Tathagat VarmaCountry Head, Chinasoft

Who are these people?

Julius Yego, Javelin Throw,

Kenya

Adilyn Malcolm, 12y Dubstep Dancer

Littleton, CO, USA

Usman Riaz, Percussion Guitarist,

Pakistan

Amira Willighahen, 11y, Opera Singer, Netherlands

Patrick McCabe, 13y Robots Enthusiast,

Florida, USA

“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”

Marc Prensky, 2001

Today’s knowledge networks…

http://www.ceebl.manchester.ac.uk/events/archive/aligningcollaborativelearning/Siemens.pdf

Today’s organisational context…

Martec’s Law: “Technology changes exponentially; organizations change logarithmically.”

Modern Worker/Learner

Digital Learning?“…is any type of learning that is facilitated by technology or by instructional practice that makes effective use of technology. It encompasses the application of a wide spectrum of practices including: blended and virtual learning.”(Wikipedia)

Popular Characteristics of Digital Learner

1. Twitch speed vs. conventional speed 2. Multitasking vs. single tasking 3. Graphics first vs. text first 4. Random access vs. step-by-step 5. Connected vs. standalone 6. Active vs. passive 7. Play vs. work 8. Payoff vs. patience 9. Fantasy vs. Reality 10.Technology-as-a-friend vs. technology-as-a-foe

Different types of Digital Learners

Ignorant, Unwilling

Ignorant, Willing

Learning, Eager

Expert, Way of life!

Learning in the Digital Age?• Old learning theories not quite that effective!

• Connectivism could be a better model

• Proposed by George Siemens (2005) as the “learning theory for digital age” and extended by Stephen Downes (2009)

• Connectivism attempts to approach learning in a social world that has over-abundance of information and that is hyper-connected. The primary principle of connectisvism is that we derive our competence from forming connections.

What is Connectivism?“Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.

Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.”

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Why Connectivism?“Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge. ‘I store my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people.” Karen Stephenson, 2004

Principles of Connectivism1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. 2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information

sources. 3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances. 4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known 5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual

learning. 6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. 7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist

learning activities. 8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the

meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Enabling Digital Learning

https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/learning_in_the_digital_age_dal_0.pdf

Recap• In the always-on and hyper-connected world, learning

happens ubiquitously, continuously, and multi-dimensionally.

• Individual learners have a plethora of resources, technology and digital tools at their disposal.

• However, it not about technology alone! Organisations must establish the right environment, create the right culture that promotes individual learning, and institutionalise avenues for channelizing the newfound knowledge.

References• https://teaching.berkeley.edu/resources/learn/what-learning

• https://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner-technology-2008

• https://www.ccl.org/blog/succeed-digital-learner/

• http://www.techcrazyteacher.com/2016/06/which-digital-learner-are-you.html

• https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/216

• http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

• http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2196/3337

• http://www.danpontefract.com/introducing-the-digital-learning-quadrants/

• https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/deliver/training/the-digital-learner-a-new-breed-of-learner-in-the-digital-age

• https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/learning_in_the_digital_age_dal_0.pdf