I agree with Greenhow and Lewin’s (2016) view that social media bridges the formal and informal learning divide. Depending on the context and the objectives of the learning activity, social media platforms can support both formal and informal learning. These platforms certainly reflect the methodologies of constructivism and connectivism. Formal learning examples tend to be more structured and examples include: in YouTube, providing students with playlists aligned with objectives; and using Linkedin Learning which offers certified courses. Informal learning is freer and is driven by curiosity, interest and social interaction, examples include: providing a prompt that facilitates further investigation; and exposing learners to podcast materials that stimulates ideas and inquiry.
There was a strong focus this week on informal and formal learning for me. The beauty of social media platforms is that offer opportunities for both depending on the target audience, context, triggers for learning and the objectives of the learning activity. The functionality of social media platforms is powerful in terms of addressing a range of leaning needs; however, it also requires skills operators who can select the right platform and structure the learning content coherent (relative to the platform) in order to achieve the stated objectives.
This week I focused primarily on the two key readings relative to the following: networked knowledge activities (intro to the framework, the types of activities & how they can inform the design of social media learning tasks); & using networked knowledge activities to examine learning on social network sites (the characteristics of engagement such as preference for passive forums, the domination of certain platforms, how the networks are limited by the participants scope of engagement). I found learning more about networked knowledge activities valuable as the articles defined the framework and the component parts well. It was also good to get an understanding of how participants perceive online environments and how they miss opportunities to engage actively & build networked knowledge skills.
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