Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Connectivism

Just a couple decades ago, education was about students learning from a teacher and the students needed the teacher/expert to learn.  (Otherwise a library was a resource but knowledge of how to use the library was an obstacle.)  With the advent of the internet and the acceleration of the power of the personal computer, the gap was closed between learner and the information.  These resources also opened up more connections to these learners than was offered traditionally.  This transition is aligned with Dr. Siemens theory of Connectivism. 

"In connectivism, the starting point for learning occurs when knowledge is actuated through the process of a learner connecting to and feeding information into a learning community.  Siemens (2004) states, "A community is the clustering of similar areas of interest that allows for  interaction, sharing, dialoguing, and thinking together." (Kop & Hill, 2008).

With this in mind I have now recognized that I have learned more in my online learning than any other learning experience.  I have collected resources for future use, understand how learning experiences can start and continue into the future through blogging and utilizing social networks.  And even find value in resources as simple as emails from credible resources such as NSTA, ISTE, NEA, and more.

Kop & Hill talk about whether this theory is even a theory, "...or vestige of the past?"  Whether it meets the qualifications of a learning theory, the idea needs to be looked at.  From the beginning of time, technology has been about bringing us closer and being able to go further, faster.  Weapons and fire helped us have the ability to travel further because we had more energy and over time it helped develop our brains.  Skipping forward thousands of years, laungae and the printing press helped spread knowlege to more people and just those who had access and the money.  Transportation connected us to other parts of the world and did it at ever increasing rates to make it possible to make round trips to just about anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.

Eventually electronic technology helped us complete various tasks in a way that better, faster, and cheaper.  But it wasn't until the internet when this power was connected.  Now people are connected, information is at our beck and call, and these machines can do things together by being connected to each other.

With changing times, we are connected to each other in different means.  Our needs change with time too.  This necessitates an evolving understanding of education, because school is supposed to prepare your to work in the future.  We have to realize that the jobs of the future are no longer the jobs of the past or even present.

What this means to me is that I do not necessarily have to know everything about everything, but I do need to know where to go or what to do if I do not know something.  This is connectivism and being connected to the best resources and have them at your fingertips is what is needed in today's society, and is becoming the foundation of commerce.

Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3), 1–13.

4 comments:

  1. I replied to...

    http://ltet7105.blogspot.com/2011/01/walden-7105-mod-4-reflection.html

    http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/educ8845-module-4-connecting-ourselves.html

    http://lkortecc.blogspot.com/2011/01/connectivism.html

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  2. I agree with you that online learning has been a greater influence on my knowledge base than traditional past education. There is still a lot to be credited to growing with a group and a single adult to build social skills, collaboration, communication, presentation, and knowledge building skills. At what age do you think students are ready to accept, interact, and contribute to a world sharing everything and anything?

    I feel the idea of gradual release, as I practice with training teachers, to be successful, safe, encouraging, and progressive. Even with the same idea for younger learners, when are they ready for the global onslaught of information? Or how do we individualize and rationalize the process of gradual release?

    I know ~ that's the question of the century.

    Thanks for sharing,
    ~Laurie

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  3. Hi Richard...

    I noticed your comment about having learned more in your online courses than in other learning situations that you experienced. That comment got me thinking about my own learning as well.

    Looking back, it seems like I learned alot of foundational/static information through more traditional means. All of my background in math/physics (for example) has stemmed from more traditional types of learning. However, I have really excelled at applying this information and in teaching others through utilizing online resources and other digital technologies. Although traditional learning is by no means void of application or connection-building opportunities, the online/digital environment definitely creates more opportunities for expanding how information is applied and interconnected.

    Compared to more traditional learning environments, do you think that online learning has influenced the quantity of information that you have absorbed, the quality of information, or both? Or do you think that it is a matter of how you interact with the information that has changed how/what you learn?

    Mike :)

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  4. Do you find, as I do, that there is a steep learning curve as one enters the world of Web2.0 and that one's learning accelerates the deeper in one goes?

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