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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
An article that is winning wide praise, this item asserts that "The key to learning is not the medium nor the message, it is the quality of the dialog with your peers that really matters." The author also echos a growing dissatisfaction with the usual way of doing things. "The traditional practice of determining information needs and competency gaps seems more and more a hollow exercise." Unfortunately brief, and the sketch of some basic principles needs much more filling out. George Siemens comments, though, "while I'm very fond of the notion of learning communities, I'm afraid that we'll ignore the values of personal reflective/contemplative learning in our rush to embrace this concept." I think this argument leans in the right direction. But we need to understand that by dialog (or conversation), we don't mean merely chatting back and forth. Reading a book and writing a review is a dialogue, even if it's a solitary activity.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 4:54 p.m.

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