After reading Siemen’s (2004) theory about Connectivism, for me it all made sense when the article stated that it was no longer ‘know how’ or ‘ know what’ that was important but to’ know WHERE’ has become the most important thing in the digital age. Siemen’s uses the statistic taken from the work of Gonzalez (2004) that states:
“The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months”.
It is simply no longer possible for one person to have all the knowledge. Finding ways of identifying how do I find good information, and where do I find it has become more important to the way we learn.
I tend to agree with Siemen’s that the theories of behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism are probably slightly outdated ( but not obsolete) because the way we learn today is so vastly different from the way we learnt even 5-10 years ago.
I finished my last year of school in 1991 and would say that we modelled behaviourism. We were asked to know and to be able to recall the information when we were assessed. It was learning by rote and H.O.T wasn’t really encouraged. I agree with Siemen’s theory of connectivism and believe it also would suit my learning style better. I like the idea that connectivism is all about group contribution.
Siemen’s quotes the work of John Seely Brown who states that the internet “leverages the small efforts of many with the large efforts of few”. To me that’s what this course will be all about and is also an example of a way in which the theory of connectivism will be used in our own learning context. Through our wikis and blog’s and online forums and chats our Tutors and CC will act as a mediators, guides and mentors but it will be the students who will be reflecting on each other’s work.
Siemens, G (2004) Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment