University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Educational Psychology 387
Computer Uses in Education

Toward a distributed learning theory

web as a network of interlinked geographically distributed servers
information flowing dynamically through the network
mediator roles in determining the flow of information and the creation of structure (links) / knowledge
incremental and distributed nature of this network learning

Specification of local rules (Eudora "filters", for example)
Gradual movement of those rules outward toward where they are needed
Standing answers
Standing questions (agents/avatars)
"push" technologies on the web (Pointcast, etc.)
from procedural to object-oriented to agent-oriented
externalization of the most routine, most boring leading to a local "expert system" assistant
movement of that knowledge outward toward repeated requests
movement of this knowledge as organizational learning
"economics" of learning

information flows through networks, based on local choices made by each node about where to send the information it receives
"knowledge" (stored information) flows through networks, based on local choices made by each node to store information flowing through that node
Joe's pizza example:
- Joe's phone number is in the phone book.
- Under repeated use, it moves from the phone book,
- to a post-it note,
- to a person's memory.