Connectivism – A Brief Reflection

In the past learning was very centralized. This is not something I would have even considered, were it not for the way that learning has now become very socialized. This has definitely changed the way that I learn, as well as expanded the limits of my learning. Centralized learning confined the learner to the media or materials that were given by the instructor. Socialized learning has created platforms where I can draw knowledge, research and perspectives from experts or other learners to help expand or reinforce my own knowledge.

Digital tools that facilitate learning are blogs as well as groups on Facebook. Youtube videos are a great resource as well. When I have questions I can comment or refer to the resources cited by the author of the post or contribution made to the social media site. I can also zero in on that particular subject area and do further deep research through scholarly sites on the web to increase my knowledge or answer follow up thoughts or questions about it that subject area

The tenets of Connectivism:

• Learning and knowledge lie in multiplicities of perspectives and viewpoints.

• Learning is forming connections between different sources of information.

• Initiating, respecting, and maintaining connections is necessary for growth and for continual learning.

• The ability to see how all the ideas presented by the various social media are connected to a central idea is an important skill to learn.

• Having accurate, up-to-date knowledge is the central goal of connectivist learning.

My PLN (Personal Learning Networks) supports the tenets of Connectivism, because, in each social platform, I am able to uncover a wide range of information from many sources that I can join and pull together, and always refer to and contribute to, in order to inform and edify my own learning and development.

In Connectivism, “the pipe is more important than the content within the pipe” (Siemens, 2005). That means that knowledge is the ability to learn what we need for tomorrow, more so than what we know today. When we need to know or substantiate something, having the ability to turn to and access established resources within our Personal Learning Networks to answer that question becomes an important capability for one to have. As information continues to grow and evolve at the speed of light, having a PLN gives me exactly what I need and that access to information is even more important than what I already know.

Source/s

Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm