Learning in Information-Rich Environments (PDF)

Learning in Information-Rich Environments

I-LEARN and the Construction of Knowledge in the 21^st Century

Delia Neuman

Human beings are bombarded with information at all times-not just electronically, but through our senses and experiences, affecting how we seek, process, and create information. From this limitless complexity comes an important question: how can we learn and teach more effectively in our information-generating world?

Grounded in seminal ideas in learning theory, instructional systems design, and information studies, Learning in Information-Rich Environments brings together ideas that have run in parallel for years but whose relationship has not been explored in full until now, expanding on familiar and contemporary concepts of learning to include our interactivity with everyday situations and stimuli. This comprehensive and thought-provoking analysis links traditional theories to emerging ideasin learning by:

• Demonstrating that information is the basic unit of learning, critical thinking, and problem solving.
• Defining information-rich environments and the range of information formats-including print, audio, video, and others-that comprise them.
• Extending these concepts to the Internet/World Wide Web and the current spectrum of information and communication technologies used for learning.
• Exploring the 21^st-century skills and strategies needed to capitalize on learning opportunities in contemporary information environments.
• Setting out the non-linear I-LEARN model of gaining and using knowledge in formal and informal information-rich environments.
• Discussing how I-LEARN can be used in the assessment of learning, and in the design of assessment tools.

Its skillful blend of elegant concepts and real-world evidence makes Learning in Information-Rich Environments a must-read title forgraduate students and educators in educational theory, instructional design, and information science.