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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Thoughts on various learning technologies

There are so many different technologies available for on-line learning that it's tough to decide which one I would like best.

I find that blogging is a pretty decent way to have a discussion going, as well as post my own thoughts on a topic. I can see blogging to be quite useful in terms of getting "on demand" information to people who need something quickly. Often, I have found that a lot of learning takes place "informally." Classes and formal self-paced programs are good for focusing on specific topics. But, often, learners want a quick answer to an immediate question. I think one of the biggest challenges in learning is to be able to hand over more of the responsibility to the learner. Have them find the information rather than feeding it to them. The catch is, how do learners locate the correct resources? Blogging can help, and a social link forum like del.icio.us seems to do a very good job with providing learners with some options while at the same time forming a collaborative learning group with others. I learn far more from peers than I do from many teachers. The peer role is very different.