These slides are taken from Walkgrove's seminar at the Learning Technologies Summer Forum in London in June 2014.
"An e-learning victim pokes a learning designer with a stick and tells them that e-learning is boring and asks them what are they going to do about it, and the learning designer says didn’t you like the video, the graphics, the animations? But the e-learning victim isn’t listening, because they’re not interested, they never were".
Key points include:
- How bringing real life into learning makes all the difference to the learner’s experience,
- how it motivates and how it leads to behaviour change,
- and we’ll see while it’s not about the technology, technology can’t half help too.
4. Is there a problem with e-learning? If so, what is it?
‘Traditional’ e-learning (there’s no such thing but we all
know what we mean, perhaps we should call it lazy
misguided and all too common e-learning) squirts
information at people and expects them to absorb it. The
words were in front of you on the screen. Surely that’s all
you need? We even gave you nice graphics so what’s
your excuse?
Frankly, it doesn’t work. It’s a waste of time and money.
And worse for us, it gives a potentially excellent medium
a vey poor reputation.
5. The hosepipe is essentially a lecture, and a pretty
poor one at that .
You’re told once, it’s up to you to listen and take it in
(except even a lecture is far far better than the
hosepipe). But is this really how people learn?
It’s clinical, sterile, and removed from reality. Let’s
look at how far this model of learning has advanced,
or not.
6. Why do we learn at all?
In fact it’s instinctive and fundamental to us as
human beings. We learn for a very simple reason –
to survive. If you didn’t learn to do the things you
needed to do, you’d die.
So learning is built into us. You can't stop a child
from learning – though you might say schools
sometimes do a good job of putting them off.
7. And how did we learn in the past? There were no
schools, there was simply the world. You were in it
and surrounded by it. Everything was real. You saw
what your family members did and you copied
them. For thousands upon thousands of years – for
millions of years in fact, that’s how we learned.
And because learning that way made us successful
as a species, we’ve all inherited a predisposition to
learn in the real world, ‘on the job’.
8. So how does learning happen in the real world?
These lion cubs are playing – well actually they’re
practising, their job, hunting. When they fight,
they’re rehearsing what they need to do to catch
and bring down prey. They’re practising over and
over again, every day they practise.
They repeat, they learn from their mistakes, they
get feedback about how well they’re doing – from
the response of the other lion cub.
9. And slowly they get better. Until they’re ready to
join the hunt; which they need to be very good at to
survive.
And because play is so important to learning, and
learning is so essential to survival, we enjoy
playing – which makes us play more.
Is any of that familiar? But we’re only talking about
lion cubs …
10. Children want to play and they want to learn, and there’s
no difference. They want to do what they like to do over
and over again, and they get better and better at it.
When they play, they’re engaged, they’re emotionally
excited, they’re receptive to learning new tricks and
techniques, and they’re with other children, in a social
setting.
Stop all this and start instructing them what to do and
you bring down the whole edifice - and see what reaction
you get (yet we’ve designed schools to do exactly that…)
11. All through human history, we’ve learned
on the job, and it’s made us what we are.
Supremely adaptable and quick and eager
to learn. In the real world, solve real world
problems and performing real world tasks.
12. Through learning in the real world
things that are useful – relevant –
children quickly become experts
and accumulate vast knowledge –
of what is useful to them.
13. There’s a second strand to this
argument. It’s about another thing
that makes us human, and is
something that is finally dawning on
we learning people about what helps
people learn.
14. How come a medium sized feeble
primate became so successful? It’s
largely down to the fact that we’re
social. We live in small social groups
(even in a city!) and we’re intensely
interested in each other. We invest a
huge amount of effort in
communication and in knowing what
our group members are up to.
15. We gossip. Ceaselessly. Our groups
have hierarchies and we get very
wound up about allegiances,
friendships, and relationships.
No much else to do in the savannah.
16. And we’re still doing it.
Watch any playground, any office,
workplace, or even social network,
and people get worked up about what
everyone’s doing.
17. And it’s not just people. It’s a very
primate thing to do.
Which means it runs very deep.
18. Our investment in gossip and what
people get up to is so great that we
even derive huge pleasure finding out
about people who aren’t even real,
such is our obsession. And about
what happens to them.
Who doesn’t like a good story?
19. Which brings us back here. What do you
do every night when you’re sitting round
the fire? You tell stories. And you listen to
stories. Ancient cultures have very strong
oral traditions. About real things and made
up things, we don’t mind. We’ve evolved
listening to stories (and looking at the
stars!) Stories are in our blood. We’re
addicted.
And how did we learn in the past? There were no schools, there was simply the world. You were in it and surrounded by it. Everything was real. You saw what your family members did and you copied them. For thousands upon thousands of years – for millions of years in fact, that’s how we learned. And because learning that way made us successful as a species, we’ve all inherited a predisposition to learn in the real world, on the job.
So how does learning happen in the real world? These lion cubs are playing – well actually they’re practising, their job, hunting. When they fight, they’re rehearsing what they need to do to catch and bring down prey. They’re practicing over and over again, every day they practice. They repeat, they learn from their mistakes, they get feedback about how well they’re doing – from the response of the other lion cub. And slowly they get better. Until they’re ready to join the hunt; which they need to be very good at to survive. And because play is so important to learning, and learning is so essential to survival, we enjoy playing – which makes us play more.
Is any of that familiar? But we’re only talking about lion cubs …
So how does learning happen in the real world? These lion cubs are playing – well actually they’re practising, their job, hunting. When they fight, they’re rehearsing what they need to do to catch and bring down prey. They’re practicing over and over again, every day they practice. They repeat, they learn from their mistakes, they get feedback about how well they’re doing – from the response of the other lion cub. And slowly they get better. Until they’re ready to join the hunt; which they need to be very good at to survive. And because play is so important to learning, and learning is so essential to survival, we enjoy playing – which makes us play more.
Is any of that familiar? But we’re only talking about lion cubs …
Children want to play and they want to learn, and there’s no difference. They want to do what they like to do over and over again, and they get better and better at it.
When they play, they’re engaged, they’re emotionally excited, they’re receptive to learning new tricks and techniques, and they’re with other children, in a social setting.
Stop all this and start instruction them what to do and you bring down the whole edifice - and see want reaction you get. [Yet we’ve designed schools to do exactly that …]
All though human history, we’ve learned on the job, and it’s made us what we are. Supremely adaptable and quick and eager to learn. In the real world, solve real world problems and performing real world tasks.
Through learning in the real world things that are useful – relevant – children quickly become experts and accumulate vast knowledge – of what is useful to them.
There’s a second strand to this argument. It’s about another thing that makes us human, and is something that is finally dawning on we learning people about what helps people learn.
How come a medium sized feeble primate became so successful? It’s largely down to the fact that we’re social. We live in small social groups (even in a city!) and we’re intensely interested in each other. We invest a huge amount of effort in communication and in knowing what our group members are up to. We gossip. Ceaselessly. Our groups have hierarchies and we get very wound up about allegiances, friendships, and relationships. No much else to do in the savannah.
There’s a second strand to this argument. It’s about another thing that makes us human, and is something that is finally dawning on we learning people about what helps people learn.
How come a medium sized feeble primate became so successful? It’s largely down to the fact that we’re social. We live in small social groups (even in a city!) and we’re intensely interested in each other. We invest a huge amount of effort in communication and in knowing what our group members are up to. We gossip. Ceaselessly. Our groups have hierarchies and we get very wound up about allegiances, friendships, and relationships. No much else to do in the savannah.
There’s a second strand to this argument. It’s about another thing that makes us human, and is something that is finally dawning on we learning people about what helps people learn.
How come a medium sized feeble primate became so successful? It’s largely down to the fact that we’re social. We live in small social groups (even in a city!) and we’re intensely interested in each other. We invest a huge amount of effort in communication and in knowing what our group members are up to. We gossip. Ceaselessly. Our groups have hierarchies and we get very wound up about allegiances, friendships, and relationships. No much else to do in the savannah.
And we’re still doing it. Watch any playground, any office, workplace, or even social network, and people get worked up about what everyone’s doing.
And it’s not just people. It’s a very primate thing to do. Which means it runs very deep.
Our investment in gossip and what people get up to is so great that we even derive huge pleasure finding out about people who aren’t even real, such is our obsession. And about what happens to them. Who doesn’t like a good story?
Which brings us back here. What do you do every night when you’re sitting round the fire? You tell stories. And you listen to stories. Ancient cultures have very strong oral traditions. About real things and made up things, we don’t mind. We’ve evolved listening to stories (and looking at the stars!) Stories are in our blood. We’re addicted.