Social LearningA Virtual Learning System enabler

Presenter: Moira de Roche

Agenda Social Learning Designing the learning blend Why you need to lose control The future

If you frequently turn to social media and other online sources for answers, you are what we call a Mutant Learner. But if are a sceptic, a traditional learning Luddite, and fall within the camp of people who see social media and online networks as learning charlatans you could be classified as a Zombie Learner.

Like any age of civilization, if you are not mutating and adapting then you are slowly dying.

Social Learning

Did you know?

1 out of 8 couples married in the US last year met via social media!

Source: Proshark

Social Learning vs. Social Media for Learning  

Learning that incorporates Social Media

Albert Bandura used the term differently

Good way to ensure that Learning is Social

Constructivist approach From publishing

to participation

How to consider Social E-learning weaknesses

Peer group support Tutorial level support Lack of structure

Social Learning overcomes all of these Combine with traditional approaches

Top 10 Social Learning tools Twitter Youtube Google Docs WordPress Skype Dropbox Prezi Moodle Slideshare OneNote

Source: www.C4LPT.com

Twitter 6 years old 140 million users Average number of tweets per day 340 million

Tweets per second 600

YouTube 92 billion page views per month 7 years old

Google Docs Documents etc for sharing Digital Kits

E.g. still images, video clips, audio clips, passages of text

Aids creation, rather than hours of time searching

Students can create together for upcoming projects

And then there it the new kid on the block……

Virtual Pinboard Organize and share things you find on

the web. Browse pinboards created by other

people to learn & discover 2.2 million active users per day Approaching 100 million users

What is Pinterest?

Example of Student blog

Example of using Facebook

Looked for easy way to contact students

Set up blog, but students asked for Facebook

Course information posted Discussions between lecturers (using

chat) Used for collaboration and feedback

From an interview with Jolanda Morkel, CPUT

Google+

Fastest to reach 10 million users16 days!

Tools from Educational perspective

Other interesting facts

People spend 300% more time on social media than email

There are 30,000,000,000 pieces of content shared on Facebook monthly

There are 38,127 searches on Google, Bing and Yahoo every second

50% of Facebook users log-in every day 250 milllion+ thru social devices

Approximately 40% of social media users access their accounts through mobile devices.

Nearly 23% of online time is spent on social networks.

Designing the learning

Situation today (in Education) … Existing practice –

supports passive teacher-centered and didactic instruction (Herrington et al 2009)

Technology used predominantly to reproduce existing practice as opposed to transforming practice (Velestianos 2011)

Traditional Workplace Learning Stages

Jane Hart C4LPT

Use Social Learning tools To enhance what you do Take into account Generational

considerations Redesign is necessary

SMARTER Approach

Social

Mindset

Autonomous

Reduction

Technology -

Enabled

Responsive

7 C’s of Social

1. Content2. Consumption3. Contribution4. Collaboration5. Conversation6. Connections7. Control

“The Seven C’s of Social Learning” – Ron Ateshian

Whole programme approach Who are we trying to reach?

On or off campus Full or part time

What is their experience with using technology?

Will we prepare students Knowledge workers

What content will learners access? Overall teaching philosophy What technology will we use?

Top Down vs Bottom Up Top Down

How will we get learners to use social tools, and collaborate and share?

How will we ensure accuracy? What platform should we use?

Bottom up How can we use what our students & learners

are already using? How do we encourage collaboration? What services do we need to provide learners?

Principles supporting “bottom-up” approach

Who is the learning for? Autonomy is a powerful motivator Better results come from “getting out of the

way” Students as knowledge producers Small chunks of information – “learnlets”

“If you want a good outcome, back off on process and get out of the way of people. Let them come together and interact as they wish, and harvest the good stuff that emerges”. Andy McAfee, MIT Sloan School of Management.

Design considerations Student centric

Learning first Flexible to accommodate learning styles Some other “-gogic”

Motivate students Provide connections to students’ lives,

jobs and communities Be willing to experiment and

fail

(Meyer 2010)

Ideas Webcam - avoid excessive talking heads Lurk! Build community & participation Take AIM:

Assess your teaching style Investigate instructional strategies within

that style; Match appropriate instructional strategies

People multitask – live with it! Incorporate technologies e.g. YouTube

and TED.com

Masie.com 701 e-learning tips

Why you need to lose control

Rules for social learning The value is in participation and

engagement. Be open and inclusive Keep everyone involved Encourage healthy debate Be patient, above all, with

yourself. Learn to lose control

Social learning is not about “plan and organize ” to “command and control” – but about “encourage and support” to “connect and collaborate – Jane Hart

Changes From teacher-controlled, to learner-driven, social,

collaborative, and participatory approaches Harness technologies that are already integrated

into learners' daily lives, Don’t take on a fortress mentality, excluding mobile

technologies and social software tools that are considered disruptive or distracting.

See learners not as active, critical participants in their own learning, not as passive consumers of information

Dominant theme – Look at needs of learner rather than institution (or company)

Tips Find things on Social Media Keep up to date with new stuff Build a trusted network of colleagues

Near and far Communicate effectively Share resources Collaborate

Short attention spans are not the problem It’s lack of value and relevance

“In the knowledge-based economy, access trumps ownership.”

The future Web3.0 – the semantic web - aggregate

Internet data and transform it into machine-searchable information

3D web – e.g. Second Life – Social presence & immediacy Digital cameras that track movements of hands and

other objects Users move around in front of a screen and their

avatar will follow or mimic their moves and facial expressions.

All-new level of realism. Fosters experiential learning where learners actively

become part of the virtual environment

Second Life Model

Pedagogical Dimensions OutcomesSupport experimentation Construct identity, play with roles, develop shared

valuesEncourage play Increase student motivation through “fun” activities

Construct scaffolded spaces Engage in practical experimentation with minimal risk

Opt out of lecture and passive approaches Actively learn through seeing, knowing, and doing

Nurture player choices and decision-making Control and own the learning process

Design “realistic” environments (special effects/graphics)

Participate in immersive and authentic experiences

Lead students toward a sense of space Build and create identities, backstories, and environments

Increase student learning Complete hands-on, authentic activities; learn more than through reading text alone

Foster the formation of a learning culture Collaborate, create new knowledge, and promote greater understanding

Enhance technology-focused skills Develop and enhance visual skills, information literacy, critical thinking

Moira de RocheLearning SpecialistThe Training Corporation www.thetrainingcorporation.co.zamoirad@mweb.co.zaTwitter: @moiraderoche

Bibliography Social Learning Handbook - Jane Hart, C4LPT,

January 2011 (E-book) Lee, Mark J.W., and Catherine McLoughlin

(eds). Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching. IGI Global. © 2011

Yang, Harrison Hao, and Steve Chi-Yin Yuen. Collective Intelligence and E-Learning 2.0: Implications of Web-Based Communities and Networking. IGI Global. © 2010.