In the maelstrom of\nseemingly unlimited learning theories, evaluating the defining characteristics of\nparticular theories can help to determine the one most applicable to a given situation,\nor which have the broadest application to learning in general. As I considered\nthe various readings on connectivism this week, one of the most striking\nassertions I saw was George Siemens\u2019 statement that \u201cIn a networked world, the\nvery manner of information that we acquire is worth exploring. The need to\nevaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is applied\nbefore learning itself begins.\u201d (Siemens, 2005) In most previous learning\nmodels, increasing internally-held knowledge has typically been seen as the end\ngoal of any learning activity. Connectivism counters that in today\u2019s world,\nwhere people will encounter a never-ending progression of new situations and\nincreased available knowledge, a lot of knowledge does not need to be\ninternalized, merely accessible. The theory holds that being able to find\nrelevant knowledge and ignore unhelpful input is likely to be a more useful\nskill set than memorizing new processes or facts that are likely to change\nfrequently, or be pertinent only rarely. The theory doesn\u2019t preclude the possibility\nthat people can and will internalize certain learning that remains stable and\ngermane to their life or work. It merely highlights the prevalence of tools\nthat can store and retrieve facts that used to rely on individuals\u2019 retaining\nthem. Very few people remember a long list of phone numbers anymore. Instead, they\nusually have them programmed into phones and other devices. Simple cooking\ntasks like how to boil eggs, calculate measurement conversions, or substitute\ningredients are quick and easy to find online, so many people look them up each\ntime they need to do the task rather than devoting memory to the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a workplace, last week\u2019s procedures for a particular\nsituation may have been updated as outside factors changed. In this case, remembering\nthe older process too well may in fact interfere with using the new one\ncorrectly. Many organizations maintain an internal wiki or blog to store the\nmost recent information. Users can check it to make sure they know the most\ncurrent version. Learning then involves being able to find and correctly\ninterpret the desired knowledge. Searchable email systems make that another\nviable system to disseminate information. When in doubt, a person can easily\nsearch for keywords about the topic, then use the time stamps to be sure they\nare using the correct version. In this case, a good subject line, and the\nability to choose fruitful search keywords are far more important than\nmemorizing new procedures. When seeking a novel solution to a problem, a good\nlearner will pinpoint applicable information in the sea of facts and opinions\navailable across a spectrum of fields that initially may or may not seem related\nto the subject at hand. With the assembled data, they can create a resolution\nfor the current need and still remain ready to update anew when situation\nchanges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the\nDigital Age. International Journal of\nInstructional Technology & Distance Learning, 2<\/em>(1). Retrieved from: https:\/\/jotamac.typepad.com\/jotamacs_weblog\/files\/Connectivism.pdf<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the maelstrom of seemingly unlimited learning theories, evaluating the defining characteristics of particular theories can help to determine the one most applicable to a given situation, or which have the broadest application to learning in general. As I considered the various readings on connectivism this week, one of the most striking assertions I saw … Continue reading “What sets connectivism apart?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[11,41],"class_list":["post-1375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learning-theory","category-social-change","tag-connectivism","tag-learning-theory"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1376,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions\/1376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joannadunlap.com\/5665fall19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}