The new ecology of learning all about adaptation. Adaption of the institution, the educator, and the learner alike. As discussed in the article A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown, the new learning framework is centered on communal interaction through collaboration, social conditioning, and learning from others, as well as continuous learning via exploration, experimentation, and experience. The vast network of information and online platforms ready for discovery create an invitation for learners to try out new things, investigate curiosities, and tap into their imagination to build new things. I remember when Myspace was still a ‘thing’, I was frustrated with some of the generic formats and limitations for backgrounds, so I decided to take a look at the HTML code and see if I could figure out how to manipulate it to do what I wanted. Not only did I teach myself code through the use of pattern recognition and trial and error, but I became the SME in my group of friends! Basically, I learned as a by-product of my original goal—creating the page aesthetic I wanted. In my experience, people are more likely to truly learn when they want to—when it engages their interest, passions, and goals.

In this new learning framework, all members are active participants, and the lines between the “authority” and the “novice” become blurred. While a teacher can direct student learning in the classroom to achieve the learning objective, they ultimately are one part of the experience. It is through leveraging multiple sources, perspectives, and technologies that a learner can collect as many facets as possible to build their own knowledge base. The beauty to this approach is it provides the necessary parameters to maintain some focus while allowing the individual freedom to discover at the same time. Students can experience the exact same topic many times by learning from other’s point of view, culminating into a deeper, more complete understanding.

In the article entitled Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George Siemens, he discusses an alternative learning theory in which learning is based on ever-evolving informational foundations, networking to learn, and learning from technology itself. The aspects that resonate the most are the focus on diverse perspectives, and the ability to make connections between differing fields, concepts, etc. I’m a very conceptual person by nature, meaning once I understand the basic concept, I know how to apply it in nearly any situation. As a result, I tend to look for patterns and form connections naturally.

Connectivism is probably the most interesting to me as it is almost inconceivable at first—learning from technology itself?! Seems a bit hard to fathom since technology has been primarily acknowledged as a tool to deliver knowledge, but it is the future of society. Through machine learning, e.g. algorithms, such as predictive models, and even AI, humans are able to make sense of various phenomena, learn from outputted data, and make well-informed decisions accordingly. In this way, this theory strongly resonates with me as I think about how often we rely on it—weather forecasts, traffic apps, etc. The concept of Chaos as a central focus was especially interesting to me as it focuses on how everything is connected in one way or another; the author references the ‘Butterfly Effect’ on weather patterns, for example. In this way, I have always felt that learning/experience built upon the last lesson, like a piece of the puzzle, and is not mutually exclusive.

Embracing change is pivotal. Instead of stubbornly resisting the changing times, places of learning should stop focusing on what they’ve always done and start looking at what they could do. For decades, established institutions such as enduring companies and universities have remained unchanged, stagnant in a world that is constantly evolving. Similar to the assembly line, the traditional model of learning (and work) is centered on standardization and efficiency. While both are necessary to produce tangible results, they ultimately result in inadaptability, which only hurts everyone involved. In today’s society, with all of the technological advancements and renewed celebration of creativity and innovation, creatively stifling educational and work environments have to rethink the culture they create, prioritizing the needs of the individual contributors.

 

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