The document discusses learning ecosystems and their components. It describes how a learning ecosystem consists of various actors, learning services, and niches that afford teaching and learning purposes. Learning flows occur as users participate in networks of trophic chains that transform information to knowledge through the services provided. Communities in learning ecosystems are temporary and can successively change. Both planned and natural communities that emerge from learner-created services can support learning. Maintaining a balance through semi-natural communities that incorporate both teacher and learner contributions can help regulate learning ecosystems.

1. There
are
no
rules
of
architecture
for
a
castle
in
the
clouds.
Gilbert
K.
Chesterton

2. Agenda
• I
will
elaborate
the
structure,
func+oning
principles
and
produc+ve
learning
poten+al
of
learning
ecosystem,
using
some
examples
of
my
earlier
studies.
• Secondly,
I
will
claim
that
the
modeling
of
a
func@oning
learning
ecosystem,
presumes
considering
ecosystem
principles
in
design
and
the
learning
design
process
to
take
the
meta-­‐design
approach.

3. Learning
design
concept
• Learning
design
concept
relates
with
the
learning
design
product,
the
learning
design
process
and
the
considera@on
of
certain
learning
theories
that
define
what
triggers
learning,
how
does
learning
take
place,
and
what
is
the
result
of
learning.
• All
these
learning
design
aspects
of
learning
design
can
be
approached
ecologically,
and
if
doing
so
we
can
ini+ate,
manage
and
appropriate
learning
ecosystems,
-­‐situa+ons
and
-­‐behaviors
that
are
actual
in
the
modern
society.

4. Learning
ecosystem
components
• Various
actors
(teachers,
experts,
learners)
and
the
socio-­‐technical
system
• use
available
resources
(people,
ar@facts,
tools)
to
provide
a
variety
of
learning
services,
that
• afford
certain
teaching
and
learning
purposes
and
• actualize
teaching
and
learning
purpose
niches
as
affordance
spaces
• that
give
fitness
constraints
to
the
learning
services.

5. Actors,
learning
services
and
–niches
in
the
professional
community
training
Teacher’s
socializa@on
ac@vi@es
in
forum
–
ST
Domain
expert’s
socializa@on
in
forum
-­‐
SO
Teacher’s
blog
entries
E(Entry)T
Teacher’s
comments
in
blogs
E(Comment)T
Domain
expert’s
comments
in
blogs
E(Comment)O
Services
of
the
support
niche
Services
of
the
monitoring
niche
Teacher’s
and
domain
experts
“views”
to
blog
posts,
comments
and
forum
were
categorized
as
ViewT
and
ViewO.
Services
of
the
resource-­‐
provision
niche
Teacher’s
combina@on
ac@vity
in
forum-­‐
CT
Domain
expert’s
combina@on
ac@vity
in
forum
-­‐
CO.
Tammets,
K;
Pata,
K;
Laanpere,
M.
(2013).
Promo@ng
Teachers’
Learning
and
Knowledge-­‐building
in
the
Socio-­‐technical
System.
The
Interna@onal
Review
of
Research
in
Open
and
Distance
Learning,
14(3),
251
-­‐
272.

6. Communi@es
in
learning
ecosystems
• are
temporary
coali+ons
deno@ng
the
services
and
actors
at
present
in
the
learning
design
• that
can
successively
change
during
the
life@me
of
a
design
product
usage

7. Succession
of
niches
at
different
phases
of
the
elearning
course
Pata,
K.
(2009).
Revising
the
framework
of
knowledge
ecologies:
how
ac@vity
pa_erns
define
learning
spaces?
.
Niki
Lambropoulos
&
Margarida
Romero
(Toim.).
Educa@onal
Social
Socware
for
Context-­‐Aware
Learning:
Collabora@ve
Methods
&
Human
Interac@on.
(241
-­‐
266).Idea
Group
Reference

8. Learning
flows
• The
main
form
of
ecosystem
existence
is
through
trophic
chains
of
species
that
transform
energy
and
ma_er
composing
and
decomposing
energy
rich
products,
thus
enabling
the
one-­‐direc@onal
trophic
flow
through
the
ecosystem.
• In
learning
ecosystems
the
relevant
concept
to
trophic
flow
is
a
learning
flow.

9. Networks
and
learning
flows
We
may
assume
that
in
any
learning
design
the
purpose
of
the
learning
services
is
to
compose
such
networks
of
trophic
chains
that
enable
users
par@cipa@ng
in
the
learning
flows
that
transform
the
informa@on
informa@on
to
knowledge.
knowledge

10. The
learning
flow
• The
learning
flow
is
powered
by
the
proac@ve
crea@on
of
learning
services
and
the
a_en@on,
considera@on,
communica@on
and
usage
of
available
learning
services
that
teachers,
learners
and
the
socio-­‐technical
system
as
the
agents
provide.
• There
are
always
relevant
goals,
resources
and
required
support
that
may
replace
in
the
learning
ecosystem
purpose
niches
some
of
the
missing
services
and
allow
the
con@nuous
learning
flows.

11. Pruning
homogenous
communi@es
• Maintaining
homogenous
communi@es
such
as
ideal
teacher-­‐planned
sets
of
learning
services
needs
constant
care
• few
learning
services
prescribe
limited
learning
paths
in
order
to
maximize
the
produc@ve
learning
flows
for
medium
learners
that
don’t
exist.

12. Succession
of
wild
communi@es
The
natural
learner-­‐created
communi@es,
are
based
on
the
richness
of
constantly
changing
learning
services
that
can
replace
themselves
in
the
trophic
networks,
that
guarantees
be_er
self-­‐regula@on
but
also
the
succession
of
the
service-­‐community
in
@me.

13. Maintaining
semi-­‐natural
communi@es
In
the
learning
ecosystems
that
inhabit
semi-­‐natural
communi+es
where
both
the
teacher-­‐
and
learner-­‐created
learning
services
could
co-­‐exist,
the
former
could
be
used
to
maintain
the
richness
of
wild
services
and
keep
it
in
a
state
where
succession
is
under
control
.

14. Learning
ecosystem
concept
I
The
community
of
learning
services
of
the
learning
design
ac9vated
by
different
actors,
the
users
of
this
learning
design,
and
the
informa9on
and
knowledge
circulated
within
the
learning
design
altogether
form
the
learning
ecosystem.

15. The
network
structure
• The
permeability
of
a
learning
ecosystem
to
learning
flows
will
depend
on
the
connec@ons
between
services
that
pass
learning
flows
and
the
emerging
side-­‐paths
and
hubs
in
this
network
that
can
redirect
the
flows.

16. Mutualisms
• The
mutualisms
such
as
symbiosis
(mutual
benefit
of
using
resources
and
living
spaces)
are
one
way
how
in
natural
ecosystems
species
get
the
compe@@ve
premise.
• Mutualisms
between
different
types
of
learning
services
are
very
important
also
in
learning
designs.

17. The
learning
flow
in
the
professional
community
training
The
domain
experts
had
more
direct
influence
on
the
reflec@ve
discussions
in
the
forum,
and
they
could
indirectly
influence
teachers
to
comment
their
peers’
reflec@ons
that
in
turn
prompted
individual
reflec@ons
in
the
weblog.
Tammets,
K;
Pata,
K;
Laanpere,
M.
(2013).
Promo@ng
Teachers’
Learning
and
Knowledge-­‐building
in
the
Socio-­‐technical
System.
The
Interna@onal
Review
of
Research
in
Open
and
Distance
Learning,
14(3),
251
-­‐
272.

18. Communica@on
• In
natural
ecosystems
there
is
communica@on
between
the
individual
species
as
well
as
the
cross-­‐species
communica@on
that
has
influence
on
trophic
circula@ons
(for
example
certain
signals
from
species
may
be
read
by
other
members
of
the
species
or
across
species
to
get
advantage
in
finding
food
or
escaping
for
predators).
• The
learning
services
in
learning
ecosystem
must
be
aware
of
each
other
and
able
to
communicate
in
order
to
orchestrate
their
ac@on.
• Communica@on
direct
and
indirect
(through
signals
and
traces
lec
in
the
environment)
can
be
used
for
swarming
for
learning
in
learning
ecosystems

19. The
learning
process
in
the
learning
ecosystem
• Learning
as
an
orienta+on
and
adapta+on
to
the
learning
flows
of
the
crowd
to
be
led
to
the
flow
experiences
(ecosystem
stabiliza@on
factor).
• Learning
with
the
forward-­‐looking
a?tude
for
seeking
chances
and
opportuni+es
in
the
unan@cipated
ecosystem
(ecosystem
evolvement
factor).
• Both
are
related
with
ecological
encultura+on
the
process
by
which
a
person
becomes
acquainted
with
a
given
community
of
prac@ce,
and
part
of
the
environment
becomes
encultured,
becoming
poten@ally
meaningful
for
certain
purposes
rather
than
others.

20. The
result
of
learning
in
the
learning
ecosystem
• Ecological
encultura+on
of
our
surroundings
(people,
resources,
tools,
concepts
etc.)
is
one
of
the
results
of
learning
in
the
learning
ecosystem.
• Gejng
flow
experience
is
another
result
of
learning
in
the
learning
ecosystem,
since
culture
(the
flows
of
thecrowd)
reduce
anxiety
and
minimise
the
dimens@ons
to
be
focused
at

21. What
triggers
learning
in
the
learning
ecosystem
• Learning
ecosystem
is
responsive
• Increased
possibility
of
gejng
the
flow
experience
because
of
the
availability
of
the
flows
of
the
crowd
• Learning
ecosystems
possess
high
environmental
unan@cipatedness
in
respect
to
what
learning
opportuni@es
they
afford.

22. Learning
ecosystem
concept
II
Learning
ecosystem
is
an
emergent
and
dynamically
evolving
system
that
is
formed
as
a
result
of
mul9ple
self-­‐directed
actors’
ecological
encultura9on
of
some
environment
for
increasing
its
produc9vity
for
learning.
Produc+vity
of
the
learning
ecosystem
is
its
ability
to
accumulate
informa@on
to
knowledge
in
@me
–
meaning
how
much
users
can
be
engaged
in
certain
@me
period
by
the
learning
services
into
the
produc@ve
learning
flow.

23. Transla@ng
ecosystem
principles
to
learning
ecosystems
• The
learning
flow
through
open
learning
ecosystem
–
the
created
learning
services,
and
actors’
a_en@on
to
services
create
the
trophic
networks
that
enable
transforming
informa@on
to
knowledge
and
cause
the
learning
flows
• The
feedback
loop
to
and
from
the
learning
ecosystem
-­‐
the
teaching
and
learning
services
must
be
adap@ve
to
the
ecosystem
purpose
niches,
and
these
niches
as
affordance
spaces
would
be
changing
as
a
result
of
those
services
in
@me.
• The
communica+ve
interac+ons
in
the
ecosystem
–
the
mutual
awareness
and
direct
and
indirect
(as
traces
or
signals
lec
in
the
environment)
communica@on
between
learning
services
and
actors
enable
new
learning
behaviors
(such
as
swarming
–
following
the
crowd)
which
intensify
the
learning
flows
within
the
ecosystem.

24. Ecosystem
principles
that
guide
the
ecological
learning
design
process
• I.
Involve
teachers/experts
and
learners
to
create
learning
services
(experts
should
champion
this
ac@vity)
• II.
Map
the
learning
ecosystem
services
created
by
different
users
to
the
teaching
and
learning
purpose
niches.
This
should
be
mapped
in
different
@me
periods
of
the
learning
design
usage.
• III.
Map
the
learning
flows
that
use
these
learning
services
• IV.
Incorporate
learning
analy@cs
tools
for
dynamic
learning
flow
visualiza@on
(e.g.
visualizing
flows
in
distributed
resource
networks)

25. Ecosystem
principles
that
guide
the
ecological
learning
design
process
• V.
Increase
the
permeability
of
the
learning
ecosystem
to
the
learning
flows
by:
– allowing
the
variety
of
services
to
emerge
in
each
purpose
niche
– sustaining
learning
flows
by
having
replacement
services
in
each
purpose
niche
that
enable
switching
from
one
hub
to
another
and
keep
the
learning
flow
going
– increasing
aggrega@on
and
clustering
of
services
to
promote
switching,
communica@ng
between
them
– suppor@ng
coali@ons
between
learning
services
for
synergy
– promo@ng
awareness,
connec@vity
and
communica@on
between
learning
services
-­‐
add
elements
that
improve
the
awareness

26. Ecosystem
principles
that
guide
the
ecological
learning
design
process
• VI.
Involve
experts/facilitators
crea@ng
service
hubs
for
channeling
the
learning
flows
and
crea@ng
a_rac@ve
“crowded”
points
for
redirec@ng
the
learning
flows
and
enabling
chance
seeking
• VII.
Use
learning
analy@cs
as
emergent
scaffolds
that
guide
learners
to
the
learning
flows
of
the
crowd
• VIII.
Increase
aggrega@on
and
clustering
of
learning
contents
and
-­‐services
for
promo@ng
communica@on,
emergence
and
evolvement
of
crowd
flows.

27. Ecosystem
principles
that
guide
the
ecological
learning
design
process
• IX.
Involve
experts/facilitators
in
seeding
learning
ac@vi@es
into
the
learning
ecosystem
that
are
based
on
self-­‐organiza@on,
chance-­‐seeking,
swarming
• X.
Use
learning
analy@cs
that
base
on
ecosystem
principles
to
evaluate
the
learning
design
as
a
whole
and
provide
feedback
to
the
cultures
of
par@cipa@on
for
informed
design
decisions.

28. The
ecological
learning
design
• The
ecological
learning
design
is
the
meta-­‐
design
process
where
par9cipatory
cultures
use
ecosystem
principles
for
enculturing
for
themselves
responsive
learning
ecosystems
that
maximize
for
each
of
them
possibili9es
for
flow
experiences
promoted
by
the
learning
flows
of
the
crowd
or
provide
them
opportuni9es
for
discovering
chances.

29. Future
work
• Mapping
different
learning
ecosystems
through
the
learning
service
approach
and
inves@ga@ng
what
the
success
factors
in
learning
ecosystem
design
and
usage
are.
• Inves@ga@ng
empirically,
how
to
do
the
transi@on
towards
the
produc@ve
learning
ecosystems.
In
digital
learning
ecosystems
research,
more
a_en@on
must
be
put
on:
– Exploring,
how
to
ini@ate
and
maintain
the
meta-­‐design
of
learning
ecosystems,
and
how
analy@cs
could
be
used
for
fuelling
the
learning
ecosystem
design
through
cultures
of
par@cipa@on
– Methodologically,
deciding
which
learning
analy@cs
can
be
collected,
and
how
such
empirical
data
can
be
used
for
valida@ng,
which
ecological
design
principles
can
promote
produc@ve
learning
ecosystems.

30. References
and
acknowledgements
• I
am
building
my
ideas
on
the
papers
about
the
digital
learning
ecosystems
(see
McCalla,
2004,
Fischeman
&
de
Deus-­‐Lopez,
2008;
Gütl
&
Chang,
2008;
Uden,
Wangsa
&
Damiani,
2007;
Lukin,
2008;
Pata,
2009a,b;
Whelan,
2010;
Reyna,
2011;
Briscoe,
Sadedin
&
DeWilde,
2011;
Laanpere,
Pata,
Normak,
Põldoja,
2012),
ecological
cogni@on
(Bardone
&
Pata,
in
progress)
and
ecological
learning
design
(Young,
2004;
Kirschner,
Strijbos,
Kreijns,
Beers,
2004;
Fischer,
Giaccardi,
Ye,
Sutcliffe
&
Mehandjiev,
2004;
Bishop,
2007;
Hagen
&
Robertson,
2009;
Fisher,
2012;
Normak,
Pata,
Kaipainen,
2012).
• Many
interes@ng
discussions
with
my
colleagues
Mart
Laanpere
and
Emanuele
Bardone
have
contributed
to
this
ecological
learning
design
approach.
Images
from
Flickr
Crea@ve
Commons
resources,
the
aithors
are
acknowledged