Theories for Learning with Emerging Technologies

This chapter is designed to give an overview of some of the traditional and new learning and instructional theories that guide the effective development and deployment of emerging technologies in education. Theories force us to look deeply at big-picture issues and grapple with the reasons why our technology use is likely to enhance teaching and learning. This chapter provides an overview of various visions for the use of educational technology and learning theories associated with those visions, and concludes with a brief look at three modern, Netcentric theories of learning. Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting points and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up. (Albert Einstein, in Einstein & Infield, 1938, 158–9)

[1]  J. A. Crowther.  The Evolution of Physics: , 1938, Nature.

[2]  M. Smith.  Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers. , 1951 .

[3]  Gary James Jason,et al.  The Logic of Scientific Discovery , 1988 .

[4]  L. Vygotsky.  Genesis of the higher mental functions. , 1991 .

[5]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Learning in a Networked World: New Roles and Responsibilties , 1998 .

[6]  Kathryn Graziano.  The innovator's dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail , 1998 .

[7]  T. Anderson,et al.  Using Constructivism in Technology-Mediated Learning: Constructing Order out of the Chaos in the Literature , 1999 .

[8]  Chris Kenyon,et al.  From andragogy to heutagogy , 2000 .

[9]  Mark W. McElroy,et al.  Integrating complexity theory, knowledge management and organizational learning , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[10]  Alfred Bork,et al.  Multimedia in Learning , 2001 .

[11]  T. Anderson.  Getting the Mix Right Again: An Updated and Theoretical Rationale for Interaction , 2003 .

[12]  Peter Van Rosmalen,et al.  Agent Support for online Learning , 2004 .

[13]  Harith Alani,et al.  On the Emergent Semantic Web and Overlooked Issues , 2004, SEMWEB.

[14]  Colin Tattersall,et al.  New directions for lifelong learning using network technologies , 2004, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[15]  Terry Anderson,et al.  The Educational Semantic Web: A Vision for the Next Phase of Educational Computing , 2004 .

[16]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Towards a Theory of Online Learning , 2004 .

[17]  T. Anderson,et al.  The Educational Semantic Web: Visioning and Practicing the Future of Education , 2004 .

[18]  George Siemens.  Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age , 2004 .

[19]  Jan H. F. Meyer,et al.  Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning , 2005 .

[20]  Ulises A. Mejias.  Re-approaching Nearness: Online communication and its place in Praxis , 2005, First Monday.

[21]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Distance learning – Social software’s killer ap? , 2005 .

[22]  G. Leinhardt,et al.  Going the Distance With Online Education , 2006 .

[23]  H. King.  Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge , 2006 .

[24]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[25]  Chris Kenyon,et al.  Heutagogy: A Child of Complexity Theory , 2007 .

[26]  Jon Dron,et al.  Collectives, Networks and Groups in Social Software for E-Learning , 2007 .

[27]  J. Horn.  Human Research and Complexity Theory , 2008 .

[28]  Rita Kop,et al.  Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? , 2008 .

[29]  Robert M. Bernard,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education , 2009 .

[30]  Philip Barker,et al.  Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and beyond: From Production to Produsage , 2009 .

[31]  Choton Basu,et al.  Disrupting Class How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns , 2009 .

[32]  Alexander M. Millkey.  The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable , 2009 .

[33]  Stephen Downes,et al.  Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge , 2010 .

[34]  Gilson Yukio Sato,et al.  Agent and multi-agent applications to support distributed communities of practice: a short review , 2012, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.

[35]  Luis Miguel,et al.  (THREE TYPES OF INTERACTION (3TI) IN ONLINE LEARNING OF CURRICULUM AND TEACHING CAPACITIES (CTCS) OF TEACHERS OF THE CANARY ISLANDS' EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM) , 2011 .

[36]  E. Wenger,et al.  Promoting and assessing value creation in communities and networks: a conceptual framework , 2011 .

[37]  Manuela M. Veloso,et al.  Modeling and learning synergy for team formation with heterogeneous agents , 2012, AAMAS.

[38]  Lisa Marie Blaschke,et al.  Heutagogy and Lifelong Learning: A Review of Heutagogical Practice and Self-Determined Learning. , 2012 .