For those of you who have been contemplating distance education, yesterday Dr. Martens posted about an educational theory from Teemu Arina called parasitic learning.
From the second link:
I call for third places of learning running outside of the reach of formal structures. These spaces are run by self-directed connective learners (homo contextus) utilizing abilities in distributed cognition, prosthesis of thinking and parasitic approach to informal learning. Serendipity defines the accidental encounters of individuals in such third places linking the skills and wills of people through social technologies. The social noosphere (mindsphere) extends into a planetary thinking network, effectively decentralizing learning through technological extensions of mind and body.
