In the Age of Information, learning is data-driven

In the Age of Information, learning is a hard to acquire skill - to say the least. Unlike other times in history, when the amount of information was either restricted or limited to education systems, nowadays the individual can be the curator of its own learning experience.

It is estimated that 80% of the information in the world is in digital form and available on the web, mostly in the English language. This information is not organized in a linear sequence to be experienced by the user, and that’s motivated by internet searching methods which follow nonlinear parameters. Adding to this is the fact that in each quick search we are exposed to different points of views on topics, in different languages and elaborated by people with varying backgrounds. 

The revolution of memory, enhanced by the Big Data phenomenon, records everything in data banks that make information readily available. To access this information, all you need is internet connection and fluency in at least one language, then you’ll be ready for a never ending learning experience with no rigid model to follow, but nonetheless efficient. Technology companies - one of the most creative and attractive industries in the job market - are no longer requiring certifications to their employees. To program you have to understand and master tutorials, experiment with codification in collaborative efforts and then prove you are able to fully develop softwares. If it is done well, it doesn’t matter how you learned to do it or who taught you.

It is only natural that this hyperconnected relationship with information presents certain risks to learning processes. But many of these risks have been a constant in the traditional education system as well, such as the quality of information available, the skills and credibility of education agents (the teachers themselves) and also the flow of information - which is slow when compared to how hyperconnected individuals relate to it. 

The democratization of access to knowledge should not be confused with educational informatization, which is wrongly used as a synonym for long-distance teaching methods. Take this as an example: when in 2020 the world went into social isolation due the pandemic of Covid-19, students started a long still ongoing process to adapt to online classes and interactions (those who had the proper gear to do it). It has been said that one of the long-term effects of isolation is a compromise in social skills, learning abilities and mental health  - to an extent which is not yet clear. But to interact with a teacher in a physical classroom is also a complex situation, which requires openness to external evaluation, trust and an ability to deal with differences on both parts. Even on face to face interactions some distancing may happen. Nowadays we have more efficient ways of communicating - e-mails, instant messages - and that enables us to have a more direct response from those involved in a learning experience. If this communication eventually fails, we have available to us sources of information, specialized websites and forums that debate a variety of topics continuously, in different languages and in real time. A society structured in networks, in which information and knowledge flows freely between agents authorized to elaborate on them, creates an omnipresent, decentralized and continuous learning experience. 

The horizontality in the flow of information dismantles the verticality of traditional learning methods, allowing the individual to break free from predetermined traditional curricula and combine different sets of skills more connected to their own personal desires.

Speculatively, the four main challenges to learn in the Age of Information are:

The curating process of data and information: to collect, verify, qualify and organize data to learn new skills is fundamental for an efficient experience. The resulting data bank will be the main source of knowledge for the individual. This means every non reliable information (like fake news) or bad quality information can compromise the whole learning experience. These days, when sorting out information, it is common for most people to select sources with a larger audience, specialized content producers mostly, but this can negatively affect the learning experience, since having a larger audience does not equal being a reliable source. 

The preparation for interpretation and analysis: we are not trained to deal with nonlinear ways of accessing information. The interpretation of information is at the hands of specific agents. For example, in the education system the student is exposed to a predetermined previously elaborated information, he or she is then evaluated by his or her ability to properly assimilate and replicate what was “taught”. In a digital environment, this task of treating the information according to a set of predetermined necessities is the individual’s responsibility. The development of analytical skills is then crucial for a more fluid and efficient learning. 

Supporting the process of discovery and learning: being an active part in our learning requires validation, so we can differentiate what is necessary from what is not. We do not refer specifically to evaluation but to the sentiment of learning, which enables us to feel more confident to advance in a specific field of knowledge. The support and validation of agents of knowledge is a resource still not widely available nor developed, for example, in the internet. Though examples of this are still rare or underdeveloped, it is possible to explore these kinds of resources in education platforms like Duolingo. 

How to navigate in the information flow: when experiencing non-traditional learning and information flows in hyperconnected environments, individuals don’t usually know how to react to nonlinearities. Usually, the learner is always waiting for the information to be treated by someone else (usually the teacher) and transferred to them in a linear way so they can “learn”. To learn oriented by the information flow is to know that the starting point is not the teacher, but the learner’s own searching methods. That’s a fundamental change. Unfortunately, we are not prepared - technically, emotionally - to deal with this type of approach and that’s something we should all be working on. 

This new approach to education, informed by flow, gathering, interpretation and analysis of data, creates an environment of data-driven learning where each step requires a new way of organizing the process: the main agent is no longer the teacher but information itself. In a hyperconnected society, browsing can take us to different places in a non-stop flow of information and knowledge. This data-oriented process can be interpreted as a reinvention of learning, a cultural reset where information is the main resource and allows individuals to explore nonlinear ways of learning. 

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Originally published at MIT Technology Review Brasil on December 14th, 2021.