Why a Learning Ecology?

Since 2000, Sun has used an ecology framework to guide the design and deployment of blended learning solutions in the global corporate IT training market. We find John Seely Brown's (2000) description useful: " An ecology is basically an open, complex, adaptive system comprising elements that are dy­namic and interdependent. One of the things that makes an ecology so powerful and adaptable to new contexts is its diversity" (p. 19). It is this ability to bring coherence and simplicity to an ever changing diversity of new possibilities for technology application that is so valuable.

From the start, we found the classroom and e-learning conception of blended learning severely lacking. For us, such a conception diverted attention from the

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observable fact that a well-designed physical classroom already is a rich blend of many different learning modalities. Furthermore, perpetuating the catch-all label e-learning tends to gloss over all the exciting potential that the Internet offers. In our work, we needed to articulate exactly what brings the full richness to a class­room experience, understand what the emerging technologies could add to the equation, and describe how we could bring everything together in a way that sup­ported what we knew about adult learning theory. In short, we needed a model that would help us express coherence in the multimode whole yet not be over­whelmed by the endless stream of apparently disconnected parts. This was the genesis of our learning ecology framework.

To set the stage properly for a discussion of the learning ecology, two of our original concerns require further detail. First, the gross label e-learning shortchanged the rich potential diversity of online learning modalities. The Internet enables modes ranging from simple content delivery to global communities of practice; from simulations to real-time work flow performance support; from instructor-mediated experience to learner-initiated research activities. It did not require great foresight to realize that the industry would outgrow page-turning HTML pre­sentations fairly quickly. It seemed to us that lumping all online learning into one conceptual bucket is as wrong as treating every learning experience in a class­room-based course as the same. Second, it was also clear to us that such a restricted definition of blended learning underestimated the extent to which the Internet would become a part of traditional classroom training.

In those early days, many people saw classroom and e-learning as distinct and often competing ways to approach education. However, this seemed to us to be a temporary conception reflecting several factors at the time, including the relatively limited familiarity with the Internet, generally bad previous ex­periences with computer-based training, and few good tools and content avail­able for online options. As more people came to understand the Internet as a communications medium as well as a presentation medium, we believed that its use would pervade traditional classrooms. Certainly this has come to pass. While it is possible to conceive of purely online training experiences, it is in­creasingly difficult to envision a purely classroom experience. Instructors use network technologies to enhance their face-to-face classes in myriad ways: the use of online course registration, posted syllabi, online chats, e-mail connec­tions with students, and reference materials online are increasingly the norm. Although face-to-face classes remain a mainstay in the corporate world, it is dif­ficult to find companies (even very small ones) that do not use the Internet in some way to support employee learning and knowledge needs. If all learning experiences are in this sense blended, then the term loses distinction. What is not blended learning?

78 The Handbook of Blended Learning

Ultimately we needed to be able to design, create, deploy, and sell IT training offerings to our worldwide customer set. We needed to examine all the emerging potential components of a training offer and understand how they might fit together in a coherent whole. We needed to create a vocabulary so the multiple actors in our corporate production chain could effectively communicate. And we needed to help our customers navigate an increasingly complicated set of only partially understood possibilities. In short, we needed more finely grained detail than classroom or e-learning provided.

For these reasons, we rapidly embraced the more textured notion of a learn­ing ecology. That is, we developed a simple framework onto which we could map then current possibilities as well as new possibilities emerging from new tech­nologies or learning designs. The biggest advantage in an ecology model is that it enables a stable view of the totality but also accommodates a constantly changing set of components. This approach solves a practical business problem. Individual products have increasingly short life cycles, but big powerful new ideas require consistent expression over years before they take root. An ecology model allows us to capture the subtlety and sophistication of adult learning theory yet express ourselves in simple, practical terms that communicate effectively with our con­stituents in the corporation.

We believe that our learning ecology framework could apply in university or K-12 settings as well as the corporate world. However, our specific intent and our experience have remained completely in the realm of workplace learning, and that colors our presentation. In the workplace, employees participate in learning to assume a new role in the organization or to maintain their competency in an ex­isting role. Role specifications define the knowledge, skills, and performance that employees must accomplish to demonstrate proficiency in a new role. Content or experience that supports the role acquisition populates the overall learning ecol­ogy. Thus, we presuppose an overarching value set, workplace performance, that provides both design and navigation choices for all who participate in the ecology.

Our model must not merely cope with a sophisticated set of learning theory issues; it must also cope with a sophisticated set of business issues. The business requirement is easily stated (though notoriously difficult to mea­sure) as return on investment (ROI). There is a constant pressure for lower costs and more effectiveness. In other words, any training or knowledge project must be effective, and it must operate within a budget. The components that con­stitute the learning ecology must be justifiable relative to specific learning out­comes and development costs. So the learning ecology must also provide a framework for business analysis and decision making, as well as learning effectiveness analysis.

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Background to the Learning Ecology Framework

Here, we list a few of the more important background ideas that have guided our thinking.

Quality of Learning Experience

Quality of both components and the whole learning experience is critical, and there are many aspects of quality mat are not direcdy articulated in the learning ecology Much training is badly designed, poorly timed, disconnected from business needs, or presented to the wrong audience. And even in courses that are excellent overall, some parts may be weak. These are significant issues of design, and although the learn­ing ecology provides sufficient granularity to match learning modalities with specific design outcomes, it does not address these issues. Designing the blend of components is not the same as creating high-quality standardized components or ensuring that die blend is presented in a favorable workplace context.

Control over Learning Experience

In classroom training, designers tend to overestimate their control over the learn­ing experience. Instructional designers, content creators, and subject matter ex­perts often fall into the trap that the course they design is the course that is delivered and the course that is experienced. The reality is that traditional class­room training is a craft where the instructor takes the building blocks (only some of which are supplied by the course designers) and brings together a whole learn­ing experience. The instructor provides a field of possibilities; the learner engages that potential. The learner and the instructor collaborate, implicitly or explicitly, to bring all the building blocks together for a (more or less) effective learning ex­perience. Both partners are presumed to be expert in traditional classroom train­ing (we recognize that this is not always true, even if it is frequently presumed), so minimal explicit discussion about the teacher's role and the student's role in con­structing the overall learning experience is expressed. But with new and unfa-muiar learning modalities, the roles of the participants must be part of the design discussion. A learning ecology model must invite an ongoing discussion about learning to learn (and teach) in new ways.

Formal versus Informal Learning

Formal learning is a small percentage of workplace learning. The reality is that most learning in the workplace (perhaps in all life) derives from informal

The Handbook of Blended Learning

experiences and self-engagement. Although we talk mostly about things like ROI, courses and catalogues, training budgets, explicit projects, and trade-offs between classroom and work time, these investments are only the tip of the learning ice­berg. Adults on the job enhance their performance through an entire spectrum of self-study informal mentoring, asking friends, listening to their boss, and now and again sitting through some formal training. An ecology model must potentially connect to the total system of learning, formal and informal, in a company.

Social Nature of Learning

Learning is a social process (Brown & Duguid, 2000). In 1999, many people thought of e-learning primarily in terms of asynchronous content delivery and consequendy assumed that a traditional classroom experience was required for any social aspects of learning. This is not true. The reality is that the Internet opens up new vistas for social interaction. In many industries (ours especially), the Internet is a primary mode of social intercourse that can take advantage of global social networks. Furmermore, we have experienced face-to-face classrooms that had essentially no social dimension. The learning ecology recognizes that, depending on the desired outcome, social con­nection is often needed for effective learning. However, we do not assume, that the only (or even best) way to achieve social connection is in face-to-face classrooms.

Cost-Effectiveness

Cost is a significant issue in any corporate training discussion. Cost is also a com­plex issue, particularly in emerging technologies. Initial infrastructure invest­ment is high, yet once the investment is made, the additional variable cost for new users tends to be lower. Cost of content remains high, but with new tools and tech­niques and more extensive content repositories, multipurpose use can be increased, thereby lowering costs for additional applications. Conditions such as these mean that detailed cost analysis must usually be done on a project-by-project basis. We can simplify this concept by saying that in general, when applying the learning ecology, we try to combine parts to achieve the overall learning outcome from the whole at a minimum total cost.

Learning Ecology Framework

A learning ecology requires a unifying model of instructional theory that drives the architecture of such a learning environment. The matrix presented in Figure 6.1 forms the foundation of a design model we have developed to enable our holistic learning ecology environment.

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_v In this matrix, the x-axis illustrates a focus on the delivery of instruction. The left end of the л-axis targets delivery of instructional content. Content includes factual information delivered in a variety of methods. Some delivery methods are documentation, a lecture, demonstration of a procedure, a job aid, or a guided discussion. The right end of the x-axis targets delivery of instructional experiences through activities such as hands-on lab exercises, case studies, collaborative team activities, and coached problem-solving activities.

Thej-axis in the matrix illustrates who controls the navigation of the learn­ing process. At the bottom of the j-axis, navigation of the learning process is con­trolled by a guide, traditionally a teacher or facilitator. The guide makes decisions on the selection and delivery of information and learning events to the student. As new technologies mature, varieties of machine-based agents or intelligent tu­toring systems will begin to fulfill this guiding role. At the top of thej-axis, navi­gation of the learning process is controlled by the learner. Self-directed learners own the responsibHity for identifying their learning needs and implementing their unique learning paths. In this environment, students actively locate, select, and initiate their learning from various information sources and activities.

Taking this matrix a step further, we arrive at the four general families of learning modalities that comprise potential parts of a learning ecology:

The Handbook of Blended Learning FIGURE 6.2. GENERAL LEARNING MODALITIES.

Learner Self-Navigation

Studying

Practicing

Content Delivery Focus

Experience and Practice Focus

Teaching

Coaching

Guided Navigation

teaching, coaching, studying, and practicing (Figure 6.2). Each of these learn­ing modalities can be accomplished with classroom learning or e-learning. These modalities open up the possibilities for creating a much more granular, and ultimately effective, blended learning approach.

The teaching quadrant offers a presentation of content to students. Examples of teaching include an instructor presenting a lecture to a group of students using a whiteboard and digitally projected slides, a videotaped presentation made avail­able to employees, and a teacher demonstrating how a software application works.

In the coaching quadrant, students are given the opportunity to practice skills through structured lab exercises that are supported and facilitated by an expert. Examples of exercises include students working with an instructor on simple drill-and-practice activities, an instructor mentoring students in authentic problem-solving lab scenarios, and a group of learners participating in a collaborative problem-based learning exercise that is facilitated by a subject matter expert.

In the studying quadrant, a student spends time working with and learning from information. The information may or may not be designed as instructional content. Examples of studying include a student reading a white paper or book and students working through a specific technology-based training module.

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In the practicing quadrant, students learn by working on problems or project re­quirements they may encounter in their job role. Examples of projects include stu­dents working through case studies and authentic scenario-based activities and students encountering and working on actual job-centered projects with their peers.

Figure 6.3 illustrates examples of specific learning elements that may come into play as we design instruction within the learning ecology. In a sense, this is a menu of learning options that could be developed and delivered to support a learn­ing requirement. The learning ecology enables us (and our customers) to make choices about which options we will bring to a learning offering to meet the spec­ified learning and cost objectives.

Each of the high-level categories on the matrix contains a number of distinct instructional, learning, and knowledge elements. These elements can be assem­bled into models of best practice aggregation strategies that produce different types of learning events. Koper (2001) refers to these aggregations of instructional and learning strategies as " units of study, the smallest unit providing learning events for learners, satisfying one or more interrelated objectives."

To illustrate an ecology aggregation, we can use the example of a collabo­rative group activity that has been identified as a best practice strategy for teaching