With the development of technology and global networking, the teaching-learning process is no longer limited to text books and traditional blackboard classroom lectures. Learning and knowledge sharing in the modern world has evolved into higher dimensions-only the sky is the limit! Especially, higher education has greatly benefited from networked learning. Some examples include Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC), webinars, and web conferences, etc. Distance, age and time can no longer be considered barriers for people who have a desire for higher education.
Network learning can provide a greater platform and larger audience for those involved in scholarly pursuits. Through the means of social media and other web tools (to name a few: twitter, blogs, online chat forums, etc.) academics can establish a public identity and establish connections with peers and greater public. Through discussions and sharing of ideas, network learning can take the learning process to a whole new level.
Shown below is is a great illustration of the different facets of network learning in the 21st century by Dr. Alec Couros.
http://www.lasalle.edu/wp_res/uploads/open-network-learning-091112.pdf
September 5, 2017 @ 10:33 pm
It was a pleasure to read your post and I also agree that factors such as age and distance do not prevent us from gaining a higher education experience. I sometimes skim over online postings to see if there is any course online that I could join to gain new knowledge not available to me on my physical campus. Though, it does make me wonder what barriers prevent others from having a similar higher educational experience or who do not have the same privilege(s) as me at VT.
September 6, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Thanks for your post! I definitely agree that opportunities for learning have grown and technology can really provide some great benefits. But I think Rudi brings up a good point about the possibility of other barriers and disadvantages that prevent people from having these same educational experiences.
September 6, 2017 @ 10:45 am
Nicely put. Networked learning will be beneficial to society in general, especially in impoverished areas where attending a brick and mortar school is infeasible.
That said, I see two problems. Increased distance makes the entire affair impersonal. I have never felt the same connection in an online class (to either the students or professor) as I have in lecture classes. Second, while free MOOCs make college level courses accessible to literally anyone with an internet connection, they also make dropping out easy (no investment = no commitment). I think I’ve completed 10% of the MOOCs I signed up for. :p
Still, in the long run, these technologies will do wonders.
September 6, 2017 @ 2:32 pm
I love the graphic you included in this post. It is great to see how many digital options are now available for learning and engaging in academic realms. That being said I do have a couple of questions about this image. What do you think is the meaning of the circularity suggested by the circumventing arrow around the whole diagram? Perhaps it suggests the transient nature of many of these technologies and that we have to cycle through them and refresh our set of technological tools periodically to stay up to date. I would love to see a diagram like this but with networks for family and community and colleagues expanded outward. Then we would really start to see the interconnectedness of networked learning and how a given individual’s use of any or all of these technologies would affect the behavior and learning of others.