A Social Model of Education Using Digital Technology

 

The collaborative spirit of social media applications such as Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and so many others like them has coalesced into a prevailing sense that education will be increasingly based around the networked creation and consumption of content over the next few years.

Knowledge is seen to be no longer held by formal gatekeepers but rather is now accessible to all. And m-Learning can now be seen as a means to help further decrease the barriers to learning for more people.

In addition, with m-Learning there is a perceived increase in each individuals personal control over their own learning. Technology is seen as a way to support and enhance the learner's capacity to build, maintain and grow their connections with various componenets of the education system on their own terms. This way they are personally responsible for curating and managing their own learning.

"Research (e.g. Hardey 2007) has shown that ownership of handheld technologies, particularly mobile phones, sets the trend that defines the youth culture of today. In education, an understanding and embracing of this culture in the classroom could potentially lead to fewer mismatches between the teacher and students in terms of learning engagement with technology, potentially leading to better learning outcomes.
As Kolb(2009, p.4) said: Educators dismiss mobile phones, instant messaging and other popular technology communication tools as 'distracting' to classroom learning. Yet, if educational technology theory, research and pedagogy are reconceptualised to include the tools and knowledge that students already possess, then students will have better opportunities to connect learning inside and outside of school."


The learning environment must be equipped with technologies that can 'talk' to or support one another to provide the necessary information to support the learner. The system must be made up of technologies that allow the learner to move seamlessly through different repositories and different types of information, unhindered and unpredictable. The underlying principle of the model is unfettered access to information by the learner because each node in the system is compatible with, and linked to all others, regardless of data type or staage location. As long as there is an internet connection serving the system, the learner has unlimited access to the knowledge network and is free to choose their own path, determine the pace, and control their own learning through controlled interactions with diverse people and resources.

References:
1.) Education and Technology - Key issues and Debates, Neil Selwyn 2011, Continuum Books, London p.98-99
2.) Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy, Wan Ng, 2011, University of New South Wales, Australia.