Tag: learning

Connecting with Connectivism

Connectivism has a core proposition — knowledge is not acquired.

As you know from our readings/viewings this week, connectivism is a learning theory advocated by George Siemens (and others) that emphasizes the importance and role of networks and connections; and learning, therefore, involves  the ability to construct and navigate those connections and networks, and apply the results of forming networks and making connections to enhancing understanding, addressing problems of practice, and pursuing unrealized opportunities. So for a quick recap, recall that the principles of connectivism are:

  • Learning is a network phenomenon, influenced and assisted by socialization and technology.
  • Connectivism externalizes knowledge, with knowledge residing in a distributed manner across a network.
  • Learning is a process of connecting information sources, and nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
  • Capacity to know more is more important than what is currently known. (Or, as George Siemens articulates so well: “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.”)
  • The ability to see connections and patterns between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
  • The networked act of learning exists on two levels:
    • Internally as neural networks, and
    • Externally as the networks we actively form.
  • We externalize ourselves in order to know and be known. As we externalize, we distribute our knowledge across a network.

As a new blog post or page here on our WordPress site, please share your views on one of the following four questions related to the readings from the first few weeks of the course. I’m asking you to select one of the following prompts to expound on, contributing to our shared understanding of connectivism and how it applies to our work in this course and beyond:

Prompt A. Connectivism has a core proposition — knowledge is not acquired. What does that mean? If knowledge is not acquired, then what instead?

Prompt B. What is your response to the following quote from George Siemens? “Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking.” In what ways do you agree with this quote, and in what ways do you not agree with it? How does social media and social networking play into this?

Prompt C. What do you want to share about connectivism? Create your own prompt.

Note: We will be taking what we contribute here regarding connectivism and accomplish two additional tasks: (a) I will be inviting you to turn this conversation into a blog post for your base camp, and (b) I will be inviting you to use your new understanding of connectivism to correct and enhance the Connectivism page in Wikiversity.

Learning experiences with social networking & media

How has social networking and media supported your personal and/or professional learning?

Person Sitting on Rock Near Water
Accessing PLN resources from any location…

As we explore our use of social networking and media for learning, I would like us to share how we have used social networking and media to support our personal and professional learning — in other words, the role of social networking and media in our personal and/or professional learning networks (abbreviated as PLN). For example, my youngest daughter Raeghan has used YouTube to teach herself several gymnastics skills that she then perfected with her teachers/coaches during face-to-face classes. She has done the same in support of her piano, voice, and tap dancing learning needs and interests. Although I don’t expect this level of detail, I want to share a significant way in which social networking and media have supported my learning.

In fall of 2014 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. [Note: I’m fine, please don’t be concerned.] What I quickly discovered was in the in-person world, people don’t like talking about cancer…it is a very private matter. But, I needed to talk about it. Social networking was a critical part of my inquiry into what was happening to me. I was able to connect with social-networking groups devoted to breast cancer: treatment, surgical options, recovery, communicating with children, finding doctors, and so on. Without social networking (and the internet as a whole), I would have been lost. Social media sites such as YouTube also provided me with the video diaries of women facing breast cancer, and with videos of surgical procedures so I’d know what was involved. My surgeons also had workshop presentations available for me to view via YouTube. Finally, when I was ready to make my diagnosis and associated plans public, social networking made that possible for me to efficiently achieve. And, wow, was I glad I did. Suddenly I was receiving well-wishes from people that really lifted my spirits, and receiving stories about others’ cancer process. Going public via my social networks not only helped me with my process, but seemed to help friends and family with their own experiences of cancer — past and present.

At the same time I received my cancer diagnosis, a friend was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. When I went into the hospital for a bilateral mastectomy, my friend went into the hospital to continue with a series of treatments to try to slow the very aggressive cancer. During this time, although her family had medical insurance, they were facing quite a lot of expenses associated with the cancer and treatment. So, they turned to social networking, in particular a site called YouCaring. There are many sites like this one emerging, and it is a positive way to use social networking to help (although, I’m sure there are times when these sites are misused); it’s an example of how social networking can be effectively used for fundraising — on a grand scale, and on a local and more personal scale. After setting up their fundraiser on YouCaring, the family then used their other social networks (such as Facebook) to get the word out to family and friends. They raised over $25,000 to help with the costs.

Later that spring, my friend died. The funds raised helped her family focus on their grief instead of the medical bills. Social networking did this…and made it possible for her friends and family to help — to contribute and support — in a meaningful way.

This is just one example of how social networking and media has supported my learning, and been a critical aspect of my personal learning network — YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. all playing important roles in my breast cancer PLN because they connected me with people and information to support me on a new learning journey. What about you? How has social networking and media supported your personal and/or professional learning? How is social networking and media incorporated into your PLN, if it is?