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The paper outlines 4 key principles for connected learning - autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The authors' point of view is that all four principles can be "expanded to recognize individual and psychological diversity within connective environments." They conclude by saying that it is in the "context and recognition of the engagement" that makes connectivism a "viable framework for learning, offering great potential..."

In 2011, George Siemens and Stephen Downes launched a massive open online course called "Connectivism and Connected Knowledge" (CCK11.) The article defines Connectivism as "network-based pedagogy" and discusses why these authors value "the process" over "the product." Specifically, why the process of taking the course would be in itself much more important than what learners may have learned. Additionally, they offer 4 major components: aggregation, remixing, repurposing, and feeding forward. In the nutshell, the article argues that, as far as connectivism in concerned, knowledge is not something that can be "neatly packaged and passed along as a finished product"; rather, it is "complicated, distributed, mixed with other concepts, looks differently to different people.."

Interesting to see the authors explaining connectivism in light of personality theory and self-determination theory rather than trying to argue it as a learning theory akin to behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism. I appreciated their inclusion of Downes' four key components of connectivism: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. As I read their discussion of autonomy, my mind was drawn to Daniel Pink's explanation of intrinsic motivation, which is comprised of three key aspects: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. [See Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.] This piece was a helpful read with a very different perspective than I had previously encountered for connectivism.

Connectivism: This article talks about connectivism model shifts with the learning society and that the educational field is slow to embrace and use new tools. Connectivism is essential for learners to grow in educational technology.

This article was written by George Siemens the father of connectivism, focusing on how learning occurs through networking especially through the use of technology. The article also explains the differences between connectivism, behaviorism, constructivism, and cognitivism in a simple to read manner.

This was the first article I read during my research. It really gave me a baseline understanding of connectivism. I liked the way that it explained how connectivism is different from other learning theories. Overall great article.

In this article George Siemens relates connectivism to PLN's. He begins by explaining that knowledge is growing exponentially and now instead of being measured in decades, the life of knowledge is measured in years and even months. He goes onto explain that half of what is known today was not known a mere ten years ago and according to the American Society of Training and Documentation, knowledge in the world has doubled in the last ten years and continues to double every 18 months. He explains that networks are an integral part of growing one's knowledge base and our small world networks are made up of people who share our interests. He also lists eight principles of connectivism and connects these ideas to social networking. He concludes by stating that connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to be successful in a digital era.

The main idea of this article is to explain how and why he and George Seimens offer MOOCs to the world. Downes believes that all learning is about connections made among the learners, just we are the neurological connections that our brains make every second. He does not believe knowledge is acquired or transmitted, but rather experienced. One of his most telling statements is his belief that the process of taking the course is more important than what people may happen to learn from it--which is at the heart of what he believes connectivism is.

I was very excited to find this article! In it, Stephen Downes, Canadian Education Technology Research Specialist, describes his and George Siemens,' Associate Director, Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute, free course, 'Connectivism and Connective Knowledge' -- or CCK11. It is a twelve week course of readings and online seminars, where learners are invited to read selected materials and study the content with a connectivist's approach. Downes says, "What is important about a connectivist course, after all, is not the course content. Oh, sure, there is some content -- you can't have a conversation without it -- but the content isn't the important thing. It serves merely as a catalyst, a mechanism for getting our projects, discussions and interactions off the ground. It may be useful to some people, but it isn't the end product, and goodness knows we don't want people memorizing it." I want to register for the next one!

This is a blog post from Steven Downes about the courses on connectivism he offered with George Siemens. It offers a good argument for taking the connectivist approach to learning and explains what connectivism is. It offers an explanation for connectivist teaching and learning falling into the 4 major activities of aggregation, remixing, repurposing, and feeding forward. He stresses that connectivism is a pedagogy based on the realization that knowledge is not something you can solidify into a single perfect product to pass along because different people/communities will always interpret/learn from it differently.

George Siemens and Stephen Downes provide online courses call 'Connectivism and Connective Knowledge' to over 2,000 educators on the philosophy of teaching and learning they instill in their learners. http://cck11.mooc.ca is a twelve week course that is free for those who register. They disclose attributes to connectivist teaching and learning. Aggregation provides a starting point. Remixing draws connections to others. Repurposing is practicing the concepts learned, not just repeating them with route memorization techniques. Feeding forward consists of sharing with others and being able to collaborate on others' projects to use them as your own.

What I find really cool about this is that the content of the course is not what is important, but rather the fact that they are connecting and networking. The networking is more powerful than the content is what seems to be the focus.

I found this quote interesting, "So what a connectivist course becomes is a community of educators attempting to learn how it is that they learn, with the objective of allowing them to be able to help other people learn." I like that there is no distinction between the "teacher" and the "student". Instead, everyone is seen as both learner and educator. However, I have some concerns about how this works with middle school or high school students. Are they mature enough to really take on that role and stay on task? How do you ensure the respect and authority in the class when you are putting yourself on nearly an equal foot with the students? Kids are so used to a traditional direct instruction class they they often get confused or rebel against anything different.

This is one of the resources listed in the video I posted earlier. It is an introduction to the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course. It explains how the core aspects of connectivism are built into the course and gives a description of each aspect.

This article introduces the term connectivism as a "network-based pedagogy" Through the article the author makes references to a course that he will be providing. Overall though there is some really good information about connectivism from both the teacher and learner perspectives.

Along with George Siemens, Stephen Downs is one of the intellectual leaders of connectivism, which he describes in this article. One of the things I really like about this article is the fact that it is written for a wide audience via an outlet like The Huffington Post, rather than an exclusively academic audience.

I enjoyed this article because it identified 4 connectivist "activities." They are aggregation, remixing, repurposing, and feeding forward. It explains these concepts clearly while also giving a succinct overview of connectivism, and their relationship to connectivism.

This article provided me with a clearer understanding of the Connectivist approach and the four activities that surround it--aggregation, remixing, re-purposing, and feeding forward. It was interesting to read under the Aggregation portion that Siemens and Downes have to tell participants to pick and choose what they read for the course. We are still very pre-conditioned to want to read and study everything that is handed to us and regurgitate it back. There is something about Connectivism that bothers me. It seems a little "loosey goosey" at times. I like the idea of people being able to gather and share ideas and make meaning from them, but I wonder if one can become a true expert in something by just solely using this approach.

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