Week 7

Does elearning require a new theory of learning? I believe it does. In the past, we have used set theories of learning, which have served us well. However, with elearning, it takes the way we have previously learnt and completely changed it. I don't believe that it is an e-version of learning... it is seperate and distinct from learning in the WAY that we learn. It is far more self-motivated and self-driven and changes the way we learn. Existing learning theory simply isn't enough for this new way of learning.

The key concepts of this paper for me were:

Social implications of e-learning - how this is changing the way we learn. Do we need a new theory of learning to keep up with this?
For me, the answer to this is simple: yes, we do need a new theory to keep up with the social implications of e-learning. It is so different to what we have done previously, that we need to analyse, work out and document these changes, to come up with a better structure for learning, but to also help those new to e-learning.

Technology enhanced learning... learning is made better with technology.
I believe that technology does enhance learning. That's one of the reasons we have technology - to do things better or in a way that we couldn't previously fathom. However, I don't believe that e-learning is simply learning that has been enhanced by technology... it has revolutionised the way we learn, so it is not simply learning with a bit of technology thrown in.

There are gaps in the framework of elearning theory.
As this field of e-elearning is relatively new, there are most definitely gaps in the framework of elearning theory. We have had one learning theory for such a long time... that this new way of thinking and learning will take time to properly explain and to have appropriate theories in place.

Transduction process
I had to really look at this... the words used in this weeks' reading were making my head spin.
Transduction to me, from reading this, is transforming from existing technology to new... for example, moving from pen and paper to a Word document. Taking the old, and modernising it... or, if using the SAMR model, the Substitution layer. However, this is only part of the transforming process.

Connectivism
I like the idea of connectivism - it seems to be to really be the next stage of learning. To put the onus on the learner, to construct their own pathways for learning, to structure their learning, and to search for information, using a teacher as a guide is a very interesting idea. For me, this links very closely with constructivism, and the ideals seem to be similar, though connectivism takes it one step further. I feel that this is likely to be the future of learning.

It will take a while to fully hash out where this sits, and how to take this further. In my context of adult learning, I can see it will take some time for this idea to work - adults have always learnt very differently to this way of thinking, and making the leap to this is no small task. I see this as working much better when incorporated in to all levels of education - training young students to think this way and to use it as they grow and learn, is a great way to start learning in a connectivist way.

Incoporating this new learning idea, I have updated my map.

I see Connectivism working with Constructivism - they are both similar, but  for me, Connectivism seems to work upon and from the constructivist point of view, so I have added it working with Constructivist theory. It isn't an objectivist theory and doesn't work with it, so I have not connected it to objectivist theory.