Week #9 - EDUC5101G Post - Connectivism - This Theory Counts!

When deciding the topic for this week’s post, I searched for a learning theory that works well with technology.   One of the learning theories that resulted was “Connectivism” – a learning theory for the digital age.

As we learned in this week’s class, connectivism is one of the newer learning theories and the theory is based on forming knowledge networks – knowing when to tap into them when required.

Connectivism should not be confused with constructivism as they are very different. I personally like this theory.  This theory was promoted by George Siemens and Stephen Downes.  It provides new insight into what it means to facilitate learning in the 21^st century.  It is to an educator’s advantage to keep a current learning theory in mind when designing learning for today’s learner.  Technology plays a critical role in education, so it only makes sense to apply a learning theory that also considers technology.  Theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology.

The Siemens (2005) article references a term I had not heard before - “half-life of knowledge” - which is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete.  Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago.  The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training Development.  To combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, we need to develop a new way of designing instruction.

Although I knew the connectivism theory was current and relevant, I didn’t fully understand it, which is another reason I wanted to cover this topic in this post.  This learning theory seeks to explain complex learning in a rapidly changing social digital world - sounds ideal.  According to connectivism, knowledge is distributed across an information network and can be stored in a variety of digital formats.  Learning occurs when knowledge is actuated through the process of a learner connecting to and feeding information into a learning community (Kop & Hill, 2008). Based on my research, I think what’s key to remember about connectivism are the following points (Education 2000):

• learning occurs through connections with networks
• learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements
• decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations
• new information is continually being acquired
• ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital
• we need to know when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday
• learning is no longer an individualistic activity
• knowledge is distributed across networks
• connections and connectiveness within networks lead to learning

I particularly like the final point.  If it’s the connections we make that are so critical to learning, what are we currently doing as educators to enable this to take place or what should we be doing?  The application of connectivism to teaching and learning requires a thorough rethinking of the educational process and the role of the teacher, student and technology in that process.  I knew the importance of creating the opportunity for connections, but wasn’t sure what types of things could be done with our learners to enable this to happen.  I came across this list which I found helpful.  Here are a few things we as educators can do (Marquis, 2012):

1. Utilize the internet and social networking to expand classroom discussions beyond the classroom to consider the wider variety of experiences and expertise
2. Use software and database tools to explore the relationships between unrelated pieces of data
3. Allow students to lean on technology to make sense of the vast amounts of information
4. Develop strategies for continuing to incorporate new data, knowledge and concepts into the existing world – in a connectivist world, learning can never stop, there will always be something new to grasp and make sense of
5. Maintain existing connections and cultivate new ones.  Teachers need to emphasize these connections and help students create their own.
6. Stay current and develop an ability to incorporate information on the fly – key skill to connectivist learning – supported by teachers through providing authentic experiences
7. Critically examine and make intelligent decisions as new data is revealed decisions as new data is revealed

Initially I thought this theory was going to be a difficult one to apply, but now realize that there are many things that can be done to help the learners make these connections.  Hope you can get some ideas from this list as well.  I will leave you with the statement, “In a connectivist world, learning can never stop - there will always be something new to grasp and make sense of”.  This theory is an important one for the learners of today and the future.  It will be critical for them to make the required connections and networks – to know how to get the information they need when they need it.  We as educators need to help our learners develop these skills.

References:

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism:  A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm

Kop, R. & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 9(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/523/1103

Education 2000. (2016). Connectivism. Retrieved from http://education-2020.wikispaces.com/Connectivism

Marquis, J. (2012). What does connectivism mean for education? Retrieved from http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/01/what-does-connectivism-mean-for-education/