A Recipe for Success

How do you make digital learning a success?  Start with a strong foundation built on theories and educational  concepts.  A top of that pile a heaping scoop of instructional design...any flavor of your choice.  Mix it together with a dash of alternative spices, morals, ethics, and philosophical thought.  Allow it to bake completely before topping it with a layer of digital, global connectivity.

Digital learning can be successful with the right recipe.  Exact measurements and ingredients are not necessarily needed.  Digital learning is what we make of it.  There is a recipe that is perfect for each learner and is unique just as each individual learner is.

Technology has the opportunity to change the lives of many, positively or negatively, but only if the chasm of the digital divide can be crossed.  Affordable and accessible is the name of the game when it comes to making sure technology can be an asset.  Race, culture, socioeconomic status can change a lot for a student in this digital age.  Where classrooms are moving to become more digitally centered in preparation for life after graduation, those without access are in danger of being left behind.  To be part of the growing global village requires students to have access to the technology and know how to use it.  If and when access is granted, knowledge is a necessity.  Knowledge comes form the ability of teachers to teach it.  Here is where old school needs to meet new school.  Teachers need to become learners of the digital age and understand that technology requires a new train of thought and teaching.  Pedagogy and content are not longer enough, they must be adapted to technology.  Using technology for games and rewards will not make successful users.   The complex world of unintended consequences must be handled in order to show students how to be successful in a global village, for better or worse.

The exact recipe doesn't exist, but guidelines are a place to start.  The R2D2 model claims the best way to start is fuzzy and clarify as you go.  A pinch of this and dash of that is the way to start...but from there time, development, and customization is what it will take to create a successful digital learning environment.