Linking thinking: self-directed learning in the digital age

Abstract

This report examines the effect of information and communication technologies (ICTs), i.e. global networks of computers and other associated digital devices, in the fields of education and training, particularly on the self-directed learning of adults. It analyses the six major conditions that must be met so that people can participate in the digital world and presents a six-part model of online learning. The study comprises four parts. Part one, 'Setting the scene', provides contextual background by discussing the dual themes of the digital revolution and self-directed learning. The study is framed by these two overarching themes and by the interplay and interaction between them. Part two, 'The context for digital engagement', discusses the six preconditions for participation in the digital environment, which are connectivity, competence, content, i.e. ensuring affordable access to quality digital resources, credibility and confidentiality, capturing information, and collaboration. The author argues that these six 'threshold issues' are cumulative, with each one providing the context for those that follow it in sequence. Part three, 'Self-directed learning in the digital environment', presents the model of online learning, comprising six components: engaging with online learning; locating information and resources; evaluating the quality of digital resources; assimilating information; reconceptualising understandings; and networking. This section concludes with a look at the support that may be provided to self-directed learners in each of these various elements of the online learning process. Part four, 'Bookmarks, viruses and dungeons: mixing metaphors on the electronic frontier', looks again at the dual themes of self-directed learning and the digital revolution, and places them into the context of discourses about lifelong learning and the development of a 'learning society' more generally.