1. The Future of Learning:
Steve Wheeler
University of Plymouth, UK
LearnTEC, Karlsruhe, Germany: 2 February 2011

2. Digital Learning Futures
prolearn-academy.org
Steve Wheeler
Plymouth University

3. Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
Where have we come from?
http://photos.jeremybrooks.net/?p=65

4. The Future...?
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
It is very difficult to
predict the future.
It’s difficult to even
predict what will
happen in the next
year.
www.abebooks.com

5. The Future...?
When he saw a
demonstration of
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
the telephone in
1880, a U.S Mayor
declared: “One day
every town in
America will have a
telephone!”
www.abebooks.com

6. Source: Kelly Hodgkins http://gizmodo.com/5813875/what-happens-in-60-seconds-on-the-internet

7. Social media and learning

8. So Me use
>260 Million
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
>200 Million
2 Billion views/day
24 hours/minute
Source: http://econsultancy.com

9. Social networks and digital tribes
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012

10. Wisdom of crowds?
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Learning
User
generated
content

11. Architecture of participation
Sharing
Collaborating
Tools
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Tagging
Learning
2.0
User
generated
Voting content
Networking

12. http://www.geeky-gadgets.com

13. Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
Twitter as a library
Twitter as a street corner
Twitter as a soapbox
Twitter as amplification

14. What my students said about Twitter...
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
http://jcbarrington.blogspot.com/2011/05/on-twitter.html

15. Digital Content Curation
www.scoop.it/t/future-school
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

16. ‘New’ learners are...
• more self-directed
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
• better equipped to capture information
• more reliant on feedback from peers
• more inclined to collaborate
• more oriented toward being their own
“nodes of production”.
Education Trends | Featured News
John K. Waters—13 December 2011
http://coolshots.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

17. ‘New’ learners are...
• more self-directed
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
• better equipped to capture information
• more reliant on feedback from peers
• more inclined to collaborate
• more oriented toward being their own
“nodes of production”.
Education Trends | Featured News
John K. Waters—13 December 2011
http://coolshots.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

18. http://www.csmonitor.com
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012

19. Coloured caps
Camera
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Projector
Coloured caps
Mirror
Phone blogs.fayobserver.com
MIT’s “Sixth Sense” Wearable...

20. Web meets World
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Camera
Mobile phone
Haptic
GPS Mash-up
Projector
QR codes
Personalised 3-D
Geotagging
Communication
Geomapping Navigation
Video Bar codes
Browser Ambient

21. Learners need ‘digital wisdom’
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012

22. “60% of all Internet
pages contain
misleading
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
information.”
- Thomas Edison
Learners need ‘digital literacies’

23. Managing identity
language
cc Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
name personal data
interaction
identity
reputation images
privacy
privacy
legacy
netiquette
avatar reputation
images
interaction
Learnersname e-safety
need

24. Learners will need new ‘literacies’
• Social networking
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
• Privacy maintenance
• Identity management
• Creating content
• Organising content
• Reusing and repurposing
• Filtering and selecting
• Self presenting
http://www.mopocket.com/

25. Learners will need new ‘literacies’
• Social networking
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
• Privacy maintenance
• Identity management
• Creating content
• Organising content
• Reusing and repurposing
• Filtering and selecting
• Self broadcasting
http://www.mopocket.com/

26. “Knowledge that
is acquired under
Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
compulsion
obtains no hold
on the mind.”
Plato
- Socrates
http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-713124904

27. Here’s a problem
for teachers:
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
“For the first time
we are preparing
students for a
future we cannot
clearly describe.”
- David Warlick
http://communications.nottingham.ac.uk/podcasts/

28. Formal and Informal learning
Shouldn’t we now start to blend formal
and informal learning?
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Formal Learning Informal Learning
20%
80%
Source: Cofer, D. (2000). Informal Workplace Learning.

29. Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Is learning
simply about
gaining
www.newmediamusings.com
knowledge...?

30. connections?
... or about making
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

31. http://zumu.com
Funnels
and Webs
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
One size
does not
fit all
Participation,
not passive
reception of
knowledge
Ivan Illich

32. “It's not what you
know that counts
anymore. It's what
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
you can learn.”
– Don Tapscott
Connections to
your community
of practice
http://www.nationalpost.com

33. http://socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

34. http://socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk
.....are not the same as...
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

35. Engaging and fun!
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

36. anytime
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
personalised
anyplace
http://ithalas.com

37. Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
http://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/
Personalised Learning?

38. Personalisation of learning means ensuring
that individual differences are
acknowledged
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

39. Personal Learning Environments
PLEs are not only personal
web tools and personal
learning networks. PLEs
are much wider than this,
taking in experiences and
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Personal realia, as well as learning
through TV, music, paper
Learning Personal based materials, radio &
Network Learning more formal contexts.
Environment Learning content is not as
important now as where
(or who) to connect to, to
find it.
Personal PWTs are any web tools,
Web Tools (usually Web 2.0) chosen
by learners to support
their lifelong learning.
Source: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/07/anatomy-of-ple.html

40. Intuitive handheld devices
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Natural gesture
interface
Connection to my
learning network
Source: Maria Webster - http://www.ntdaily.com/

41. Communication
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Online, En masse
http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com

42. Collaboration
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

43. http://www.eastone.co.uk/
Web 2.0
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

44. Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Social Media gives everyone
a voice in the community
http://www.uksmallbusinesswebsites.co.uk

45. Moblogging Blogging on the
move to capture
images, sounds,
experiences
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
http://www.lifehack.org

46. Microblogging
Retweeting is not
repetition.
It is amplification.
http://www.xenstudio.co.uk
- Steve Wheeler

47. Microblogging has
potential for the future of
learning -
- if we see it as a new
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
communication
Channel
- Ebner et al
http://www.flickr.com/photos/161/

48. Media Sharing
Video, audio and images ...
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
... all contribute to the
richness of the narrative.
http://flickr.com/photos/22409393@N03/4348233990/

49. Collaborative tools
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
http://media1.break.com/

50. Social Learning
Human activities are
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
mediated by
culturally established
instruments such as
tools and language.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in Society:
The development of higher http://www.phillwebb.net
psychological processes. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press

51. Social Learning
We can use
computers to extend
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
the capabilities of
our own minds. They
can become the
repositories of our
knowledge.
http://www.phillwebb.net
Computers as mind tools

52. Connectivism
We live in a techno-social world
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
Learning occurs inside and outside of
people – we store our knowledge in
computers and in other people –
George Siemens
Source: George Siemens www.connectivism.ca/
http://www.sciencedaily.com

53. Since we cannot experience everything, other
people’s experiences, and hence other people,
become the surrogate for knowledge.
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2010
‘I store my knowledge in my friends’ is an
axiom for collecting knowledge through
collecting people. - Karen Stephenson
http://bradley.chattablogs.com

54. http://socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk
Creativity
Reflection
Evaluation
Collaboration
Critical thinking
Learning to learn
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011

55. Web 1.0: Anything
can link to anything
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Source: Sabin-Corneliu Buraga www.localseoguide.com

56. The eXtended Web
Web 3.0 Web x.0
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Degree of Information Connectivity
Semantic Web Meta Web
Connects knowledge Connects intelligence
Web 1.0 Web 2.0
The Web Social Web
Connects information Connects people
Degree of Social Connectivity

57. We are already seeing early evidence
of the Smart eXtended Web
Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, 2011
Intelligent Filtering
Recommender systems
http://chemistscorner.com

58. From Personal Learning Environment Building
to Professional Learning Network Forming
Malinka Ivanova, Technical University – Sofia, Bulgaria
The 5th International Scientific Conference
eLSE - eLearning and Software for Education,
BUCHAREST, April 09-10, 2009

59. Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Social Networks
Social network sites can be defined as web-based services that allow
individuals to:
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system
(2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection
(3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
within the system.
Danah Boyd, School of Information, University of California-Berkeley
Nicole Ellison, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media, Michigan
State University

60. Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Professional Networks
Professional network generally refers to a professional
network service, a virtual community that it is focused on
professional interactions instead of social interactions.
Wikipedia

61. Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Special-formed learning networks
for life-long learners
A learning network is a group of persons
who create, share, support and study
learning resources (“units of learning”)
in a specific knowledge domain.
Rob Koper, Open University of the Netherlands

62. Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Special-formed learning networks
for life-long learners

63. Social-oriented applications and
professional networks - new opportunities
for learners and educators
Because of their possibilities for:
 data, information and “knowledge fusion”
 enhancing accessibility, productivity and
innovative solutions
 research tools providing
 forming groups of personal and
professional interests
To be successful at knowledge creation,
analysis and dissemination, learners need from
network inter-personal and inter-group
interactions

64. Building PLE on start pages
Personal Learning Environment
PLEs are systems that help learners take control of and manage
their own learning.
This includes providing support for learners to set their own
learning goals, manage their learning;
managing both content and process;
communicate with others in the process of learning and thereby
achieve learning goals.
Wikipedia

65. Building PLE on start pages
Start pages
Web 2.0 applications called “start pages” are
designed to provide a personalized place on the
internet where users can mashup data,
information and knowledge available anywhere,
anytime, including mobile login.
Wikipedia

66. Forming Learning Network for Competence
Development
LMS, Social network, Start page
Forming the learning network of the course Internet
Technologies is to:
(1) provide sustainable value to students, not only during the
course, but also after its finishing
(2) stimulate them to contribute their knowledge, insights
and experiences on a continuous basis

67. - To subject
IV mater
Actively - To peers and
involved and educators
connected - To another
professionals
•In individual or
collaborative
learning
III •In social and
knowledge network Personal
Trying activities
competence
engaging •In pro-actively
contributing own development
insights and
expertise objectives
•In engaging in
informal knowledge
exchange
II •In
revising/extending
Interested competence
development
objectives
• Of relationship
and connections
among peers
I and knowledge
Aware • Of own
opportunity for
value-created
involvement Competence development lifecycle
in a learning network (according
Rogers)

68. Professional Network Organizing
More of the students who are deeply involved
in the subject matter of the course and think in
perspective are interested in:
 more professional information
 contact to experts and specialists
 they joint to groups with special interests,
professional networks
 they receive professional network services
 they can discuss interests
 stay informed
 share knowledge

69. Professional Network Organizing
LMS, Social network, Start page
Personal Learning
• Add tools/services Network • Connect to professionals
• Connect to data, and experts via
information, knowledge • Connect to peers, professional organizations
• Create artifacts educators, family and and networks
friends • Collaborate
• Share thoughts, ideas, • Contribute
resources, artifacts
Personal Learning Professional
Environment Learning Network
Development of Professional Learning Network

70. Professional Network Organizing
PLE as part of Personal Learning Network and Professional
Learning Network
Self-
arrangement
of network
Personal services
Learning Personal
Environment Learning
Network
Receive
professional
network
services Professional
Learning
Network

71. Professional Network Organizing
The transition from PLE to PfLN passes through a middle step of PLN set up
This process is dynamic and continuously
adapted to the present students‟ interests
Some advanced students during the PLE building self-orient and arrange content, knowledge and contacts in
two different networks: personal and professional
The PLE building supports students in socialization and network
processes set up
PLE can be presented as a core for
networks expanding
In some cases the boarders between PLN and PfLN are blurred, because
of coincidence of personal and professional interests

72. Professional (Personal) Learning
Networks
Sherry Crofut
http://conference2009.tie2.wikispaces.net/Professional+(Personal)+Learning+Networks

73. Reasons to use a social bookmarking
network:
•Saved bookmarks will not be deleted when
computers are re-imaged
•You can access your bookmarks from any
computer with the Internet from anywhere
•You can form a network and share
bookmarks with friends and colleagues

74. Online Learning
• Has been around since 1995 or so
• Really grew with the World Wide Web
• Has advanced tremendously
Many positive developments in the
last few years worth sharing…

75. Open Source Applications
• Learning Management Systems
such as Moodle, Sakai, Bodington, ATutor
• Development and CommunityTools
such as LAMS, Connexions, ELGG, Drupal,
WordPress
• Supporting Software
such as Firefox, Thunderbird,
OpenOffice, Audacity

76. Open Educational Resources
• MIT‟s OpenCourseWare project
and the OpenCourseWare Consortium
• Open University‟s Open Courses
• OER initiatives
Hewlett, Wellcome, OECD, UNESCO
• Creative Commons and CC materials
in Flickr, Yahoo, Google, Wikipedia, Wikiversity, etc.

77. New Environments
• Multimedia explosion
podcasts, vodcasts, YouTube, Slideshare, more
• Mobile computing
mobile phones, PDAs, etc.
• The 3D web
Second Life is a start, we will see more of this

78. Access…
• One-to-one computing
such as the Maine laptop project,
now spreading rapidly
• One Laptop per Child
has launched –
computers in Nigeria
• Wireless access
3G networks, WLAN…

79. The Concept…
• Learning is centered around the interests
of the learner
• This learning is immersive – learning by
doing
• The computer connects the student to the
rest of the world

80. Social Networking in eLearning
What you will learn today:
 Understand how social networking is
impacting society
 See examples of common social
networking applications
 Have an opportunity to try social
networking applications
 See resources and data regarding how
social networking can be used within
eLearning

81. Social Networking in eLearning

82. Social Networking in eLearning
• Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social networks as
“…web-based services that allow individuals to….
1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system
2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection
3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these
connections may vary from site to site.”

83. Social Networking in eLearning
The first officially recognized social network
was sixdegrees.com that launched in 1997 and
officially shut down in 2000. According to the
Wharton School of Business, as of October
2008 social networks impacted more than 230
million people worldwide.

84. Social Networking in eLearning
Social Networking Factoids (Nielson Netratings)
• Social networks now represent the
fastest growing Internet segment – 3x
the rate of overall Internet growth. (2009)
• Social networking sites are growing at
the rate of 47% annually, reaching 45%
of total web users. (2006)
• Social networking and blogging are now
the 4th most popular online activities,
according to Nielsen‟s recently released
Global Faces and Networked Places
report. (2009)

85. Social Networking in eLearning
Social Networking Factoids (Nielson Netratings)
• 67% of the global online population now visit a social
network site, and this sector accounts for 10% of all
Internet time. (Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, and
Italy are the fastest growing segments.)
• Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular
online category – ahead of personal Email
• Member sites now account for 1 in every 11 minutes online

86. Social Networking in eLearning
Social Networking Factoids (Nielson Netratings)
Orkut.com in Brazil (operated by Google) has the largest
domestic online reach (70%) of any social network
anywhere in the world, whereas Facebook has the highest
average time per visitor among the 75 most popular
brands online worldwide. However, the amount of time
spent on Facebook.com increased by more than 566% in
only one year. (Nielsen, 2009)

87. Social Networking in eLearning
According to the web site Social Media Defined
(http://www.socialmediadefined.com), Twitter is a microblogging
application that is more or less a combination of instant messaging
and blogging.

88. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
• Back-channel chat where participants at conferences
provide bursts of feedback regarding conference
proceedings to both other conference participants, and to
people who cannot attend the conference (Hargadon,
2009); or preceding a conference via keywords (Parry,
2008). Use Twitter during a webinar to post specific
keywords denoted by a hash (#facebook), and then
participants search on those keyword to see what other
people in the webinar (at other locations) were saying
about the topic. (Mullings, 2009)

89. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
• Class chatter that allows students to continue
discussion topics outside the classroom (Parry, 2008)
• Follow professionals who are actively engaged in
particular topics or events. For example, students can
follow any number of correspondents at MSNBC, CNN,
and other news outlets
• Writing assignments where students build on each
other‟s tweets to generate a story, poem, or haiku.
(Parry, 2008)
• Collaboration with students from other countries
regarding specific topics of political or historical
significance

90. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
• Use Twitter to “track” a word. This will subscribe you to
any post that contains said word. So, for example, a student
may be interested in how a particular word is used. They
can track the word and see the varied phrases in which
people use it. Or, they can track an event, a proper name, or
a movie title. (Send the message “track ______” to Twitter)
(Parry, 2008)
• Storytelling - George Mayo, an eighth grade English
teacher, recently used Twitter as a tool to collaboratively
write a story with his students. Mayo invited his students
and students around the world via his Many Voices Twitter
account to add to an ongoing story with individual "tweets."
After six weeks and the help of more than 100 students and
six different countries, the story was finished. (Parry, 2008)

91. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Use twitterfall.com Use twittervision.com
• Type in a keyword and watch • Twittervision and Twittervision
the results in real time 3D allow you to GeoTag users and
their posts to know where certain
topics are being discussed
http://twittervision.com/maps/show_3d

92. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Use Freshlogic Atlas Use historicaltweets
• Type in a keyword and watch • Learn what it may have been
the results in real time like for historical figures to tweet

93. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Use tweetdeck Use YouTube or twiddeo
• Create “groups” of students • Link to video files from Twitter

94. Social Networking in eLearning

95. Social Networking in eLearning
Facebook is a social networking website that was
originally designed for college students, but is now open
to anyone 13 years of age or older. Facebook users can
create and customize their own profiles with photos,
videos, and information about themselves. Friends can
browse the profiles of other friends and write messages
on their pages. (TechTerms.com)

96. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Use academia.edu Use Facebook Groups
• A facebook-like application • Create a class-centric group

97. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Research Academics
• Analysis of how social networks • Journalism
are formed
http://snipr.com/j5d2m
http://snipr.com/j5di5

98. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Academic Networking •http://www.facebook.com/pages/ww
wdonquijoteorg/27485153678?ref=ts/
• Create a networkedblog
•http://www.inigral.com/products/sch
ools.htm
•http://www.inigral.com/products/stan
dardissimo.php
•http://www.facebook.com/group.php
?gid=18977111129
•http://phoenix.facebook.com/group.p
hp?gid=12471635541
http://www.networkedblogs.com
•http://usask.facebook.com/group.ph
p?gid=12256460391

99. Social Networking in eLearning
A blog (an abridgment of the term „web log’) is a
website, usually maintained by an individual, with
regular entries of commentary, descriptions of
events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Entries are commonly displayed in reverse
chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a
verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Co-Winner, Word-of-the-Year: 2004

100. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Wordpress.com (no fee; hosted option)
Wordpress.org (free software; non-hosted)
Variety of fee-based hosts that support Wordpress
Hostican
Laughing Squid
Bluehost
Mu.wordpress.org (Fee-based; multi-user; multi-host)

101. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
From http://onlinedegreetalk.org/blogs/
• The instructor posts various announcements, information,
assignments, and abbreviated lessons for student reference
• More aptly called an interactive medium of study, students get
an opportunity to express their opinions about a particular
topic or subject posted for discussion over the net
• Articles on various topics provide extensive knowledge on the
subject. Students, in turn, post their comments on these
articles
• Used as a writing portfolio, blogs are found to be very helpful
in expressing thoughts by students about their subject of
study

102. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
• Students find it very useful to post comments, throw
questions to their instructor about the course and the
subjects in particular and talk to fellow students about
course progress and related benefits
• Activities and presentations pertaining to a particular
subject can be discussed over the net by way of blog posts
• Students get to know each other, by not just chatting, but
instead by responding to the posts offered by various
students
• As a means of evaluation, assignments are cross verified
and the qualities of presentations are evaluated by fellow
students positively by way of blog posts and related
responses

103. Social Networking in eLearning
in Academia
Wordpress Plugins (5,000+) Scholarly Citations
•Twitter Tools
•Wordbook
•Daiko‟s Video Widget
•Flickr plugin
http://snipr.com/j5rqk

104. Social Networking in eLearning
A wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the
easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked
Web pages, using a simplified markup language.
Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites
and to power community websites (Wikipedia)

105. Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University, 2012
Where are we now?
http://photos.jeremybrooks.net/?p=65