Edited by David Alcock, Saturday, 2 Mar 2013, 20:07
I've been stimulated to respond by posting something to my blog, so here it is.
How might I sum up connectivism? Well, it appears that my grandmother was almost right when she said "it isn't what you know but who you know". Almost. What we can now say is that it isn't who you know but who you know that know's.
But there is nothing new in that, is there?
I mean, doesn't the 'old boys club' rely on that? Are not academics immersed in a culture of narrow minded people sharing narrow knowledge in narrow ways? Of course, keen eyed readers will spot the use of the word 'narrow'. I would suggest that is what has changed. Networks and connections have always been important. Professional bodies depend on knowledge networks, as do conferences, etc. But now we have got a broader range of means by which to contact and stay in contact with people in our networks. That's all.
I tend to agree with Simon Carrie when he says that connectivism is really about describing practice rather than a theory of learning. Indeed, one could even suggest that connectivism implies that no learning is actually necessary, so long as we are connected to machines, databases, groups, blogs etc.
Siemens appears to suggest that there is new ground to be broken and that connectivism concepts can be applied to entities such as businesses and other organisations. Welcome to the party, George. A few that got here early have started without you. To help you catch up I suggest you take a look at the extensive work done by people such a Professor Geoff Easton into network theory in businesses. In his line of enquiry Easton has gone beyond the concept of networks and their connections to consider the various roles of actors and nodes within the network in generating, maniupulating and influencing personal and organisational learning. Perhhaps if these ideas, models, concepts and theories become re-invented by educational researchers then connectivism may start to look more like a theory of learning and less like a statement of the fairly obvious.
Connectivism
I've been stimulated to respond by posting something to my blog, so here it is.
How might I sum up connectivism? Well, it appears that my grandmother was almost right when she said "it isn't what you know but who you know". Almost. What we can now say is that it isn't who you know but who you know that know's.
But there is nothing new in that, is there?
I mean, doesn't the 'old boys club' rely on that? Are not academics immersed in a culture of narrow minded people sharing narrow knowledge in narrow ways? Of course, keen eyed readers will spot the use of the word 'narrow'. I would suggest that is what has changed. Networks and connections have always been important. Professional bodies depend on knowledge networks, as do conferences, etc. But now we have got a broader range of means by which to contact and stay in contact with people in our networks. That's all.
I tend to agree with Simon Carrie when he says that connectivism is really about describing practice rather than a theory of learning. Indeed, one could even suggest that connectivism implies that no learning is actually necessary, so long as we are connected to machines, databases, groups, blogs etc.
Siemens appears to suggest that there is new ground to be broken and that connectivism concepts can be applied to entities such as businesses and other organisations. Welcome to the party, George. A few that got here early have started without you. To help you catch up I suggest you take a look at the extensive work done by people such a Professor Geoff Easton into network theory in businesses. In his line of enquiry Easton has gone beyond the concept of networks and their connections to consider the various roles of actors and nodes within the network in generating, maniupulating and influencing personal and organisational learning. Perhhaps if these ideas, models, concepts and theories become re-invented by educational researchers then connectivism may start to look more like a theory of learning and less like a statement of the fairly obvious.