The discomfort of networked learning

For me, the concept of networked learning requires a real mental shift.  It sounds simple enough: students collect, curate, share, broker, negotiate, and construct knowledge through networks.  The twist is that networked learning changes who is responsible for the learning process.

I’ve spent years in classrooms where the instructors controlled the agenda.  Teachers chose the material, asked the questions, and defined the correct answers.  That may not always be the best learning model, but it’s certainly the one to which I’m familiar.

Networked learning disrupts that familiarity.   It asks learners to search, evaluate, organize, connect, question, and sometimes create knowledge without waiting for every step to be approved.  This can be daunting to a learner not used to having so much latitude.  Am I looking in the right place?  What if I share something weak?  What if my interpretation is wrong?

From my background in casino and hospitality operations, this reminds me of training new supervisors.  Some are comfortable when they are handed a checklist and told exactly what to do.  The job gets harder when they have to read a situation, interpret guest behavior, coordinate with other departments, and make judgment calls in real time.  That is where real learning happens, but it is also where people feel exposed.

Used well, networked learning prepares us for the way knowledge works outside the classroom.  Answers are rarely handed to us in a neat package.  We have to find them, discuss them, adapt them, and use them.  That is uncomfortable, but the discomfort is an important part of the growth process.  It is also much closer to the world in which we operate.  


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