication Technologies are being increasingly used to create richer learning environments. In all sectors of education from primary schools to adult education, in schools for pupils with special education needs and in colleges and universities, technologies are being used across the curriculum to enhance students’ experiences.
The use of technology and new media is crucial to involve new generation in education and facilitate their learning process. It is important to train teachers how to use at best technologies and design and create attractive learning environments, and build experience also to be exchanged freely with others.
The above concepts have been developed by Training 2000 and EU partners in previous Comenius project named TACCLE, which ends at the end of 2009. The outcomes of the project aim to train teachers and trainers to create e-learning materials and raise their awareness of e-learning in general in order to establish a culture of innovation in the schools in which they work.
The TACCLE handbook created for trainers and teachers supplying suggestions on how to implement new technologies (including web 2.0 tools) and e-learning in class is available online (please click here if interested!). You may be interested to know that an in-service training course “Creating your own e-learning content in school education and adult education” is also planned to take place in Urbino, Italy in April 2010 and it has been a great success, as we have 65 applicants from all over Europe! (Click here to read more about it).
This experience from the TACCLE project can be partially transferred to DETVET and further exploited through the involvement of the VET providers and trainers in partners countries.
Training 2000 is responsible for the development and organisation of Training for the Municipality of Sant’Angelo in Vado and as first dissemination event, has organised a conference with aperitifs and snacks at the University of Urbino on November 9th 2009, with 20 participants/trainers, experts, teachers trainers and university researchers/professors.
The best moments are recorded and presented to you here:
The use of technology and new media is crucial to involve new generation in education and facilitate their learning process. It is important to train teachers how to use at best technologies and design and create attractive learning environments, and build experience also to be exchanged freely with others.
The above concepts have been developed by Training 2000 and EU partners in previous Comenius project named TACCLE, which ends at the end of 2009. The outcomes of the project aim to train teachers and trainers to create e-learning materials and raise their awareness of e-learning in general in order to establish a culture of innovation in the schools in which they work.
The TACCLE handbook created for trainers and teachers supplying suggestions on how to implement new technologies (including web 2.0 tools) and e-learning in class is available online (please click here if interested!). You may be interested to know that an in-service training course “Creating your own e-learning content in school education and adult education” is also planned to take place in Urbino, Italy in April 2010 and it has been a great success, as we have 65 applicants from all over Europe! (Click here to read more about it).
This experience from the TACCLE project can be partially transferred to DETVET and further exploited through the involvement of the VET providers and trainers in partners countries.
Training 2000 is responsible for the development and organisation of Training for the Municipality of Sant’Angelo in Vado and as first dissemination event, has organised a conference with aperitifs and snacks at the University of Urbino on November 9th 2009, with 20 participants/trainers, experts, teachers trainers and university researchers/professors.
The best moments are recorded and presented to you here:
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