Minds On Fire Open Education The Long Learning Analysis

1. Referring to "Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0" by Brown and Adler, describe the key differences between social learning and the traditional Cartesian view of knowledge and learning? In your response briefly explain how Learning 2.0 exemplifies the principles of social learning. Brown and Adler, in their article "Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0" express that the simplest way to explain social learning ”is to note that social learning is based on the premise that our understanding of content is socially constructed through conversations about that content and through grounded interactions, especially with others, around problems or actions”. They also mention that the focus of …show more content…
For example, in the school where I work we only have 100 electronic devices between iPods and chromebooks but we have more than 1000 students. More than 60% of those students are adults. It is really sad to see that some of those students do not know how to turn on a computer. Most students have not used a computer in their lives. In addition, they do not have the economic resources to buy their own computer. According to the article, there are already various thousands of sets, of course material and modules online for any topic that a student is passionate about. There is probably an online niche community of practice of others who have the passion for the same topic (Brown, J. S., & Adler, R. P., 2008). Students with lack of electronic devices will not have access to all the valuable sources available to them over the Internet. In addition, the students in disadvantage do not have access to the informal learning or the learning via the online social networks. As a result, they are not being prepared for the new technology era. On the other hand, one strength in virtual environments and social networks is that nowadays millions of people have access to colleges and universities, training centers, technical schools, libraries, museums, archives and science centers worldwide. People have the opportunity to learn without leaving their homes. Virtual learning eases people lives because people are able to manage their time according to their needs. Within this kind of education people also have access to social learning, giving them the opportunity to “learning to be” that is an aspect of social learning. For example, many of my ESL students during the school’s health fair manifested their interest on becomes nurses. One of the presenters was excited about it and