Social Networking Theories and Tools to Support Connectivist Learning Activities

The base of the iceberg: Informal learning and its impact on formal and non-formal learning is a thick and deep theoretical discussion on education by Alan Rogers, a well-known author in the field. This book discusses the relationship between informal learning on the one hand and formal and non-formal learning on the other. Including the introduction (Chapter 1) and the conclusion (Chapter 6) it has six chapters. Designed to be a guide, each one of the four main chapters ends with suggestions for further reading and control exercises. The core of the analysis, supported by an extensive literature review, moves from the definition of concepts and their limits (Chapter 2) to a discussion of the nature and processes of informal learning (Chapter 3) and then to a literature review on the different dimensions of informal learning (Chapter 4). Chapter 5 is devoted to the multifaceted links between informal, non-formal and formal learning. The introductory chapter begins with a discussion aiming to draw a line between education (teacher-centred) and learning (learner-centred) in the context of lifelong learning. The shift from education towards learning resulted in ‘‘the redefinition of teaching as the facilitation of learning and of education as the provision of learning opportunities or learning experiences’’ (Biesta 2009, cited by Rogers, p. 11). This debate between schools of thought brought forth several definitions of learning to the point that Rogers observes a confusion against which he warns the reader: ‘‘This change from ‘education’ to ‘learning’ in our current Discourses may help to make clearer the fact that there is no consensus to be found as yet as to the meaning of the word’’ (p. 13), making the reader wonder how the author defines learning. In Chapter 2, Rogers presents three generally agreed-on definitions of learning emanating from UNESCO – formal learning, non-formal learning and informal learning – before pointing out the key criteria which distinguish them. These are the

Learning is a cognitive process that occurs either
 in a formal or informal learning environment, by way of
 adopting either formal or informal learning process. While
 the significance of former has been widely accepted, later is
 still researched and lacks relevant studies on its implications
 for web-based learning, especially by way of instigating
 learning motivation. This paper presents descriptive analysis
 of learning motivation factors within (i) formal and informal
 learning environments, and (ii) formal and informal
 learning processes, and then examines their influence on
 web-based learning by computing Pearson correlations. To
 achieve study objectives, the paper discusses relevant literature
 and then conceptualizes a research model to be tested
 through a survey based questionnaire. Formal learning
 process is discussed with reference to learning activities as
 promoted by formal learning institutes, while informal
 learning process is examined by way of investigating learning
 motivation factors associated with (i) video-games, (ii)
 social networking websites and (iii) motion-pictures. Results
 illustrate interesting revelation of learning motivational
 factors, particularly motivational factors associated with
 informal learning environment and processes have been
 found to have a statistically significant relationship with
 web-based learning. The paper concludes implications of the
 statistical findings for designing of cognitively engaging
 web-based learning environments.

The evolving technological landscape in the digital era has a crucial influence on lifelong learning and the demand for problem‐solving skills. In this paper, we identify associations between formal, non‐formal and informal learning with sufficient problem‐solving skills in technology‐rich environments (TRE). We focus on adults' problem‐solving skills in TRE as a novel approach to investigate formal, non‐formal and informal learning based on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. This programme measured 16–64‐year‐old adults' proficiency in problem‐solving skills in TRE. The total sample size was 61 654 individuals from 13 European countries. Our results clearly indicate that the skill levels of more than 50% of adults aged 16–64 years old seem to be insufficient to cope effectively in TRE. The findings suggest that the learning ecologies of adults are a combination of formal, non‐formal and informal learning activities. The overall level of problem‐solving skills in TRE was higher among individuals who indicated that they have participated either formal or non‐formal learning activities, compared to those who have not. However, interestingly, the association between formal learning and problem‐solving skills in TRE was not major. Instead, our results clearly indicate that informal learning seems to be highly associated with sufficient problem‐solving skills in TRE. In practice, we outline those formal, non‐formal and informal learning activities that adults perform when applying the skills in TRE. By recognising these activities undertaken by sufficient problem solvers, we can promote lifelong learning skills. Our findings can also be used as a starting point for future studies on lifelong learning.

A Personal Learning Environment or PLE is described as a process that helps students organize the influx of information and resources that they are faced with on a daily basis into a personalized digital learning space or experience. A PLE is primarily facilitated by cloud-based Web 2.0 technologies and services designed to help students create, organize, and share content, participate in collective knowledge generation, and manage their own meaning making. Hence, a PLE is student-designed around each student’s goals or learning approach. In a PLE, the student develops an individualized digital identity through the perceptual cues and cognitive affordances that the personalized learning environment provides such as what information to share and when, who to share it with, and how to effectively merge formal and informal learning experiences. To gather data on PLEs, Mason students were asked what do they like to learn about; what hardware (devices) and software do they use to learn; what digital tools they wish they had access to for learning; and what their ideal PLE might look like. In this presentation, we will share student responses to these questions and provide recommendations for supporting the development PLEs in teaching and learning contexts.

In this paper we present the results of a naturalistic study carried out with higher education students which describes their learning environments when working on academic tasks in groups and individually. In this study we want to analyse how they organize their learning activities and knowledge processes (reading, reflecting and sharing) and how these learning processes are integrated into their Personal Learning Environments (PLE). In order to achieve that, students had to reflect about the basic ‘components’ that make up their learning process: reading (using not only by text but also multimedia), doing/reflecting (creating cognitive artefacts) and sharing (discussing, showing, and offering and receiving feedback from and to a community of reference). Students formed relationships between those components and any technological tools they used and created mind maps to represent their PLEs. The main objective is to try to understand how PLEs are organized and how they are perceived by learners, not from a technological perspective but from a learning perspective. The main results confirm the strong nature of PLEs as a pedagogical approach with a strong technological base. In addition, those results suggest a close relationship between students’ beliefs and expectations regarding academic tasks as well as the importance they give to each component in their learning process.

Islam teaches that humans are obliged to seek knowledge, so teaching and learning activities are a process of activities carried out by humans, both formal and informal learning. This research aims to show the relevance of comfort in learning and teaching in Islam in the context of verse 11 of the Al-Quran Surah Al-Mujjadi. There this verse is discussed in relation to Islam and comfort in Islam. The learning and teaching process is interpreted. This research uses library research, where all the main data in this research comes from books, magazines, tafir books and journals related to the theme of this research. The research results show that there is a relationship between the comfort of the teaching and learning process by educators with verse 11 of Surah Mujjadi. This is closely related to the environment, facilities and infrastructure that support learning and educational activities. Through interaction and connection between teachers and students, even at the end of the verse it is stated that Allah will raise the status of those who believe and have knowledge.

A Design Framework for Personal Learning Environments

With the increasing importance of lifelong learning, the concepts of learning and education have evolved and expanded alongside the advancements in technology, technical tools, and systems. As learning spaces and forms have become more diverse, their dimensions also required redefinition and rethinking. Non-formal learning has gained increasing prominence in educational processes, particularly playing a crucial role in technical education. In the realm of technical education, non-formal learning can manifest in numerous forms. Through industrial practices, workshop activities, or projects, students can gain tangible experiences and deepen their theoretical knowledge. This type of learning helps foster creative thinking and problem-solving skills among students. The digitalization trend has also infiltrated this educational form. Technological advancements and the COVID situation further reinforce the prominence of these educational and learning approaches. Research is being conducted in a corporate environment to examine mandatory occupational safety training, involving a micro-survey of 100 participants divided into 50-person groups under non-formal and formal educational frameworks. The topic revolves around mandatory occupational safety training. Non-formal tools included the use of a safety corridor as a new educational space, web-based, AR-driven content, and tangible resources. Students can learn at their own pace, select topics of interest, or relevant to their professional goals. However, in this method, assessment techniques need restructuring to prepare and sensitize students for the new learning process to enhance the efficiency of the learning process. Formal education involved knowledge transfer through presentations and lecturing formats. The research proved that non-formal, quality, practice-oriented education should not be confined solely to formal schooling but should encompass both formal and non-formal educational and learning activities. This research provides significant assistance, tools, ideas, and methods for instructors to ensure sustainable technical education in the field of occupational safety throughout practical training.

Social networking tools have been enthusiastically heralded as a means to support different learning types and innovative pedagogical practices. They have also been recognized as potential tools to promote informal learning. In this paper we describe work carried out using the synergy of social web tools, learning models and innovative pedagogical practices across a Masters Degree Course. Findings suggest that the use of these tools as a means to distribute an open and flexible learning environment fosters informal interactions and such interactions are perceived by students to have a significant impact over their formal learning outcomes.

The contribution covers discussion on informal university learning, which is a part of heutagogy. In the paper, the university learning is considered as autopoietic organization development as well as development of business organization strongly dependent on external knowledge resources. In general, university education space covers formal, informal, and non-formal learning. Nowadays, informal learning has an excellent opportunity for development, because of Web 2.0 ideas and solutions. In the paper, the architecture of informal learning environment is visualized in ArchiMate 4.0 beta version language. The main goal of the paper is to present informal learning architecture as supplement to the formal learning. The MOOCs (massive open online courses) are included in the architecture model for informal learning support.

Objective: This study explores students' perceptions of using Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) in the era of generative artificial intelligence as a learning resource in higher education. The specific objectives are: 1) to determine the current tools that students incorporate into their PLEs and 2) to identify students' perceptions of the use of PLEs for lifelong learning. Theoretical Framework: UNESCO and other institutions recognize lifelong learning as an essential competency for personal and professional development. Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) are considered effective tools for promoting self-directed learning, allowing students to manage their learning processes, especially with the advent of generative artificial intelligence technologies. Method: A qualitative study was conducted with 207 first-semester engineering students from a public university in Peru. Participants were introduced to a training program to develop their PLEs using various digital tools, including generative AI tools such as ChatGPT DALL-E. The instrument used to evaluate students' perceptions was the MUSIC model (Jones, 2009), which focuses on empowerment and usefulness. Results: The results indicate that more than 80% of the students positively perceive PLEs, considering them valuable and empowering tools for achieving their learning objectives. Integrating generative AI tools into PLEs is notable, as it provides a dynamic and personalized learning experience. Most students found PLEs helpful for their future and relevant for promoting lifelong learning skills. Research Implications: The research suggests that PLEs, especially when integrated with generative AI tools, positively impact self-directed learning and promote collaborative and social learning. These findings can inform the development of educational programs and policies that encourage using PLEs as a student-centered learning strategy. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the understanding of the role of PLEs in the context of higher education and generative artificial intelligence. It is one of the first studies to examine students' perceptions of using PLEs with generative AI tools, highlighting their potential to enhance learning autonomy and personalization.

The purpose of the present study was to compare physical fitness status (agility, flexibility, speed, and strength endurance) of Ethiopian youth under-17 football players trained by coaches from formal and informal coach learning system. To achieve the objective of the study a quantitative approach in harmony with purposive sampling was employed. Hence, the researchers have participated and measured the fitness level of 75 (62.5%) volunteer elite youth U-17 players. An independent sample t-test was conducted to compare the physical fitness status of players being trained by coaches from formal and informal learning system. There were statistically significant agility difference between players coached by formally learned coaches (M = 16.38, SD = .77) and players of informally learned coaches M = 16.86, SD = 1.06; t (73) = -2.16, P = .03. Conversely, the findings of the present study showed that statistically significant speed difference between players coached by formally learned coaches (M = 4.48, SD = .21) and players coached by informally learned coaches M = 4.11, SD = .31; t (73) = 6.16, P = .00. On the contrary, the findings of the present study indicated that statistically significant flexibility difference between players coached by formally learned coaches (M = 10.40, SD = 4.44) and players of informally learned coaches M = 6.10, SD = 5.30; t (73) = 3.66, P = .00. The result elucidates that players trained by formally learned coaches were significantly fast (16.38 seconds) agility mean time score than players trained by informally learned coaches (16.86 seconds). Conversely, players trained by informal learned coaches’ show significantly faster (4.11 seconds) than players coached by formal learned coaches. However, players coached by formally learned coaches were significantly flexible (10.40 centimeters) than trainees of informally learned coaches. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in strength endurance of players trained by formally learned coaches (M = 28.20, SD =10.17) and strength endurance of players trained by informally learned coaches (M = 31.29, SD = 11.69). However, there was no significant difference in strength endurance of players trained by formal learned coaches (M = 28.20, SD = 10.17) and strength endurance of players trained by informally learned coaches M = 31.29, SD = 11.69; t (73) = -1.18, P = .24. Ultimately, the result of the current study suggests that the type of coach learning surely have an impact on physical fitness status of elite youth under-17 football players. Therefore, the findings of the current study conclude that the collaborative work of formally learned and informally learned coaches recommended to bring the needed changes across all physical fitness qualities of elite youth under-17 football players of Ethiopia. Keywords: agility, speed, flexibility, strength endurance, formal learning, informal learning

In Learning to Think Strategically, author Julia Sloan presents a previously unexamined account of the relationship between strategic thinking and the learning process involved — taking learning from the academic to the everyday. This book is an original primer on how successful strategists learn to think strategically. This authoritative book traces the history of strategy, differentiates strategic thinking from planning, describes the influence of culture, streamlines the roles of rationality and intuition, and identifies five key attributes for learning to think strategically. Learning to Think Strategically asserts that learning is the critical link to strategic thinking. Learning is a "conversion tool" that can transform thinking strategically into a sustainable competitive advantage.

Drawing on the conceptual framework of informal music learning, I explore the implications of formal, nonformal, and informal music learning practices on students’ developing musicianship and musical identity. Specifically, the present column examines three key areas in which informal music learning practices differ from traditional music learning approaches: (a) teacher-facilitated instruction, (b) functional musicianship, and (c) peer collaboration. A reflective guiding question encourages teachers to consider how informal learning principles might inform their practice. The present column asks, how can the principles of informal music learning help us begin to reimagine learning in formal and nonformal music learning spaces?

Informal learning is a key element in the development of knowledge and skills outside formal educational contexts. This study explores the psychological, cognitive, and social dynamics of informal learning, with particular attention to the role of technology. Through a literature review, the processes of self-regulation and metacognition—essential for autonomous learning management—are analyzed, along with the contribution of communities of practice to the co-construction of knowledge. Digital technologies, such as personal learning environments (PLEs), social media, and artificial intelligence, emerge as central tools in facilitating informal learning by expanding access to resources and fostering collaborative interaction. However, challenges related to attention management and overstimulation require targeted pedagogical strategies. Finally, future perspectives are discussed, highlighting the potential of immersive technologies and adaptive systems to personalize and optimize informal learning. This study provides insights for the design of innovative educational environments capable of leveraging the opportunities offered by informal learning in the knowledge society.