Blending Student Technology Experiences in Formal and Informal Learning

doi:10.1111/JCAL.12030

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Blending Student Technology Experiences in Formal and Informal Learning

Journal Article•DOI•

Blending Student Technology Experiences in Formal and Informal Learning

Kwok-Wing Lai¹, Ferial Khaddage², Gerald Knezek³•Institutions (3)

University of Otago¹, Deakin University², University of North Texas³

01 Oct 2013-Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (Wiley)-Vol. 29, Iss: 5, pp 414-425

TL;DR: The Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning model is proposed as a framework to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning and blend them together to form a portable, flexible, collaborative and creative learning environment.

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Abstract: In this article, we discuss the importance of recognizing students' technology-enhanced informal learning experiences and develop pedagogies to connect students' formal and informal learning experiences, in order to meet the demands of the knowledge society. The Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning model is proposed as a framework to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning and blend them together to form a portable, flexible, collaborative and creative learning environment. Using this model, three categories of mobile application tools, namely tools for collaboration, tools for coordination and tools for communication, have been identified as pertinent in blending formal and informal learning, and they can be connected seamlessly to provide an effective learning mechanism to support the learning process.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Social media and education: reconceptualizing the boundaries of formal and informal learning

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Christine Greenhow¹, Cathy Lewin²•Institutions (2)

Michigan State University¹, Manchester Metropolitan University²

02 Jan 2016-Learning, Media and Technology

TL;DR: In this article, a model theorizing social media as a space for learning with varying attributes of formality and informality is proposed, together with social constructivism and connectivism as theoretical lenses through which to tease out the complexities of learning in various settings.

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Abstract: It is argued that social media has the potential to bridge formal and informal learning through participatory digital cultures. Exemplars of sophisticated use by young people support this claim, although the majority of young people adopt the role of consumers rather than full participants. Scholars have suggested the potential of social media for integrating formal and informal learning, yet this work is commonly under-theorized. We propose a model theorizing social media as a space for learning with varying attributes of formality and informality. Through two contrasting case studies, we apply our model together with social constructivism and connectivism as theoretical lenses through which to tease out the complexities of learning in various settings. We conclude that our model could reveal new understandings of social media in education, and outline future research directions.

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455 citations

Cites background from "Blending Student Technology Experie..."

...Some models attempt to draw clear boundaries between each term (EC 2001; Livingstone 2001; Eshach 2007) whilst others suggest that informal and formal learning are on a continuum (Lai, Khaddage, and Knezek 2013; Sefton-Green 2004)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Challenges to learning and schooling in the digital networked world of the 21st century

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Joke Voogt¹, Ola Erstad², Chris Dede³, Punya Mishra⁴•Institutions (4)

University of Twente¹, University of Oslo², Harvard University³, Michigan State University⁴

01 Oct 2013-Journal of Computer Assisted Learning

TL;DR: This article elaborates on the competencies that are needed to be able to live in and contribute to the authors' current (and future) society, giving special attention to digital literacy as one of the core competencies for the 21st century.

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Abstract: This article elaborates on the competencies, often referred to as 21st century competencies, that are needed to be able to live in and contribute to our current (and future) society. We begin by describing, analysing and reflecting on international frameworks describing 21st century competencies, giving special attention to digital literacy as one of the core competencies for the 21st century. This is followed by an analysis of the learning approaches that are considered appropriate for acquiring 21st century competencies, and the specific role of technology in these learning processes. Despite some consensus about what 21st century competencies are and how they can be acquired, results from international studies indicate that teaching strategies for 21st century competencies are often not well implemented in actual educational practice. The reasons for this include a lack of integration of 21st century competencies in curriculum and assessment, insufficient preparation of teachers and the absence of any systematic attention for strategies to adopt at scale innovative teaching and learning practices. The article concludes with a range of specific recommendations for the implementation of 21st century competencies.

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363 citations

Cites background from "Blending Student Technology Experie..."

...Still, today’s education systems have as their challenge to relate the sociocultural developments of the knowledge society and its technological innovations to requirements with a refinement of learning and literacy as a process in- and out-of-school (Hull & Schultz, 2002; Lai et al., 2013)....
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...Lai et al. (2013) in this special issue describe the potential of new technologies in informal settings and the potential for using technology to link learning in formal and informal settings....
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...These issues are elaborated in two other articles of this special issue: Davis, Eickelmann, and Zaka (2013) and Lai, Khaddage, and Knezek (2013)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Teacher perceptions of using mobile phones in the classroom: Age matters!

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Blanche O'Bannon¹, Kevin Thomas²•Institutions (2)

University of Tennessee¹, University of Louisville²

01 May 2014-Computer Education

TL;DR: This study examined the digital native-digital immigrant dichotomy based on the results of a study involving 1095 teachers from two states in the southeastern United States and indicated that the age of the teacher matters, however, not as suggested by Prensky (2001).

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Abstract: This study examined the digital native-digital immigrant dichotomy based on the results of a study involving 1095 teachers from two states in the southeastern United States. The study focused on age as it relates to the relationship between the type of mobile phone they owned, their support for the use of mobile phones in the classroom, their perceptions of the benefits of specific mobile features for school-related work, and their perceptions of instructional barriers. The results indicated that the age of the teacher matters, however, not as suggested by Prensky (2001). There were no significant differences in the findings for the teachers who were less than 32 and the ones who were 33-49; however, they both significantly differed from those over 50 in mobile phone ownership and support for the use of mobile phones in the classroom as well as in their perceptions regarding the useful mobile features for school-related work and instructional barriers. In each instance, the older teachers were less likely to own smartphones, were less supportive on all items, were less enthusiastic about the features, and found the barriers to be more problematic.

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222 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Technology use and learning characteristics of students in higher education: Do generational differences exist?

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Kwok-Wing Lai¹, Kian Sam Hong•Institutions (1)

University of Otago¹

01 Jul 2015-British Journal of Educational Technology

TL;DR: The results of this study suggest that generation is not a determining factor in students’ use of digital technologies for learning nor has generation had a radical impact on learning characteristics of higher education students.

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Abstract: As digital technologies form an inextricable part of young people’s everyday lives, some commentators claim that the current generation of learners think and learn differently from their predecessors. This study investigated the validity of this claim by surveying 799 undergraduate and 81 postgraduate students at a large research-intensive university in New Zealand to document their use of digital technologies on university and social activities and comparing three age groups of students (under 20, 20–30 and over 30) to see whether there were any differences in their learning characteristics. The findings of the study showed that while students spent a large amount of time on digital technologies, the range of digital technologies they used was rather limited. There were also no practical generational differences in the technology use pattern and learning characteristics found in this study. The results of this study suggest that generation is not a determining factor in students’ use of digital technologies for learning nor has generation had a radical impact on learning characteristics of higher education students.

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182 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Digital technology and the culture of teaching and learning in higher education

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Kwok-Wing Lai¹•Institutions (1)

University of Otago¹

23 Dec 2011-Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss how the use of digital technologies may support a shift of cultural practices in teaching and learning, to better meet the needs of 21st century higher education learners.

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Abstract: This paper discusses how the use of digital technologies may support a shift of cultural practices in teaching and learning, to better meet the needs of 21st century higher education learners. A brief discussion of the changing needs of the learners is provided, followed by a review of the overall impact of digital technologies on teaching and learning. In the final section we suggest how digital technologies may provide a more active and flexible learning experience by adopting a participatory pedagogical approach and by blending formal learning with informal learning.

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134 citations

Cites background or methods from "Blending Student Technology Experie..."

...An online distance program was designed by the author (for a detailed description, refer Lai, 2009, 2010b; Lai et al., 2011) to provide access to doctoral studies for New Zealand students who are not able to attend classes and meet their supervisors regularly on campus....
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...It is important that learners are aware of their own learning characteristics in informal settings and adapt them in formal settings (Lai et al. 2011)....
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...It also shows that online discussion can facilitate research supervision, with students gaining valuable feedback from peers (Lai et al., 2011)....
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References

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Open Access

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Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds

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Ulla G. Foehr, Victoria J. Rideout, Donald F. Roberts

20 Jan 2010

3,197 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?.

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Peggy A. Ertmer¹•Institutions (1)

Purdue University¹

01 Dec 2005-Educational Technology Research and Development

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogical beliefs as a vital first step to establish a similar link to teachers' classroom uses of technology, and describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.

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Abstract: Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place, including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional barriers, specifically related to teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, may be at work. Previous researchers have noted the influence of teachers’ beliefs on classroom instruction specifically in math, reading, and science, yet little research has been done to establish a similar link to teachers’ classroom uses of technology. In this article, I argue for the importance of such research and present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogical beliefs as a vital first step. After defining and describing the nature of teacher beliefs, including how they are likely to impact teachers’ classroom practice, I describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.

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2,227 citations

"Blending Student Technology Experie..." refers background in this paper

...Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs have consistently been cited as a key factor in affecting how technology would be used in the classroom (Ertmer, 2005), and their beliefs in how learning should occur along the formal and informal continuum would certainly affect how they blend formal and informal learning using digital technologies....
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...Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs have consistently been cited as a key factor in affecting how technology would be used in the classroom (Ertmer, 2005), and their beliefs in how learning should occur along the formal and informal continuum would certainly affect how they blend formal and informal…...
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Book Chapter•DOI•

Knowledge Building: Theory, Pedagogy, and Technology

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Marlene Scardamalia¹, Carl Bereiter¹•Institutions (1)

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education¹

01 Jan 2006

Abstract: There are substantial similarities between deep learning and the processes by which knowledge advances in the disciplines. During the 1960s efforts to exploit these similarities gave rise to learning by discovery, guided discovery, inquiry learning, and Science: A Process Approach (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1967). Since these initial reform efforts, scholars have learned a great deal about how knowledge advances. A mere listing of keywords suggests the significance and diversity of ideas that have come to prominence since the 1960s: approaches have changed in response to some of these developments; there is a greater emphasis on collaborative rather than individual inquiry, the tentative nature of empirical laws is more often noted, and argumentation has become an important part of some approaches. But the new " knowledge of knowledge " has much larger educational implications: Ours is a knowledge-creating civilization. A growing number of " knowledge societies " (Stehr, 1994), are joined in a deliberate effort to advance all the frontiers of knowledge. Sustained knowledge advancement is seen as essential for social progress of all kinds and for the solution of societal problems. From this standpoint the fundamental task of education is to enculturate youth into this knowledge-creating civilization and to help them find a place in it. In light of this challenge, both traditional education, with its emphasis on knowledge transmission, and the newer constructivist methods, appear as limited in scope if not entirely missing the point. Knowledge building, as elaborated in this chapter, represents an attempt to refashion education in a fundamental way, so that it becomes a coherent effort to initiate students into a knowledge creating culture. Accordingly, it involves students not only

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1,448 citations

"Blending Student Technology Experie..." refers background in this paper

...…pedagogical approaches to provide the learning experiences (e.g., in problem-based and knowledgebuilding projects, see Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006) that can better connect students to the real world and the informal learning space that they are engaged in out of…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

Informal and Incidental Learning

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Victoria J. Marsick¹, Karen E. Watkins²•Institutions (2)

Columbia University¹, University of Georgia²

01 Mar 2001-New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education

TL;DR: This chapter provides a theory of informal and incidental learning and updates this theory based on recent research.

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Abstract: This chapter provides a theory of informal and incidental learning and updates this theory based on recent research.

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1,118 citations

"Blending Student Technology Experie..." refers background in this paper

...Yet another perspective focuses on the purpose of learning, viewing informal learning as learning that happens accidentally, spontaneously, and it is unpredictable and seen primarily as a spin-off from leisure activities (Kerka, 2000; Marsich & Watkins, 2001; SeftonGreen, 2004)....
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Journal Article•

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0

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John Seely Brown, Richard P. Adler

01 Jan 2008-Educational Review

TL;DR: Brown and Adler as discussed by the authors argue that the places that are globally competitive are those that have robust local ecosystems of resources supporting innovation and productiveness, and that a key part of any such ecosystem is a well-educated workforce with the requisite competitive skills.

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Abstract: John Seely Brown is a Visiting Scholar and Advisor to the Provost at the University of Southern California (USC) and Independent Co-Chairman of a New Deloitte Research Center. He is the former Chief Scientist of Xerox and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Many of his publications and presentations are on his website (http://www.johnseelybrown.com). Richard P. Adler is a Research Affiliate at the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto and Principal of People & Technology, a research and consulting firm in Cupertino, California. More than one-third of the world’s population is under 20. There are over 30 million people today qualified to enter a university who have no place to go. During the next decade, this 30 million will grow to 100 million. To meet this staggering demand, a major university needs to be created each week. —Sir John Daniel, 1996 T he world has become increasingly “flat,” as Tom Friedman has shown. Thanks to massive improvements in communications and transportation, virtually any place on earth can be connected to markets anywhere else on earth and can become globally competitive.1 But at the same time that the world has become flatter, it has also become “spikier”: the places that are globally competitive are those that have robust local ecosystems of resources supporting innovation and productiveness.2 A key part of any such ecosystem is a well-educated workforce with the requisite competitive skills. And in a rapidly changing world, these ecosystems must not only supply this workforce but also provide support for continuous learning and for the ongoing creation of new ideas and skills. Minds on

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1,035 citations

"Blending Student Technology Experie..." refers background in this paper

...As pointed out by Clark et al. (2009): teachers and institutions, fearful of the disruptive (social) potentials of the contested technologies, do not immediately recognize or understand the increased repertoire of practices available to learners in their engagement with them....
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...…in their teaching in order to facilitate collaborative learning and communication, and to encourage individual and group informal learning, using mobile technologies to provide a participatory structure/architecture to support communities of learners (Brown & Adler, 2008; Knezek et al., 2011)....
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