Welcome to the last Open Educational Resource of the 2013 ETEC 522 course. This week, we will be looking at Connected Learning (CL) ventures. We believe that CL is a topic that deserves your attention because it has the potential to fundamentally transform our current education system. CL is more than a piece of technology; it is a movement that has recovered powerful ideas from the past and replants them in a context rich with technology.
CL is a broad and fluid movement that is still in the process of defining itself. It is often associated with the emerging theory of connectivism, but its potential cannot be framed by a single theory. CL is also often reduced to the idea of a digital infrastructure, and it is important to mention from the start that, even if technology can help its implementation, CL can exist without it.
So, it is with great anticipation that we await your thoughts on Connected Learning, and its potential to modernize our education system. Is Connected Learning the answer to the problems identified by Sir Ken Robinson in this video or will our system repeal its initiatives to the narrow fringes of alternative education?
We look forward to your contributions.
Learning Objectives
As you progress through this OER, it is our goal that you:
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Gain an understanding of what connected learning is and what it looks like in today’s learning environment.
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Explore the potential of CL to transform our current models of formal and informal education.
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Identify what is required to implement connected learning.
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Assess the SWOT parameters as they pertain to connected learning.
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Reflect on connections between CL and your own practice.
Plan for the week
This OER is divided into several sections. Please click on the highest tab in a section, as it provides an introduction to the topic and subsequent activities. For example, read the content on the tab for Foundations, before reading the content on the tabs labelled Maria Montessori or Ivan Illich.
1. What is CL?
In this section, we provide a few videos and articles to facilitate a common understanding of Connected Learning. We include discussion on the Principles of CL as well as some ideas of CL in Action.
2. Foundations
While CL is a relatively new concept, it is based on older learning theories. We examine how the thoughts of Maria Montessori and Ivan Illich intersect with CL.
What is CL’s potential as a viable educational reform? We delve into the social value of CL, as it pertains to the K-12 learner. Additionally we consider the proposition of CL as viable venture in both formal and informal learning environments. We offer case studies for your consideration, where CL is enriching the lives of K-12 learners.
4. Activities
Activities are centrally located in this section. It is a good idea to go through the content on all the tabs before contributing to Activities 3 & 4.
5. Conclusions
Where might the potential of CL take our learning environments? No one can say for sure. We wrap up the OER with some final thoughts, and will include a summation of the week’s participation activities here.
What a way to sell your topic! The language on this webpage is exciting in that it is actually working to draw me in.
Before learning about CL, I am going to speculate that it is about students building and sharing knowledge and ideas together cooperatively, proactively, and collaboratively almost like a community of practice and/or social engagement platforms found in LMSs like Schoology.
Lastly, I know that Sir Ken Robinson has quite an intelligent sense of humour. I have seen him before on TEDTalks.
Great Video! It gets me thinking about the question: Is Connected Learning the answer…or will our system repeal its initiatives to the narrow fringes of alternative education? As a primary grade teacher teaching Kindergarten students, I am intrigued by Sir Ken Robinson’s viewpoint, especially around how thinking and learning changes as students get older because of the typical educational environments that they are in.
I love RSA videos they really bring out the important points in any topic and they are amazing! I am very interested to learn more about your topic especially since technology is beginning to take such an important place in our students lives, how do we facilitate this learning while still making sure they are learning what they should, or what the government thinks they should.
I am also interested to know what others think about the “rising levels of ADHD” as Sir Ken Robinson explains. I have not necessarily seen more cases of ADHD in my classroom in the last 10 years but I have seem a drastic increase in the amount of anxious students that I teach, anxious to the point of being sick, needing medications and not coming to school. I wonder if these things are related.
Hi M-A. As the accessibility advisor I have seen a steady increase in both diagnoses – ADHD and anxiety to severe anxiety. The other point here is the increase in females coming in with ADHD and both genders for anxiety. I am not sure if these are related, but many of the environmental stressors out there are more prominent and could be contributing factors.
I was really interested in the prevalence rates so I decided to look this up. According to a recent article that was published in the Journal of child psychiatry and psychology, the prevalence rates have been stable since 1990. The study compared three times periods; 1990, 2005 and 2010.
The following is the citation for the study:
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;54(12):1263-74. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12144. Epub 2013 Oct 4.
Research Review: Epidemiological modelling of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
Erskine HE, Ferrari AJ, Nelson P, Polanczyk GV, Flaxman AD, Vos T, Whiteford HA, Scott JG.
Source
School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park Centre for Mental Health, Wacol, QLD, Australia.
Hey mdetharet! Thanks for your comments. It is an interesting point you raise that your students are showing up to class (or not) in a more anxious state than they were 10 years ago. I’m sure there would be a number of potential reasons for that, including stress at home, social stress at school, academic stress, etc.
This article discusses stress from K through university education, and alludes to Kindergarteners ‘perfectionism’. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/anxious-or-not-k-12-pupils-take-exam-107676283.html
Would you say that you see more self-imposed stress on learners today compared to 10 years ago? Diane