My talk at RBS' learning event on what is digital learning, and how organizations can enable and facilitate it

1. Tathagat Varma
Country Head, Chinasoft

2. Who are these people?

3. Julius Yego,
Javelin Throw,
Kenya

4. Adilyn Malcolm, 12y
Dubstep Dancer
Littleton, CO, USA

5. Usman Riaz,
Percussion Guitarist,
Pakistan

6. Amira Willighahen, 11y,
Opera Singer,
Netherlands

7. Patrick McCabe, 13y
Robots Enthusiast,
Florida, USA

8. “Our students have changed
radically. Today’s students are no
longer the people our educational
system was designed to teach.”
Marc Prensky, 2001

9. Today’s knowledge
networks…
http://www.ceebl.manchester.ac.uk/events/archive/aligningcollaborativelearning/Siemens.pdf

10. Today’s organisational
context…
Martec’s Law: “Technology changes exponentially;
organizations change logarithmically.”

11. Modern Worker/Learner

12. Digital Learning?
“…is any type of learning that is
facilitated by technology or by
instructional practice that makes
effective use of technology. It
encompasses the application of a
wide spectrum of practices including:
blended and virtual learning.”
(Wikipedia)

13. Popular Characteristics of
Digital Learner
1. Twitch speed vs. conventional speed
2. Multitasking vs. single tasking
3. Graphics first vs. text first
4. Random access vs. step-by-step
5. Connected vs. standalone
6. Active vs. passive
7. Play vs. work
8. Payoff vs. patience
9. Fantasy vs. Reality
10.Technology-as-a-friend vs. technology-as-a-foe

14. Different types of
Digital Learners
Ignorant,
Unwilling
Ignorant,
Willing
Learning,
Eager
Expert,
Way of life!

15. Learning in the Digital Age?
• Old learning theories not quite that effective!
• Connectivism could be a better model
• Proposed by George Siemens (2005) as the “learning
theory for digital age” and extended by Stephen
Downes (2009)
• Connectivism attempts to approach learning in a social
world that has over-abundance of information and that is
hyper-connected. The primary principle of
connectisvism is that we derive our competence from
forming connections.

16. What is Connectivism?
“Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos,
network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a
process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core
elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning
(defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves
(within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting
specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to
learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.
Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are
based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually
being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important
and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when
new information alters the landscape based on decisions made
yesterday is also critical.”
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

17. Why Connectivism?
“Experience has long been considered the
best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot
experience everything, other people’s
experiences, and hence other people,
become the surrogate for knowledge. ‘I store
my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for
collecting knowledge through collecting
people.”
Karen Stephenson, 2004

18. Principles of Connectivism
1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information
sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual
learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist
learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the
meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality.
While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to
alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

19. Enabling Digital Learning
https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/learning_in_the_digital_age_dal_0.pdf

20. Recap
• In the always-on and hyper-connected world, learning
happens ubiquitously, continuously, and multi-
dimensionally.
• Individual learners have a plethora of resources,
technology and digital tools at their disposal.
• However, it not about technology alone! Organisations
must establish the right environment, create the right
culture that promotes individual learning, and
institutionalise avenues for channelizing the newfound
knowledge.

22. References
• https://teaching.berkeley.edu/resources/learn/what-learning
• https://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner-technology-2008
• https://www.ccl.org/blog/succeed-digital-learner/
• http://www.techcrazyteacher.com/2016/06/which-digital-learner-are-you.html
• https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/216
• http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
• http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2196/3337
• http://www.danpontefract.com/introducing-the-digital-learning-quadrants/
• https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/deliver/training/the-digital-learner-a-new-breed-of-learner-in-the-
digital-age
• https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/learning_in_the_digital_age_dal_0.pdf