Interesting that 62.6% of respondents use social for informal learning, but only 26.4% use it to support formal learning. This gets to one of my key issues: we need to formalize the relationship between traditional institutions and emerging learning opportunities and the technology that supports them. Educators need to keep up with the latest technology so they can use the informal methods of the learners to reinforce formal learning in a recognized and useful way. We need to teach this integration, not just let it happen.
Here are a few questions to consider about the relationship between formal and informal learning:
- How do informal learners assess accuracy and relevance?
- How do they find sources?
- How do they track and transform informal learning and turn it into knowledge that can be applied?
- How and when do they discuss the importance of informal learning’s impact on another part of their lives?
- What is the relationship between the informal learning and other domains?
- How, if ever, is their informal learning recognized?
- Do they share their informal knowledge as educators (do they transfer knowledge)? If so, when, why and how?
- What is the impact of informal learning on the relevance of formal learning?
- Will informal learning achieve a tipping point of recognition and relevance?
- Does formal learning, with degrees and certificates, create an insurmountable barrier to entry for other learning models based on the recognition of its declarations of knowledge?
- Does formal learning need to stay competitive to maintain the relevance of degrees and certificates, or is the granting authority enough?
And many others. What do you think this means? Should mean?
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