Connectivism

Our ability to find information quickly can be much more important than the information we have already learned.

Connectivism is the educational model that focuses on how learners construct their own dynamic view of the world around them by using their own private networks of information sources: both human and technological. Connectivism involves more than just using technology to look up information. It involves the way technology creates dynamic interaction of diverse viewpoints, and it involves the idea that what is learned is rarely static, but concepts continuously evolve, and Connectivism is a way of life in which education is an ongoing process involving a lifetime of constant adjustment. “Keeping current” is the focus of Connectivism. (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).

Even before the advent of the internet, my own focus has been on the importance of knowing how to know and how to keep current over the importance of static knowledge. Working as an application software engineer over the last 20 years, I have experienced the “reinvention” of basic programming concepts several times. Years ago my learning network consisted of the people I knew, the books I owned, books and journals at the local library, in local bookstores, and broadcast media. I still use these resources, but they have largely been pushed aside as internet resources now form my primary framework for learning.

Now, instead of pouring over dictionaries and encyclopedias, card files and the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, I get my quick overviews from Wikipedia. If I want to query legal information, I read blogs and download the text of bills. To know about the latest research on a topic, I read blogs and download journal articles from Google Scholar or one of the “Inspire” databases (Indiana’s virtual library online). If I want to read a book, I go online to find the book at my library and have them reserve it for me, or I go to Amazon and download an ebook for a fraction of the cost of a physical book.

If I can’t figure out how to get started learning about an issue, or I need an expert opinion about something, I no longer have to wait to make contact by phone or in person. Now I can send an email to ask a question or I can post a question on a blog or on a social network. Generally I can educate myself about any subject within a few minutes by just searching Google or Delicious. With social networks, if I “once knew someone” who could answer a question quickly; chances are that person is either a Facebook friend, or has contact with a Facebook friend. All I need to do is post a question and I’m immediately connected with an old acquaintance that has the information or a connection to the information I need.
I still depend on other people for much of my learning, but I find I connect with others in ways I could never have imaged just a few years ago.

Now I send text messages and emails. I participate in bulletin board discussions, Facebook, and blogs. I “argue” with others online making the case for my view of how things should be done. Sometimes others persuade me of their opinions. Sometimes I persuade them. Sometimes I wish I had not persuaded them, because new information forces me to reconsider my opinion.

References
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey [Ed.], Emerging perspectives on learning.  projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism