Posts
Delivering on the e-learning promise: A case for a learning environment that enables collaborative online problem solving (COPS)
By Sylvia Lauretta Edwards, Jason Watson, Ann Farrell and Robyn Nash, from Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Journal of Learning Design, Vol. 2, No. 1, Page 25-36.
Abstract
Research spanning the last thirty years confirms that people learn better by active enquiry, collaboration and experimental problem solving than by passive reception and acceptance of information. Empirical evidence, as well as the pressing demands of pervasive social and technological change, requires learning and teaching approaches that combine problem-centred learning and collaborative learning, and open up possibilities for equitable participation in real-world learning. This paper mounts a theoretical and pedagogical case for such an approach by examining the developmental work being conducted in this area at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)....
Designed and user-generated activity in the mobile age
By Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, The Open University, UK; John Traxler, University of Wolverhampton, UK; John Pettit, The Open University, UK
Journal of Learning Design, Vol. 2, No. 1, Page 52-65.
Abstract
The paper addresses the question of how to design for learning taking place on mobile and wireless devices. The authors argue that learning activity designers need to consider the characteristics of mobile learning; at the same time, it is vital to realise that learners are already creating mobile learning experiences for themselves. Profound changes in computer usage brought about by social networking and user-generated content are challenging the idea that educators are in charge of designing learning. The authors make a distinction between designed activity, carefully crafted in advance, and user-generated activity arising from learners’ own spontaneous requirements. The paper illustrates what each approach has to offer and it draws out what they have in common, the opportunities and constraints they represent. The paper concludes that user-generated mobile activity will not replace designed activity but it will influence the ways in which designed activity develops.
Source: Journal of Learning Design
