New Paths in Elearning

George Siemens

Why are you using elearning?

Uses for elearning

Strategic advantageReduce costsRapid learning/developmentIncrease capacity for performance

TrendsMobileDecentralizationGlobalNew Learning Context

– Informal– Continual– Embedded in workplace– Rapid

Impact of Trends

Learning=life line in complex, knowledge environments

Interconnected nature of organization and individual– Systems thinking– Chaos theory– Complexity theory

Where are you succeeding in elearning?

Design

Where are you succeeding in elearning?

Technology

Where are you succeeding in elearning?

Delivery

Where are you succeeding in elearning?

Learner involvement

What’s wrong?

Current elearning approach is not sustainable– Cost of content creation– Content obsolescence– Mismatch – learning environment and real-life

learning– Too much information – can’t process under

existing models

What’s wrong?

Learning: chaotic, nebulous, aggregation, pattern recognition, distributed cognition, social “continual suspended certainty”, JIT

Our current learning tools: LMS, LCMS: structured, hierarchical, rigid, in advance of need

Centralized vs. Decentralized

Complexity requires decentralization

What’s happening?

Which tools are you currently using for learning?

Let’s Build an Airplane…

Knowledge is distributed

Complexity requires aggregation

Aggregation provides whole picture

A new path…

NetworksConnected specializationAdaptive learning modelsDiversity of approachesSimple, social tools

– Learning and KM

The role of content

Is content still king?

Connectivism

Learning as network-creationMeaning as pattern recognitionTools aligned to inherent nature of

task

Let’s get practical

Tools:

– Email– Blended– F2F– Social technologies– Distributed

– Communities– Mobile– SOSS– CMS– Networks

Connections to content

Connections to people

How can we implement tools and approaches that work?

George Siemenswww.elearnspace.orgwww.connectivism.ca

gsiemens@elearnspace.org