Learning Conversations

Stephen Downes was the first person I encountered who was thinking out loud about learning outside the confines of an institution. His daily newsletter was a jumping off point for a totally new learning experience for me. I discovered dozens and then hundreds of people who were all thinking out loud. They were exploring new ways of "doing" learning and and realising that the paradigm that says learning takes place mainly in a classroom is unnecessarily restrictive and, in many cases, just doesn't work.

Stephen's recent addition to the ongoing debate is an ingenious Powerpoint (Keynote?) with video of Stephen talking embedded on each slide. That, in itself, makes it an interesting experience.

Once you're past the presentation style, and focussing on the content, things get really interesting.

Stephen has taken an article he wrote a couple of years ago on "Principles of Effective E-Learning". In this, he explores his view that "the keys to effective e-learning are interaction, usability and relevance". The video then takes it further. Stephen shows that it's now possible for the learner (using simple, freely available technology) to take control of their own learning, and be at the centre of their personal network.

Like George Siemens, I did like the idea of the "guerilla tactics" for interaction. If your lecturer/trainer/teacher doesn't provide a means of interacting with your fellow learners both during a face-to-face session and outside it, then just do it yourself. I can't see that going down well in the traditional bastions of "learning". Just imagine what would happen if congregations in church started discussing teaching points during the sermon! Or during a lecture in a University? And what would happen if those discussions carried on afterwards, on the open web, so we can get other points of view? And what if we were able to invite the expert/teacher to an interview that was recorded so everyone could benefit? Hmmm. I can feel the walls breaking down now!

Stephen talks about making your own learning "usable" - by taking responsibility for the way you learn. There's nothing new here really. Throughout history, good learners have used notebooks to keep a record of what they're learning. The difference now is that we can use the technology to make it easier to search those records and to interact with other people. I disagree totally with his suggestion to use Drupal as a content management sytem for handling a personal knowledgebase though. Yes, fine if you've got days to learn how to configure it. But not a suggestion for someone new with these tools. Something like b2evolution or Wordpress is ideal if you want to manage it yourself. Or go for a hosted option like Edublogs, Eduspaces or Wikispaces. They've all got different characteristics, so you might need to explore a bit before deciding on which type of tool to use.

One of the main points I pickup of from the video was a reminder to "filter ruthlessly". This is something I don't do enough of. So, I'm off to clear out my Google Reader account, so I'm not swamped...

Here's the video: