Learning Online: Alone and in Nets, Sets and Groups

Terry Anderson, Ph.D.

Values• We can (and must) continuously improve the

quality, effectiveness, appeal, cost and time efficiency of the learning experience.

• Student control and freedom is integral to 21st century life-long education and learning.

• Continuing education opportunity is a basic human right.

E-Learning is not the same

Learning as Dance (Anderson, 2008)

• Technology sets the beat and the timing.

• Pedagogy defines the moves.

Understanding Online Pedagogies and Fitting them into our social boxes

Outline

• Different elearning , different pedagogies and different technologies

• Generations of Online Education Pedagogy• Social Forms to Match Pedagogies• Beyond the LMS

– Athabasca Landing boutique social network

• McLuhan “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us”

• “When physical spaces for

learning go online (distributed, non-hierarchical, networked, digital), new, more effective pedagogies emerge”. George Siemens

Three Generations of Online Learning Pedagogy

1. Behaviourist/Cognitive –2. Social Constructivist – 3. Connectivist

Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. IRRODL, 12(3), 80-97

1. Behavioural/Cognitive Pedagogies

• “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em,

• tell ‘em • then tell ‘em what you

told ‘em”

Direct Instruction

Gagne’s Events of Instruction (1965)

1. Gain learners' attention2. Inform learner of objectives3. Stimulate recall of previous information4. Present stimulus material5. Provide learner guidance6. Elicit performance7. Provide Feedback8. Assess performance9. Enhance transfer opportunities

Instructional Systems Design (ISD)

Enhanced by the “cognitive revolution”

• Chunking • Cognitive Load• Working Memory• Multiple Representations• Split-attention effect• Variability Effect• Multi-media effect

– (Sorden, 2005)“learning as acquiring and using conceptual and cognitive structures” Greeno, Collins and Resnick, 1996

Technologies of Ist generation

• CAI, text books, One way Lectures, Video and audio broadcasts and webcasts with advancements??

Social Focus of Ist generation - Individual Learner

Learning Alone• Maximizes Freedom:

– Space, time, pace, • Allows and promotes

individualization• Freedom from “group think”• Power of auto-didacticism• Freedom from groups

Cognitive Behaviourist Ontology

• Knowledge is logically coherent, existing independent of perspective

• Context free• Capable of being transmitted• Assumes closed systems with discoverable

relationships between inputs and outputs

Behavioural/Cognitive Developments

Self Directed or Self Paced learning

• Learner sets start date and the time to completion

• Continuous assessment• Maximizes learner control• Higher drop out• Ted Talks, Khan Academy, OERU• Only one of the Major MOOCs (Udacity)

providers offers this option

P-1 Personalized PracticeOur Adaptive Algorithm finds a child's true grade level with Splash Score.

MOOCs – Now beyond the US

Everyone can own a MOOC

Open Educational Resources Open Texts

Because it saves time!!!

Learning Analytics - Dashboard

Big Data &Education

1) Technology: maximizing computation power and algorithmic accuracy to gather, analyze, link, and compare large data sets.

2) Analysis: drawing on large data sets to identify patterns in order to make economic, social, technical, and legal claims and design interventions.

3) Mythology: the widespread belief that large data sets offer a higher form of intelligence and knowledge that can generate insights that were previously impossible, with the aura of truth, objectivity, and accuracy.

Boyd, d. & Crawford, K. (2013). Critical Questions for Big Data: Provocations for a Cultural, Technological, and Scholarly Phenomenon

Khan Academy Offers Student Tracking/Analytics

New Forms of Accrediting

Challenge Exams for Credit

1st Generation, Cognitive Behavioural Pedagogy

Summary

• Scalable• Few requirements, or opportunities, for social

learning• Works most efficiently with individual learning

models• Effective and efficient for some types of

learning• Have we really taught learners to succeed as life

long learners with this type of learning?

27

2nd Generation Constructivist Pedagogy

• Group Orientated• Membership and exclusion, closed • Not scalable - max 50 students/course• Classrooms - at a distance or on campus• Hierarchies of control• Focus on collaboration and shared purpose

group

Constructivist Knowledge is:

• Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted• Arrived at through dialogic encounters

(Bakhtin,) - the presence of others adds motivation, conflicting ideas, social validation

• Teacher as group facilitator

“Dialogic as an epistemological framework supports an account of education as the discursive construction of shared knowledge”

Wegerif, R.

2nd Generation - Constructivist• Current model for most Online Learning–

continued strong growth in US and globally• Canada - “Student registrations jumped

another 18.4% in Winter 2013”• Major employer of adjuncts

32% of US higher education students now take at least one course online. (2011)

Constructivist Learning in Groups• Long history of research

and study• Established sets of tools

– Classrooms– Learning Management

Systems (LMS)– Synchronous (chat, video

& net conferencing)– Email, wikis, blogs

• Need to develop face to face, mediated and blended group learning skills

Garrison, R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical thinking in text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2), 87-105.

• Increase in learning outcomes, social skills, positive attitudes to learning BUT

• “the need for cooperative teams to mature implies that cooperative learning does not yield an immediate improvement …need for patience and persistence… students experienced in cooperative learning”

Hsiung, C.-m. (2012). The Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 101(1), 119-137.

The Power of Synchronous Learning in Groups

• Immediacy• Pacing• Comfort level for student and teachers, but

DON’T fall into classroom lectures• Social Modeling

Immersion ??

Group Management

• Need good tools to allow group to work effectively and efficiently to build trust and work effectively at a distance

• Use Face-to-face (blended) time to do this.

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/sciencebiology.html

http://collabtive.o-dyn.de/

https://voicethread.com/?#u316369

https://voicethread.com/?#u316369.b394099.i4835363

http://www.go2web20.net/#tag:collaboration

Flipped Classroom

Social Constructivist Social forms

• Group• Limited in size

– Dunbar’s Max ~150 for a tribe• Mutual awareness of each other• Techer domination and dependency?

2nd Generation Social Constructivist Pedagogy

Summary

• Not scalable, expensive in terms of time and money

• New group tools enhance efficiency• Helps teachers and learners transition to

online learning a transference from good classroom teaching

Generation 3 Connective pedagogies

• http://mms.uni-hamburg.de/epedagogy/mmswiki/index.php5/Connectivism

3rd generation Connective Pedagogies

• Heutagogy – Hase, S., & Kenyon, C. (2000). From Andragogy to Heutagogy.

• Chaos Theory

• Activity Theory & Actor Network Theory (ANT)– “systemic interactions of people and the objects

that they use in their interactions.”

Connectivism

• “connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks.” Stephen Downes 2007

See special issue of IRRODL.org

Connectivist Knowledge

• Is created by linking to appropriate people and objects

• May be created and stored in non human devices• Is as much about capacity as current competence• Assumes the ubiquitous Internet• Is emergent

George Siemens

Connectivist Learning

Persistence

Accessibility

Network Effects

“Connectivying” your course http://terrya.edublogs.org/2012/12/18/connectivy-your-course/

NOT Learning in a Bubble

Disruptions of Connectivism

• Demands net literacy and net presence of students and teachers

• Openness is scary• New roles for teachers and

students• Artifact ownership,

persistence and privacy• Too manic for some

The Social Aggregation makes a Difference

• Available open access Summer 2014

The Social Aggregations of Generation 3 Connective Pedagogies

• Individuals

• Groups

• Networks• Sets

3rd Gen. Connectivist

2nd Gen. Social Constructivist

1st GenC/B

Social Forms of Connectivism

Networks and Sets

Social Networks

• Facebook, LinkedIn, • Academia, • Twitter• Blogs• Listservs• Private

– NING– ELGG– Drupal, – Word Press

Personal Identity

Professional Identity

University Identity

An Academic’s Net+ Identity

• “If Google cannot find a faculty scholar's work or the work of the scholar's colleagues, department, or institution, then it is essentially irrelevant — even nonexistent — because people will not find, read, apply, or build on the work if they cannot locate it via a quick Google searchLowenthal & Dunlap (2012)

Lowenthal, P., & Dunlap, J. (2012). Intentional Web Presence: 10 SEO Strategies Every Academic Needs to Know. Educause. http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-know.

Applying Social Network Analysis to High School Students2012 The Network Roundtable LLC

https://webmaker.org/standard - Mozilla

Sets

• Aggregation of all people/things sharing a particular interest, commonality.

• Example: Set of all graduates of X, all psychology resources

• Can be curated resources with social involvement limited to votes, comments, links

• Sets MAY develop into networks or groups.

Most Common Set ToolTag Cloud

Classic Set: Those editing (or reading) a Wikipedia article

Sets Tools: Pintere.st

Sets (Example)

Connectivist Learning Summary

• Born on the Net• Focuses on students being responsible for

their own learning and building their own learning networks

• Is emergent and can be disruptive• For advanced learners only??

Conclusion:

• the best part of Online Learning– is eclectic allowing student exploration of their own learning needs and gifts.

• Need to matching pedagogy, technology, social forms and learning outcomes

• Empowerment, lifelong learning and smart (not more) work for teachers

Shameless Plug and Giveaways!

Issues in DistanceEducation Serieshttp://aupress.ca

• Anderson, T. & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. International Review of Research on Distance and Open Learning, 12(3), 80-97. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890/1826.

• Anderson, T. & Dron, J. (2012). Learning technology through three generations of technology enhanced distance education pedagogy. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 2012/2. Retrieved from http://www.eurodl.org/?p=current&article=523.

• Dron, J. & Anderson, T. (in press). Teaching crowds: the role of social media in distance learning Edmonton, Canada: Athabasca University Press.

Terry Anderson terrya@athabascau.ca

Blog: terrya.edublogs.org

Your comments & questions

most welcomed!

Slides available http://www.slideshare.net/terrya/edutec-2013-costa-rica

If Time Allows

The Athabasca Story

• LMS – Moodle

• E-Portfolio- Mahara

• Social Networking - Elgg

Hard

Soft

Low learner control

High learner control

Case Study : Athabasca Landinglanding.athabascau.ca

Landing Stats (Sept. 2013)

Individual Control (PLE)

Privacy Control

Groups

Group Example

Nets

Sets

Student view

• "I have managed to gain more useful knowledge through one course conducted here on Landing than from all the others combined. ”

Opportunities• Sharing resources • modeling of product

and pacing • “amplified” feedback. • part of a social

structure

Challenges• Confusion and learning

curve• Information overload –

filtering problems• instrumental learners • Privacy and sharing• Institutional inertia