I envision learning as a personal self-determined experience shaped by the needs, preferences, and dispositions of individual learners in a space that allow for free exploration.
Learning how to learn in a digital space
People learn best when they engage into relevant learning experiences, that is when learning and living are not artificially separated. Although a digital environment may appear at first as not natural and not conducive for real-life experiences, the digital sphere is increasingly part of our daily life and ICT tools can provide for improved conditions for learning as they allow for improved interactions between learners and information. A digital space can provide the conditions for deep personal engagement and self-determined learning. A crucial skill to develop is thus to learn how to learn in a digital space, that is to gain autonomy in that space. Also as learning is eminently a social experience, it should at least in part occur in a collective environment.
A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) represents a powerful learning environment that combines an exquisite design stimulating individual engagement with the material and a community allowing for interactions with peers. To express fully its potentialities and to help develop self-determined lifelong learners, learning in MOOC may initially necessitate pedagogical guidance and acquisition of special skills. For example participatory skills for intervention in forums and building a personal learning network. The guidance of a leader of learning (companion of learning process) could help initiate or stimulate interactions.
A personal, empathic connection between the leader of learning and the learner
The distributed individual learning environment of the MOOC is best fitted for the tutoring-like approach to learning that most appeals to me as a leader of learning. As I envision learning as a personal self-determined experience, I can easily relate to the personal needs of other learners like you wishing to gain autonomy in their learning. In this environment I can communicate, motivate you more deeply, and serve more naturally as a leading example to help you taking leadership in a self-determined space, to invest in yourself and become you too a lifelong learner!