Mo Learning

Mobile learning = mo learning. At least that’s what Teemu Arina has to say on the topic (see videos below).

Arina views the subject through the lense of learning spaces. Do we learn in cubes, or is learning open to the world — to the larger environments in which we actually find ourselves from day to day? Can mobile learning foster situated applicational learning better than more formal educational settings? From personal experience, I’d say “YES!”

While Arina focuses on the value of mobile learning as being in its ability to allow for greater social interaction, to connect people and ideas, to share conversations, and to connect the virtual world with physical contexts, I find myself turning instead to a different focus: mobile learning is real world learning. Situatedness really does have an impact on how well we can assimilate new information into our present schemas. And real-world contextual learning may allow for more authentic tasks and for the construction of new ways of thinking and acting, both socially and personally. Beyond this, at its heart all learning is mobile learning. People learn on the go. People learn as they are doing. In a way, traditional in-classroom learning could be considered one (limited) phase of mobile learning, because learning happens not only in the room itself, but in the hallway, in the dorm room, in the library, and on the way to work. People are thinking while they are being, and we are called human beings for a reason (one thing we know how to do well is be). While we are being we are becoming with the help of education (whether formal or informal). And becoming is situated across times and places. Learning spaces are living spaces and vice-versa.

One particular manifestation of mobile learning is learning while using modern mobile technologies (laptops, mobile phones, mp3 players, etc.). These tools help us to connect with other people and to situate our learning experiences in real world contexts. We are here. We need the knowledge here. We can apply the knowledge here. It seems an obvious conclusion that here is where we should learn. These tools bring our living and learning together here. Do we want people to learn only in a cube, or do we want them to be learning, to become in the here and now?

Life’s long lessons

Can Web 2.0 educational opportunities help to provide for lifelong learning pedagogies? Can learning and technology be transformative across entire lifespans using Web 2.0 tools? Here are several videos that address the issue of lifelong learning with Web 2.0 technologies (view the videos here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=54387335815818263&hl=en and http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1201325526056291337&ei=iLclSbKTL4L8rAK_rfyICw&q=life+long+learning+Web+2.0).

While lifelong learning opportunities may be sponsored and facilitated by various Web 2.0 tools, does this mean that Web 2.0 tools are the answer to lifelong learning? Web 2.0 tools are not always easily learned, nor are they static or stable in their services. As technologies increase in complexity, the need to educate learners on how to learn in the digital age increases. Here’s a video on the problems and potential of Web 2.0 technologies in the area of lifelong learning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkEo_CZUek4 (view this video below).

What unique lifelong learning opportunities will the future Web (Web 3.0?) have to provide to users? Here’s a silly video that ties our world with the world of the Web (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=topeBoB-ApQ):

While this last video is just a humorous animation tying two worlds together, our real world and the Web 2.0 world are even more intimately combined. Web 2.0 two way communication, participation in communities of practice, social networking, and personal publishing are all useful lifelong learning supports that help users to always stay connected to learning opportunities. The world is open for life long lessons. And while the technologies will undoubtably change and evolve over time, still the inward human impetus to continue to expand knowledge and learning will reach into the future. Perhaps as the new Web becomes increasingly interactive, so also will all learning activities, allowing for more constructivist pedagogies to be implemented worldwide.

INspiration

What’s “IN”? The newest fad? The greatest and freshest idea or innovation? Have you ever noticed that people often get excited about the newest things? Whatever is “IN” right now gets talked about, argued about, thought about, researched, and often reimagined until it becomes the new “IN” in another form.

Web 2.0 is the “IN” of the internet today. Tomorrow it will be something else, but for now it is what people are still excited about and are talking about. Only time will tell what will come next, but for now, this is it. When people get excited about something, other people see opportunities for making money and a name for themselves. In order to obtain what they want, they seek after innovations and innovators to stand behind. This backing is important, because it often leads to further innovation. When this innovation begins to slow, it may require inpiration to kick-start a new wave of excitement and innovation. The term Web 2.0 and all that has become associated with this word has become the “IN” thing and this has led to innovations in tools used to create participatory online cultures. This current wave of innovation may be slowed by the economic downward trends we are observing in America and across the globe. This may lead to a slow time which may act as an incubation period for the next wave of innovation. No one knows where the next “inpiration” moment may happen, or when it may happen. But we may surmise that it will come. And we can guess that it will continue to open up the world to educational opportunities. Why? Because many of the past innovations have found their seedbed in the fertile grounds of higher learning. And education begets education. In a knowledge based economy, education is king. Invention will come when necessity dictates, when the world is inspired again.

A Vision of Students Today

The following is a link to a video hosted on YouTube that was created by the same anthropoligist who created the video “The Machine is Us/ing Us” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o.  This is a great video that has had a lot of influence on the educational system at large. It calls for a rethinking of the educational enterprise in light of current students. An open world of learning is not enough. We need an open world of learning that fits with the way people are learning today. But first we must figure out what current students are like. This video provides just such a insight.