Now that I have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, I would say that my view on how I learn has not changed, per se. Rather, I would say that based on my understanding of Social Learning and Connectivisim, that my view has become more refined. Of course, I have a clearer understanding between learning theories and learning stlyes now. I was unaware of the differentiation between the two at that time. I had identified that I learn kinesthetically. I did not know that was a learning style. However, I am now able to see how that particular learning style is supported by the Social Learning and Connectivism learning theories. Likewise, now that I understand Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (MI) as catagories of learning styles, I am able to, once again, recognize that my primary MI's: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Musical, are supported by these two learning theories as well. In this way, I believe that my original reflection on how I learn best has become better developed.
One of the ideas that I have learned over the past weeks that can further explain my own personal learning preferences is that "in developing [one's] powers of thinking, [one] builds up new insights. Any mistakes are treated as opportunities to learn rather than as errors - an important feature of constructive learning (Boyle 1997)" (Semple, 2000, p. 4). With Social Learning, collaboration is a wonderful way to use other individuals' knowledge as resources for "...new knowledge, re-organized knowledge or additonal understanding..." (Semple, 2000, p.5) which alleviates an emphasis on mistakes and promotes learning as an opportunity. Collaboration is also a great way to untilize the Interpersonal MI.
Other ideas that explain my personal learning preferences are those that "...take into account the effect of social interaction and the influence of cultural transmission" (Semple, 2000, p. 4). I believe that this helps me understand why I am better able to remember a "foreign" name by having it spelled for me. Different cultures have different pronunciations of consonants and vowels. By hearing the sound of a foreign name and seeing it in my mind when it is spelled, I am able to collaboratively incorporate that cultural language context into my own experience, thereby constructing the knowledge of what that individual's name is and how to correctly pronounce it.
One last idea that explains my personal learning preferences "...is the idea that we can no longer personally experience everything there is to experience as we try to learn something new. We must create networks...thereby 'cross-pollinating' the learning environment (Siemens, 2005, para. 21)" (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008, p.2). I believe that Connectivism is a natural extension of Social Learning (Constructivism) brought about by the culture of the 21st century, and is a natural outlet for all of the MI's to be included in the learning experience.
Technology plays a predominant role in my learning. "Electronic communication stretches physical boundaries, enables networked learning communities to be established and the pooling of information in collaborative knowledge building data bases, independent of time or distance. Links can be made to real-world situations or experiences providing meaningful activities and learning contexts (NSW Dept Education and Training, 1997)" (Semple, 2000, p. 5). The newest technologies: mobiles, cloud computing, geo-everything, the personal web, semantic-aware applications, and smart objects, will work together to improve the way we search for information, record information, organize information, and create new information and tools. Specifically, "cloud-based applications can handle photo and video editing...or publish presentations and slide shows. Further, it is very easy to share content created with these tools, both in terms of collaborating on its creation and distributing the finished work" (Johnson, Levine, & Smith, 2009, p. 12). In addition, "tools like Delicious and Diigo use tagging as a means of saving and organizing web links" (Johnson, Levine, & Smith, 2009, p. 20).
In conclusion, although my chronological age may prohibit me from being classifed as a "digital age" learner, I do believe that my learning styles and preferences qualify me to profess myself as one. Social Learning, Connectivism, Multiple Intelligences and Technology truly provide a synergistic relationship for 21st Century pedagogy and andragogy.
REFERNCES:
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism
Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009). The Horizon Report (2009 ed.). Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/
Semple, A. (2000). Learning theories and their influence on the development and use of educational technologies. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 46(3).
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