Discussions

Your Name and Title:
Donggil Song, Ph.D. Student

School, Library, or Organization Name:
Indiana University

Co-Presenter Name(s):
Curtis J. Bonk, Justin Whiting

Country from Which You Will Present:
United States

Language in Which You Will Present:
English

Target Audience (such as primary school teachers, high school administrators, students, etc.):
Higher education professionals

Short Session Description (one line):
The present study aims at investigating motivational and self-regulated learning factors of informal and extreme learning when using educational Web resources as well as the supports, uses, and challenges and obstacles.

Full Session Description (one paragraph minimum):

Learning is becoming self-directed and often operates apart from school settings and other formal educational environments. Informal learning can be defined using the location of learning as well as the purposes or goals of learning, learning resources, and time. With the development of Internet technology, a variety of Web resources have presented global opportunities and have promoted informal learning by allowing people to learn on demand and just when needed, even in extreme situations. People may learn from Web resources when in various locations such as a plane, subway, or boat. It can also be dynamic learning activities when climbing a mountain, working in a war zone, or taking a vacation on a remote island. Describing these situations, the concept of “extreme learning” has emerged. Extreme learning is defined as using technology for learning purposes in novel, unusual, or nontraditional ways (Bonk, 2009). People might be enrolled in a virtual school or have taken an online class. People might have also used free and open educational resources. Despite the effort for educational uses of online resources, there are few studies conducted regarding the use of Web resources to promote informal or nontraditional learning (Lucas & Moreira, 2009). The present study aims to investigate the motivational factors for informal learners as well as self-regulated aspects of extreme learning when using educational Web resources and tools. We conducted a survey of 85 individuals related to their informal learning experiences and challenges related to the use of educational Websites. This study presents findings from a collection of a wide variety of Web resources and diverse learning projects (i.e., many of them are global in nature) that demonstrate ways that students and educators can learn in novel and unique ways through the extreme learning experiences. Quantitative analysis including descriptive and frequency analyses regarding nontraditional learning experiences were conducted. Implications of the result in global learning contexts are discussed..

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

http://www.extreme-learning.org