Group items tagged

This article looks at connectivism as "the embodiment of social learning theory in the digital age." It breaks down questions posed by Seimens in terms of how technology and networks connect with learning theories as well as how these translate into the principles of his theory. The values of connectivism as presented by Downes are also highlighted. Specifically it offered a good rationale for why behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism have limitations in the digital age which give rise to the need for researching connectivism.

This article provides a succinct overview of connectivism. I particularly like how the author concludes with the point that all social learning starts with the individual and then branches out from there to networks and organizations before returning new knowledge to the individual.

Melodie, thank you for sharing this resource. I appreciate the article as it defines connectivism. Yet the authors are careful to point out that the theory is still developing and needs more research. It is healthy to learn that while the digital age is new so are those researching and exploring the informal learning groups that surround it theories. I appreciate the concise explanations and bulleted lists as well.

Breakdown of the theory of Connectivism, distinctions between groups and networks and learning about the history & application of Connectivism in education

This article talks about the importance of networks and the difference between a group emphasis and a network emphasis. The author discusses the importance of information running through a network of human and non-humans. He additionally outlines Siemen's principles of Connectivism. Further, he discusses the implications for using the principles of Connectivism by educators and within higher education.

Kelsey, thanks for sharing. I found the article relevant to my own practice as a higher ed librarian, where we are increasingly encouraging students to be producers of information and to participate in the scholarly conversation.

This article explains connectivism by taking a hard look at the other learning theories that set out to explain the way in which the world learns now. It explores research scenarios that allowed people to "cope with rapid change in the "information ecology"". I think that that is a great talking point for connectivism because it does act as a way to do this. It explains how this theory is expanding the development of new pedagogies that view a less important role of the facilitator and more important role on the autonomy of the student. The author states that connectivism is not the catch all of learning theories and needs to have more studies done in order to really evaluate its importance in the classrooms and virtual classrooms.

This peer reviewed article is compelling because it provides a historical look at the evolution of Connectivism while considering what detractors say are the inherent flaws in the theory. Additionally, the authors provide relevant discussion of the rise of and failures of MOOCS. Finally, 5 scenarios are provided to illustrate the discussion.

This article first discusses how the internet plays a role in connectivism, but also how it is not equal across the world as far as internet use or access. The article then goes on to state that connectivism has replaced behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism because all three of those had some limitations. After explaining this, it then goes into different situations in the classroom and depending on what is going on within the classroom, relates it to the theory of connectivism or another theory. It discusses how some say connectivism is insufficient in the classroom, but the writer goes on to explain that there still isn't one single theory that can do it all in the context of learning within the classroom.

The authors postulate that within connectivist communities, the roles that people take (lurker, leader, expert, etc.) have as much or more to do with personality traits than the desire for engagement or ability levels of the participant. They use massive open open courses (MOOCs) as a testing ground and Personality and Self-determination theory as the prisms through which to view learner interactions within these communities.

This article begins by defining constructivism as the principle that all learning starts with a connection, be it neural, conceptual, or social, and that learning is the ability to construct and traverse connections. The authors acknowledge that it is widely recognized idea but not yet accepted as a formal learning theory. The paper focuses on four key principles for learning that exist within connectivism: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The authors also examine different theories regarding personality and self-determination and look at how these affect the individual's experience within connectivism.

Here, the author describes connectivism as the proposed learning theory for a digital age and is "based on the principle that all learning starts with a connection." Additionally, "learning in connectivism terms is a network phenomenon" and strongly emphasizes learners making connections. The concept of autonomy is also discussed in depth.

In this short blog post, Walker discusses the changing technology requires us to revisit classic learning theories. He continues to describe Connectivism with references from Siemans and Downes. He touches on the idea that learning is not just inside the learner, it now occurs among learners.

This website breaks down the learning theory of connectivism and how this learning theory came about. It describes how connectivism was created due to the Internet and the need for different strategies.

From this article I understand that connectivism is a way of learning through the internet, media and social networks. It discussed how learning can be formal and also informal, to which informal learning seems to be outweighing the formal learning now a days. Informal learning comes from communities of practice and personal networks which are very popular and common today.

This SlideShare explains networks and nodes,their patterns and relationships, and how they relate to Connectivism and the Connectivism learning model.

This is an interesting approach to explaining connectivism. I like that it's in a SlideShare format, and gives a different viewpoint of how the connections happen within different groups. I did find myself a little lost, and wouldn't be able to explain it using this diagram, however I can appreciate it's uniqueness.

I very much appreciated this slideshow for its explanation of a network. "Every entity is composted of addition entities." Downes 2007. This quote sums up this process beautifully. Also, the image regarding updating student's concepts regularly makes a lot of sense. If I were to try and explain all of this content in several months without update and review, it would most certainly lack important dynamic quality.

While this presentation does contain some how-tos and examples of a course in connectivism, it gives an easy-to-manage view of connectivism as a theory and why social networking is so valuable. It also explores personal learning environments and has many good visuals that help explain it all.

A great slide show with images and short descriptions of how an individual uses online resources for his own personal learning as well as the definition of connectivism.

Fantastic find, there is a lot in this power-point to suggest a transformation via connectivism.

Because connectivism framework is relatively new, it needs to be based in research and its models needs to be tried and tested in a variety of educational contexts; this article explores research framework to support connectivism in online learning; online communities of practice facilitate meaningful and connected learning; a well-written look at the research framework behind connectivism and its applications

In Edtech 504 I did a paper on connnectivism. If more research is done on connectivism and with a little more time I think many will finally come to accept connectivism as a true, real learning theory.

A critical review of George Siemen's (2005) article "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age". A distinct relationship is made with Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and connectivism: The individual, and his/her abilities to create a personal learning network, is the "starting point of connectivism" (Siemens, 2005, p. 6). A great summation of the original article.

I thoroughly enjoyed this article! To some degree I have always associated Common Core with connectivism because I am seeing the ways in which Common Core is pushing students to be critical, analytical thinkers able to justify their responses. It isn't so much memorizing content as much as it is learning skills to apply to different terrains of knowledge which is similar to part of Siemen's definition that connectivism involves "determining when and what knowledge should be retired and replaced with updated knowledge." This statement prompted an "ah-ha" moment within my head as I was able to begin connecting some dots between connectivism and the practical aspects of my own teaching practice.

Is connectivism limted to Western and technologically advanced cultures? Learning theories such as behaviorism, constructivism and even cognitive and socioclultural theories can be applied to learning in various cultures. It seems that connectivsm requires a certain amount of freedom and access to technology. If this is the case, can it be considered a learning theory?

Dr. Siemens describe the idea of connectivism and how it originally started out as simple blogging and collaborating with peers from all across the globe and how it will continue to develop as society and technology advance.

Siemens explains what connectivism is and how it originated. After reading many articles by the reseracher, it was beneficial to see and hear him discuss connectivism. Enjoy the video!

I liked this brief explanation that comes straight from the source! In essence, I think watching the video and listening to a person explain it solidified it faster than multiple articles, thus illustrating the concepts of connectivism.

This article talks about how connectivism is important and valid, but should be used as a tool in the learning process and not as a standalone learning theory.

This article looks at connectivism from the standpoint of learning theory. It discusses the essential criteria for a learning theory or an instructional theory and the differences between a learning theory and an instructional theory in the context of connectivism. The article make an effort to explain connectivism as a learning theory of digital age.

This article gives a really interesting look at connectivism as a learning theory vs an instructional theory. It brings out many studies and prior theories to look further into connectivism in education.

This article explains connectivism with academic advising. Within this article, the writer states that connectivism can be useful to help combine old information to new information. It then states how that will help people to understand new material by connecting it to the old material. The writer also states how technology has impacted connectivism. It says connectivism is influencing students' decisions and knowledge through Siri, Amazon Echo, etc and that those tools of technology or other resources they have access to are impacting their decisions based on connections they've made to other information.

This is an interesting article that explains connectivism in the context of academic advising. I found this especially helpful as it makes it easier to understand connetivism as you first receive information and then that information is put into a contextual situation.

This article explores the ways in which using a model of connectivism can help an academic advisor in higher education better connect with or direct the student they are assisting. One example features the way in which students view their advisor, where some students see the advisor as a guidance counselor others are able to differentiate between the two roles distinctly. The article continues on with various examples of interactions and scenarios that students and advisors could encounter that when approached through the model of connectivism would assist the student in combining thoughts, theories, and general information.

Connectivism overview outlining major principles of the theory, includes George Siemens video. Excellent quote from George Siemens (video) "We can not, not learn"

Stacie, Good site to define connectivism. I especially like the diagram graphic and the two video clips with George Siemens, one of the gurus of this technology. The two slide shares are great too. We have one of those slides in our resources for this module.

A great article and resource on George Siemen's principles of connectivism. This includes excellent alternate resources including links to other supporting pages and video links to help understand the connectivism theory.

In this article from The Journal Patricia Deubel, Ph.D give a really good break down of connectivity and how learn now for students is not about know what but knowing where to find it.

One of the things that I really appreciated about this article is that it highlights how much learning has become a non-linear activity. I actually think that way naturally, but many people don't. This helps me to have insight into how to explain my process a bit and to appreciate that quality in other learners.

Great article discussing the emergence of connectivism. It describes an ecological approach to learning and mentions various tools that are available through CoPs and PNLs. It focuses on educators being lifelong learners and utilizing the resources that are available through digital networks.

This article makes a connection between social networks and the theory of connectivism and how this theory can help education through social networks.

The article addresses one of the concerns I have regarding connectivism and social networking: the credibility and accuracy of information. Even in my PLN of educated people, misinformation can spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, if one of the respected members of a social network passes on information without checking the veracity of the information, misinformation can be given an air of legitimacy. In my networks, if the information is incorrect or outdated, I include a link to clear up the misinformation. However, you cannot "unring a bell", and the misinformation takes on a life of its own as "truth"

This article discusses the learning networks that have been created with the rise of so many social networking websites and how that relates to connectivism in terms of how people of this generation learn. The author asserts that today's learners are different from learners of the past because they require a social aspect to successfully acquire knowledge. This supports the proposed learning theory of connectivism, which they cite as meaning that "knowledge and cognition are distributed across networks of people and technology, and learning is the process of connecting, growing, and navigating those networks" (Siemens and Tittenberger (2009). The article identifies the need for a new perspective of integrating social networking websites using connectivism as an instructional strategy.

This wiki describes the basic premise of connectivism. Included in the wiki is a table that compares major epistemological philosophies with connectivism.

This site defines connectivism and provides a clear list of some of the principles George Siemens deems to be most important to this theory. There is also a fun interactive component that allows the viewer to consider a situation involving connectivism that could be applied to the lives of many people.

This journal article positions Connectivism as a natural successor to the progress of learning theory from Behaviorism to Constructivism. It also discusses the controversy this theory has faced when being described as a full-fledged learning theory.

Connectivism is presented and discussed as a learning theory and phenomenon in an e-learning environment. George Siemen's eight principles of connectivism are outlined to support the theory definition. The author identifies inconsistencies with defining connectivism as a theory and proposes five scenarios to further explore learning theories applicable to digital learning.

This paper, by Ana Maria Marhan examines connectivism and social media. The author points out that because today's learning is a "messy, nebulous, informal, chaotic process, we need to rethink how we design our instruction. This hit home because I just moved to a new state and a new district, and they are very strict with, well, just about everything on the computer! I teach at a Title 1 high school, and these kids would truly benefit from instruction that wasn't so linear. These learners (like all learners) form their own pathways of knowledge, and I believe I could make a stronger impact on them if I could use more tools.

Marhan, A. M. (2006). Connectivism: Concepts and Principles for emerging Learning Networks. In The 1 st Conference on Virtual Learning. In this article author, Ana-Maria Marhan does a good job exploring the principals pushing forward Connectivism as a pedagogical helper. This becomes apparent right from her abstract "Connectivism views learning as a network creation process, and looks at how we might provide 'learning ecologies' to meet the learners' needs.". In her first section, she defines learning as "a persisting change in human performance or performance potential which must come about as a result of the learner's experience and interaction with the world." As soon as I read the last few words "interaction with the world", I began to connect the dots (no pun intended) to what I've read thus far about communities of practice. She spreads out on a handful of relevant and interesting subtopics to the overall theme of Connectivism. After she describes more about the new connected and growing world we live in she tackles the basics of Connectivism as a theory of learning and the principals behind it. Again like other articles she echoes many of the same sentiments George Siemens made when he originally proposed the learning theory. After the background on Siemens theory, she begins to draw everything together. One statement that I enjoyed was "Individual is the starting point of Connectivism: personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into communities, organizations or institutions, which in turn feed back into the network and then continue to provide learning to individual". She does a great job of supporting the use of technology not as the new power of learning but as a tool to unlock that power. "When knowledge, however, is needed but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill".

I also appreciate how Marhan suggests that connected learning is cyclical: "Individual is the starting point of Connectivism: personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into communities, organizations or institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual."