Learning Ecosystem | Patrick Blessinger

Fostering sustainable learning ecosystems

Fostering sustainable learning ecosystems Patrick Blessinger and Madasu Bhaskara Rao The value of knowledge has grown exponentially over the past several decades. In fact, in the modern era, the value of knowledge has become so important to human and social development that education is now universally recognized as a human right. These three concepts – education, learning, and knowledge - have become inextricably linked. In today’s world, human knowledge is produced primarily through formal learning (institutionalized education such as schools and universities), nonformal learning (self-directed education such as instructional videos, podcasts, blogs, and websites), and informal/incidental learning (everyday life experiences). Thus, the development of new knowledge happens primarily through one’s prior knowledge and personal experiences. To say that all people have a right to education is to imply that all people have a right to learn and acquire knowledge throughout the entirety of their lives – lifelong and lifewide learning. [...]

Patrick Blessinger2023-03-12T16:39:58+00:00March 12, 2023|Tags: Education for Sustainable Development, Learning Design, Learning Ecosystem, Madasu Bhaskara Rao, Patrick Blessinger, V9A3|

The Emerging Learning Society

The Emerging Learning Society Patrick Blessinger, Habiba Chaoui, Hari Kamali, and Inge Rozendal The advent of the Digital Revolution (also known as the Third Industrial Revolution – circa 1960 CE to 2000 CE) ushered in the Information Age. This period was characterized by the ubiquitous use of information and communication technologies, especially digital technologies such as computers, robotics, and the internet. During this period, relatively simple data-based systems (to process raw facts) gradually developed into more sophisticated information-based systems (to support human decision-making) and eventually developed into more complex knowledge-based systems (to generate new knowledge). At each level of processing (data to information to knowledge), more meaning, context, and value are being added to the sense-making process. These systems are, if effective, extensions of human intelligence. Since there are inherent limitations and constraints on what the brain and nervous system can do, humans use their intelligence to design and [...]

Patrick Blessinger2022-07-04T17:02:53+00:00July 4, 2022|Tags: Habiba Chaoui, Hari Kamali, Inge Rozendal, Learning, Learning Ecosystem, Learning Society, Patrick Blessinger, V8A7|

In a hyper-connected world, dawns a new age of hyper-learning

In a hyper-connected world, dawns a new age of hyper-learning Patrick Blessinger Two of the most important questions facing higher education today are: how should higher education institutions respond to the dramatic changes occurring in the world today? And, since the consumption and production of knowledge (that is, the learning process) is at the center of all educational institutions, how can higher education adapt and transform their teaching and learning practices and processes to best address these changes? To help answer these questions, it may be helpful to first understand the factors driving the emerging trends in the world today (politically, economically, socially, technologically, and environmentally) and how these trends are impacting higher education. The real-time instantaneity of ubiquitous digital interactions (for example, the integration of social media with wireless, GPS, and mobile technologies), as well as the development of new inventions, discoveries, and innovations, has fundamentally altered our reality [...]

Patrick Blessinger2023-04-16T12:36:57+00:00March 10, 2022|Tags: Learning Ecosystem, Learning Futures, Lifelong Learning, Patrick Blessinger, V8A3|

Learning-Scapes: Cultivating Meaningful and Sustainable Learning Ecosystems

Learning-Scapes: Cultivating Meaningful and Sustainable Learning Ecosystems Patrick Blessinger St. John's University (NYC) and International HETL Association In Being a University (2011, page 143), Ronald Barnett describes his idea of the emerging university of the future. He calls this type of university the ecological university. According to Barnett, the ecological university is not only concerned with protecting and creating a sustainable natural environment but is also concerned about “…a much wider ambit, embracing the personal, social, cultural, institutional and technological environments and knowledge of those environments; in short, the world in its fullest senses.” The ecological university recognizes that it does not operate in isolation of its broader environments. Rather, the ecological university endeavors to cultivate authentic and purposeful interconnections with its broader environments through meaningful and diverse ways of learning and inquiry. Holistic Learning Ecosystem In this sense, a learning-scape may be defined as a conceptual construct that shapes our [...]

Patrick Blessinger2018-10-27T14:09:27+00:00September 26, 2014|Tags: Learning Ecosystem, Meaningful Learning, Patrick Blessinger, Reciprocity, V1A5|