A4LillyEdwardsWisnesky

A4LillyEdwardsWisnesky

To Do

• please work as a group (minimum: 2 members; max: 6 members) and submit one answer as a group (clearly identifying the members of your group)
• read Fischer, G: "Lifelong Learning - More Than Training", Special Issue on Intelligent Systems/Tools In Training and Life-Long Learning (eds.: Riichiro Mizoguchi and Piet A.M. Kommers), Journal of Interactive Learning Research, Vol. 11, No 3/4, 2000, pp. 265-294. http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/~gerhard/papers/lll99.pdf
• reflect on the following statement about Lifelong Learning:
  • "If the world of working and living relies on collaboration, creativity, definition and framing of problems and if it requires dealing with uncertainty, change, and intelligence that is distributed across cultures, disciplines, and tools-then education should foster transdisciplinary competencies that prepare students for having meaningful and productive lives in such a world."
• in your statement, address the following issues:
  We are asking "YOU" questions - use this as an opportunity to discuss your individual experiences among the members of your group → you can answer individually or find the largest common denominator

Part 1

• do you agree with this statement?
• what does the statement mean for YOU?
• do you prepare yourself to be a lifelong learner? what are your most important activities you undertake?
• does your education at CU prepare you for being a lifelong learner?
  • which activities are most important for this objective?
  • which activities are "in the way" to achieve this objective?

Part 2:

• which support from Information and Communication technologies (or: which Digital and Social Systems) are most important for lifelong learning?
  • describe requirements for them
  • describe your personal experience with them

Group response

1. Members of the Group

Joe Lilly, Peirce Edwards, Jacob Wisnesky

2. Statement Part1

Nice work!

Joe Lilly's response:

I agree with the idea of Lifelong Learning, but disagree with the notion that it is an elusive concept that cannot or is severely hampered by the lack of technology supporting it. I would even contend the argument that the technology and infrastructure for lifelong learning has been in place for many generations -- books and libraries. Granted, technology can and already has helped this infrastructure (the internet, ebooks, elearning), but it also has its downsides.

I have prepared myself to be a lifelong learner. I do this by observing the world around me, investigating things that interest me, discussing with my colleagues and friends about these topics. Generally, the investigation stage tends to feed on itself as I find more and more interesting topics in what I'm currently researching.

I do not have enough experience at CU to really say with authority whither CU prepares people for lifelong learning. Currently, as I am quite unimpressed with CU, I would have to say no. Information tends to be spoon-fed to the students, with the professors connecting the dots that should be up to the students to connect. Learning is a two-fold process: there is the information that is learned and there is the process of learning. The process of learning is almost if not more important than the information that is learned -- this is because the process of learning creates the networks and processes that are crucial to analytical thinking. One must learn how to learn by which one learns how to think. Therefore, especially at a institute of higher education, professors should not and need not spell every conclusion out in agonizing detail, but allow, perhaps even force, students to come to these conclusions themselves. But then again, every education is only what one makes of it themselves.

Pierce Edwards's Response:

I agree in part with the statement because it is important to have the capability to learn new concepts and ideas in order to thrive in an interconnected world. However, having base competencies in a wide range of subjects is not necessarily a requirement. I would argue that the importance of lifelong learning and education in general is not the sum of facts and figures and attaining a certain level of competence in a set of subjects, but rather to have a mind capable of learning those concepts in at any given time in any given situation. That the goal of lifelong learning not be acquiring knowledge, but to continue cultivating a mind that can acquire knowledge.

Here at CU and in my own pursuits, lifelong learning is not a matter of classes but of being involved in projects that make me want to learn. Lectures simply provide a background for discussion and a place to clarify what already is learned talking around a table. Personal projects as well are not about the finished product, nor the skills learned but the process of finding out new and exciting things. I program in my free time to increase peoples ability to play computer games. The program itself is secondary to the joy and process in reverse engineering file formats and discovering hidden patterns. All of these prepare me as a lifelong learner with the only obstacles coming from time restrictions. There just are not enough hours in the day to learn everything I want, and even if there were it would not be possible to focus that long.

Jacob Wisnesky's Response:

I agree with the ideas that generated the Lifelong Learning statement, but I don't think that the statement conveys my interpretation of them very well.

In support of the statement: The world of working and living certainly DOES rely on "collaboration, creativity, definition and framing of problems", and it certainly does require "dealing with uncertainty, change, and intelligence that is distributed across cultures, disciplines, and tools." The problem, however, lies within some of the implications that education should foster competencies and prepare students for the world. If you think of education merely as "preparation" for the world, you're still thinking of education in the way it is presently defined; as a sort of preliminary to the real world that one completes and then leaves behind. Education needs to be redefined; people need to recognize and understand that "education" is an active and ongoing part of their meaningful and productive life in the world. In this regard, you can never really be "prepared" in the traditional sense. The education and preparation are the same ongoing, never-ending process.

Along similar lines, the statement seems to imply that the education is simply providing the empowerment to the student. This really needs to be a bidirectional relationship: the education may empower the student, but the student also needs to make his mark in regards to empowering education, furthering it for himself and others in a sort of loop where both the student and the system benefit. Looking at it in a simple one directional approach of "education to student" still conveys the sort of "student as merely a passive recipient of knowledge" that plagues a lot of education today.

For me, the statement really means something I already know. Education isn't simply something you go through and then leave behind. It's an ongoing and neverending process. I do indeed prepare myself to be a lifelong learner; I recognize that its importance cannot be understated. I don't feel any great desire to document all activities I udnertake that prepare me as a lifelong learner, but I will say that as an undergraduate student with an interest in an area of CS that doesn't have much focus in the undergrad cirriculum, I've spent a lot of outside time doing research, learning on my own, and conversing with professors to further my knowledge far beyond what's available in the classroom.

I do not think my formal education at CU has prepared me to be a lifelong learner. However, I don't think that being a lifelong learner is something that a university can really "teach" and "prepare" someone for. Some people will always have the goal to make it by simply going through the motions. The desire to be a lifelong learner is something I believe is intrinsic. People that desire to be lifelong learners will be. You can try to persuade others to be lifelong learners, but if it isn't something they desire, it cannot be forced on them. Related to this, I think the biggest obstacle to embracing lifelong learning in a formal educational setting may be trying to force lifelong learning onto students that are undecided about it. In undecided students, the beginnings of motivation are often fragile, and forcing things on them can often backfire and remove whatever motivation for lifelong learning that may have been present. The greatest preparation for being a lifelong learner is simply having the motivation and desire to take it upon yourself and be one.

3. Statement Part2

Joe Lilly's response:

The most important aspects of lifelong learning are supported from communication systems (both technological and social) and effective search capabilities. To put this more simply, one needs to be able to have the information communicated to him/her and one needs to be able to find the correct information. My experience with these technologies are basically the same as everyone else's - Google, libraries, table of contents, indexes, etc, etc.

Pierce Edwards's Response:

The most important tools for lifelong learning are those that facilitate the transfer of information. In a word, communication technologies. The internet provides a perfect framework for these technologies to be deployed, but any media which can transmit information between peers, experts and learners suffices. The key requirement is the sharing of knowledge. The knowledge itself is secondary. More is gained in the process of acquisition than simply data. For me personally, I find wikis and bulletin boards to be the most useful places to learn. Wikis have a certain critical mass of users required before they can really be successful as a place to learn but even a low population bulletin board can be suitable. In the former case, learners are more passive but once they reach conclusions of their own or make discoveries which can contribute to the knowledge of the whole. For the latter however, it can be a place to share information, ask questions and posit ideas. In both cases, but strongly favoring BBSs, the strength is in the sharing of information in a meaningful way.

Jacob Wisnesky's Response:

Anything that bolsters communication is probably the most important thing for lifelong learning. People know different things and are strong in different areas. Communication, whether it's in the form of email, instant messaging, videoconferencing, or using a wiki, always helps to exchange ideas and information. Having ongoing exchanges with people helps build knowledge on a continual basis.

As for requirements, effective communication often benefits from the ability to connect with people no matter where they are. Being able to converse with someone when you're nowhere near each other is a huge requirement for effective communication. Newer technologies that could allow the sharing of documents and video conferencing from anywhere can only help to further connect people.

My experiences with communications technologies have been overwhelmingly positive. I've been able to reach professors with email, classmates via instant messaging, and coworkers via video. I've learned many things from all of them, as I'm sure they've all learned from me in one way or another. While there may be many new exotic technologies that seek to facilitate lifelong learning, sometimes the most effective ones are tried and true. Things like simple communication through already available tools may be overlooked in favor of newer things, but vintage communication is so key that it would be difficult if not impossible to be a lifelong learner without it.