The “Other” Department
Global Education
!"#$%$&'()*(+,"$"-.)/"012(,)*003)!"%$4()50,6+')7489+1$0"
by Laura Vidal
Edited by Danielle M. Kuehnel
Proofread by Kamden Summers
© 2010 Laura Vidal
F
ew have recognized the need for “Accidental Learning” (Conner 2008), con-
constant evolution in education cepts which will be explored further in a
while pointing clearly at the core of later column. These concepts receive dif-
its main ideals as the American philoso- ferent names and put to work different
pher John Dewey did. This is seen in his strategies. Among those, the notion of
My Pedagogic Creed, published 1897, a invisible learning tries to be part of the
time in which many ideas emerged, try- study of experience in learning through
ing to enrich the philosophical, ideologi- the online participation of different ac-
cal, and social arena in the United States. tors, coming not only from academia, but
What I would like to point out specifically also from students and regular Internet
about Dewey’s ideas is his recognition of users. Thus, this new notion, coming from
experience as one of the main bases of the big log of informal learning, is being
education- ideas that are still struggling constructed, discussed and shared thanks
to be recognized inside formal educa- to new media as I write these lines and
tion. According to this philosopher and you read them.
his critiques of classical ways of teaching
education, “is a process of living and not The invisible-learning community shares
ideas around the necessity to understand,
a preparation for future living” (Dewey
value, and take the most of what happens
1897).
not only inside school, but also outside.
In this same spirit, researchers, educators, As they have demonstrated with the big
and theoreticians in education have tried boom of new technologies and new me-
to bring the values of experiences to the dia (like Blogger, Twitter, or Facebook, to
validation of learning and knowledge. name a few of the most popular ones),
As some examples, we could mention more and more questions about new
theories and explorations on “Ubiquitous ways of learning can be added. With ini-
Learning” (Cope and Kalantzakis 2009), tiatives like these, theories and strategies
“Expanded Learning” (Freire 2008), and like those of Dewey’s are kept alive and
active with an
exciting ele-
ment: We can
also be a part
of the evolu-
tion and the
use of these
ideas. With
the crisis of
formal edu-
cation and
the unequal
access to
school suf-
fered by an
immense part
of the world
population,
discussions
around alter-
native ways
of learning,
like this one,
become a Content: Regulatory Dimensions. V. Mad
part of what
would really
be innova-
American educator and philosopher John Dewey, featured on a tive in prac-
1968 U.S. Postal Stamp. tice for most
Image courtesy Sebjarod/public domain
teaching processes. Popular phrases like
“the school of life” and “the value of expe-
rience” have been used in common con-
versations for years; is it then finally time
to make it part of what we call a “good
education”? Would some strategies based
on the value of the experience ease the
frustration that comes with the impos-
sibility of fulfilling educational programs
that only few can follow? This is a way to
point out the opportunities in the big ad-
venture of knowledge occurring outside
the box of the long cherished academia.
Could this make us more aware of the
learning feature that comes with move-
ment and interaction in this world?
With the advances of technology, these
questions are in front of us more than
ever. The learners are not only those in-
side a classroom, but also each and every
human being interacting with his or her
environment. An interaction expanded
now more than ever in a vast world that,
through new technologies (and mostly
the Web 2.0), communicates and recog-
nizes itself as diverse and alike at the same
time. If you want to see a new concept be
born and grow and have ideas to share,
then go ahead and participate. Knowl-
edge of any kind will be welcome. Inter-
actions among researchers, students and
curious people are always the beginning
of wonderful ideas and also tend to leave
a footprint in each participant’s learning
process.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conner, Marcia. 2008. Informal Learning.
<http://marciaconner.com/intros/informal.
html>. Accessed January 2010.
Cope, Bill, and Kalantzis, Mary. 2009. Ubiqui-
tous Learning. Champaign, Illinois: Univer
sity of Illinois Press.
Dewey, John. 1897. My Pedagogic Creed
School Journal 54: 77-80. <http://dewey.
pragmatism.org/creed.htm>. Accessed Janu
ary 2010.
Freire, Juan. 2009. Universities and Web 2.0:
Institutional Challenges. In User Generated
huri, ed. Pp. 111-121. Hyderabad: The Icfai
University Press. [This article was originally
published in 2008 in eLearning Papers No 8.
Reprinted with permission. <www.elearn
ingpapers.eu>. Accessed January 2010. !
June 2010 31