Technologies for Lifelong and Lifewide Learning and Recognition: A Vision for the Future

Abstract

In this rapidly changing society, it has been widely acknowledged that education needs to happen continuously, lifelong and lifewide. The concept of lifelong learning is well established and the need for learning at many intervals throughout one’s life is well recognized. Lifewide learning refers to the learning which takes place in a variety of different environments and situations covering formal, non-formal, and informal learning. Ideally learning for an individual should be holistic, not separating different contexts of his/her life. Learning can occur at many different places including schools, homes, communities, workplaces, and public places, but often times individuals lack awareness of their own learning when it comes to learning outside of formal schooling. In this age of open educational resources (OER) and massive open online courses (MOOCs), the materials for learning are ubiquitous and knowledge access is easy. Potentials for linking informal or non-formal learning to formal learning have become salient. However, the means to assess and visualize one’s own lifewide and lifelong learning paths organizing all those learning resources are rarely discussed. With the current tremendous power of cloud computing, digital storage and mobile devices, technologies afford us to keep all the personal learning records throughout our lives as well as across different contexts of our lives. These technologies also give the possibility of integrating and visualizing all the disparate learning and recognizing it throughout one’s life. This paper discusses potentials of the technologies to assist actualizing the vision.

Glossary of Terms

Open educational resources (OER)

freely accessible, openly licensed text, media, and other digital assets that are useful for teaching, learning, and assessing as well as for research purposes.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs)

online courses aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.

Lifelong learning

learning throughout one’s life.

Lifewide learning

learning which takes place in a variety of different environments and situations covering formal, non-formal, and informal learning.

Formal learning

education normally delivered by trained teachers in a systematic intentional way within a school, higher education or university.

Non-formal learning

various structured learning situations which do not either have the level of curriculum, syllabus, accreditation, and certification associated with ‘formal learning’.

Informal learning

learning in a variety of spaces that is not necessarily organized or formal in nature like a school or organization.

Self-directed learning

a process in which individuals take the initiative without the help of others in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating goals, identifying human and material resources, and evaluating learning outcomes.

Learning analytics

the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.

Learning styles

a range of theories that aim to account for differences in individuals’ learning.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

computing agents that are able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence based on data received from the environment.

Connected learning

a type of learning where a person has an opportunity to pursue a personal interest and passion with others so that learning is linked to academic achievements.

Social learning

learning within a social context.

Learning community

a group of people who share common academic goals and attitudes, who meet semi-regularly to collaborate on classwork.

Mastery learning

an instructional strategy and educational philosophy which maintains that learners must achieve a level of mastery in prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to learn subsequent information.

Summative assessment

the assessment of participants where the focus is on the outcome.

Formative adaptive assessment

a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted during the learning process.

Peer-assessment

an educational activity in which learners judge the performance of their peers.

Digital badges

a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.

Blockchain

distributed ledgers which are linked using cryptography.

e-portfolio

a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a learner, usually on the Web.

Learning management systems (LMSs)

software applications for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs.

Learning Record Store (LRS)

a data store system that serves as a repository for learning records collected from connected systems where learning activities.