Two Ways Technology has Changed the Way We Learn....

Because of the way in which technology is advancing (at break neck speed, some may argue), it follows that the way in which we learn has also gone through some pretty extensive upheaval.  There are a multitude of ways in which this change has occurred, but, for the purpose of clarity, I'm going to keep this blog post to an exploration of two I feel are particularly relevant.

First, lets take a look at the shift from individual to collaborative learning. By collaborative learning, I'm referring to the situation whereby two or more people attempt to learn something together. Indeed, collaborative learning is arguably the process in which students partake in 'active learning' the most, with collaboration encouraging things like problem-based thinking, reflection and discussion, to name but a few.  Thanks to technology, collaboration is no longer considered a fortuitous 'add on', something we can do if and when conditions allow but rather there is now a whole host of tools that facilitate and stimulate communication such as social media or instant messaging applications.  Looking to the literature, a recent study undertaken by Tabatabaei and Lam (2013) in which students' awareness and use of collaboration and communication technologies (CCTs) was examined, the authors concluded that CCTs were underused and further, that academic personnel cannot simply assume that learners are aware of such applications and as such need to actively introduce and teach such technologies.  This is food for thought and something I plan to mention during my next faculty meeting.  Is there scope for us to offer some form of CCT training for our students?

In order to start the ball rolling, I  asked one of my learner groups how they go about collaborating with each other.  I was impressed when they told me that they use Facebook as a means for imparting and discussing course information, Dropbox for sharing books and other relevant media as well as Evernote for the distribution of notes for those who may have missed class. I'm the first to admit that I have often viewed technology as a barrier to genuine interaction, a loss of the 'human touch', if you will but this has made me rethink that perspective. Could it be that such applications are in actual fact not only supporting cognitive development but also socio-emotional processes by allowing students to get to know each other, commit to social relationships and underpinning the group dynamics the counsellors and psychologists among us recognise as being key to mental well-being? That certainly seems to be the case for some of my learners!

In the interest of balance, previous research conducted by Kreijns et al., (2003) concluded that social interaction in computer-supported collaborative learning environments is beset with huge pitfalls due to the lack of social-psychological dimension of this interaction (human contact, for the rest of us).   That said, this research is now reasonably dated and thus it would be interesting to see some contemporary research exploring this phenomenon.  I suspect there may emerge a more positive picture of the benefits of on-line collaboration.

Second, I'd like to talk about what is in my opinion, the most positive shift brought about by technology, that being the shift from passive (or teacher-centered) to active (or student-centered) learning.  It is becoming increasingly more apparent that learners are no longer content to be passive 'receptors' of knowledge, taking notes or listening to lecturers talk for hours on end.  They are beginning to have a different set of expectations when it comes to education, they want to actively participate, debate, challenge and maintain a sense of control over lectures and seminars.  Moreover, the literature in the field of education is beginning to devise models in support of this radical change, such as the learner-centered learning model postulated by Keengwe et al., (2009).  As someone who comes from the 'old-school' whereby lecturers impart large swathes of information at the front of the lecture hall which you are required to take down in note form and then afterward somehow make sense of (after two hours of Biological Psychology, handwriting is a mere scrawl) this change, whilst requiring a certain amount of flexibility on the part of the academic staff is becoming far and away the most effective way of facilitating learning I've recently experienced.  Gone are the yawns, the sleeping student at the back of the lecture hall; students involved in the sessions I've given using iPads and the various applications therein are definitely more engaged.  I'd go as far as to say the whole classroom dynamic has changed.  Whether this will translate to more successful learning outcomes for the students remains to be seen but from what I have observed so far, the future's bright- the future's technology.

References

Kreijins, K., et al. (2003).  'Identifying the pitfalls for social interaction in computer-supported collaborative learning environments: A review of the research.  Computers in Human Behavior, 19, pp. 335-353.

Keengwe, J., et al. (2009). 'Technology and student learning: toward a learner-centered teaching model.'  AACE Journal, 17 (1), pp. 11-22.

Tabatabaei, M., and Lam., M. (2013).  Awareness and usage of collaboration and communication technologies in student teamwork.  Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 22, pp. 71-111.