We* are bringing together a group of people who are interested in exploring
low cost learning solutions that give learners more control over how they organise their learning. This includes approaches to
self-managed collaborative learning that tap into freely available online tools and resources.
We call these approaches "
agile learning" to distinguish them from large, monolithic, top-down, provider-led learning initiatives. As budgets are squeezed at the same time as broadband becomes more available and high-quality online resources become more popular, agile learning is going to be a rapidly growing field, and will become mainstream by the end of the decade.
As its name suggests, agile learning can be as formal or informal as learners want. Face-to-face sessions and tutors are very much part of the mix, but under terms chosen by groups of learners rather than administrators or tutors.
The ingenuity to make all this work coherently is the key thing. There's a
growing body of examples of the approach in action, such as the celebrated Hole In The Wall computers in India...
and now Tyneside. We want to explore how we can patch together
self-organised learning in commerce, community and education. How can learners who share interests best use freely available communication platforms — from email lists and social networks to Google Wave — and open resources from the likes of iTunes U, YouTube EDU and universities?
This 16-question, 8- or 10-minute survey is aimed at anyone who is curious about agile learning and/or might be interested in joining our group to discuss these issues online and face-to face -- probably mostly as providers of learning, but also as learners. By completing it, you will
shape group activities (which we will initiate) that reflect your interests and needs.
Thank you!
* This agile learning initiative has been started by
David Jennings and
Seb Schmoller. We are independent of technology/solution vendors and are currently self-financing our work on this initiative. You can see what we're up to on
Amplify,
Twitter, and
Facebook.
