Blimey, I’m so behind this week. We’re looking at TEL and Sian Bayne’s appraisal of the term ‘technology enhanced learning’ . I will read the whole paper at some point, but right now I’m too distracted.
Bayne looks at the tension of the division of TEL into the social and technological aspects. For example, technology can be used to enhance pre-existing personal and societal educational objectives
OR
learning can be transformed by the pedagogical value of certain technologies by simply allowing itself to be open to technology. Bayne asks if there are alternative frameworks to form a nuanced undertanding of the relation between education and technology.
Bayne prompts a critical approach to learning design.
For example
What is being enhanced and how?
In my MOOC’s case, we’re looking at enhancing access to learning; creating accessible just-in-time learning to help people become more productive and better at their jobs.
What is my role as the designer?
Pretty much as a facilitator and curator of learning resources – bringing together a set of relevant resources that learners will find useful in their practice.
Workplace learning is different because it’s informal; it’s about delivering just enough information to help people do their jobs better, providing resources to help them learn more and encouraging them to share their knowledge/expertise with their peers. It requires a smart combination of connectivism, cognitivism and constructivism; encouraging people to learn without actually telling them they’re learning something – almost by osmosis.
Sarah Slade 