Group items tagged

Engeström paper from 2001 ABSTRACT Cultural-historical activity theory has evolved through three generations of research. The emerging third generation of activity theory takes two interacting activity systems as its minimal unit of analysis, inviting us to focus research efforts on the challenges and possibilities of inter-organizational learning. Activity theory and its concept of expansive learning are examined.4 questions: 1. Who are the subjects of learning? 2. Why do they learn? 3. What do they learn? 4. How do they learn? Five central principles of activity theory are presented, namely activity system as unit of analysis, multi-voicedness of activity, historicity of activity, contradictions as driving force of change in activity, and expansive cycles as possible form of transformation in activity. Together the questions and principles form a matrix which is used to present a study of expansive learning in a hospital setting in Finland. In conclusion, implications of the framework for our understanding of the increasingly important horizontal dimension of learning are discussed.

From summary of thesis: The issues discussed in the current thesis grow out of many years of practical work in various development projects within the field of labour market politics. The explicit aim of many of these projects is to change or adjust current work practices. However, I have often encountered a mismatch between the well-documented experiences of success within a project on one hand, and the fact that project experiences are only rarely and to a limited extent successfully transferred to and applicable outside the project. This schism formed the initial backdrop for the work presented in this thesis. The aim has been firstly to develop a better understanding for the learning processes made possible through development projects, secondly to clarify why problems occur when this new learning is to be implemented in and brought back to those labour market organisations (job centres, unemployment funds, educational institutions, local authorities etc.) that the development project targeted. In the thesis, implementation is therefore primarily discussed in terms of these labour market institutions, that is, they form the primary horizon for the experiences and the learning resulting from the project. The thesis contains an empirical and theoretical analysis of the process establishing a specific development project, the learning of the participants through the project, and the implementation of their experiences both in the day-to-day work and within the organisation at large. Yrjö Engeström is, therefore, introduced since his concept of expansive learning precisely captures the combination of novel practice and different forms of learning. With their notion of community of practice Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger provide, furthermore, an analytical concept of immediate relevance for project work. I have been much inspired by their approach while collecting empirical material documenting the later part of the project. I have, however, come to realise that t

Blended learning is a hybrid of classroom and online learning that includes some of the conveniences of online courses without the complete loss of face-to-face contact. The present study used a causal-comparative design to examine the relationship of sense of community between traditional classroom, blended, and fully online higher education learning environments. Evidence is provided to suggest that blended courses produce a stronger sense of community among students than either traditional or fully online courses.

This paper deals with matters like learning styles, attention span and how most e-learning is designed in ways that for many learners would appear as boring.

The Present and Future of Educational Technology: An Interview with Christopher Dede Christopher Dede Christopher Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard University, where he conducts research on "emerging technologies for learning and infusing technology into large-scale educational improvement." He holds a Ph. D. in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Interview Topics Scientifically rigorous data on educational technology Most effective uses of technology to enhance learning Examples of technology in K-12 education: Simcalc and Biologica Studies that show technology effectiveness and 'the conditions for success' Adapting educational technology for use in the classroom Creating conditions for success and Milwaukee's Curriculum Design Assistant How technology can expand and replace current forms of student-learning assessment Universal design Dede's research on interfaces between people and technology: Milwaukee and Internet 2 The virtual world of "River City" Ubiquitous computing: Innovative uses for handhelds

The Future of LEarning - fifth generation distance learning

Hi brenda, can you tell what you like about this doc? In the world of e-learning, we tend to take a doc on the future of e-learning dating 2001 not to serious anymore. Nevertheless, we can learn from looking back and see if our predictions in the past are realized.

Good question, Joost. It really is a historical document. I am looking for frameworks for different ways that people understand learning theory related to online learning. Taylor's five generation framework was something I hadn't seen before - but since I marked this one, I found the breakdown in another document as well - so maybe it is more common than I thought and maybe it is a way of looking at the history that others are already familiar with. For me, it was a new way. I think it is a good idea to annotate these when we mark them and I will try to do that. Sometimes i am in a hurry and skip that step, but it would be more helpful (even to me!) if I did not

All learning begins with the learner. What children know and what they want to learn are not just constraints on what can be taught; they are the very foundation for learning. Dewey's description of the four primary interests of the child are still appropriate starting points: 1. the child's instinctive desire to find things out 2. in conversation, the propensity children have to communicate 3. in construction, their delight in making things 4. in their gifts of artistic expression.

Another example on how the CoP concept is being used - from Ireland " The Mechanical Engineering Community of Practice (CoP) is one of 12 Communities of Practice founded to support the development of innovation in teaching and learning in the Third and Fourth Level academic community. The CoP was formed in February 2007, through funding and support from the National Digital Learning Repository (NDLR) The NDLR is an initiative to provide a platform to develop and share learning resources for various Communities of Practice. "

Useful review of online distance learning in UK

Interesting blog entry. Great graphic.

David Knowles sent me this link today. This is what we've been saying all along, so most of it is preaching to the choir. The key piece I see in it is that his list of critical technology includes an LMS! Here's the quote: Device-agnostic technology that provides access to the Internet and appropriate Learning Management Systems, coupled with a committed teacher, is often all that is needed to help students become powerful consumers and producers of knowledge.

Interesting website -- details seem elusive, though. This particular page mentions an author "Chris Dede" who I think is the same author Brenda sent me an article by that she found very useful.

It is a site for anyone who is involved in teaching languages (including literature and culture) in Irish universities or Institutes of Technology. We want you to feel part of a wider community and to join our spirit of "share and share alike," passing on materials, information and support to one another. All modern languages HE academics can access the NDLR repository database through this blog in order to contribute, search for, download and reuse copyright-free (or limited restriction) resources in their teaching and learning.

This is the research project that I found and visited in 2000. Ricki Goldman-Segall is a digital video ethnograhper studing how children learn and think. Her book from 1998 was an inspiration for me and my study pertner, William Vonsild, and with a study grant from our university of education in Copenhagen, we were enabled to visit Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Ricki was very helpful and let us follow her multimedia students' exam projects, and supported our vist to the achool that she had used for her research project about five years earlier, Bayside Middle School. A school built in 1992 with a technology enriched infrastructure, each pod of 10 classrooms had a very well equipped computer lab and the whole building was wired in order to have access to very fast internet connection from anywhere.

2007 conference at Open University UK , with lectures from Etienne Wenger and Yrjö Engeström - like they also met in 2010 in Aalborg at the Networked learning conference. The lectures were followed by discussion between the presenters. The page offers access to full papers and a PPT presentation where Engeström further develops his theory of mycorrhizae, (also known as rhizome)networks growing uncontrolled, in the wild

professor's web page with mind map of learning concepts

Professional development for teachers in a CoP

to transform existing teacher education programs' course contexts into communities of learners that link the learning of preservice teachers with the learning of experienced teachers and teacher educators

This looks great, Brenda, but I can't access it. :(

Excellent article that provides Effective Strategies for the Stages of Learning/Adoption

Video recording from a conference lecture in 2010 I think, with Jean Lave speaking about learning as a social practice. Much as I recall her Copenhagen seminars back in 2000 The first minutes of audio are quite bad, but I think it gets better. "Jean Lave, PhD en antropología social de la Universidad de Harvard y teórica ampliamente reconocida en el campo del aprendizaje social, dictó el 21 de abril la conferencia Apprenticeship in Critical Ethnographic Practice, realizada por el Departamento de Psicología de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de los Andes."