E-learning (The background story)
This article is the first of many to come. My greatest wish
is to meet with you every Sunday on this space, to meet and
discuss the link between technology on one hand and education,
training and learning on the other.
I believe survival is mankind’s supreme need. The risks
we take, the pain and suffering we endure in life are all
driven by our primary need, the need for life. For it is only
when we are alive can we begin to think of joy, peace, and
happiness - a better life. The quality of life is really a
secondary matter.
Closely linked to survival is adaptation. Because of the
constantly changing needs for survival, behavioral change
is essential. The acquisition of new capabilities is the essence
of survival. Survival depends on ability to adapt. Thus we
could say mankind’s supreme need is for adaptation skills.
Indeed, what we need is the ability to do something that
was not previously within our capability. This is called learning.
I propose that our greatest need is learning.
I would like to introduce the concept of a learning space.
This is a system whose sole purpose is to deliver and/or create
knowledge. It is comprised of technology, philosophy, methods
and learners.
Throughout the series, we will discuss some of the characteristics,
history and development of the individual members of the system.
Analyze how they co-exist, the balance of power among them
and how to come up with an effective and efficient learning
space.
The learners are the immediate beneficiaries of the system.
That is why they are at the center of the system. The other
three are there to serve them. It is very important that this
point is appreciated. The learner is the master, not the boarding
master, or the computer or the education.
The role of teachers, instructors, lecturers, college and
school administrators, the policy makers, corporate financiers
and parents is to facilitate learning. These facilitators
have a pedagogical philosophy; a system of beliefs, values
and principles that they hold either collectively or individually.
For example, some will believe that learners must have no
say in matters of their education. Others will insist that
learners must decide on what and how they wish to learn.
When the philosophy is applied to the learners, methods are
used. For example intentional and/or experiential methods
can facilitate learning. Verbal activities like story telling,
singing and verbal coaching can cause learning to happen.
Similarly learning can happen when one partakes in or witnesses
orchestrated methods like song and dance, playing, drama and
theater. Some methods may emphasis on very deliberate and
orchestrated methods of education and training. Others may
stick to experimental learning methods that are less deliberate
and orchestrated. Getting one’s finger burnt by fire,
or chocking on a big piece of food can cause rapid learning.
Creative facilitators would strike a balance between the two.
For all critical needs like learning, mankind create technology.
These are tools like paper, ballpoint pens, ink, chalk, blackboard
and computers. They have been made, either with specific intent
or have been adapted, to make learning methods more effective
and/or efficient. In the rest of today’s article I will
scan for technologies that were created or adapted to satisfy
the learning (adaptation/survival) need.
I see colored clay, plant extractions and blood being used
for drawing and painting on stone and rock; for decorations
on animal skins and cloth; and for make up. These facilitated
education and training.
Then later on I see the alphabets, pulp, paper, ink, feathers,
fountain pen, ballpoint pen, the lead pencil, the scrolls
and pamphlets as improvements on previous technologies for
education and training.
As we continued to seek for better and/or new technologies
I see the book, the Braille, dusty white chalk and the black
board. Then came the colored dust-free chalk and the green
board. In no time at all, came the white board and the markers.
All these technologies were meant to ease the education and
training methods.
I see people dying trying to get Mambo Munhumutapa’s
Plate (the moon). I see us trying to fly but drop dead from
the mountain cliff. We learn through experience that nonpoisonous
fruits are predominantly those that birds eat. The list goes
on. You and I can think of a lot of technologies that were
used to facilitate effective learning.
I honestly believe that most of the stuff I have said so
far is obvious. And that is the point, to put the obvious
under the spotlight.
As the learning needs became more and more complex, so did
the applied technologies. Do you remember the radio lessons?
I have fond memories of them. I don’t think I deliberately
missed any. And what about the television lessons? Is it not
hard to think of a modern educational and training center
without a duplicating machine and/or a photocopier? Imagine
a training room without an overheard projector and/or a slide
projector? These electronic gadgets are now permanent features
in education and training.
A recent (recent?) arrival is the computer. Coming with it
was Computer Managed Instruction, Computer Aided Learning,
and Computer Based Training. These terms, though not common,
assist in the educational and training methods.
Born by the computer was the Internet. It is widely known
for its electronic mail and the world-wide-web services. This
brought with it the electronic mail, the electronic commerce,
electronic distribution, and not surprising - electronic books
and electronic learning. However, the word ‘electronic’
is a bit scary (not user friendly!). So it was replaced with
the letter ‘e’. No sooner than we thought, the buzzwords
like e-mail, e-commerce, e-business, and obviously, e-learning
were coined These words sounded much shorter and ‘cool’.
Before you go to rest, the mobile phone (cell phone) is coming
hot. Already there is m-commerce. It will be m-learning soon.
But let us not get into that yet.
It is evident that technology is changing very fast, much
faster than pedagogical philosophies and learning methods.
As a result there is turmoil in the learning space. The challenge
is to create stable, effective, efficient and most important
of all, an adaptable system. As we face this challenge hard
questions will have to be asked. Is our philosophy progressive?
Who defines it? Who is the custodian of this philosophy? Which
methods are effective? Who designs these methods – is
it the technology or philosophy or learners or all? Is the
technology appropriate? What is appropriate technology anyway?
Who is the learner? Isn’t there a very thin line between
teachers, instructors and learners? When does learning end?
Well I have written a lot more than I had intended to. The
long and short of this article is that technology and learning
have a long history of complimentary co-existence. The technology
of the day is ‘electronic’. That is why electronic
learning (e-learning) is here with us.
Join me next week as we discuss modern day e-learning. Send
your comments to kenmak@mail.com
Click here to visit our
Newsletter Archives
|
