J White Reflective Journal

Theories of Learning Futures - Reflective Journal - Janice White

Entry: 24th July 2007

Is there one true definition of 'learning' and/or its subsets?

The definition of 'learning' is in the eyes of the seeker?

I'm having an influx of visualisations about defining learning!

• seeing one of those cartoon strips that appear each day in a newspaper! Learning is....
• maybe a continous user-written collaborative metamorphosis flash text animation that
never ends as long as the website stays up and the software version reads back/forward...
• possible a communal wiki (with user uploaded images, video, sound.... to illustrate it) and a
huge history...
• an electronic whiteboard space in Elluminate or Connect or Wimba Live Classroom or a
counterpart... with people taking turns to write/draw/chat/speak... recorded for others to
view later in a vicarious participation experience
• a collaborative Cmap accessible to anyone given permission to edit... with snapshot exports
as static jpg files...version control and all that...
• a group of people working with a huge piece of butcher's paper and felt pens.. then sharing
it with the whole gathering...
• a medley of experts' publications presenting definitions and models - libraries and
databases bulging with them... a discussion in delayed snail hardcopy...
• a cornucopia of blogs by intensely interested participants in the debate... with links to each
others' blogs..
• a straggle of strange individuals sitting on a verandah sharing stories of life and learning and
revelations...

Channels, registers, discourses, contexts, purposes, audiences, conventions, cultures, personalities,

experience, schemas, education opportunites and levels, different abilities determining location,
modes and pace, timing, funding, war or peace in the land, on the planet..

Preparing to commit to a posting on either Path A - start with one of the quotes supplied, or Path B -
invent your own definition of learning. Where do I begin?

Time for bed - have to be able to sleep, which means winding down my brain, so I can get to work on
time tomorrow. Have explored some of the theorists via googling after reading the trigger material
and made some connections between their ideas. Keep thinking about knowledge ecologies and
connectivism.. not mentioned here really. But I might be veering towards Path B?

Subject: Learning can be change through connection

In keeping with the feeling of fluidity and location in this the world knowledge ecology, my
experiment in defining learning conjures words like 'metamorphosis', 'connectedness', 'synergy' and
'creativity'.

Metamorphosis in relation to insects

(http://www.amonline.net.au/insects/insects/metamorphosis.htm) refers to a major change of form

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or structure during development. J. Michael Spector's idea that "Learning is essentially about
change .....in attitudes, beliefs, capabilities, knowledge structures and skills" (2002, in trigger quotes
for this task) resonates with one facet in my changing conception of learning. Spector is linked with
ideas about networked learning, which in turn I connect with Laurillard's use of the word
'synergistic'(2002) and her further discussions on Wenger's 'learning communities' and Schon's
notions of learning as 'reflection-in-action'. This turns my thoughts to Senge's statement "through
learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it", and "Through learning we recreate
ourselves" (1990).

Connectivism is one contemporary approach to learning theory that creates sparks of recognition
and relevance in my experience of lifelong, lifewide learning to date. George Siemens offers an
interpretation of Stephen Downes' explorations of connectivism at his elearnspace
(http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm):

"Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-
organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting
core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable
knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on
connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more
important than our current state of knowing."

Connectivism evokes the concept of a Knowledge ecology, presenting us, (and other knowledge
repositories such as databases) as nodes in networks. Knowledge is distributed among networks,
with no one node able to hold all the knowledge. The connections (and collaborations) are therefore
crucial in this rapidly changing world we live in. The connections are easy to make, I believe, to
Senge's discussions on organisational learning, to Laurillard, Brown and Duguid (as mentioned in our
study notes) and to many other conceptions of what learning is and how it happens. Pask's
Conversation Theory is another interesting path of interest (see Laurillard).

Brown and Duguid's distinction between "learning about" and "learning to be" are an apt note to
leave you with: I have been learning about learning and simultaneously learning to be a novice
learning theorist. This is a pattern I recognise in my life and that of learners I have had the privilege
to work and learn with. Humans are evolving, knowledge about humans and the ways they learn are
evolving, technologies that enhance the possibilities for learning are evolving, as are the ways we
seek to use them in teaching and learning.

EDIT 26 July 07...

My experiences as a casual teacher/tutor in the VET sector for diverse industry areas and learners,
plus more recent FT contracts in learning design projects, have been a little like a patchwork quilt. I
am used to focusing session/project by session/project - switching roles, purpose, context, groups,
tools and approaches accordingly. However, these 'small pieces loosely joined' are all parts of one
whole. There are common threads and an underlying style or way of being as both a teacher and

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learner. Although the above associations in theory seem fragmented, I would hope you can see the
pattern of connectivism in it.

Regional NSW offers many challenges for access to employment opportunities and up to date
technologies, apart from the financial disadvantages and insularity those not actively participating in
the 'busy' world suffer. Meaningful engagement with new experiences, people and tools (such as
formal classes and experts who care) can inspire and inform. Teachers can model lifelong learning
skills and attitudes plus act as mediators to connect learners to the wider network. I always learn
from my students, respecting their potential and what they can bring to me and their peers.

...... REMOVED FOLLOWING

Siemen's used a quote from Time Magazine in his presentation Situating Connectivism
(http://www.elearnspace.org/media/SituatingConnectivism/player.html) that I feel illustrates my
learning experience well:

"Consciousness turns out to consist of a maelstrom of events distributed across the brain". I do hope
my 'conversation' about learning has not been too fragmented, that you can see the't situated my
learning as required in the task and will need to either modify or add another post.

.....