Learning Conversations

Over the last 12 years or so, as I've learnt to become a self-sufficient learner, a number of articles from the early years have played a seminal part in developing my thinking. So much so, that they have become my "goto" places when I need to explain why I do things the way I do:

Some principles of effective e-learning - Stephen Downes

Interaction, Usability and Relevance. That's all you need to know. Stephen goes on to provide examples from the real world (outside e-learning) where these principles have born fruit.

Where is the Learning in e-Learning (PDF) - Gary Woodill

white paper, published in 2004, provided a valuable critique of the e-learning industry and explored the unique potential opportunities offered by the new technologies. You could read it now and think it had been written yesterday!

Scaffolding by design: a model for WWW-based learner support - J.C. Winnips

The concept of "Scaffolding", along with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, whereby teachers provide just enough support to help learners move on to the next stage, has been key to my thinking around learning design. This is a meaty PhD thesis, but it's worth reading - even just section 2, where he sets out the model.

Wide Open - Demos

Reading this paper, from the thinktank Demos, was the first time I'd come across the concept of "open source" being recognised in a wider context than software development. Concepts that are now widely promoted - such as the Open Knowledge Initiative and many other projects, both grassroots and institutional.

New Learning Environments for the 21st Century - John Seely Brown

JSB's paper set out a challenge to anyone offering "learning" - whether institutional or work-based. Although written in pre-Facebook and Twitter days, many of the ideas transfer well across the years.

A Journey into Constructivism - Martin Dougiamas

I have been an advocate of Moodle since its very early days. This paper, written by Moodle's creator, gives a brilliant insight into the learning philosophy behind Moodle - and therefore how it can work best.

Connectivism - a learning theory for the digital age - George Siemens

Yes, there are holes in this paper if you're looking at it from a serious academic perspective, but as a way of describing what is happening with society, technology and learning, connectivism is very hard to argue with. It pulls together network theory and learning to make a compelling case for changing the way we treat education and training.

The Buntine Oration - Stephen Downes

I remember listening to the podcast version of this paper over and over again when it came out. As usual, Stephen has put in some incredibly deep thinking, and carefully critiques & weaves together learning object theory, language theory, metadata, blogs and learning networks into a description of what could be...

A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of Virtual Learning Environments (Word Doc) - by Sandy Britain and Oleg Lieber

This 2006 paper sets out a way of evaluating VLE's (Learning Platforms or LMS's) that are to be used within a formal education environment. It's still valid today, even with all the developments in Constructivism, MOOCs, mobile learning etc.