UNIT 1 THE 7 E-LEARNING AFFORDANCES
UNIT 1
THE 7 E-LEARNING AFFORDANCES
[5 minutes reading]
Ubiquitous learning: the possibility of transcending the confinements of space and time through technology. Traditional face-to-face lessons required defined spaces where to deliver the lectures (i.e., physical classrooms) and a necessary simultaneity (be all in the classroom at the same time to participate to the lecture), and, consequently, time scheduling and timetables.
Technology allows the learning process to happen anytime and anywhere, without losing the intensity of the profound learning relationships. Despite ubiquitous learning supports independent and self-managed learning, it also boosts social relationships and interactions. Indeed, online it is possible to connect and interact with a multitude of peers and other participants and this would not be possible in traditional didactic pedagogy.Ubiquitous learning also fosters transparency and visibility of learning: the process of learning and producing of results by the students can be checked and visualised by the teacher/instructor anytime, appreciating therefore the progresses during the learning curve and deepening the path followed by each student individually.Finally, ubiquitous learning also forges the habits of mind of the learners, encouraging them to become more curious, inquisitive, flexible, and open to the many different actors and topics that can be found on the internet. Collapsing time and space we create lifelong and life wide learning, where knowledge is expandable and discoverable.Active knowledge making: technology allows the learner to contribute to produce knowledge (become a knowledge designer and co-creator) and not only to consume it (absorb and memorise knowledge), therefore transforming it into a participative learning.
The tools and framework of online learning shifts the role of the learner from a basic knowledge consumer to a knowledge producer. Digital technologies allow to improve active engagement, searching for information, cover different roles, enhance interaction. Everybody can bring something to the learning table. Active knowledge making allow to produce learners that learn by doing, that build knowledge and that develop habits and skills that are transferable to the next stages of education, to work and to everyday life.Active knowledge making shifts the focus of education: if in the traditional learning we aimed at the production of long-term memory, with this approach we value the capacity of representing knowledge and producing artifacts (a scientific report, a presentation, etc.) that show the evidence of learning. We therefore assess the work actually done and not the resulting memory.Active knowledge making allows also to pass from a hierarchic top-down knowledge flow to a more horizontal kind of organisation of knowledge transfer.Multimodal meaning: Digital technologies bring to a shift in the literacy definition. If traditionally it meant to be able to know words and know how to put them in sentences and produce paragraphs, now its definition is extended to the capacity of producing a wide array of knowledge representations (videos, audios, images, infographics, presentations, datasets, graphics, and other media). The devices to produce such different representations were, in the past, only affordable to editors of learning materials, while now, thanks to digital technologies, such instruments are accessible to students too. Therefore, the accessibility to multiple modes (multimodality) brings to the concept of multiliteracies. Digital production skills are very valued in a modern and dynamic world where information sources are multiple also in everyday life.
Recursive feedback: feedback is at the core of learning because it allows to understand how we are progressing with the learning process.
Digital technologies allow feedback to come as knowledge is produced, because they capture the journey of the learner while reproducing and representing knowledge, in a step-by-step process. Indeed, a test of knowledge is less helpful when it comes at the end of the learning process, as it happens in the conventional assessment. Such approach is therefore constitutive and formative (i.e., which is about the future) and not retrospective (i.e., about the past), and it supports the ‘no failure paradigm’ because the learners are able to take feedback and correct their progress until they reach the wanted result.The digital environment allows to collect feedback from multiple sources (i.e., peers, teachers, invited experts etc.), enriching the learning experience with multiple perspectives. Historically the teacher was the expert and was the only who could give an assessment, now the responsibility of knowledge making is distributed and shared (crowdsourcing assessment and evaluation). It also gives the instrument for self-assessment in order to understand what has been understood and which knowledge has been produced.Collaborative intelligence: juxtaposed to the classical definition of individual intelligence, collaborative intelligence is a process based on taking and giving feedback by a group of peers. This process allows to build constructive relationship with other peer and to value how good the learners can take on board constructive criticism. It has been widely demonstrated that people learning together are able to solve problems better and in a more creative way, creating a richer learning experience in a condensed period. Digital technologies foster collaborative environments and social networks. Learners can engage in a powerful way and produce knowledge at much more detail thanks to the contribute of a multitude.
Collaborative environments give the space for building up a sense of community and commitment to each other. Learners are committed to produce knowledge that matters and is useful also for the others. Indeed, differently from the traditional learning environment, the digital one can be collaborative all the time welcoming a multiple audience.Collaborative environments boost motivation, as peers supports each other to do a better work through constructive feedback. Indeed, we do not reward success by defining failure anymore, but we aim at success for everybody. Collaborative intelligence entails sharing knowledge, spreading outcomes since each learner’s knowledge can be used as a resource by the others.Metacognition: learners become reflective about the knowledge they are developing (reflective process). It is the important process of thinking about thinking, in order to be able to find a way to assess how effective their way of knowing during the process. It helps developing a deep understanding and skills of discernment which are vital in such a fast-moving world.
Digital technologies create spaces to access evaluation rubrics and gives instruments to learners to think about their process of knowledge production.Digital technologies also help learners recognise patterns in the learning process, allowing them to become better strategists that manage their thinking and knowledge production and are not only mechanistic reproducers.Differentiated learning: traditional classrooms are based on deep assumptions that all learners are as homogeneous as possible, with similar learning needs, paces and curves. Indeed, the teacher addressed the whole classroom as much as possible in the same way at the same time, reporting the same topics and contents. However, sameness does not always provide for equality, and traditional learning makes it difficult to address differentiated learning. In facts, each learner is unique and has different learning needs. Through digital ecologies and the new learning environment provided by online tools it is possible to address learners who are not at the same page. Digital environments allow learners to work and progress at their own pace, in a timing that suits their needs.
The educator is responsible that every learner is transformed, progresses, understands and engages. Though digital technologies they can create learning experiences for specific needs and can intervene in single learning process adjusting instructions and information. In order to let the learners meet their goals. Educators can expand their instructional repertoires and provide tailor made digital learning patterns and tasks to address all needs and support individual learning.Technology mediated environments valorise diversity and each single identity is represented in the classroom. This allows to build on student interest and motivation, making a more understanding and engaged audience.