2018: Knowledge & research, agility and neuroscience

Already in 2016 I reviewed my digital year that passed and now I am expanding this review beyond digital resources to my most valuable resources 2018 which helped me advance professionally and personally. Don’t have much time? These are the essentials of what I write about in this blog post:

• Knowledge & Resarch
  • Aså Wikforss’ work, especially her book “Alternativa fakta”
  • Research Digest by the British Psychological Society
  • German journal Personal Quarterly
• Agility
  • Personal Quarterly 03/2018 
• Neuroscience
  • “Brain & Behavior” by Bob Garrett and Gerald Hough
  • “In your own image” by George Zarkadakis
  • Documentary “My Love Affair with the Brain”
  • Episode 13 of the Psych Crunch podcast

21 blog posts in 21 days

One day I listened to an episode of Framgångspodden (I think it was episode 124) and host Alexander Pärleros said something about habits. He stated that, to make something a habit, you would need to to it for 21 days in a row. In that moment, I did not really care if that was true or not. But I cared about my blog. In fact, I wanted to delete it. When I logged in, I found too many good drafts to waste. So I decided to give it one last try: Blog for 21 days in a row and see how it goes. Here is how it went.

Cover letter to a recruiter

Dear   ,

I could look up you name in the job posting but I am writing so many applications that I keep loosing track of the hiring responsible.

Anyways, I thought the position sounds interesting. I would love to write something outstanding about my perfect fit. But your job posting reads exactly the same as all the others. I don’t really know how to make my cover letter special but I know I am the right one for the role.

And my fit for the company? 100%. Because you have a great company culture and you focus on people. I am a great human being.

I have exactly the years of experience you are asking for. No matter what I have taken away from these years or not. I have them. Trust me.

Of course I can work with all the weird internal tools and systems which you developed yourself. Nobody else uses them but I hacked into your company network to find out that they have the same features as the common ones on the market.

You do project management completely different? Well, then you are doing it wrong but I am happy to learn it your way.

In all your e-mails to follow I will overlook the myriad typos and grammar mistakes. You insist me to be fluent in three languages while you cannot properly communicate in one.

You will most probably call me out of the blue to ask me numerous questions and cannot answer one business related question yourself. That’s okay. I know you are working on several hiring processes in parallel. And I can relate to that.

I’ve several other application processes ongoing and as soon as you tell me where I am on your shortlist, I am happy to share details about my processes as well.

Yours faithfully,

One in a million

PS: You might have other open positions and you will ask me for which role I fit best. With all the cold calls, online tests, un/structured interviews and case studies you will put me through – why don’t you tell me?

What I learned from my Nova Experience 2016

Nova is a global talent network, which I joined in December 2015. The Nova Experience is a weekend where about 40 selected network members from all over Europe gather to share, learn and connect.

I still remember that it took me a while to decide if I wanted to go. It was August 2016 and I was commuting back and forth between two countries. In the end I went and it was one of the best decisions that year. My take-aways from the Nova Experience 2016 (theme: “How can a global talent network make Europe a place for everyone?”) where that there are so many talented people in the world which we need to provide with great opportunities, that I don’t want to compromise on my values and that individuality is weird at times.

Are you really prepared for diversity?

This intention of this sally is not to argue if companies (and we all in genernal) do benefit from diversity or not. I believe the answer is yes and there are other places to discuss this opinion. I also want to avoid emotionally-loaded aspects of diversity like gender, race, age and the like. This story is about my experience in a project team with a diverse range of ideas. Following the public debate, diversity of ideas means (per se) a good outcome of the project and in the end a good result for the company. And we have created a great result! But it’s naive to think that this happened over night and without any challenges.

Making friends with research (Part II)

In my last sally I wrote about how you to dig deeper into research. The general idea is to find resources (news, your favorite blog, a book, a TV show) shouting/writing/miming out loud “Research says …” in a way that the topic really appeals to you and you want to find out more. You take it from there and dig deeper into the article of the researchers cited. But what if you don’t find anything interesting and you still want to give it a try with these academics? Let me walk you through a recent “Human Resource Management Review” article which maps the world of HR in a brilliant way. You will make friends with research the other way around – getting the overview first and zooming into a topic you like.

Reviewing my (digital) 2015

My digital 2015?

This post is inspired by Alexandra Samuel‘s HBR article “Your Digital Year in Review“. She suggests reflecting on digital habits throughout the year by considering the four foci productivity, inspiration, socialisation and learning opportunities. Technology plays an important role in my daily routines and too seldom do I reflect on if I truly benefit from it the way I should. As Samuel puts it, when she is describing insightful online moments:

But those aha! moments probably won’t come from watching cat videos or taking Buzzfeed quizzes.

I catch myself watching and playing these, too. But honestly said, they did not make it to my reflection list. But if not the cat videos and quizzes – what are my online aha! – moments? Online and offline has become much more interwoven in my life. And the four foci symbolise this to a certain extend. Even if I have online aha! moments, they are worth nothing without applying them to my offline, analog me. No truly inspiring moment can happen purely on- or offline.

Productivity

Getting things done in a meaningful way. This is my definition of productivity. It’s not simply doing things. It is about finding the right way of getting things done and prioritise in a suitable manner. My personal blog is by far the most long-term productive tool I have ever started. Even though there were times I did not post frequently or did not know what to write about / how to formulate my thoughts, it was the progress that contributed to my productivity.

Personal Blog

A blog (a truncation of the expression weblog)^[1] is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries (“posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first). [Wikipedia]

Becoming confident

Most and foremost, I remember the frustration when I hesitated to press the publish button when I started blogging. What would others think and how would they react? Now that my post is out there, I cannot take it back, can I? Insecurity was followed by bitter frustration and irritation after publishing a post. No one reads this anyway, so why should I keep writing? In the end I realised that this blog is what I called it. A personal blog. And that a personal blog is not about clicks and comments. But about my own learning process and my own experience. It gave me a lot of confidence to write, actually publish and share my thoughts and research. In addition, I reflected on my arguments, line of reasoning and wording.

Expressing quality

Blogging is not about frequency. Frequency is no indicator for quality. I catch myself judging a blog’s quality by the date of the last post published. This is definitely not fair. The aim of frequent post-publishing is only relevant if there is something resonable to write about. Blogging over a longer period enables me to remember and reflect on what I have done. It illustrates a process. In times where I questioned if I had done anything productive at all during the last days, weeks and month; my blog reminds me of all the great thoughts I had.

Reflecting, moving on and connecting blogging and productivity

My initial idea in 2015 was not to generates clicks and likes. It was a year of pushing things out and getting confident. I still have a hard time focussing on a theme and framing a reasonable amount of information. This is ongoing work for me. I still learn to balance between reworking a draft and deciding on when it is time to publish it. Writing about my thoughts feels meaningful and this is why I produce these artefacts I can refer to and reflect upon. In 2016 I want to work further on linking, tagging and spreading my posts to the right people. An important requirement for this is to generate ideas of topics I am interested in so I feel motivated to invest my time in.

Inspiration

For me inspiration comes in four steps. Find great sources which inspire me, get input from these sources, apply it to my own situation and get feedback on how that worked out. In retro perspective I decide if the identified resources are still inspirational. Great digital tools support me during all of these four steps. LinkedIn has done so in different ways. I used groups and following function to get the input I thought was most inspiring as well as my own profile content to keep reworking my biography.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn /ˌliŋkt.ˈɪn/ is a business-oriented social networking service. [Wikipedia]

Creating self-awareness

The overwhelming power of a professional network is the combination of a personal profile and the evolving network around it. LinkedIn is not your CV. I heard this during a talk on professional storytelling and couldn’t agree more. It became a continuous progress to change my profile and frame the person I am. My profile is (and probably will be) always in the making. It motivates me to ask questions like: who am I, where do I come from, where am I now, where do I want to go and how do others perceive me? Even though I might not have definite answers to all of these questions, there is this satisfactory feeling of being more certain with every saved edit.

Identifying the inspirers in my network

Inspiration, as I pointed out earlier, is a never ending process. It is about finding sources of inspiration, keeping them or moving on. This can be a very long and demanding development. In 2015 I realised what having a network and being part of a network means. I started identifying central actors of my network and how they contribute to this network. What does this person share, post or like – and do I consider this as inspirational? In 2016 I want to focus on how I can see more of those inspirational people and even on how I myself can become inspirational for others.

Socialisation

When moving to a new place it requires initiative to reach out to people. I realised that just going out and meeting up is completely different from connecting and networking with people. It feels like I was wasting my time browsing the web, instead of just getting out into the real world.

Lunchback

This is the reason that we started Lunchback, an app that can be used to find yourself a mentor in your local area. [Lunchback on The Local]

Being clear in what you want (and what not)

Until finding Lunchback, I really had become fed up with all the effort I put into networking. It always resulted in numerous, but loose connections. With Lunchback I realised that as important as socialization is – it’s even more important to be aware of what you want to get out of it and choose your events accordingly. I began to work on being concrete with my feedback requests. Why do I want to speak to this person? What do I want to have feedback on? How do I formulate my request concisely and precisely? Until today I have not received a “no” but rather long-term intense contacts who support me in my personal development.

Daring to try something new

When it comes to socialisation, I tend to stick to my old habits. After all, they have worked out in different contexts and with different people. When time becomes a scarce resource however, I start wondering about with whom I really want to spend my time and why. This might be a good time to dare trying something new. I admit that it felt a bit scary to use the app at first. In the end, you are meeting a person for real, over lunch, spontaneously. But it’s worth it to go out there and try it. The matching process is thought through and all the people I met where and are supportive in so many ways.

Learning Opportunites

Learning is understanding a concept, connecting it with what your already now and share it with others. I have taken many MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) in 2015. Not all of them where meaningful. But most of them did make a difference. I would say that they represent a new understanding of learning. The idea of life-long learning and individualised (micro) learning opportunities anytime anywhere.

MOOCS

A massive open online course (MOOC /muːk/) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. [Wikipedia]

Learning how to learn

I have always been fascinated by those people that strive for learning something new every day. When I first heard about MOOCs I was browsing the web on online learning. It is impressive how many resources are out in the WWW if you want to learn about something. However, I sometimes miss structure and quality of content. Even though, not all MOOCs I took provided these, they equipped me with guidance and a learning path. In the end, I learned a lot about how I learned best. By interacting with others, answering questions and producing my own learning artefacts.

Sharing is caring

Learning online was a new experience and I needed my time to adapt to a new environemnt. But during this process I learned what the buzz-phrase “sharing is caring” means. By creating my own learning artifact and sharing it with my learning cohort, I could actually recieve meaningful feedback not only by the facilitator but by my peers. Especially in adult education this concept is valuable, because everybody comes with a backpack of prior knowledge and experience which contribute to the learning experience. Also, sharing knowledge means you are trying to verbalize what is in your head. This is a very demanding process and I truly believe by continuing doing so in 2016 I can contribute to others’ learning experience as well.

My digital 2016!

Here is my digital bucket list which summarizes my want-to-do’s and will-do’s of 2016.

• Join a network that inspires me on- and offline. Contribute to this network.
• Desing, create and improve my social media appearance.
• Work on my contact follow-up and reach out to inspiring people more proactively.
• Organize my apps in a way I want them to use – not in a way I use them.
• Reflect daily. And talk about it to someone I trust. Dare to talk about my dreams.

I encourage you to write your list, too. I would love to hear about it! If you don’t feel ready to share it, write it down for yourself. And who knows, you might share it in your digital review 2017?

 

Back on track

It has been a while since I published my last blog post. Many things have happened and new opportunities opened up. It was hard resisting the creation of a new post barely for the sake of writing something. What this period has taught me is that at times it is best to step back and wait patiently until it feels right to move on.

I spend my summer in South Korea, participating in Korea University’s International Summer Campus. It was an inspiring time, where I put my efforts into an Introduction to Computer Science and Brain Science, as well as a beginner’s course in Korean language. Besides the academic achievements it was a personal challenge for me, diving into a culture so different from what I am used to back in Gothenburg. I made new friends, got the opportunity to travel the country with old friends and am grateful to say that this experience helped me in focusing again on future challenges.

After a calm and quiet first week back in Sweden, things are moving a bit quicker now.

First of all, I decided to go “back to the roots” by attending an entrepreneurship course at Handels in the autumn term. The optional 30 credits in our Master’s programme allow me to transfer these course credits as well as potentially the credits from an ICT policies course at Chalmers in the second half of the term.

Secondly, I am confident to have found an opportunity for my Master thesis supervision. The research question will be both – challenging and interesting – and I am looking forward to dig into the topic and clarify administrative details.

Thirdly, and very relieving for me, I decided to (and managed to – so far 😉 ) speak Swedish only from now on. I can rely on great support from my family and friends and I am happy that I managed to break my language-blockage, which put a lot of pressure on me without me consciously noticing it.

All in all, it feels good to be back – and I am looking forward to a new academic year!

About the Learning Through Life Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IFLL)

This text was originally handed in as assignment 3 of course PDG083 V15 Contemporary Adult Education (Samtida vuxenutbildning) at Gothenburg University on March 1st 2015. 

In this assignment I am comparing two articles published in Volume 29 of the International Journal of Lifelong Learning in 2010: Learning through life: A response to a special issue written by Tom Schuller in Issue 6 and ‘The planet will not survive if it’s not a learning planet’: sustainable development within learning through life written by Shirley Walters in Issue 4. In my comparison I will focus on the problems discussed by the authors, how these are developed, what the conclusions are and which concepts are used. First of all, both articles refer to the Learning Through Life Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IFLL); a report by the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE), which investigates lifelong learning in the UK and was published in 2009. Whereas Schuller is one of the authors and the director of the inquiry; Walters is professor and director of the Division for lifelong learning at the University of Western Cape, South Africa. Issue 4 of Volume 29 of the International Journal of Lifelong Learning is a special issue dedicated to commentaries on the IFLL report. In its introduction Jarvis closes by writing “[…] Schuller will write a response to the papers in this special issue” (p. 400). This emphasizes the intention to support the ‘style of interchange’ mentioned by Schuller, who calls for an active dialogue concerning the IFLL report (p. 757). Walters contributed her paper on the sustainable development theme to this special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Learning and appeares as the third author in this volume.

Walters tackles the theme of sustainable development ‘from a ‘South’ perspective’ (p. 427) by criticizing the British lense as being rather a critique than a critical analysis, but finally commemorating her intention to constructively contributing to the discussion by looking for alternatives, “which can produce a more democratic, egalitarian learning planet, which can sustain life for centuries to come.”  Walters’ main critique regarding the sustainable development theme is that it firstly, reaches further than national borders and secondly, implies more than climate change. She points out a clear lack of defining the term sustainable development in the IFLL report. Furthermore, she argues that the report ignores the urgency of the “current global economic and environmental crises” (p. 430). Whereas she agrees on the four life stages developed by the report, she questions the transferability of demographics from countries of the North (e.g. the UK) to countries of the South. In addition, Walters points out the missing concept of ‘life deep learning’ (p. 432), within which learning embraces spiritual components as well. She additionally values the idea of the citizens’ curriculum, but identifies a need to elaborate it’s financial and applicable implications. Whereas she agrees with the importance of ‘joined-up cross-sectoral approaches’ (p. 434) being made by the report she identifies a need to discover the challenges of these approaches more thoroughly. All in all, she refers to Wallerstein in her final conclusion, where she evaluates the report (besides all its assets) as an interim-solution or intermediate result rather than pointing to a “‘[…] new successor system that we want’” (p. 435).

Analysing Schuller’s text, I will focus on these two text passages, which refer directly to Walters paper. However, for a general overview, in his paper he first makes some general comments on design and purpose of the IFLL and then focusses on some commentaries in the special issue, which he sees as most “fruitful” to enrich the dialogue on the report.

On page 760 Schuller acknowledges the underdevelopment of the theme sustainable development mentioned by Walters and the fact that this theme did not ‘get the weight, which it deserved’. In response to this critique, he points out three dimensions, which he sees as crucial for further investigations of the theme (and which the commission ‘would have liked to explore’ but was not in the position to). The first dimension is authority and how to select the powerful voices which influence policies. The second dimension is the connection between learning and action, in particular how awareness supports or depresses ‘people’s capacity for action’ (p. 760). As a third dimension, Schuller elaborates morality, asking “how do individuals and groups learn to grapple […], and to continue to live together even when there is no consensus?” (p. 760). All in all, Schuller stays close to the issues of climate change and global warming, contributing to Walters’ assumption that this is the perspective on sustainable development within the IFLL report.

Under the heading “A spiritual dimension” Schuller discusses commentaries from Walters, both referring to “the spiritual dimension of learning—‘life‐deep’ as Walters terms it” (p. 762). Schuller points out that by avoiding the term spirituality, the report aimed at avoiding a terminological debate. He accepts Walters’ challenging the transferability of the detected demographic trends from the UK to the South but reminds the reader that one “central thrusts of LTL is the need to take account of demographic trends in the UK” (p. 762). From Schuller’s point of view, demographic developments per se will shift the focus to a more central perspective on spirituality, where “intergenerational equity” comes into play (as opposed to individualization). More generally, it becomes important how older generations address spirituality and how they gain visibility is improving opportunities for other generations.

Hence, Schuller’s paper operates as a response to Walters’, focusing on two main commentaries (one of it being her main critique: the lack of defining the term sustainable development”). By doing so, Schuller himself fulfills his (and the IFLL report’s) claim for an ongoing constructive dialogue over the IFLL report. Both authors value each others work by evaluating as well as by giving recommendations for improvement. This is especially interesting when taking into account that the report has already been published when both papers are released. By saying so, Walters and Schuller contribute to an ongoing discussion on lifelong learning policies within the field of adult education independently of publication dates and deadlines. In addition, the authors abstain from criticising all possible aspects of the other’s work in detail but rather focus on specific themes that they find important and relevant. This offers the opportunity to evaluate the work through different lenses and thus allows an interpretation from different view angles.

 

References

Jarvis, P. (2010). Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning. International Journal of Lifelong learning, 29(4), 397-400.

Schuller, T. (2010). Learning through life: A response to a special issue. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 29(6), 757-766.

Walters, S. (2010). ’The planet will not survive if it’s not a learning planet’: sustainable development within learning through life. International Journal of Lifelong learning, 29(4), 427-436

Remixing and -using of resources: Actor-Network Theory

Last week’s lecture on actor-network theory reminded me on my final paper written for my first course on “Technology, knowledge and learning: An introduction”. The resources and discussions in this course turned out to be a solid base for understanding the Actor-Network Theory (ANT). In fact, my final conclusion partly aimed at this theory, by saying that technology is neither fully determined nor neutral. However, this is only a scratch on the surface and this blog post is intended to support my personal reflection in the ANT and the collection of some useful material.

Actor-Network Theory in brief

ANT can be described as

[…] a vocabulary that does take the distinction between subjects and objects, the subjective and the objective, into consideration. […] an “actant”, for example, is more than a human actor. Both humans and nonhumans may be actants.

The important fact here is not that humans and nonhumans are treated symmetrically (a given in social semiotics and ecosocial dynamics) but that they are defined relationally as arguments or functors in the network, and not otherwise. This leads to a relational epistemology which rejects the naive positivist view of objects or actors as existing in themselves prior to any participation in ecosocial and semiotic networks of interactions (including the interactions by which they are observed, named, etc.).

This framework (network) is comprised of components (actors) not all of which are usually (if ever) considered by the academically oriented sociologists. The network consists not only of people and social groups, but also artifacts, devices, and entities. Engineers who elaborate a new technology as well as all those who participate at one time or anotherin it’s design, development, and diffusion constantly construct hypotheses and forms of argument that pull these participants into the field of sociological analysis. Whether they want to or not, they are transformed into sociologists, or what Callon calls engineer-sociologists. (Resource)

Given the fact, that I am fairly new to this theory, I found it very helpful to think about the following question: “Can technology force us to learn in a specific way?” (adapted from a question our professor asked us during the lecture). I said, that without the motivation to learn there is no possibility for technology to force anyone. However, reflecting on my statement now, this assumed that technology would (be) develop(ed) in a “social vacuum”, where motivation is not considered but instead would possibly change the intended purpose of a technology. What is missing here, that it can be the other way around: technology could trigger motivation as well. By saying so, it could be an actant in the network.

I still find this hard to grasps and will surely develop further on this. As a foundation, I attach my final assignment for reviewing purposes (not changes made, this is how it was handed in) and I hope some of you might find it useful.

The final assignment

The final paper was supposed to be an answer to a fictive friend, asking for advice regarding a planned university course. This covered the learning outcomes of the course, in particular (in the field of IT and learning) “identify epistemological differences and theoretical contributions, identify and critically examine current popular theories and applications in relation to major historical research traditions, demonstrate and problematize the relations between theories of learning, knowledge and technological change and contextualize technology use within different designs of learning and knowledge domains.”

I’ve heard you’re attending an International Master’s programme in IT and Learning – congratulations! I’m contacting to ask for some advice. I am a planning a similar introduction course you are attending at the moment (ours is part-time and offered in Swedish however). My problem is that my colleagues have different opinions on how we should design and plan for the course. Many think that the most important thing is that students have flexibility in time and possibility to take net-based self-study course modules. However, others think we should have more of live-streamed lectures and on-campus group work. Could you give me some pros and cons on whether to choose one or the other? Or rather, are there other aspects we should consider instead in our pedagogical approach or design of the course? We know our students are geographically spread and are working or studying part time, but we are also required to offer the students some on-campus meetings during the course.
You know I’m a novice here, but very curious about the insights into the field of IT and Learning – what are the big differences in ways of approaching designs for learning? And if you can, please update me on important movements, ideas, or technologies etc, relating to our dilemma, so that we might read about them in my work team.

---

Hej Peter,

thanks for your letter ­ I hope you find my explanations useful. Your requests consists of three main themes, asking for

(1) guidance in terms of your course design that is
(2) related to contrasting design approaches for learning within the field of IT & Learning in general
(3) and to input on important (current) developments concerning your situation.

Your course is designed for Swedish­speaking part­time students, which are geographically spread ­ however, on­campus meetings are required. The two views on the course design can be described as flexible (net­based self­study) and less flexible (live­stream lectures and on­campus group work). Each of these designs has its assets and drawbacks. You should be aware of common mistakes when designing a distance education programme (including false expectations, missing technical support, vague requirements, etc.) and of implications of terminology when it comes to distance and online education [Garrison, R. (2009)]. Let me emphasize the learners’ needs as the primary source for course design implications. By examining these constantly the course can be tailored to individual needs, improving both ­ the learner’s performance and the course quality. The emerging field of learning analytics facilitates this immediate feedback process and research on related phenomena such as predicting course drop­outs [Baker, R., & Siemens, G. (2014)]. In your letter you are missing this point ­ you are describing the participants in a broad manner. What are their expectations? Why do they choose your programme? How can you ensure that the expectations are met and that your course idea is communicated properly to the learner ­ before and throughout the course?

Comparing your proposed designs, the flexible programme offers more individual freedom with the possible shortcoming of a slower socialising process due to missing face­to­face meetings. In contrast, the less flexible programme limits individual freedom but attendance classes can support socialising and the group­work process. Due to the requiredattendance classes at least a mixture of net­based and on­campus meetings is useful. There are more pros and cons to be named when evaluating design approaches. I want to focus on the aspect of socialisation. The field of IT & Learning has changed over time recently specifically targeting the learner and his/her social learning environment. It has become important to evaluate interdependencies of technology and learning understanding their (historical) development plays a crucial role in it. In the science of learning we have come a long way from more or less radical behaviorists (e.g. Watson, Skinner, Thorndike) that believed in observable behavior as the true scientific approach to research on learning, over the serious study of mental functioning triggered by the new field of cognitive science in the late 1950s (e.g. Simon, Turkle) to the importance of the social and cultural contexts of learning. In addition we may not forget the focus on the processes of knowing in the new science of learning (e.g. Piaget, Vygotsky) [Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000]. Including the work of Suchmann we reach the level of defining human­machine­interaction and aliveness. The development from behaviorism over cognitivism to situative/pragmatistic­ sociohistoric views can be seen in educational technology as well. Some of the above mentioned authors state the potential of technology in the learning process. Learning theories can be related to paradigm shifts in instructional technology. Whereas CAI (computer assisted instruction) can be classified as behavioristic (how well can software support the learner to achieve specific knowledge), ITS (Intelligent Tutoring Systems) belong to the cognitivistic theory (how well does software mimic a real teacher). Logo­as­Latin can be arranged within the constructivistic tradition (how well can software support students in transferring knowledge) whereas CSCL (computer supported collaborative learning) is connected to situated learning (how well does the software support learners in engaging in knowledge communities) [Greeno, J. G., Collins, A. M. & Resnick, Lauren B. (1996); Koschmann, T. D. (1996)]. The major outcome of this development is that knowledge, learning and transfer are seen dissimilarly in learning theories and thus the role of technology is shifting, too. Likewise, the generations of distance education exemplify the changing roles of cognitive, social and teaching presence [Anderson, T. & Dron, J.; 2011].

Current developments in IT & Learning emphasize learner­centered learning environments and scaffolding. Learner­centeredness describes the focus on the learner’s psychological learning process or her/his participation in a sociocultural learning process [Hoadley, C. & Van Haneghan, J. (2012)]. Although the notion of scaffolding has changed over time one of it’s main implication is individual cognitive growth through a more competent tutor adapting to evolving knowledge and skills of a less competent tutee [Puntambekar, S., & Hübscher, R. (2005)]. These current developments point towards the individual learner and his/her learning needs. I am referring back to the beginning of my letter, where I emphasized these needs as well. Learning technologies become tailor­made and can adapt flexibly to different users. Some examples of emerging trends in education are gaming, MOOCS and EduPunk. [Open University (2013), Liyanagunawardena, T.R., Adams, A. A. & Williams, S A. (2013), Innovation Unit (no date), Kamenetz, A. (2010)]. This broad range speaks for itself and is reflected and linked to the aspect of the crossdisciplinarity of the field [Kalz, M. and Specht, M. (2014)]. As many fields of research, IT & Learning does not withstand critique on e.g. it’s methodical capacity [Bulfin, S., Henderson, Johnson, N F, Selwyn, N. (2014)] or technological determinism [Oliver, M. (2011)]. Selwyn, N. & Fracer, K. (2013) cover the critical use of digital technology in education from a broader perspective, by analysing the stakeholders in educational technology, the use of technology in education and how it should be used for which educational causes. Gaming as a panacea has been criticized [Linderoth, J. (2012) as well as the underestimated use of procedural rhetoric [Bogost, I. (2007)].

After understanding where the learning sciences and the implications for educational design come from, we need to emphasize the evaluation of interdependencies between learning and technology. There is an ongoing discussion on the question if technology influences education or if education influences technology. In my opinion, the most critical item is avoiding technological neutralism and determinism at the same time. Technology is not just a tool that can be added to educational approaches nor does it have an undefined impact we can’t grasps. What is it then? I think as educators we are in the position to evaluate technology more critical ­ not to give one definite answer.

Related to your letter, I can understand your request for practical and applied guidance towards solving your course design question. Yet, you are mostly taking into account the design itself and how to implement it with the help of technology. As a researcher in the field of IT & Learning let me tell you that a good course design depends on more factors than being flexible . Do new approaches in IT & Learning change the way of learning or do they try to change the learner? How do we ensure keeping the focus on the learners’ needs and on implementing the social aspect of learning with the support of technology? How do we define digital literacy and how to we implement a critical and evaluating view on educational technology?

Best regards
Hannelore

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