~Learn Something New Every Day~

The saying that we learn something new every day is one that I have heard my whole life. But what does that really mean? Do we really learn something new every day.....is learning something new every day solely dependent on the person looking for that learning experience? The more I think about social learning, the more I am intrigued to find out these answers.

I think that with the online environment we have more chances to create a social learning atmosphere that is beyond what has ever been possible in the past. We are able to search a word and within seconds find blogs from other people asking the same questions. I found this blog which is where I got this great cartoon on social learning...http://idreflections.blogspot.com/2009/05/social-learning-begins-where-google.html

The question then becomes, can the same type of social learning that is generally happening in a classroom, still happen in an online classroom. From my experience I believe that it can, with some differences but the basics of what is happening in that social environment are the same. Now I must admit that online learning takes more effort on the part of the learner to be involved, but the quality of discussion and interested from the students is far and beyond.

I think that social learning is something that can happen all the time, if we keep our minds open, and see what learning is possible in every situation.



Cognitive Flexibility Learning Theory

I am really struggling with the idea that one learning theory can be used as an effective learning approach when designing adult learning. I have been doing some research on this subject and came across this blog on Cognitive Flexibility Theory. He is presenting (in my mind) a very valid theory that is kicking other theories up a notch. Please look and follow his blog, there is some great information presented here!

Here is some information on the author of the blog Rand Spiro from his blogs About page. "Rand J. Spiro, Ph.D., is a professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University.
Dr. Spiro is the originator of Cognitive Flexibility Theory (along with collaborators Paul Feltovich & Richard Coulson) and its application to innovative approaches to hypermedia design. His research areas include knowledge acquisition in complex domains; hypermedia learning environments; new forms of learning and reading comprehension on the Web; multimedia case-based methods in professional education; biomedical cognition; and constructive processes in comprehension and recall. Much of his research is concerned with determining how learning should proceed so that tendencies toward conceptual oversimplification are counteracted and a wide range of future applications of knowledge are supported. A central focus is the development and testing of theory-based hypermedia learning environments designed to promote cognitive flexibility."


http://postgutenberg.typepad.com/newgutenbergrevolution/

Our Brain on Learning...

Oh the ways of the brain....will we ever truly understand it? Well I know that I won't ever fully understand it but I can definitely try to understand it enough to help me to create meaningful learning.

I am currently part of a class on Learning Theories and Instruction, and this week we have been talking about the brain and how it processes information. The good news, is that despite what I have heard my whole life, I do use my right brain as well! :D Each side of the brain works together to communicate and form itself around the stimulation that it gets.

So what really is the driver of our own learning experience? Is it our brain process, our learning style, our own motivation, or possibly all three things. I have seen some brilliant people, who when faced with certain challenges, excel at them without much effort, but that same person won't get up and do more than work at a Fast Food restaurant. Is this where motivation becomes the essential piece of their learning puzzle? I on the other hand have an abundance of motivation to learn, but when I sit in a classroom with someone "talking at" me for an hour, I can't retain much more than 10% of what was said. I then have to go and read the content, and find a way to engage my learning style so that I can file away the information - or not - depending on the topic. :D

Here is a great article from the course that I am taking, which speaks to learning and memory. This is gives a very interesting perspective on our long and short term memory. The second link provided is a great online resource for all things brain, and there is a great library with many resources dealing with some of these brain questions.

• Web Article: Orey, M. (2001). Information processing. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Information_processing

• The Brain Connection - http://brainconnection.positscience.com/library/