Research shows that the internet is not only a resource for education but promotes SDL through instant access to information.
Freed (2003) studied the effectiveness of SDL with online graduate students and revealed that the students used reflection, dialogue, and self-direction to construct knowledge in the class. Kerka (1999) suggests that younger generations that view the web as second nature have naturally acquired a SDL orientation and do not need to adapt to the change but grow within it. |
Beyond what has been researched on SDL, there are still many questions that have gone unanswered and are in need of further study such as:
How do issues of power and control interact with the use of SDL in formal settings? How can the practice of SDL be incorporated in our work as educators? How do cultural and contextual factors shape SDL? How is technology relating to and affecting SDL? |