Chris O'Hagan (C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk)
Thu, 26 Nov 1998 18:16:44 +0000
From: "Chris O'Hagan" <C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk> Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1998 18:16:44 +0000 Subject: [ifets] Where learning occurs
Hi
I am glad contributors are resisting the temptation to include the
message in their reply.
We have a couple of new strands (or developments of previous days
strands.
One is whether the learning 'acts' in the learner are independent of
the medium the learner is using. Or mayber the 'modality' the learner
is using even. My own view is that the key feature is the
interaction inside the learner's mind, rather than any external
interaction. The so-called 'interactivity' of the learning resources
can be irrelevant to this, and the claims for learning from the
interactivity of computer-assisted learning are much exaggerated.
You can have a very interactive mind reading a book - internally
arguing with the author and rearranging your ideas, just as live
discussion, or a computer can stimulate these internal 'acts'.
Maybe pressing buttons and feedback loops can actually supress real
learning - which might come from trying to work out yourself what the
feedback might be, and answering that! Does this bring in
insights from the so-called phenomenography offshoot of
constructivism - surface, strategic and deep learning? Do computers
encourage surface learning, learning which is not properly integrated
into the learner's version of the world? Are computers best for
training and simulation, not proper education, whatever that is ;-)
Two, is whether you need teachers at all - ie they can be replaced by
machines. But a lot of 'teaching' is about teaching people *how* to
learn. Total distance learning works best with people who already
have some skills as learners. It is still a very open question
whether distance methods can be used to this degree with younger
learners.
Just because computers can *stimulate* amd we can see this
stimulation in the learner, does this mean that deep learning is
taking place? I wonder.
I'm not sure how these relate to our original theme, but what the
hell, maybe someone can turn all this back to illuminate the original
question.....
Chris O'Hagan
============================================
Christopher O'Hagan
Dean of Learning Development
Centre for Educational Development and Media
University of Derby
Kedleston Road
DERBY, DE22 1DA
England
Tel: +44 (0)1332 622262 (direct)
Fax: +44 (0)1332 622772
Email: c.m.ohagan@derby.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.derby.ac.uk/cedm/welcome.html
CEDM is home to a Teaching and Learning Technology
Support Network Centre, one of nine in the UK offering
free support to UK Higher Education Institutions:
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There is a crack - a crack in everything:
That's how the light gets in. L.Cohen, 'Anthem'
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