Formal vs. Informal

The number of students that I've taught that have learned so much from social media is astounding. When I taught 5th grade I downloaded this new app called TikTok because all of my students were talking about it. They would come to class singing songs, doing dances, and quoting viral sounds and I needed to know what they were talking about. Not just because I was curious, but because half of the songs and quotes were inappropriate for 10/11 year olds to know. This type of informal learning is becoming so much more prevalent in society today. Kids as young as one are handed iPads to watch videos so that they are entertained. This gives a whole new perspective on what kids are learning and how they are learning it. 

When reading Greenhow, C., & Lewin, C. (2016), it spoke about the difference between formal learning and informal learning. Formal learning is just what it sounds like and it sounds like what everyone is used to. Curriculum, teachers, students, classrooms. Informal is also just what it sounds like. It's unintended learning that the learner figures out by self-exploration. Social media comes in because it allows learners to create, explore, connect, play, communicate, and share what they want, when they want. It becomes "self-initiated" and I see it all the time with kids today. They know more about the world than previous generations and I don't think it will be slowed down anytime soon. 

When did formal learning start to take a backseat to informal learning? Is it from the rise of social media? Or is it when technology became the frontrunner in our culture?

Comments

  1. Li MengMay 29, 2022 at 1:41 PM

    Hi, your post was very interesting to me, as I have similarly noticed that in today's young learners, informal learning has increasingly become a prevalent and important means which they acquire information. As instructional designers, I opine that moving ahead, there will be much value in integrating both forms of learning together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren ShellMay 29, 2022 at 4:38 PM

    Hi Sarah! I do think that the rise of social media and the increasing use of cell phones, tablets, and the like, have created an increase in informal learning possibilities. I have been doing a lot of contemplating over how informal learning through social media could be used as a tool in formal learning environments - can we ultimately change the way that people use social media? I think that it could be useful to play off the informal learning increase by using it as a tool in formal learning environments,like Li Meng mentioned, integrating both forms of learning together!

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  3. EME 6414May 29, 2022 at 4:58 PM

    Great post! I think that the pandemic has a big role to play in this. It has completely turned our world upside down and many people are questioning if what they once believed to be true is still true for them. I think this most impacted students who were out of school and spent a lot of time questioning why things were they way they were.

    I also have a theory that people like to "control" their own learning. They like to have a say in it. Social media really helps them do that. They feel empowered like they are the ones who are finding out this information on their own. Maybe as educators, we have to find ways to mimic this in the classroom as best as we can.

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  4. Kyle RoarkJune 5, 2022 at 4:35 PM

    HI Sarah, If I were to take a guess I think the aspect of "play" that you mention is key to the rise of information gathering for younger students on social media. The sense that it is not work and that they are exploring the world at their own pace, but with an extremely powerful tool behind them gives them a key leg up on previous generations. I'm glad you are trying to mimick some of the information seeking strategies that you see in your students in their every day activities and I see this as the real challenge facing educators over the next few years.

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