At the point of semester ending, turn around to see what I have learnt from the course and now I have some different ideas on learning. Learning is the process that human acquiring new knowledge and skills from surround environment which include people, media content, nature environment, and human society. However, people sometimes confuse learning with teaching. In my view, learning is speak from the side who is acquiring new knowledge and skills, but teaching is kind of stand on the opposite point. Teaching, from my perspective is the process that knowledge or skills flowing from a more knowledge person or expert to a novice.
At the very beginning of this semester, I had tried to defined learning in two facets. Now, I still insist my previous argument: learning has two different pathways which are interest-driven learning and requirements-driven learning. However, I’d like to do some delicate revises. In the interest-driven learning, I had stated that “Once people interested in something, their passion will drive them to asking questions to expert, reviewing literature, conducting experiments, searching on search engine, and join in a related online learning community.” Here, as more knowledge I have learnt from this course, I think If I say “join in a same focus affinity group online and learning connectively” maybe is better than the former statement. For the requirements-driven learning, I argued “in this way, teachers or experts generally in the center of learning. Learners may lack of passion and become passive during the learning. So the learning will not going beyond the course delivered or textbook content after instructors done with their lectures.” But now, I must say, requirements-driven learning potentially can lead interest-driven learning if instructors and course designers utilizing Internet enabled learning environment and mobile devices to connect “caged” students with outside world to stimulate their learning positivity. Then students might possible to find new interests through this way.
Learning, generally, happens when people observing, reading, doing, and communicating about the thing they have never known and make connection with their exist knowledge and skill space. For example, a human who know numbers and then based on this exist knowledge he/she can learn addition and subtraction principle once he/she meet this principle anytime and anywhere. If he/she doesn’t has the knowledge of numbers, there is no way to learn further. As I said people can learn through observing, reading, doing, and communicating, teachers and students should play different roles in this digital era.
Accompany with Internet and mobile device technologies’ developments, teachers can leverage emerging media technologies to connect their classroom with more content sources so that expand the learning environment by adding virtual spaces. In this spaces, it is important that a teacher need to be a guider or a supporter when students need help which is been called “scaffolding” in learning theories. Also, teachers has responsibility to foster students digital literacies to ensure students have ability to gain “real” knowledge in a complicated online environment. In the other hand, from students side, in addition to traditional face-to-face classroom learning and homework- and parents-controlled informal learning, students now own much more flexibility to explore and learn what they interested in on their Internet connected devices. Learning is moving to dual-centered which are students-centered and teacher-centered from only teacher-centered. Thus, students are involving more self-driven learning in this era.
As learning is a process to acquire knowledge and skills, how can we know we have learnt something? In my mind, when people able to explain a concept, principle, and theory, or perform a skill independently, the learning takes place. Due to the original goal of learning is to use what people learn no matter for personal hobbies or needed on working position, or to comprehensively develop brains and literacies, the main sign of a learner demonstrate the knowledge or skill is he/she transfers this knowledge or skill from textual or visual representation to the real environment his/her is living in.
Now, according to all above thoughts about learning in digital era, I can see the technology in my learning philosophy plays the role of knowledge content carrier, communication and collaborative working platform, mentor supporting station, and affinity groups space. In my sight, I’d like to use technologies in learning from two ways. In formal learning setting, I think by using technologies such as Google Cardboard can invite more fun and authentic virtual environment into the space-limited physical classroom to support students learning in real-world liked context. Like Osmo, a game-like testing and collaborate-in-fun learning environment can really make learning in play. Moreover, for informal learning, technology allows students step out from homes or libraries and bridges them to those shared interests communities and vast of learning sources other than textbook and lecture slides. For example, social network sites like Facebook’s group function provide opportunity for same interest people to communicate, exchange information, and learn from others. I believe the connected learning and participatory learning are two gems presented by advanced digital technologies.
YouTube link of video encapsulation: https://youtu.be/Na0-vEww9J0
