Week 3 – “Understanding e-learning Technologies in Practice through Philosophies in Practice.”
1) After reading and reflecting on your own ideas concerning e-learning, how would you define your own personal philosophical orientation, and how does it affect your e-learning? Is it a “purist” acceptance of one of the philosophies outlined in the reading or is it a conglomeration of several?
I define my own philosophical orientation on e-learning to be a conglomeration; a mix and match if you will. To evolve, adapt and learn, I find it virtually impossible to choose one learning philosophy. One of the most important things to know about technology is that is it always changing and improving; and we need to do the same. If there are complimentary philosophies for learning, we should be open to using them. While I do agree that it is important to find something that works and to continue using it, but one should always be on the lookout for alternatives that can be added to your “bag of tricks.”
I would say I would work best in an environment that combines progressive, humanist and analytical.
I prefer the progressive philosophy because it involves experimentation and problem solving. This keeps students engaged and feeling involved in their own learning; not just being taught with the masses like the liberal/perennial approach. Next, I like the humanist approach, as it focuses on interaction and cooperation with others for self growth and self evaluation. Finally – I find certain parts of the analytical philosophy useful as it focuses on lifelong education although I do disagree with the separation of society and education.
2) What latest trends in e-learning or social networking do you think are more damaging to e-learning in the long run, if any?
I think integrating social networking in digital learning environments is very powerful, but the “damaging” part could be drawing the line between social and educational / professional use. We’ve all heard how it is important it is to monitor what kind of images we post of ourselves on Facebook, and to clean up the language of our status updates, but I think there is much more to be conscious of . If we are connecting with our classmates in these digital networks like Facebook and Twitter for class – we are also opening up our personal lives at the same time. All of a sudden our classmates, who are potentially strangers, have access to our friends, contact information, interests, and even our locations via status updates. 99% of the time this information could be completely harmless, but it might present the question: “Should we have separate accounts on social networks for our “social” and “educational” lives.
Granted, most sites have “lists” and “limited profiles” that we can take advantage of, but not everyone knows how to take advantage of that. Some users are just now joining these networks to meet class requirements. The last thing I want to do is offend a classmate or professional contact by joining a group or making a comment that may offend them. I find myself being very careful trying to separate the two uses, but I am finding it difficult with most of my social networking experience being for social purposes.
