Augmenting Informal Subject-based Learning

Abstract

Previous chapters have focused on augmenting the formal education associated with schools, colleges, and universities. In these settings, an external authority such as an organization, institution, or teacher defines not only learners’ goals but also the ways in which they work to achieve those goals. However, much of our learning takes place informally, in settings where we choose our own methods, define our own goals, or work toward shifting goals (Vavoula, 2004). “The basic terms of informal learning (e.g., objectives, content, means and processes of acquisition, duration, evaluation of outcomes, applications) are determined by the individuals and groups that choose to engage in it” (Livingstone, 1999). This chapter and those that follow, therefore, examine the augmentation of learning in informal settings: virtually, using social media and through distributed networks.