The eLearn Blog

Every year I ask people what they predict for e-learning in the coming year. Recently I asked Johann Ari Larusson, a doctoral candidate in the Computer Science Department at Brandeis University, what he expected the biggest changes to be in e-learning over the next 10 years. His response was he expects technological and societal influences to make learning more social and collaborative. He expanded on this:

What I mean is that because society has chosen to use the technology outside education (it is a critical component of their everyday lives) they are going to adopt it for their educational needs either with or without the schools. We already see people asking questions/solving problems on forums, facebook etc.

I am a bit worried that things might not change for political reasons. Even though we know much about the merit of technology and learning very little has changed up until today. Many faculty and schools still rely on the old unidirectional, solitary approach to firehosing students with textbook facts, which they regurgitate on an exam.

However, I think it will be unavoidable for education to figure out by themselves that the new learning age depends on social technology. Even if they don't believe in the benefits of social/collaborative learning, the world is going demand students that have the right skills (technological literacy) to fully participate. Society will change the learning whether the schools likes it or not. Its just a matter of whether the schools want the learning to occur on facebook...or some pre-tuned learning-specific social platform.

Do you agree? Please share your thoughts.

Posted by Lisa Neal Gualtieri (Aug 10, 09 10:01 AM) | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What happens when you have to use a computer but don't like to? Ranida B. Harris, Indiana University Southeast, and Kent Marett, Mississippi State University, investigated what happens to people who have to use computers for more than 20 hours per week for work but don't like computers.

Certainly not all corporate trainers and academics love computers. David Noble organized strikes at 2 universities in the 1990's, opposed among other things to some enforced uses of technology. However, this seemed to be an issue with lack of justification to faculty about the anticipated advantages of the proposed uses of technology and providing them with the training and support to not overburdened by the increased workload. And many corporate trainers were told to start developing online courses when the shift started, also in the 1990's, from instructor-led classrooms to online courses.

But what about the students? Many people are expected to take online courses at work, or they sign up for online programs because of the convenience or other factors; presumably not liking computers would put such people at a disadvantage. Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass, in The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places, found that "even technologically sophisticated people treat boxes of circuitry as if they were other human beings". Is not liking your computer the same as not liking your teacher? Does not liking your computer make you skim through course materials that require concentrated attention? Is mediation needed? Please share your insights!

Posted by Lisa Neal Gualtieri (Aug 6, 09 10:03 AM) | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Carolyn Kotlas summarized a webinar about Cellphones as Instructional Tools. I was interested in her summary because of a recent first-time visit to the Botanical Gardens in Washington, D.C. I was very disappointed in the cellphone tours they made available and didn't listen for long. With the increased availability of mobile devices, new opportunities arise to educate people, but, like any technology, the education has to be work for the learner in the setting. And, in this case, the gardens are beautiful and included well-designed wall text that was far more educational and memorable than the cellphone messages.

Posted by Lisa Neal Gualtieri (Aug 4, 09 01:51 PM) | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I interviewed Allison Rossett for eLearn Magazine and just came across some notes from the interview. My favorite insight of hers was on the inclusion of experts and peers in education facilitated through technology. She also talked about the role of performance support and gave an example, e-Suds. Remember how in the early days of the Internet people would have a video camera on a coffee pot so you could monitor the status? e-Suds tracks the use of washers and dryers on campus and alerts students about the status of their laundry. Read Allison's interview to learn more about the implications of e-Suds.

Posted by Lisa Neal Gualtieri (Aug 3, 09 09:53 AM) | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)