tarynshae

While I can’t say that I agree with all aspects of the Behavourist approach to learning, there are definitely parts of it that, I feel, make sense and are relevant and applicable today. I’m not sure if not being able to “stick” to one theory is indicative of the fact that I believe I learn in many different ways for a variety of reasons. In terms of the behaviourist approach, it makes sense that learning is demonstrated by the response or the behaviour of the learner. What I don’t agree with is that learning is based only on cause and effect and stimulus and response. While this is obviously appicable to a certain degree i.e. positive and negative reinforcement, particularly in children, I don’t believe it can account for the way everyone learns. While generalising stimuli and responding according to this is a major aspect of the behaviourist theory, I got a bit stumped when I pondered the effect that generalising might have on e-learning. The only way I can think of that this can apply to is in terms of technology. As the techonology used in e-learning is not something that everyone is comfortable with or accustomed too, an initial reaction of fear or maybe frustration. Bad experiences in the past perhaps with technology could also cause this. I imagine this is really only the cause with older people. While the concept of generalisation suggest the importance of practice in varied situations, understanding that learning can occur in a variety of situations and contexts might assist in dealing with this. Another principle I agree with and understand is how behaviour can be shaped by the reinforcement of responses when learning a new skill/s. It is essential that feedback is given when learning a new skill, and it is from this feedback that we shape the way we practice this skill in the future. Redinforcement that we are doing things the right way or for positive effect will assist this skill to be replicated correctly in the future.

Learning, for me, encompasses knowledge, understanding, practice and behaviours associated with the change in one’s capability and capacity. Learning is a process, and a very involved, complex, dynamic and long one at that! How we learn can be attributed to many things, such as genetics, environmental factors, causal factors, previous experience and our own capacity and abilities. Learning essentially culminates in the change of behaviour, as many formal definititions of learning suggest, and with this change in behaviour also comes a change in internal process, thinking, feeling, reacting, emotions and attitudes. The process of learning can be very different for many people, depending on the age of the learner, what they are learning and why they are learning, though the outcome is generally the same.

A Learner Management System (LMS) is essentially a high level strategic solution for planing, delivering and managing the learning events of an organisation. Learning events includes face-to-face and instructor led classroom learning as well as e-learning and virtual classroom learning. The main aim of an LMS is to track and monitor performance and training levels throughout an organisation e.g. tracking attendance, monitoring competency and booking training activities. The main focus of an LMS is to manage learners and to keep track of their progess and performance across all types of learning activities. An LMS is mainly administrative focus and is not used to create course and learning content.

A Learning Content Management System (LCMS) is alternatively focussed on learning content by providing the means to create e-learning content efficiently and effectively. The main aim of an LCMS is to create content to meet the needs of learners when they need it. It generally contains reusable chunks of training information and learning content. The fact that it duplicates this information means that it can be output much quicker.

While my current organisation does not use an LMS or LCMS and does not, in my belief, need one at this point in time, my previous organisation had recently launched an LMS using the SAP system. It was long overdue and was many years in the planning. The main aim of its introduction was to give users more control over their own learning by allowing them to search for and book their own learning activities and find and complete online training courses. For back end users, the LMS gave us much greater control and tracking capabilities and also allows much more scope for reporting. Training attendance could be monitored and recorded much more easily and all information relating to training could be stored in the one repository, as opposed to many locations such as spreadsheets and physical attendance registers. The LMS that was introduced definitely met the needs of the organisation, however further development and capability was definitely needed in the Phase 2 introduction. I have had no experience with an LCMS in any organisational context and cannot see its relevance or need at this point in time.

Virtual Worlds, like Second Life, are increasingly being used in a learning context, both in educational institutions and corporate environments. Some classes are already being taught in Second Life by institutions such as Harvard and some of the world’s leading companies such as IBM have adopted Second Life in a training context.

Second Life’s multiple uses could be beneficial for its application in a learning context. Being able to be used as a social networking tool, a programming tool, a meeting and conference facility and a virtual tour could enhance learning experiences in many ways. It’s 3D modelling nature allows concepts to be illustrated in new and powerful ways that let learners completely understand the scope of what they are learning. Second Life also enhances collaboration and eliminates hierarchies and georaphical boundaries, making it accessible to users all around the world. One of the main advantages of using this application in a learning context is the fact that it’s a learner driven rather than a teacher driven tool, allowing students to have much more self-direction over their learning. While at present learning in Second Life still resembles classroom lecture learning and activities with blogs and wikis are still required, the potential for Second Life is great and is continually evolving.

My only experience of social networks is in a purely personal setting. I have a Facebook account although I don’t have a MySpace account. Initially I was a little resistant to participating in online social networking however the trend grew so much that before long I was one of the only ones in both my immediate and also wider group of friends and peers that did not use some form of online social networking. I now find that I use Facebook frequently and can’t imagine not having it!

Facebook more so than MySpace, I believe, could be used in a learning context. The ‘Courses’ application on Facebook allows you to add subjects you are studying and invite other students who are users to join the group. Within the group space you can then share links that relate to the subject, discuss learning points and chat with other students. While this is only one example of how learning can be enhanced via a social networking site, just being able to be in contact with other peers and students through these sites allows interacting and collaboration on a personal level which is definitely beneficial.

Synchronous communication is when all parties involved in the communication are present at the same time. Examples include phone calls, meetings, video conferences, chat rooms and instant messaging. The benefit of synchronous communication is that all parties involved can discuss and debate a topic and reach conclusions and complete tasks in real time by allowing simulaneous collaboration.

Asynchronous communication does not require all parties involved in the communication to be present and available at the same time. Examples include emails, discussion boards and text messages. The benefit of asynchronous communication is that it can take place of a longer amount of time, which can allow for research, review and feedback. It can allow people from different places to communicate and collaborate when it suits them. While this form of communication may not yield results as quick as synchronous communication it is still a very effective form of communication in many situations.

Effective learning can definitely be enhanced by collaborative communication, which can be assisted by both synchronous and asynchronous communication. Current trends are further confirming that collaboration is an integral part of the learning process, and new and improving communication techniques can aid this in many ways.

The only time I have used social sharing in a learning context is again only in this subject and E-learning Experiences last semester. Much the same as with self-publishing, initially it was an application I had to learn to use, but I have had more positive experiences with Delicious as opposed to the blogs and wikis. I find that Delicious, as a social learning tool in a learning context, is a very helpful tool and I have definitely benefited from researching and viewing sites and articles other people have tagged or referred too, particularly within an e-learning context. I also used it to find information relevant to my working context, so for me Delicious as a form of social sharing has been an effective and useful tool.

The only self-publishing applications I am familiar with are blogs and wikis. The only time I have used these applications is in this subject and also E-learning Experiences last semester. While using blogs made it easier to complete activites and complete assignments, I don’t really think it impacted on my actual learning that much. Initially, it made my learning experience more difficult, learning how to use a new technology and then having to regularly check, monitor and manage it. With this subject, I have had lots of technical problems with the blog and I just don’t believe it has positively impacted my learning in anyway. The group E-Learning wiki has also proved troublesome to me, though it did make it easy to submit the first assignment. I am not convinced self publishing is the way to go for me, but understand the concept and proposed benefits of it!

RSS (rich site summary) is a type of web feed format which is used to publish and deliver internet content that is frequently updated, such as news sites, blogs and podcasts. RSS allows regular users of the internet to stay up-to-date with changing information by being able to view summaries of updates all in the one place and in a personalised format.

 RSS works by using reader software called an aggregator which works by feeding information to a link provided by the user. The reader software regularly checks the links that the user provides and if any updates or changes have been made the software will feed this information through to the user.

 RSS could be used in this subject particularly well as due to the technological base of the subject content, this type of application seems appropriate. It can allow students to set up RSS feeds to sites they regularly use for learning sites relating to this subject. This way, students wouldn’t have to regularly check each individual website, they could just check the RSS update summaries and view the full version if they choose to do so.

An aggregator, or feed aggregator, is a web application which essentially aggregates or combines syndicated web content such as news sites, blogs and wikis and podcasts and vodcasts. Aggregation software regularly checks for updates to feeder sites at user determined intervals. They are also commonly built into portal sites such as Google and Yahoo. This type of application could be used in much the same was as RSS could for this subject.

In my work context, I have had various experience with e-learning.  In terms of participating in e-learning activities, I have completed numerous online training modules in areas such as Workplace Induction, OH&S, EEO and Global Privacy training. In terms of administering e-learning in a work context, I have contributed to the design, content and ongoing maintenance of many online learning modules, as well as an online learning space in which employees complete post-course assessments after attending internal training courses and also through a Learning Management System (LMS) by which employees can manage their own learning. While I managed my own learning online using this system, I also used it as a back-end user to assist in the management of other’s learning. While my work experiences are all forms of e-learning, they are quite basic forms, with no new movement towards the latest technology.