Getting back to mobile and social learning

The technological world of smart phones, ebook readers, and thin-client laptops that access wireless 3G and WiFi networks are ready to take us back to mobile and social learning. Back? But I thought all of this was new?

When I entered college in the late 1970s I soon learned about mobile learning within social networks. I took my books and class notes to the library or student union where I studied with other students from my classes. At first, all we had in common was the university and the classes we were taking together. Generally, we only knew one another from our mutual classes. But we soon introduced one another to other friends, be they from our dorm, a fellow fraternity or sorority pledge, or someone we knew from home. Our networks let us learn from on another and to share our particular strengths. Even though we learned outside the classroom and with other students, our mobile range and social reach was very limited. There was no easy way for us to reach everyone on campus let alone study with students at a different university. A few years later when I joined the world of work I realized that corporate learning was not significantly different from the academic world. Classes were still held in formal classroom settings, but they also were held anywhere they were needed. A lunch table, office, or a conference room could become an instant classroom. Learning took place where and when needed.

But then, something started to change in the early 1980s. A few companies started to provide training over mainframe computer networks. Some started to produce video classes for playback on a VCR. Others created courses to be broadcast on private satellite networks. Colleges and universities implemented these new technologies as well. Soon, the personal computer was added to this mix of educational delivery media. Eventually, what this led to was a place were learning had become less mobile and less social. To learn, learners had to be at a very specific location, such as a desk-top office computer. And, because they was taking a self-paced, PC-based class, they didn't have any classmates nor did they know who else in the company was taking the same class at the same time.

In he past few years the shift has started back from isolation towards socialization. Educators, both corporate and academic, are creating environments where learners can come together via distance technology. Part of this shift is simply the ability of the WiFi-capable laptop to free the learner from their desk and let them move about the college campus or company office building. Some is the growing use of distance technology that provides audio and video over the internet. The student may still be required to take an online course module, but they can do it in the physical or virtual company of other students. Another, and I think more important part, is that educators are starting to build social interaction back into their courses. For too long learning has been about the learner, now, it is becoming more about the learners. Many courses are including discussion forums and chat sessions. Educators are using social networking tools to connect with students and to allow students to connect with one another.

So what does this mean for learning in the coming decade? Well, that gives me something for my next blog.