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SUMMARY: Connectivism teaches students skills that are not attached to time or space. Rather they are necessary in the fast-paced, ever-changing whirlwind we live in. The chart near the end clearly compares major educational theories and helped me see the connections and disconnects between them.

Great article. Chaos theory is so interesting. The study of pattern shifts is so real to this day and age. For example, I think the role of memes play a big part in our culture and this absolutely propels the chaos theory. Nice share Natalie!

Summary: The most useful part of this resource comes after the definition of Connectivism cited from Siemens. The author includes a graphic that compares Connectivism to other learning theories. In addition, a section is devoted to critics of Connectivism as learning theory who instead see it as a pedagogical view.

This last year I got tasked with teaching Psychology for the first time. I was without any textbook or real resources to use, so I looked to the web and found a couple of great blogs that really helped me out. It showed to me the power of great teachers sharing amazing resources, lesson plans, and ideas with one another to generate the best learning outcomes for our students!

This article supports the argument that connectivism, which is often used as a guiding pedagogy for MOOCs, does not meet the criteria of a true learning theory. As such, connectivism should be abandoned as a pedagogical tool for Web 2.0 environments and replaced with a valid learning theory, specifically the Vygotskian cultural psychology. MOOC future pedagogy would, thus, consist of two initial principles: 1) the visualization of objects and 2) sustained dialogue and joint activity.

Hi Jennifer, I came across a similar article as well. What I do like about the idea of connectivism is that we are trying to reimagine learning processes and education and trying to make sense of it within the digital world. But it will be interesting to watch how this debate progresses over the next few years.

This article explains the theories behind the connections between massive open online courses and connectivism. It is described that connectivism is the pedagogical approach behind MOOCs, but something is missing. The author goes on the explain how cultural psychology is the factor that makes up for the missing basis for learning that connectivism fails to explain.

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.

People learn from watching others and then applying that knowledge in their own experiences; learning is seen as a social process rather than an acquisition of knowledge; in order to be useful, knowledge needs to have a context within a community

Blog created by Dr. Matthew J. Koehler who is a professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University. It has a ton of resources dealing with TPCK or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

By: Eitenne C. Wenger and William M. Snyder Wenger, E. C., & Snyder, W. M. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harvard business review, 78(1), 139-146. The first article I started with was a Harvard Business review entry regarding communities of practice within organizations. While my other articles focused on the education world and describe actions within the social environment, this article took a different approach in explaining the inner workings CofP's play in the office. The fundamental meaning communities of practice represent go unchanged, but it is interesting that this article puts a table and explanation for the differences other office groups represent, such as an informal network, project team, and formal work group. This distinction allows for other varied communities of practice to be represented. Such as the education field and social psychology. Wenger and Snyder then take the article one step further by explaining the uses of CoPs for management and how to facilitate their growth for strong company cultures.

This article is great that CoPs and PLNs (PLEs) build upon one another to drive a foundational strategy. The primary group might only be a few people but will continue to build to the point that the entire organization is involved. I also think it is important to discuss how this is utilized not only in education but also in business (or other fields). Great pick Jason!

I liked some of the real world examples for benefits of CoP's. The story of the technician who came up with the pneumatic tube idea that was ulitmately adopted because of support from his fellow technicians was really cool to hear.

Great article comparing traditional writing versus using a computer along with the effect of keyboarding.

How three theories have shaped distance learning over the years. Connectivist theory shows how learning is about forming connections with others through human and digital interaction. Developed in the digital age and assumes access to social networking technologies.

This is a March 2011 journal article that highlights the shifts in technology and theory for distance learning. First, there was the cognitive-behaviorist with it's focus on read, watch, and recall. As the web developed, we saw constructivism shift the teachers duties from content creator to a guide through the content as students synthesized. Connectivism promotes the teacher as a "co-traveler" helping students to explore, connect, and create.

Gamification white paper from the consulting company Bunchball. It's the first paper to go over how motivation and fun could be used in engagement, brand loyalty and consumer psychology.

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.

My favorite site to find intriguing Sociology and Psychology articles for my high school students.

User-generated media (UGM) incorporates traditional media (i.e., newspapers, radio, television) as well as non-traditional media like the Internet (i.e., blogs, wikis, picture- and video-sharing sites, and social networking platforms). This article examines three usages of UGM from the uses and gratifications (U&G) perspective, which are separate but interdependent concepts. The first use, consuming, satisfies the information, entertainment, and mood management needs. Participation, the second use, fosters interaction with content and people to enhance social connections in virtual communities. The final use, producing, encompasses content that is created for both self-expression and self-actualization. This article analyzes the appeal of UGM via the lens of U&G. U&G is used to explain the psychological needs of the individual consumer and why an audience consciously chooses a specific medium to fill recognized needs. These needs can be divided into five categories to help us understand media consumption on user-generated sites: 1) cognitive needs, 2) affective needs, 3) personal integrative needs, 4) social integrative needs, and 5) tension release needs.