Abstract
Self-directed learning on open online networks is now a possibility as communication and resources can be combined to create learning environments. But is it really? There are some challenges that might prevent learners from having a quality learning experience. This paper raises questions on levels of learner autonomy, presence, and critical literacies required in active connectivist learning.
Highlights
Something fundamental has changed with the latest developments of the Web: The ease of communication and the possibilities of using aggregators to bundle and filter communications and information have meant that the context of learning has changed dramatically
From observations on PLENK it seems that for networked learning to be successful, people need to have the ability to direct their own learning and to have a level of critical literacies that will ensure they are confident at negotiating the Web in order to engage, participate, and get involved with learning activities
It takes time for people to feel competent and comfortable to learn in an autonomous fashion, and there are critical literacies, such as collaboration, creativity, and a flexible mindset, that are prerequisites for active learning in a changing and complex learning environment without the provision of too much organized guidance by facilitators
Summary
Something fundamental has changed with the latest developments of the Web: The ease of communication and the possibilities of using aggregators to bundle and filter communications and information have meant that the context of learning has changed dramatically. The three challenges to connectivist learning highlighted previously are 1) the need for critical literacies and the power relations on the network; 2) the level of learner autonomy; and 3) the level of presence These can all be overcome by what has in traditional formal educational practice been seen as crucial to teaching and learning: social interaction. The summer course was Critical Literacies (CritLit) (377 participants) and the fall course was Personal Learning Environments, Networks, and Knowledge (PLENK) (1610 participants) These courses were based on the four principles to facilitate learning by creative engagement on connectivist courses: the aggregation of information and resources, a reflection on these resources and a sense-making stage in which earlier developed knowledge and experience might be related to this new knowledge, a repurposing of the resources by perhaps creating a digital artefact, and the sharing on the Web of the newly produced resource. Another was to see whether the challenges identified from the literature (critical literacies, presence, and self-directed learning) were perceived as being as problematic as identified in the literature
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