MicroLearning Project
This MicroLearning Project describes a personal learning experience to demonstrate my understanding of theories covered in edX course IDT100x Instructional Design and Technology: Learning Theories
I learned to use Canva to create infographics that explain andragogy learning theory and that compare behaviorism, constructivism, cognitivism, connectivism, and andragogy (included halfway and at the end of this article). Canva has both a web version and an app, which can be found at canva.com. Their tagline on their website homepage is “Everyone can create professional designs with Canva. It’s easy to use and free” and I found this to be the case — I was able to create a beautiful and effective infographic incredibly easily. Canva’s library of templates, icons, and assets and intuitive drag-and-drop interface make professional design accessible, whether you are looking to create an infographic like I did or a flyer, report, greeting card, or social media post (and the possibilities don’t stop there).
There were three learning theories present during my self-education on how to use Canva: constructivism, connectivism, and andragogy. This learning experience is also an example of both the experiential and the problem-based learning approach models.
Constructivism learning theory assumes that I have previous knowledge and experience that informs my learning which was, in fact, true in this case. Having used a number of other tools, such as Keynote and PowerPoint, I was able to get started quickly because I already understood that I could pick a template and move, delete, or replace any of the elements individually or as a group. I instinctively knew how to search for shapes, icons and images to add and how to change their colors to bring the design together using a cohesive color scheme.
Having prior knowledge did have a some drawbacks. I would at times get slowed down and even frustrated because some functions in Canva work differently than I expected from using other tools. That is where connectivism came into play. I utilized the in-app help resources to look up how to do specific things I couldn’t figure out on my own, and knew that if those were not helpful I had the entirety of the internet to turn to.
Andragogy completes the explanation of how I learned to use Canva. It reiterates constructivism’s point that I bring past experience and knowledge to my learning, and reinforces connectivism’s point that I can and enjoy being self-directed in my learning. I think I am better able to use the tool because I had to figure things out for myself instead of following instructions from a teacher. Learning to use Canva specifically to create this infographic kept the learning problem-oriented, which kept me engaged. Andragogy also proposes that my social roles increase my readiness to learn, which I would agree with — learning to use Canva to produce effective designs help me in my roles as a student and in my professional job, so I’m inclined to want to learn this skill. This contributes to my intrinsic sense of motivation, the last assumption andragogy makes of adult learners.
