Application 6: Communication, interaction and
dialogues using streaming media
The present scenario is being implemented by various schols in Sweden and elsewhere
(see reference documentation)
This application is in contrast to the earlier scenarios an application in an emerging state, with
its potentiality only in its initial stages of realisation, adoption and exploitation. The emerging
pressures for itsadoption/usage in school-learning contexts are however increasingly expressed
by teachers and students as well as pedagogical specialists and professionals in the ICT sector.
This application assumes that there are already a relatively high level of ICT maturity, that there
is a familiarity with mobile wireless devises (MWD), multiuser virtual environments (MUVE),
interactive computing features such as ipods, chats, blogs, ip-phones, and other online
interactive and info-consumerism tools as part of users’ everyday life. This is also increasingly
becoming the reality for those students ‘Growing up Digital’ (see Tapscott, et al). Based on a
‘mediated immersion’ there is also emerging new learning styles that needs to be better
accommodated for in future school practicies. This scenario cluster will cater for part of those.
This summary will only partially exemplify such streaming media-based learning scenarios
1.1. Description of applications used in the scenario
For this scenario we assume that there is a set of prevailing learning styles among the students,
which are recognised, adopted to and embraced by the teaching staff that are to be engaged in,
enabling and facilitating learning among the students characterised with learning style
characteristics for ‘digital learning’ such as;

Fluency in multiple media, valuing each for the types of communication, activities, experiences,
and expressions it empowers

Learning based on collectively seeking, sieving, and synthesizing experiences rather than
individually locating and absorbing information from a single best source

Active learning based on real/simulated experiences, with frequent opportunities for reflection

Expression through nonlinear, associational webs of representations rather than linear “stories”
(i.e. authoring a simulation and a Web page to express understanding, rather than on a paper)

Co-design of learning experiences personalized to individual needs and preferences
On the technology side of the scenario application it is assumed that there is an interactive
learning service environment available that are capable of providing the teachers with the
facilities for setting up learning scenarios, to provide the students with the capabilities, rights and
communicative tools needed for the particular learning scenario that the learning tasks are to be
catering for.
This would inlude, among other, tools and facilities that can perform the following functions;

End-user video cameras interconnectable with student computers

Software for production of videosequences, interconnected with presentation material

Software/services for conversion of videos to steaming media and uploading it on media servers

Software/services for collaborative learning scenario/assignment planning/monitoring

Software/services for production of blogs/feeds/notes/announcements that can be syndicated
 Software for collaborative compilation of electronic info resources, incl. streaming media
Such composition of solution packages can be catered for in a school setting either by a set of separate
software packages or through a more integrated virtual learning service environment like the services
provided via VCP (www.VCP.biz) through its range of ‘engines’, and with service environments that are
capable of catering for usage of a range of devices and communication modalities among its users.
1
1.2. Underlying pedagogical principles
The application is extensively based on ‘connectivism’. George Siemens in his landmark article
‘Connectivism: a learning theory for the Digital Age explained connectivism in the following way:
“Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often
utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed
in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years,
technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn. Learning
needs and theories that describe learning principles and processes, should be reflective of
underlying social environments. Vaill emphasizes that “learning must be a way of being – an
ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep
abreast o the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (1996, p.42).”
“All of these [conventional] learning theories hold the notion that knowledge is an objective (or a
state) that is attainable (if not already innate) through either reasoning or experiences.
Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism (built on the epistemological traditions) attempt to
address how it is that a person learns.”
“A central tenet of most learning theories is that learning occurs inside a person. Even social
constructivist views, which hold that learning is a socially enacted process, promotes the
principality of the individual (and her/his physical presence – i.e. brain-based) in learning. These
theories do not address learning that occurs outside of people (i.e. learning that is stored and
manipulated by technology). They also fail to describe how learning happens within organizations.
Learning theories are concerned with the actual process of learning, not with the value of what
is being learned. In a networked world, the very manner of information that we acquire is worth
exploring. The need to evaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is
applied before learning itself begins. When knowledge is subject to paucity, the process of
assessing worthiness is assumed to be intrinsic to learning. When knowledge is abundant, the
rapid evaluation of knowledge is important. Additional concerns arise from the rapid increase in
information. In today’s environment, action is often needed without personal learning – that is,
we need to act by drawing information outside of our primary knowledge. The ability to
synthesize and recognize connections and patterns is a valuable skill.”
“Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and
self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of
shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as
actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is
focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn
more are more important than our current state of knowing. “Connectivism is driven by the
understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is
continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant
information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on
decisions made yesterday is also critical. “
Principles of connectivism:








Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
Decision-making is in itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of
incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer
now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.
2
1.3. Pedagogical organisation of the scenario
The learning scenario is here provided to the learners as a set of two-layered scaffolds;
a learning architecture level scaffold (as the one below) and one or more tool-level scaffolds.
The completeness of these scaffolds at the point of handling over of the assignment from the
teacher to the learners (individuals or groups) can vary depending on the particular
assignments. Alternatively the initiation of the scenario-driven learning can be provided in form
of an assignment specification with pre-defined tasks and responsibility/involvement
configurations. A practical application of this scenario can also take on different explorative
implementation formats, such as the adoption of so called ‘progressive inquiry approach’, which
has been illustrated below;
(for details, see http://www.ll.unimaas.nl/euro-cscl/Papers/133.doc)
The collaborative learning, assignment implementation, solution development and/or inquiry
process are making use of the online tools/services to both manage the assignment handling, e.g
by the available scaffolds and assignment management tools, as well as by facilitating the
connectiviness among the involved actors, the interactions between them and the internal and
external resources available to them (e.g. through Internet). The progress and the findings,
reflections and proposals are shared through tools like blogs, SMS messages, chats, online
meetings, recorded with videos and audio, shared and distributed via syndicated repositories, and
with its documentary processes focusing both on the learning processes itself in parallel to focus
on outcomes, effects and impact that those have made on the actors and their operating context.
Examplification of blog-provided comments
Illustrations on how the indicated tools could be used for appliation in scenarios that are utilising
virtual community services like those in MVC/VCP will be introduced on the eStream site shortly.
An illustration of how self-produced video materials can be introduced in conventional blogs has
been taken from the Streaming Video Diary (http://blogger.p2mn.com/), and its 10/10/04 comment
on Streaming Video Blog, where the following streamed media explanation on how to use Camtasia
was provided; http://www.p2mn.com/wwwboard/videosupport5.html . More information on the type
of school-related applications and conceptual bases for those are available e.g. from these sources:
Dede, C.
IDG,
Lewis, D.S.
Oblinger, D.B.
Ricardson, W.
Siemens, G.
Tapscott, D.
Thomas, R.
“Planning for neomillennial learning styles”
“Can we learn digitally?”
“Videoblogs and Podcasts”
“Educating the net generation”
“Blogging and RSS - .. Powerful New Web Tools for Educators”
“Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age”
“Growing up digital: The rise of the new net-generation”
“Supporting online students with personal interactions”
3