If this is the Frontier, where are the Boundaries?

We start learning early before going to primary school, and if we survive higher-ed, then we keep learning. I purposely didn't call this blog the "Education Frontier" as I wanted to ensure that we don't limit ourselves (me and you all) to the standard practices of the U.S. based education system. Surely, those practices themselves are changing, and to help accelerate them, we need to look outside the global education system, and look where learning is happening.

As an example of non-school learning, one of my best learning experiences was working in computer science at the same time I was studying it in my bachelors. I was writing visual basic and Z80 assembler programs for career exploration funded by the State of Kansas. While my professors were criticizing Basic as a toy language, I was learning what made for effective and ineffective interfaces, search algorithms, and the business of applied problem solving. I never took a class that was as effective as working with real customers. Decades later, I discovered that this is learning in the "Legitimate Peripheral Participation" style defined by Lave and Wegner published 10 years after my experiences.

There are many types of learning, and to push the frontiers, we have to push the models and the technology that implement them. What are your favorite examples of great learning?

The Professional Learning Model (PLM)

PLM is a model we created in 2004 at Colorado Technical University to capture our approach to learning that emphasizes realistic problems and projects. This combination of university-level learning with professionally useful learning is based on learning theory (most notably legitimate peripheral participation and social constructionsim).

Typically students work through realistic scenarios that represent the full complexity of problems and situations found in the professional environment. They may also bring projects into the class from work.

An important part of PLM is the use of mindtools for amplifying individual and collective problem solving. Some of these tools are found in professional settings, while others are not common, yet would be of great help. We often call them "cool tech".

We'll explore in this blog the problems and projects used in the model and the supporting technologies that people find helpful in the real world and in learning.

Now, in 2009, I see a few more universities using a model like this, but most offer versions of the digital lecture.

I'd love to hear about other technologies and models that help push the frontiers of learning.