On Online Learning
And just how are we going to define online learning, anyway? The two words together seem nearly redundant. As far as I can tell, I am learning constantly when I’m online. It’s like wandering the stacks at the library, where you can pull any book or periodical that catches your eye off the shelf, browse or peruse to your heart’s content, and usually learn something in the process. The learning is self-directed (or sometimes perhaps web-directed as we click on whatever catches our eye). We learn both how to use the web and how others use it, as well as all sorts of new ideas and old knowledge.
Sure, the sites you find on the web are not pre-approved; there’s no professional librarian or teacher saying this is what you should look at and here’s why. There’s much more commercialism mixed in; maybe it’s more like a cross between a library and a bookstore. And just like in the “real world,” there are lots of questionable sources, snake oil salespeople, and untrustworthy strangers. Learning to be selective and discerning of web resources is one of the first skills you need to learn. It goes without saying that you can find web resources on that.
http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf
Online, you’re part of a very large and loose community with an abundance of smaller, overlapping communities. Everyone has something to share, something to teach you. You can lurk about on any number of discussion boards or email groups, learning all you want by watching. You can gradually or rapidly get as involved as you want by contributing your own ideas and knowledge. And just like that, you are not just learning but providing others with the opportunity to learn as well.
Social Learning vs. Traditional Learning
As soon as we start talking about online learning, we run smack into a very interesting question. Well, I know what you mean by online, but what do you mean by learning? The phrase online learning prompts many to think immediately about the ways and means of converting the classroom experience—creating an online version of the lectures, discussions, assignments, and tests that are part of a traditional class, whether that be K12, high school, or university. An instructor, with his or her piles of syllabi or lesson plans nearby, starts typing and scanning and posting. Ho-Hum. Drain the face to face interaction and funnel the content onto a server. If it were that simple, what did we need all that face-to-face time for in the first place? Why didn’t we have more correspondence schools before the Internet arose? Hmmm… Much room for learning and discussion here.
So Where to Begin?
I have a whole list of possible topics and directions for this blog. Here are some:
- E-Learning Vs. Blended Learning
- Browsing Vs. Perusing (How To Eat A Poem; How To Surf Like A Dolphin)
- Learning The Tools Vs. Learning To Use The Internet Well
- Online Learning and Standardized Testing (e.g.: MBTI, Johnson O’Connor)
- Computer Anxiety and Online Learning
Well, that all will take a while to cover! After much contemplation and discussion, I’ve decided first to head off in the direction of this question: “How do I prepare to be a great online learner? What skills do I need, and how do I develop them?” To this end, I will examine several resources on the topic and report back here on my findings. If I exhaust that topic (notice I said IF), another will most certainly take its place. (One that falls to mind immediately is: “How do I prepare to be a great online teacher or facilitator? What skills do I need and how do I develop them?”)
So thanks for participating—even if you’re just reading! I’m off to learn something.
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