Knowledge is distributed—among minds, in the intersubjectivity of thought; among the “peripheral devices” that represent the “extensions” of the mind, like technology; among the “cognitive artefacts”, coconstructed cultural products, domain specific and relative to the contexts from which they emerge and in which they are formed.
Published in Chapter:
E-Learning is What Kind of Learning?
Flavia Santoianni (University of Naples Federico II, Italy)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 6
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch032
Abstract
The knowledge society has reinterpreted the concept of knowledge, shifting from the idea of philosophical argument to an epistemological meaning linked to educational actions. Knowledge is now diffuse, not centralized, and more accessible than ever before, and learning approaches involve visual processes and nontraditional languages. This has led to a radical change in the way knowledge is transferred, away from intentional transgenerational transmission and toward self-directed learning, simplified by multimedia and technological resources. According to current learning theories, knowledge construction may be defined as a mediative process between adaptive learning dynamics at both the individual and collective level. Research on knowledge construction has combined social contextualisation and constructivism to achieve a sociocultural view of the distributed mind. At the same time, cultural embeddedness and domain-specific situativity are interconnected with mind embodiment and the view of the environment as a holistic and synergic organism. From an educational point of view improving guidance in a diffuse knowledge society is definitely a very difficult task, notwithstanding the fact that knowledge may seem relatively easy to approach. Diffuse knowledge can be highly specialised, and may require the ability to transfer and generalise learning in order to link the various aspects that are examined. At the same time, knowledge must be contextualized if we want to identify motivational implications and, more importantly, show its actual usability at experiential level.