Resisting and embracing Learning 2.0
by jeff68 ~ July 21st, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized.When I reflect on my own vague feelings of resistance to the idea of maintaining a persona on social media (which hasn’t stopped me from doing it), I wonder how much of it comes from my image of ‘ideal learning conditions’ based on experience. I went to Japan in 1994 to teach, and the common use of the internet was a few years away, at least there. Being pretty much cut off from other media by language and not even understanding much of what was said around me, getting information was like having to suck it through a narrow straw. As lonely as this was, it had its up-side: I was able to focus more deeply and and for longer on books. Alone in my rabbit hutch, I hit a few classics and a some not-so-classics. It all seems a bit pathetic now, but essentially I remember it as an intellectually fecund period.
Contrast that with living in Canada now in the digital age, taking a course like this one. Instead of the straw, I am getting blasted with fire hoses of information all day. This course, challenging me as it is to be open to a more social approach to learning, represents the polar opposite of that learning experience. In many ways, it embodies the realization of the constructivist model of learning. The content is really student-generated in a way that I find even face-to-face courses are not (and more than other online courses I’ve taken). This has required an adjustment, but overall it has been a rewarding one.
This course has forced me to reconsider my memories. Certainly, it makes me wonder how much richer the experience could have been had I been able, say to share the highlights and my accompanying thoughts on chapters from those tomes. It would have made it more enriching, undoubtedly.
July 21st, 2010 at 9:30 pm
And what you’ll discover eventually, I hope, is that you will be able to handle any amount of information that comes your way (and adapt to new circumstances and media).
None of the above should prevent you from occasionally seeking out deeper meaning, and reading, in the rabbit hutch.
Dean
July 22nd, 2010 at 6:15 pm
I think one thing that social media has allowed us to do is to better reflect on the development of our own communication strategies. In fact, we are now using more vigourously what we have always known to be good practices, such as personal reflections and journal keeping. When I was a kid and an undergrad (particularly in arts in the 80s) we were required to keep a handwritten journal on relevent topics. Social media is geered towards this, and old pen & paper was quite a bit more labourous, and “think-pair-share” in class was just annoying. Web-“blogging” online is more spontaneous as well as the online forums that we’re using for class. In this case, it’s much easier to just go for it.
July 25th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for sharing your “vague feelings” on this issue. I too worry that I have too many Internet distractions to sit down with a difficult book, immerse myself in it, and enjoy the challenge! I am on the Internet on an off all day, it seems, and I don’t have blocks of time like I used to. One of the skills I hope to learn is how to manage my time on the Internet (for instance, I am new to RSS feeds) because I feel like I rely on it too much! I am thinking about limiting myself to Internet use at only certain times of the day, or creating a rule like no using the computer after 6PM, or something to that effect. Once I am finished with school, this should be much easier to accomplish.