Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The problem with online learning? It doesn’t teach people to think

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

My first thought on reading the headline was, "It doesn't? Really?" Maybe I'm confusing online learning with being online generally, because my own experience is that I am wrestling every day with thoughts, emotions, practices and theories. But let's hear out the argument. The gist is this: "acquiring knowing-how habits, like critical thinking, problem-solving and close reading, required interaction and imitation... (but) people imitating each other — is impossible in a remote setting." For example, "an isolated 18-year-old, staring at a computer, can learn what a text is supposed to mean but will have a much harder time learning how to perform a careful interpretation." I don't think this is an accurate description of online learning, at least as I understand it, and I think that online learning in many ways makes it easier to model and demonstrate thought processes and supports in many ways the sort of practice and reflection needed to go beyond mere rote memory. Via Academic Matters.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 23, 2024 08:11 a.m.

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