Sadly I was unable to attend the Zoom meeting with Dr. Weller but I watched it and found it interesting that at on the webinar video (2:47) he said that “We are not very good at recording our history (of online learning)”. This got me thinking, especially when he mentions later three phases in chronological order; the “optimistic”, “mainstreaming”, and “pessimistic/critical phases”. History to me brings images of Caesar or Hitler rampaging through Europe, Western colonizers killing anything that moved on the North American plains, or Genghis Khan leading the Mongols hordes. Can history be used in terms of online learning given that it is a relatively new subject?
When I was younger I remember hearing from an adult,
If this is indeed true then one’s education is at least 100 years in the making and mine began in 1897. So what about online learning? Then I read Bates (2014) and saw how he links the various teaching theories to online learning and how the history of each does indeed go back, and each one’s relevance. Behaviorism developed 100 years ago depends on systems of rewards and punishments based on human behavior being predictable and many feel computer-aided learning is directly associated with online learning.
40 years ago Fontana (1980) said “The cognitive approach … holds that if we are to understand learning we cannot confine ourselves to observable behaviour, but must also concern ourselves with the learner’s ability mentally to re-organize his psychological field (i.e. his inner world of concepts, memories, etc.) in response to experience” (p. 148). Cognitivism plays a key role in online learning as there is now so much information available for the student to process.
Carl Rogers mentioned in his book “Freedom to learn” back in 1969 about the consciousness and freewill of people in learning and open learning takes away the strict classroom setting, much of the impetus of learning depends on the effort the student is prepared to put in on his own free will aside from the strict structure of the classroom, headmaster etc. Constructivism is social learning, and in online learning the student has the teacher and fellow students at his/her fingertips practically 24/7.
The Constructivism approach coupled with the invention of the internet brought us finally to where we are today, in the era of Online Collaborative learning. The teacher still remains fundamental to the system as has always been the case but this theory can augment the communication between all parties concerned. The only teaching theory without a real historical past is the relatively new “Connectivism” and as bates states it is probably too early to expect that as it is a new idea to look primarily at the implications of learning online through the internet with the continuing explosion of novel available communication technologies.
So to conclude online learning goes back way before the birth and development of the internet, the teaching theories have feet set firmly in history. It is over 100 years since Edward Thorndike the famous American educationalist said that behavior which is followed by good consequences is likely to be repeated, something that today’s student still appreciates.
References
Bates, T. (2014). Learning Theories and Online Learning. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories -and-online-learning/
Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn: A view of what education might become. Columbus. Ohio: Charles Merill.
Hi, I am Nav and i enjoyed reading your blog. I like how you portray what the meaning of history is to you and what comes to your mind. Its intriguing and adds a formal yet imagitinative depth to your narrative. Furthermore, it also makes the reader reflect on their meaning/idea of what history means to them. Something I wish you addressed in your blog is which theory do you prefer the most for yourself or perhaps in general after understanding all of them. You provide a great concise summary of learning theories, yet you dont reflect on them and connect them to your learning. Is there any experience that comes to find for you when you think about cognitive theory for example? I think connecting your experience with your reading would be a great way to add depth to your work, it will also make what you write feel more wholesome. I could be wrong on this, but when I was reading your blog, i got the sense that you are shying away from writing more, like you wish to keep your blogs short. My english prof ones said that “greatness often takes pages to write”. Hopefully that quote helps you as much as it has helped me 🙂
Cheers!
Nav
Hi Nav
Great to get some feedback and your point about more connection of my experiences with what we are reading is duly noted. Thank you. You are again right about shying away from writing more. Even on my previous reflection on the initial glitches in the system I wrote a 17 syllable Haiku when I could have written a 14 line Shakespearean sonnet on it. There are two reasons for this firstly, my English professor used to quote Shakespeare and Hamlet Act 2 ” Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief” – in other words therefore, since the essence of wisdom is not talking too much, I’ll get right to the point here.
Secondly I was in a quandary initially about how much I should write on these pieces and Verena suggested 500-700 words, further research online and I got a loose outline with an introduction to the issue, a description of what the subject at hand means to me and my thoughts on what I have learned and finally how this new information has changed my viewpoint, but you are indeed right and on reading it back I could not help but notice it was not as charged with my experiences as it could have been and as I am new to this I hope that will enhance my future contributions greatly
Cheers and Thank You
Stefan