Mod4-1: A learner is like a...

A learner is like a vehicle (please bare with me on this one… I am in no way poetic and thus, much better at stating the obvious). 

Learners need to be re-fueled with knowledge, constantly.  They can choose through which technology they want to re-fuel; phone, computer, TV, video games, ipad, etc.  They, now, have options as to where they want to access their knowledge; on-line journals, databases, blogs, social networks, etc.  And like our vehicles, learners need to refuel often to function properly. 

In fact according to the Siemens article, the knowledge of the world is doubling every 18 months, meaning that what we knew in September 2009 is now obsolete.  This also means that what we knew about learning and learners 18 months ago has changed. The way in which younger learners are learning is changing because of the increasing amount of exposure to technology and the effect if has on the wiring of their brain. 

Learner’s brains are becoming wired differently and thus the foundations of the learning experience need to change.  This is where the idea of collectivism comes into play.  More on the principles of collectivism can be found here.

As auto companies are constantly coming out with new vehicle models, the learning models are also changing.  As Siemens said in his blog about the impact of social media on learning  “content leads to conversation”, and I would like to add, conversation leads to learning.  He continues on to say that working together and collaboration, through technology, will be one of the new ways in which learning will occur. 

Alas, vehicles may not be the best analogy to describe a learner.  But one thing is for sure; vehicles bring us from point A to point B in our lives and so does learning.