CCK-09

*At its heart, connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks. *Hence, in connectivism, there is no real concept of transferring knowledge, making knowledge, or building knowledge. Rather, the activities we undertake when we conduct practices in order to learn are more like growing or developing ourselves and our society in certain (connected) ways. *

12 Excellent Free and Open Source Graphics Apps

An open Facebook group for participants in the 2009 Connectivism and Connective Knowledge online course.

After four tiring-exciting-stressful-fun days, we'd like to introduce you to our new little buddy, HelloApp. The idea is simple: When you arrive at a conference, you just say where you're sitting, via Twitter. Once you do that, you can … 1. Search for people with a certain skill-set (ie PHP, jQuery, CSS3, marketing, etc) and see where they're sitting 2. View the seating diagram colored based on Twitter follower count 3. Search for a specific person in the audience and find out where they're sitting 4. View the seating diagram colored based on whether people are Designers, Developers or Businessmen 5. Earn badges and points by meeting people and completing tasks. If you earn a high enough rank, you'll be able to post public messages to the entire audience and win prizes.

*Gary then asked a critical question: what is the unique idea in connectivism? *What is new in constructivism, and please provide commentary if you disagree, is that it combined existing ideas into a framework that resonated with the needs and trends of the current era. *But I do think there are unique ideas in connectivism. *All ideas have a heritage. All concepts have roots. A few related to connectivism: *If those elements form the basis of connectivism - and to varying degrees share in the heritage of constructivism and cognitivism - what is it that's unique about connectivism. 1. Connectivism is the application of network principles to define both knowledge and the process of learning. 2. Connectivism addresses the principles of learning at numerous levels - biological/neural, conceptual, and social/external. 3. Connectivism focuses on the inclusion of technology as part of our distribution of cognition and knowledge. 4. Context. While other theories pay partial attention to context, connectivism recognizes the fluid nature of knowledge and connections based on context. 5. Understanding. Coherence. Sensemaking. Meaning. These elements are prominent in constructivism, to a lessor extent cognitivism, and not at all in behaviourism. But in connectivism, we argue that the rapid flow and abundance of information raises these elements to critical importance. *Connectivism finds its roots in the climate of abundance, rapid change, diverse information sources and perspectives, and the critical need to find a way to filter and make sense of the chaos. *The "more" of information and technology today, and the need to stay current, forms the climate that gives roots to connectivism.

Google Moderator Demonstration: Nine Beliefs about Learning Drawn from Stephanie Pace Marshall's The Power to Transform