Author: Alyssa Mills

The act of acquiring knowledge may not be as straightforward as we may have previously thought.  Connectivism has a core proposition — knowledge is not acquired. Within this theory, it explains that knowledge is constructed and built from connections rather than absorbed. When we think about learning in a scientific lense, this statement of knowledge not being acquired actually makes a good amount of sense.

Although a memory begins with perception, it is encoded and stored using the language of electricity and chemicals. Here’s how it works: Nerve cells connect with other cells at a point called a synapse. All the action in your brain occurs at these synapses, where electrical pulses carrying messages leap across gaps between cells. The electrical firing of a pulse across the gap triggers the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.

These neurotransmitters diffuse across the spaces between cells, attaching themselves to neighboring cells. Each brain cell can form thousands of links like this, giving a typical brain about 100 trillion synapses. The parts of the brain cells that receive these electric impulses are called dendrites, feathery tips of brain cells that reach out to neighboring brain cells.

In order to enrich these memories or new concepts, we repeat the information in our heads and apply it to truly remember it. So with all this in mind, just acquiring knowledge will not mean anything until you apply it; or in other words connect it things around you.

George Siemens explains connectivism in this analogy: “The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today.” What we can take from this is that if we do not apply our knowledge and seek out for more, we will not progress. Imagine if scientist just accepted what we know about certain diseases and didn’t try to further investigate. Knowledge is only useful when use to progress.

My hasn’t technology changed! From handwritten letters to phone calls with wired phones and now 10 second pictures and videos as a part of daily conversation. As mentioned in Tristan Harris’ Ted Talk, generation Z is all about Snapchat as their main method of communication and no longer uses text messages but uses the messaging system that Snapchat provides. While this may seem a rather small change from iMessage or text message, Snapchat has a team of engineers that analyze what is being sent and reactions to what is being said. Gossip is no longer between you and your friends but is now being analyzed by the company and using your life to better their business.

Now there is a saying that there is “no such thing as bad publicity” and Harris notes this in his presentation that this is just how companies like Snapchat and Facebook feel. Whether the reaction is angry or happy, reactions require a post that people will share or comment on continuing the usage of the website and application.

Just a number of days ago I was discussing jewelry with a friend over snapchat, the following day I had ads on my instagram for jewelry even though I had previously looked up jewelry in my browsing history. We have all become somewhat desensitised to our privacy on our phones be little to none, but where does it end?