Group items tagged

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.

Another great youtube video that describes connectivism in layman terms. I like this video because it explains easily how connectivism works by connecting people together through social sites to help people learn. The video also gives a brief description of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. A great find!

Joanna, I loved this YouTube video! It simplified Connectivism and Bob was fun! I loved when he made the connection. Thank you for sharing.

I agree with Matt above. This is a short and informative introduction to connectivism that touches on the major concepts of learning theory as well as implications in our time.

This article summarizes a study aimed at explaining collective behavior on social networking platforms through intentional social action, which is known as the We-Intention theory. The study focused on Facebook in particular, because it is widely popular among university students and could, thus, illustrate social media's impact on students' motivation to learn via virtual communities. In the article, the We-Intention theory is driven by social influence factors, social presence, and elements of the uses and gratifications (U&G) model. U&G, as defined in the article, explains why individuals gravitate toward certain digital media over others. U&G assumes individuals are both goal-directed and aware of their needs, listed as purposive value, self-discovery, entertainment, social enhancement, and maintenance of interpersonal connectivity. The study identified two U&G needs, entertainment and interpersonal connectivity, as significantly determining intentional social action under the We-Intention theory.

That article is very interesting stating that most use Facebook for instant communication and connection. The need for instant gratification. Joining too many groups or trying to connect to too many people does make it hard to have a specific connection to one group. May be the reason that people post so many random topics and photos.

Interesting perspective on Facebook from the point of view of students using the platform.Since most of my background is from K-12 education, I have not witnessed teachers using the platform with their students. I have found that most K-12 teachers use Facebook to communicate with parents. It does seem to have a similar impact on getting parents motivated and active in class activities. Most parents use Facebook and once they know they can follow their child's teacher and get updates via the social media app, parents tend to do so

On page 7, there is a useful table comparing behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism. Connectivism is seem by some to apply only outside formal learning environments and so serves as a great vehicle for life-long learning. On page 13, the author discusses that connectivism is dependent on electricity and runs the risk of tying learners to their computers to the detriment of their physical and psychological health. This is something I have thought about and was glad to find this author acknowledging it.

Written by George Siemens, focuses on learning theories for the digital age. He hits on several learning theories but comes to focus on networks and connectivism. He defines it and shares principles of connectivism.

Learning theories are frameworks describing how knowledge is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning but they never focus on the networks and connections. It is interesting that the three major learning theories Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism are still so dominate in education when the digital age is more than acquiring information; it is how that information is organized and share with others.

George Siemens seems to be the authority on Connectivism. While I do think his theory has merit, I cannot completely agree with him on all points. I did look at this article and I think it does a good job of explaining his theory particularly the examples.