How Heutagogy revolutionizes learning

Heutagogy is best described as the study of self-determined learning. Some experts view it as a progression from earlier educational models. As times change, new trends emerge. The most significant trend since the use of traditional educational models, such as pedagogy and andragogy, is the internet. Thanks to the internet, information is readily and easily accessible. But the internet is not the only reason why we should consider new educational methodologies. We live in a world where change is so rapid that traditional methods of education are often rendered inadequate or insufficient.  Learning is progressively aligned with what we do and our social roles. Technological advances require the immediacy of learning and flexible learning practices in modern organizations. Heutagogy is an innovative approach that addresses the deficiencies of pedagogy and andragogy. Experts also describe it as an extension to andragogy, as my last blog post suggested.

Traditional education can be viewed as a pedagogic relationship between the teacher and the learner. The teacher has always been the person funneling information into the brains of his students. He decides what the learner needs to know and how knowledge and skills should be taught. Heutagogy allows the learner or student to decide what’s relevant and should be learned. The teacher serves as facilitator for learning and provides resources. The actual learning process and instructional design is left to the learner. This allows him to not only learn new content and skills, but also to learn about the learning process.

The exponential growth of information, especially on the internet, but also through books, vocational training, seminars, etc. suggests that we should be looking at a new approach where the learner designs the course. Heutagogy does exactly that and more. Another important component is metacognitive reflection that takes place in heutagogy. It allows the learner to question his or her values and assumptions as he learns and adds to his experience. The same process is described in double loop learning.

I think that heutagogy requires cognitive maturity and a true desire to learn. This desire can be fueled by the need of a certain skill required for a person’s social/professional role or simply personal interest. I can’t emphasize how much times have changed. You can virtually learn anything you like through books or the internet. When pedagogy was the primary educational method among trainers and learners, acquiring knowledge and new skills simply wasn’t as easy as it is now. We clearly take the internet and the amount of information for granted. In all fairness, the internet seems overwhelming at times, but we shouldn’t pass on the opportunity to find a way to make sense of all this information. Another reason why research into heutagogy is essential to learning in the twenty-first century.

Andragogy: A Scaffold for Heutagogy

Heutagogy is a student-centered learning model that promotes the concept of self-determined holistic learning through constant critical reflection. Learners are encouraged to become genuinely reflective while developing their capabilities. The purpose of constant reflection is to understand how experiences affect the leaner’s values, beliefs, goals, habits, conceptual frameworks, and previously held ideals. Learners help design the course or path of learning while the instructor shares resources and facilitates learning much the same as in andragogy. In my opinion, there are many similarities between heutagogy and andragogy, as both rely on the learner’s ability to take over personal responsibility for learning. Both models assume that the learner has an intrinsic desire to create knowledge and the instructor is responsible for facilitating the learner’s pursuit of self-actualization of full potential.

As online learning becomes more popular among adult learners and college students, it is also expanding the heutagogical approach and creates more insight about its effectiveness. The online learning environment is a flexible modality to facilitate self-directed learning. I think that both heutagogy and andragogy empower the student and rely on the premise that the student is willing and able to take over responsibility for learning. Courses that use a heutagogical approach allow students to determine the scope and creativity of projects and papers based on their own needs. Clearly, this approach only works with learners that display a high degree of cognitive maturity and motivation to learn. The biggest difference between heutagogy and andragogy is the continuous reflecting that takes place in heutagogy as learners develop their skills and acquire more knowledge. Other than that, I believe that andragogy serves as a scaffold for heutagogy and that many andragogical concepts can be found in heutagogy, as well.

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy

In Pedagogy vs. Andragogy: A False Dichotomy?, Geraldine Holmes and Michele Abington-Cooper discuss the origin and evolution of pedagogy and andragogy. The article also includes opinions of proponents and opponents of these two educational models.

I think that the author does well at defining pedagogy and andragogy. While most novice trainers assume that it is easy to distinguish an adult learner from a younger learner just by looking at the difference in years, the authors note that the difference goes beyond age and years and that it is risky to make generalizations about behavior based solely on age. The term pedagogy is derived from the Greek words paid, meaning child and agogus, meaning leader of. Pedagogy evolved in the monastic schools of Europe between the 7^th and 12^th centuries where pedagogical assumptions were based on observations by the monks in teaching skills to children. The 1920s gave rise to a new educational model as a result of teachers of adults finding problems with the pedagogical model whose purpose they found is insufficient. Malcolm Knowles wrote that the goal of adult education should be self-actualization; thus the learning process should involve the whole emotional, psychological, and intellectual being. According to Knowles, the role the andragogical trainer differs from that of the pedagogical teacher. The andragogical trainer is more of a facilitator who aids adults to become-self-directed learners, while the pedagogical teacher decides in advance what knowledge and skills need to be transmitted. In pedagogy, the teacher also designs the training. Knowles made several assumptions about the adult learner, one being that as humans mature and become adult learners, their time perspective changes from future application of knowledge to immediate application. I agree with Knowles. The adult learner’s orientation toward learning is problem-centered, rather than subject-centered. I also agree with the assumption that the readiness to learn becomes increasingly more oriented to developmental tasks of social roles and not academic pressure. The result of that, in my opinion, is that adult education is a lot more specific than the general education modules young learners encounter.

The andragogical model is described as a process concerned with providing procedures and resources for helping learners acquire information and skills which goes back to the idea of andragogical teachers being facilitators and adult learners being self-directed learners. However, I do not agree with the andragogical model for the same reasons that Houle and Kerka disagree. Houle argues that education is a single fundamental human process and that models are probably most useful when seen not as dichotomous, but rather as two ends of a spectrum with a realistic assumption in a given situation falling in between the two ends. Kerka takes it one step further by arguing that most of the assumptions about andragogy aren’t based on scientific research. She considers those assumptions nothing more than myths. One of those myths is that adult learners are self-directed. Kerka argues that adults have varying degrees of willingness or ability to assume personal responsibility for learning. She also states that self-directed learning may be psychological control that a learner can exert in any setting, whether solitary, informal, or traditional. I believe that self-directedness is not a matter of being an adult or young learner, but of the content and application of the knowledge and skills the learner seeks to acquire. For instance, if an adult learner says he wants to become a hobby programmer, he may not portray much self-directedness at all, depending on previous experience in IT. In this case, he would be much better of learning according to the standards of the pedagogical model that provides him with a solid foundation and direction. On the other hand, if an adult that is already familiar with programming seeks to learn a new programming language, such as ASP.NET or C# to build a web application for his company, he already possesses a foundation and direction. In this case, Knowles assumption about time perspective and immediate application hold true as well.

I don’t think the andragogy vs. pedagogy debate will ever end and as Houle already suggested, there may not be a one-size-fits-all model. I believe that the key to educational success is to know your learners and to use a combination of strategies that are both andragogical and pedagogical in nature.

Presentation: Working in Ubuntu

In my 75 minute presentation on Monday I introduced the learners to Ubuntu. The individual sections of my presentation comprised cognitive and behavioral learning outcomes. Those sections included:

1. Working in Ubuntu
2. Navigating through Ubuntu
3. LibreOffice
4. Apps for Ubuntu and Special Activity (TopTenWiki)

The first section, 1. Working in Ubuntu, was centered around the trainer as he lectured while the learners watched and listened. By giving visual and hands-on examples during each part of my lecture, learners stayed focused and hopefully found it easier to absorb some of the technical content of the presentation. The second section consisted of informational and operational learning. Learners were asked to follow along as the trainer navigated through Ubuntu. By navigating to the most basic components of Ubuntu, such as the settings panel, the home folder, the dash board, the software center, and the terminal, I was able to introduce the learners to Ubuntu's basic functions. The third section picked up on where the second left off and was conducted by my team mate.

Special Activity: TopTenWiki

The final section of our presentation consisted of guided practice and our special activity. The learners were asked to choose and install any software they like via Ubuntu's software center. Upon making their decision they were asked to share their choice with the rest of the class. The result was a list of applications for Ubuntu that we were then able to add to our TopTenWiki page, which lists the top applications for Ubuntu, the iPad, and open source ideas that we brainstormed on Friday. All learners have access to the account needed to make changes to the lists.

I think the Ubuntu presentation went very well and featured a combination of different learning outcomes. The learners did not seem confused and by adding a lot of freedom to the individual exercises we managed to keep the training interesting and fun. By creating spreadsheets and documents and by downloading and installing software and capturing some of those individual choices on a website that can be accessed even after training has ended, the learners were able to look back onto something that they have created which I believe is the very purpose of making training objectives measurable.

Reflections on Google+ Hangout



President Obama chatting with 5 lucky Americans

As Google+ Hangouts becomes more and more popular among video conference enthusiasts, our class decided to give it a try to personally experience some of the cool features. Before I was able to join the hangout, I had some initial plug-in issues which many people have experienced. Luckily, I was able to fix the problem by restarting the browser a few times. Google+ Hangouts is really easy to use and is fully web-based (no installation required besides the browser plug-in). Though Skype is more complex and has a prettier interface, Google+ Hangouts offers a lot more simplicity. All you need is a webcam and an internet connection. The video and sound quality were really good considering that the conference consisted of five participants. Unlike Google, Skype charges for group video conferences. Another cool feature is Google+ Hangouts' ability to automatically focus the main video stream to whoever is currently speaking. It's super easy to invite other Google+ users to a current hangout and if you click the Apps button you're able to add even more functionality to your video conference experience (play poker, add animation, watch YouTube videos with friends,...).

Overall, Google+ Hangouts was a good experience and I see myself using it more often with friends, family, and colleagues.

Watson

As part of day 2 of the Future IT camp, learners got a chance to learn more about IBM's Watson, an A.I. computer known for it's ability to answer questions posed in natural language. Watson is also known for competing on Jeopardy and beating the two best Jeopardy contestants ever: Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. The reason why Watson is of great interest to the learners is that it uses a Linux based operating system (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11) and the open source Apache Hadoop framework. Watson also serves as proof that open source can be used for any project regardless of complexity. Though Watson swept his competition on Jeopardy, designing an A.I. computer system that is able to respond to questions of any format and respond accordingly was an extremely difficult task. Most A.I. systems simply simulate intelligence by basing their behavior on hard coded rules that have been defined by its designer. However, it seems like an insurmountable task to define a rule for every situation in life. Therefore, David Ferrucci and his team of researchers changed their approach and introduced a new A.I. concept called machine learning. Through machine learning, A.I. systems no longer depend on hard coded rules, but are capable of evolving behaviors based on empirical data. This ability was key to Watson's success on Jeopardy.

USC Tour/Scavenger Hunt

I want to reflect on today's activities, starting with the USC tour and scavenger hunt and then moving on to the SPARCedge presentation and IBM video.
The scavenger hunt went well, despite the bad weather. I believe that learners benefited from this outdoor activity, because they got a chance to:

• familiarize themselves with the USC campus and its history
• get to know their trainers better
• add some variety to the training

USC Scavenger Hunt

A change is as good as a rest. Tomorrow, we will continue working on our projects so giving the learners some time to recover from all the technical content we covered on Monday was a great idea. I also believe that as learners get to know their trainers and other learners better, they are able to overcome their inhibitions and contribute more during the camp.

The SPARC presentation on open source was very informative and the speaker, Bob Williams,  addressed many  important open source topics. He talked about his company and why they believe in open source. Open source is not so much a type of software, as it is a concept that can be compared to a particular lifestyle that seeks to share ideas and innovation with the public as opposed to sheltering and protecting them to maintain a competitive advantage. As a result, competitors turn into collaborators and ideas grow exponentially. I like the analogy of private companies going public. They grow, but the owners will have to share with the public what used to be their private property. I believe that such a mindset entails a lot of unselfishness. It also makes sense that ideas grow faster and become better as more people add their feedback. The only problem, provided that an open source enthusiast even considers this a problem, is that the final product will no longer be called yours, but ours. Mr. Williams also emphasized the importance of embracing open source throughout the company and not just in a single department. He also challenged us to picture a world in which everything is open source. I asked him whether that would take a lot of money out of software development, but didn't get a concrete answer. 

I think what concerns most college students about open source are two things:

1. Why give up your property?
2. How to make money?

Bob Williams on Open Source

I admire the concept of open source and I consider myself not only a user, but also a contributor of open source software and code. I also hope that open source will continue to grow. However, I don't think that open source is more profitable than proprietary software. I also don't think that it is wrong for software developers to get paid for their software and to protect their ideas and creations with copyrights and patents. Most open source speakers don't want to touch on the topic of compensation for open source software. I think that a little more transparency in that area would clear up a lot of misunderstandings and disprove many myths about open source software developers not getting compensated. Overall, I think day 2 went very well and I'm looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday.