Learner generated context
Encyclopedia
The term learner generated contexts originated in the suggestion that an educational context might be described as a learner-centric ecology of resources and that a learner generated context is one in which a group of users collaboratively marshall available resources to create an ecology that meets their needs
There are many discussions about user generated content (UGC), open educational resources
(OER), distributed cognition
and communities of practice but, although acknowledging the importance of the learning process, there has been little focus on learner generated contexts or the impact of new technologies on the role of teacher, learner and institution.
and participative media, mobile learning, learning design and learning space design. It is also concerned with related issues in social interactions with technology
around roles
, expertise, knowledge
, pedagogy
, accreditation
, power
, participation
and democracy
.
The learner generated context concept is concerned with examining the rapid increase in the variety and availability of resources and tools that enable people to easily create and publish their own materials and to access those created by others, and ways in which this extends the capacity for learning context creation beyond the traditional contexts of, inter alia, teachers, academics, designers and policymakers. It is also a concept which challenges existing pedagogies insofar as it sees a new generation of read/write
, participatory technologies as enabling learners to take ownership of both their learning and their actions in the real world and to contribute to the co-design
of learning resources. In learner generated contexts, technology is seen to offer new dimensions for active participation and creativity
in learning.
is key: learning is viewed as a social process occurring across a continuum of contexts, and learning must be "fit for context" . The generation of context is characterised as an action on tools where a user actively selects, appropriates and implements learning solutions to meet their own needs . The following key issues emerge from this concept:
There are many discussions about user generated content (UGC), open educational resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...
(OER), distributed cognition
Distributed cognition
Distributed cognition is a psychological theory developed in the mid 1980s by Edwin Hutchins. Using insights from sociology, cognitive science, and the psychology of Vygotsky it emphasizes the social aspects of cognition. It is a framework that involves the coordination between individuals,...
and communities of practice but, although acknowledging the importance of the learning process, there has been little focus on learner generated contexts or the impact of new technologies on the role of teacher, learner and institution.
Background
The term learner generated context (LGC) is grounded in the premise that learning and teaching should not start with the embracing of new technologies, but rather that it is a matter of contextualising the learning first before supporting it with technology. The concept finds its roots in the affordances and potentials of a range of disruptive technologies and practice; web 2.0Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
and participative media, mobile learning, learning design and learning space design. It is also concerned with related issues in social interactions with technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
around roles
Role
A role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behaviour and may have a given individual social status or social position...
, expertise, knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
, pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, accreditation
Accreditation
Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies ; hence they are sometimes known as "accredited...
, power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
, participation
Participation (decision making)
Participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions - and ideally exert influence - regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participatory decision making can take place along any realm of human social activity, including...
and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
.
The learner generated context concept is concerned with examining the rapid increase in the variety and availability of resources and tools that enable people to easily create and publish their own materials and to access those created by others, and ways in which this extends the capacity for learning context creation beyond the traditional contexts of, inter alia, teachers, academics, designers and policymakers. It is also a concept which challenges existing pedagogies insofar as it sees a new generation of read/write
Read-write memory
Read-write memory is a type of computer memory that may be relatively easily written to as well as read from . The term RAM is often used to describe writable memory. RAM actually referring to memory that can be accessed at any "location"....
, participatory technologies as enabling learners to take ownership of both their learning and their actions in the real world and to contribute to the co-design
Co-Design
Co-design is a philosophy in the American pragmatist tradition, which argues that all people have different ideals and perspectives and that any design process needs to deal with this. Co-Design traces its roots to Immanuel Kant, who in the Critique of the Pure Reason observed that to put a...
of learning resources. In learner generated contexts, technology is seen to offer new dimensions for active participation and creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
in learning.
Definition
The Learner Generated Contexts Research Group was formed at a workshop in Bath (UK) in March 2007. This interdisciplinary research group based at the London Knowledge Lab defines a learner generated context (LGC) as:A context created by people interacting together with a common, self- defined or negotiated learning goal. The key aspect of Learner Generated Contexts is that they are generated through the enterprise of those who would previously have been consumers in a context created for them.
Key issues
The emphasis on contextsContexts
Contexts, subtitled Understanding People in their Social Worlds, is an official publication of the American Sociological Association. The magazine is designed to be a more accessible source of sociological ideas and research, and it has been deeply inspired by the movement within the discipline of...
is key: learning is viewed as a social process occurring across a continuum of contexts, and learning must be "fit for context" . The generation of context is characterised as an action on tools where a user actively selects, appropriates and implements learning solutions to meet their own needs . The following key issues emerge from this concept:
- learners as creators not consumers
- learning is facilitated by "agile intermediaries"
- learning moves from regulated practice(s) towards participative collaboration and co-creation
- learner needs participatory control of the learning environment
- environment is physical, social and cognitive
- learning design is purposeful - the 'preferred' and 'best' learning context may not be identical
- co-configuration, co-creation and co-design of learning space allows learners to create their own context
- new and relevant learning contexts are generated by needs and questions arising in social interactions
- PAH continuum - pedagogyPedagogyPedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
(cognitive mode), andragogyAndragogyAndragogy consists of learning strategies focused on adults. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learners with the structure of learning experience. The term ‘andragogy’ has been used in different times and countries with various connotations. Nowadays there exist mainly three...
(metacognitive mode), heutagogyHeutagogyIn education, heutagogy, a concept coined by Stewart Hase of Southern Cross University in Australia, is the study of self-determined learning. The notion is an expansion and reinterpretation of andragogy, and it is possible to mistake it for the same...
(epistemic mode)
External links
- Learner Generated Contexts Wiki http://learnergeneratedcontexts.pbwiki.com/
- LGC Research Group's page at OpenLearn
- The Evolving Story of LGC- A presentation given by members of the LGC group at OpenLearn07
- A Coincidence of Motivations Leading to Agile Configurations - A presentation given by Fred Garnett at Shock of the Old 7, Oxford, 2008
- LGC Launch - A presentation given at LKL debate no. 1 by founding members of the LGC Group.
- Learner-Generated Contexts: sustainable learning pathways through open content - A paper given at the OU OpenLearn07 conference in Milton Keynes, 2007
- http://hennistalk.blogspot.com/2007/11/openlearn-2007-learner-generated.html