Thoughts on Opening the Learning Environment

In my work with online instructors, I keep hearing a lot of talk about using wikis and blogs "as they are intended to be used" or "they way they should be used." By that, the individuals are referring to the way we generally think about wikis and blogs: a wiki is a collaborative web space with potentially multiple contributors, and a blog is an individual journal-type site generally maintained by a single entity and facilitated as an ongoing conversation with readers.

These concepts have merit, but I've begun to wonder if we are restricting instructors, learners, and the knowledge-building process by trying to define these spaces. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if we should allow learners to make their own choices about which spaces to use rather than prescribing which space learners should use for an activity. Even if learners make the "wrong" choice (i.e., using a blog when the instructor believes a wiki would have been more appropriate), it would still present a learning opportunity (Parry, 2012). Perhaps it would even allow for the emergence of innovative uses for these spaces.

Of course, in a "traditional" online classroom, allowing such choice presents challenges for evaluation and grading. What is more important: demonstrating mastery of concepts or choosing the appropriate media for presentation? How do you evaluate mastery of concepts when various media are used for the same activity? Maybe allowing a more open forum for learners to demonstrate mastery will, by necessity, require a more open evaluation process. Now, I know that sounds blasphemous in light of all the work that has been done over the past century (nearly) to develop reliable methods of assessment. But an open evaluation process does not have to mean subjective, invalid, or unreliable. It means we have to rethink the evaluation criteria we establish and how we measure it.

I don't consider myself a particularly creative person. But I do know that when I've been challenged with having to make something work with limited or restricted resources, I've been able to find ways to exploit whatever technology I had available. Maybe that is the challenge we need to present to our learners. Instead of prescribing what tool to use, give them a task and allow them to leverage the tools available. Make the environment more open. While some learners might prefer more structure, others will run with the autonomy. In doing so, they may be able to aid or inspire the more reluctant learner. This shifts the paradigm of the learning environment from one of knowledge transmission to knowledge production, possibly improving the "stickiness" of the learning.

Thoughts? Is it our responsibility to direct learners to use technology "appropriately" or are we better off designing an open and autonomous environment that encourages exploration, collaboration, and knowledge construction? If so, how do we adapt assessment methods for the open environment?

Reference

Parry, M. (2012, March 7). Could many universities follow Borders Bookstores into oblivion? The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/could-many-universities-follow-borders-bookstores-into-oblivion/35711