We need a new narrative for understanding learning, suggests George Siemens. In his vision of the future, learners are part of – not only recipients of – information, knowledge, learning and teaching. Siemens is one of the most innovative thinkers in the fields of learning and technology. His work is focussed on theoretical aspects of learning, knowledge management and the implementation of technology in education and training.
These are excerpts from his interview with eLeraning Africa.
What are the biggest changes in terms of the availability of knowledge in recent years? Are we currently entering a new era in education?
The biggest change we are currently experiencing with availability of information today is the sheer quantity. We have new opportunities to interact with and create information. The ease of access offered by the Internet and open educational resources initiatives indicate only the beginning stages of an information crisis. Abundance raises the importance of sense-making.
To address these challenges, societies need to rely increasingly on the educational sector. Re-skilling a society, developing a region or even country, embracing new markets and the advancement of national economies find their roots in education.
In which ways is our "old" model of education limiting for future developments? What are the major misunderstandings these days when it comes to learning?
To slightly paraphrase Roy Pea, our technology and models of learning carry “patterns of previous reasoning”. In many instances, educators are confined by how we have viewed information, learning, knowledge and teaching in the past. New technologies and processes are often applied to replace (or augment) existing approaches, rather than to alter the entire act and process of teaching.
To realise the transformative potential of education in a global environment requires educators and corporate managers to rethink the entire process of teaching and learning, determine which elements need to be eliminated as they bear too strongly the mindsets of the past, and decide which elements need to be preserved.
I’ve tried to emphasise the value of networks in influencing how we learn. Specifically, knowledge is a function of how we have connected information and come to understand it in certain contexts. Knowledge is, literally, in the connections. Learning, then, is the ability to form these networks and connect new information (in context) to existing knowledge. How we are connected to others and to information is a vital indicator of our ability to stay current and adjust as environments change.
You propose a new narrative for understanding learning. What would it look like?
The new narrative I propose is that of “being a part of”. Creating new content and information has always been largely communal. Ideas and stories were passed and shared from one generation to the next, allowing listeners to see themselves and their heritage in the long trajectory of their culture and, more broadly, history.
But as schools and universities – as we see them today – the teacher assumed the role of expert and the student one of subservience. This model would have seemed ludicrous to great teachers such as Socrates and Plato. Learning, in their eyes, was a process of engagement, dialogue, and debate, not a model of transferring and duplicating.
Learners have the ability to create, co-create, and re-create content. Learners have opportunities to participate in global conversations and to directly access expertise. This belonging – locally and globally – is the framework that should drive our consideration of education.
In regard to Africa, where do you see significant opportunities and challenges for the Continent in relation to recent changes and developments in education?
The growth of the information-based economy theoretically creates a new space where geographical location plays a less critical role. The challenge facing countries in Africa is to build a skill base where the population can participate in this new economy. While barriers still exist in re-skilling a population, they are much lower than they have been at any time in the past.
A second challenge exists to ensure that cultures are not co-opted. Technology is not neutral. It is embedded with cultural viewpoints and ideologies. As countries in Africa begin to adopt different technologies and open educational resources, a key consideration arises as to how these will be utilised as a means to preserve, not overwrite, existing cultures. To this end, it becomes critical that African countries are not only consumers and importers of information and technology but also producers and exporters.
What is your vision for the future of learning and education, especially regarding Africa?
My vision of the future is one where learners are a part of – not only recipients of – information, knowledge, learning and teaching. It makes little sense for someone outside of Africa to promote their vision for the Continent. What is most important, in my eyes, is that Africa is able to define its own vision and future direction.
But it’s difficult to define a vision, as we are in a complex environment with many rapid and jointly-influencing changes. What is most important at this stage is fostering dialogue that will lead to the creation of a vision and strategies that attend to the unique needs of each country or region. Loose, informal collaboration on a global scale can certainly serve this process, as long as it does not overwhelm the needs of the individual region.
Source: eLearning Africa
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