Online+Communities+of+Learning

=**Professor Angela McFarlane**= //Professor in Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK//

**Online Communities of Learning – Power, Disruption, Technologies**
Our second day began with Professor McFarlane, Professor in Education, University of Bristol, speaking about the results of research on the role of digital technologies in education.

__Technology Has Not Improved Learning__ Dr. McFarlane is aware of a growing tension between what tended to happen in traditional classrooms and what tends to happen when digital technologies are brought into classrooms. She said the last 10-20 years have shown that the teacher is the most important person in introducing technology into the classroom and unfortunately the one most likely to impede its use. Research has concluded that digital technologies cannot teach better than humans, but that does not mean in some instances it cannot teach as well as humans. She believes that the failure of technology use is a direct result of education following a Direct Impact Model and a lack of vision for what education could be like if technology was used effectively.

A Direct Impact Model is when you combine a traditionally defined curriculum and learning culture with information and communication technology (ICT) and expect teachers and students to bring them together into some kind of new activity that would bring about improvement in knowledge and understanding. According to Dr. McFarlane this has never happened and it never will. We keep thinking if we put more money, more technology, and better software into this model it will happen. It will not.

What is really happening is what she classified as the Socially Contextualized Impact Model which is self-directed learning on the part of students but not in the context of school work. They do it on their own at home.

Most kids today are used to having a say in how they conduct their life until they get to school. Unfortunately, research also shows that many of them are just having banal and trivial experiences. Only the top 15 percent are having enriching and productive experiences of digital media and online communities because they are bright and have caring, educated parents to guide them.

The question is what are we doing for kids who are not having these experiences. Kids have lots of access to technology at home but not at school. We should be leveraging that. The link between ICT use and learning remains elusive because technology use is not well managed for learning.

__Meaningful Learning Requires Pedagogical Framework__ Research has shown that meaningful learning disrupts teacher roles, learner behaviors, ideas and learning, and models of knowledge. She said what we are trying to do is complicated and the piece that seems to be missing is a pedagogical framework. For meaningful learning to take place it is absolutely necessary to integrate the content that is being studied with the media/tools used to discuss it and the pedagogical model that underlies the whole process.

It is commonly believed that students are techno-savvy. Yet the truth is while they are comfortable using technology, they are not necessarily reaping the educational benefits of their online activities and would benefit from the informed guidance of an experienced teacher.

__Online Creative Communities__ Online creative communities are inhabited by people who share a passion for something. The sites host a range of user generated content. Game communities get a lot of media attention but there are all different types of active communities. Many help community members write about their favorite books and even allow members to create their own original fiction about these books.

As an example Dr. McFarlane described a very popular Chinese language site called PAL Union that was established in 2001 and based upon Chinese video games that were inspired by New Wuxia literature which can be likened to western Arthurian legends. [|Wuxia] literature has had a following in China since ancient times but it is undergoing a revival as a result of Internet Wuxia novels written by thousands of amateur online writers. Typically the novels are over 10,000 words and are written in chapters over a period of 12 months. They have a large, devoted, and active following who get angry if the episodes are not delivered on time or go outside acceptable Wuxia conventions, which tend to be very conservative. Reader comments are numerous, constructive, and positive. In fact, negative comments are stomped on by the rest of the community. Reader input often determines the final form of the novel.

We talk about collaborative learning but in formal education we only ever credit the individual. Mostly we call collaboration copying. Not surprisingly, students are very nervous about getting together and sharing ideas. So until we move away from privileging the act of the individual to privileging the act of the team there is no point in doing this. What learning environments become are file exchange programs. She said for this reason her students beg her not to use their institutional learning environment.

__Formal Education as a Process of Personal Enrichment__ It will require a cultural change for online education to work. You cannot just give it and walk away. Angela said we have completely lost sight of formal education as a process of personal enrichment. We don’t educate kids any more. We train them. That is why they can decode text but they cannot read.

She said we need to educate kids to ask good questions and gave these examples: · Problem solving (How can I . . .?) · Requests for information (Where can I find information about . . .?) · Seeking experience (Has anyone used . . .?) · Reusing assets (I have a good article. . .I can send to you) · Discussing developments (What do you think of . . .Does it really help?) · Making contact (Can we visit . . .?)

The [|BEEP online BioEthics Education] study in the UK found that students: · Lack skills in information filtering and quality assessment (if it looks good, assume it is good) · Don’t question the authority of information sources (no attempt to address these issues in school curricula) · Have a diminished vocabulary compared to the past (not cool to have extended vocabulary—which is troubling because a lack of vocabulary will make it difficult for them to articulate their thoughts) · Don’t like to think · Are too overloaded to care · Cut and paste without engaging BECAUSE preparing for exams takes precedence. Students do not actually want to know about a topic. They only want to know what will be on the exam--and these are the brightest and best students. We are turning out generations of people who can take tests but who cannot learn.