• For obvious reasons, formal education institutions have been less  ready to embrace these ideas.

• Overview of Connectivism

   

  Connectivism is a theoretical framework for understanding learning.  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.”

   

  In the connectivist model, a learning community is described as a node, which is always part of a larger network.  Nodes arise out of the connection points that are found on a network.  A network is comprised of two or more nodes linked in order to share resources.  Nodes may be of varying size and strength, depending on the concentration of information and the number of individuals who are navigating through a particular node (Downes, 2008).

   

  According to connectivism, knowledge is distributed across an information network and can be stored in a variety of digital formats.  Learning and knowledge are said to “rest in diversity of opinions” (Siemens, 2008, para. 8).  Learning transpires through the use of both the cognitive and the affective domains; cognition and the emotions both contribute to the learning process in important ways.

   

  Since information is constantly changing, its validity and accuracy may change over time, depending on the discovery of new contributions pertaining to a subject.  By extension, one’s understanding of a subject, one’s ability to learn about the subject in question, will also change over time.  Connectivism stresses that two important skills that contribute to learning are the ability to seek out current information, and the ability to filter secondary and extraneous information.  Simply put, “The capacity to know is more critical than what is actually known” (Siemens, 2008, para. 6).  The ability to make decisions on the basis of information that has been acquired is considered integral to the learning process.

   

  The learning process is cyclical, in that learners will connect to a network to share and find new information, will modify their beliefs on the basis of new learning, and will then connect to a network to share these realizations and find new information once more.  Learning is considered a “. . . knowledge creation process . . . not only knowledge consumption.”  One’s personal learning network is formed on the basis of how one’s connection to learning communities are organized by a learner.

   

  Learners may transverse networks through multiple knowledge domains.  The peripheries of knowledge fields are porous, allowing for the interdisciplinary connections to be made.  Siemens asserts, “The ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill” (Siemens, 2008, para. 10).  The connectivist metaphor is particularly timely, since the navigation of the Internet and the means by which information is dispersed on the Internet now provides a reference point for Siemens’ assertions.

• About

   
  Description of Connectivism
    

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  Connectivism is a learning theory for the digital age. Learning   has changed over the last several decades. The theories of behaviourism,   cognitivism, and constructivism provide an effect view of learning   in many environments. They fall short, however, when learning   moves into informal, networked, technology-enabled arena. Some   principles of connectivism:

    
   
  • The integration of cognition and emotions in meaning-making   is important. Thinking and emotions influence each other. A   theory of learning that only considers one dimension excludes   a large part of how learning happens.
   
  • Learning has an end goal - namely the increased ability to   "do something". This increased competence might be in a practical   sense (i.e. developing the ability to use a new software tool   or learning how to skate) or in the ability to function more   effectively in a knowledge era (self-awareness, personal   information management, etc.). The "whole of learning" is not   only gaining skill and understanding - actuation is a needed   element. Principles of motivation and rapid decision making   often determine whether or not a learner will actuate known   principles.
   
  • Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or   information sources. A learner can exponentially improve their   own learning by plugging into an existing network.
   
  • Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Learning (in   the sense that something is known, but not necessarily actuated)   can rest in a community, a network, or a database.
   
  • The capacity to know more is more critical that what is   currently known. Knowing where to find information is more   important than knowing information.
   
  • Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate   learning. Connection making provides far greater returns on   effort than simply seeking to understand a single concept.
   
  • Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
   
  • Learning happens in many different ways. Courses, email,   communities, conversations, web search, email lists, reading   blogs, etc. Courses are not the primary conduit for learning.
   
  • Different approaches and personal skills are needed to   learn effectively in today's society. For example, the ability   to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a   core skill.
   
  • Organizational and personal learning are integrated tasks.   Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into   organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into   the network and continue to provide learning for the individual.   Connectivism attempts to provide an understanding of how both   learners and organizations learn.
   
  • Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent   of all connectivist learning.
   
  • Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing   what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen   through the lens of shifting reality. While there is a right   answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the   information climate impacting the decision.
   
  • Learning is a knowledge creation process...not only knowledge   consumption. Learning tools and design methodologies should   seek to capitalize on this trait of learning.

• The goal of establishing connectivist cultures of learning—intertwined, non-spatially or time-delineated communities of individuals motivated by shared curiosities, needs, and/or passions—seems eminently aligned with what I suspect most forward-thnking educators (and parents) want for children, at least in the abstract.
• and essential kinds of voices
• understand their own wants

1 more annotation...

• A PLE is the space we choose to make learning connections,"

• The term personal learning environment (PLE) describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms that learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals