​Ralph Waldo Emerson is a famous poet, essayist, philosopher, and influencer of his time for the transcendentalist movement. While I don’t understand transcendentalism to its full degree, I’ve enjoyed Emerson’s poems and recently found myself reading the first chapter of his ‘Nature’ essay. To my surprise, I enjoyed reading it. There were parts that I found myself understanding and wanting to read more and parts that still have me asking ‘What do you mean?’

Communication is a part of listening, expression and learning.  It can be verbal and non-verbal. Communication can be done with action, like the beautiful way the deaf community speaks to each other, spoken word poetry, a baby smiling because they recognize your voice, or body language. Technology positively impacts communication with computers, the internet, social media, live streams, podcasts, and yes, vlogs and blogs, yet there is more; however, there are harmful ways, such as losing personal connections with people, messages being misinterpreted in emails, privacy/security concerns, too many hours of screen time - a yin and yang.

​As someone who uses technology to communicate professionally and personally, learning theory grasps technology to help understand and process new information. These theories should consider how technology impacts communications because, realistically, the world is changing fast, and technological advances are growing in leaps and bounds. Learning theory should consider these impacts on instructional design, pedagogy, assessment, and training spaces due to the implied audience. You have to put yourself in the other person’s shoes when designing content by making sure the learning objectives match what you are developing, or what needs to be learned, planning the logistics of training space, and even your teaching style is communicating a compelling message and instruction. I wonder what perspectives philosophers of the past would have on technology? I hope the human elements of sharing through communication never disappear so that reducing loneliness and lack of connection, even in education or self-paced learning, diminishes.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

A famous proverb talks about preparing a child in the right direction; those foundational truths will be preserved when they are old. I believe that is true. People learn in different ways. Humans are not robots. Our thoughts and experiences are a part of who we are. What I learned as a child is still with me today. Now, let's go a few steps backward; what does it mean to be human and know? Being human is a gift on many levels. You can use your brain, sight, and limbs, experience feelings, and nurture your soul. Knowledge is a part of being human. How you understand information and being able to decipher that information to navigate education, situations, and life experiences is all a part of the human condition.

​As a life-long learner, knowledge constantly changes, and how you receive or perceive it changes over time. Knowledge is not a cookie-cutter conformity, nor is it black and white. Knowledge is to be questioned, explored and transformed. I accept left and right-brain attributes by debunking being told I am solely a left or right-brain individual. Stepping out of my comfort zone, making mistakes, and growing from them will help my personal learning theory. With that being said, learning should be holistic, emphasizing the integration of cognitive, social, cultural, and practical dimensions in the learning process.