Connectivism: The Two Hour Tour

Open School BC

Jan. 21, 2008

Origins of Connectivism

• recognition of the need for a theory of informal learning• recognition of the need for a theory of distributed

knowledge• “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age”

(Siemens, 2005a)• “Learning as Network Creation” (Siemens, 2005c)• “Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge”

(Downes, 2006)• Online Connectivism Conference (2007)• Connectivism & Connective Knowledge course (2008)

Predecessors to Connectivism

• social constructivism (Vygotsky)• constructionism (Papert, 1991)

– Learning is a hands-on process.• embodied active cognition (Clark, 1997)

– Learning is a mutual interaction between mind, brain and the environment.

• communities of practice (Lave and Wenger, 2002)– Knowledge is situated within a community.

Epistemological Frameworks

“The starting point of learning design is to evaluate the existing views of learning types, learning theories, and design approaches. An integrated or holistic view of the diverse learning landscape permits designers and educators to select appropriate models for appropriate means.”

(Siemens, 2005b).

Knowledge

• knowledge is subsymbolic• knowledge is distributed• knowledge is interconnected• knowledge is personal• what we call ‘knowledge’ (or ‘belief’, or ‘memory’) is

an emergent phenomenon.

(Downes, 2005b)

Learning in Connectivism

• Knowledge is the formation of connections between nodes of information (networks).

• Learning is the ability to construct and traverse those networks (Downes, 2007).

• The learning is the network (Siemens, 2006b).

“Learning (and teaching, such as it is) is not a process of communication but rather, a process of immersion. Put loosely, it suggests the idea of teaching...through the creation (or identification) of an environment into which a learner may be immersed.”

(Downes, 2005a).

To teach is to model and to demonstrate.

To learn is to practice and reflect.

What Does Connectivism Look Like?

Connectivist principles apply to:

• Neural networks• Conceptual networks • Social/external networks

Connectivism & Connective Knowledge (CCK08)

• MOOC: Massive Open Online Course• 1200 participants “enrolled” in CCK08 • for-credit and open access streams

– Course Outline: wiki– Course website– Course blog– The Daily (email)– Google Alerts– Moodle Forums– UStream, Articulate and Elluminate presentations

New Metaphors for Educators

(Couros, 2006)

The Educator as:

• master artist• network administrator• concierge• curator (Siemens, 2007)• gardener (Siemens, 2004)

Additional metaphors

• weaver• pattern-maker• community leader• technology steward• sherpa• facilitator• change agent

Learning Design

“Designers no longer create only instruction sequences. They must create environments, networks, access to resources, and increase the capacity of learners to function and forage for their own knowledge.

Learning design is primarily about creating guideposts, not describing how to walk on a particular path. It is a mistaken assumption that design can create learning. The best that a well designed course, workshop, or work-integrated learning resource can offer is the climate in which a learner can choose to learn.”

(Siemens, 2005b)

The Instructional Designer

“The critical role of the the instructional designer is to be an educator to educators. The four metaphors provided above are equally valid for instructional designers as they work with faculty, designers, and technical staff.”

(Siemens, 2008b)

Learning Ecologies

“An ecological approach to learning is open, adaptive, decentralized, tolerates experimentation/failure, reflects a need for simplicity, promotes trust and learning in safe environments, as well as includes many tools for dialog and making connections.”

(Siemens, 2005b)

A learning ecology includes the following:• A space for gurus and beginners to connect

(master/apprentice).• A space for self-expression (blog, journal)• A space for debate and dialog (listserv, discussion forum,

open meetings)• A space to search archived knowledge (portal, Web site)• A space to learn in a structured manner (courses, tutorials)• A space to communicate new information and knowledge

indicative of changing elements within the field of practice (news, research).

(Siemens, 2003)

Rhizomatic Knowledge

“A rhizomatic plant has no center and no defined boundary; rather, it is made up of a number of semi-independent nodes, each of which is capable of growing and spreading on its own, bounded only by the limits of its habitat (Cormier, 2008). In the rhizomatic view, knowledge can only be negotiated, and the contextual, collaborative learning experience shared by constructivist and connectivist pedagogies is a social as well as a personal knowledge-creation process with mutable goals and constantly negotiated premises.”

(Cormier, 2008)

The Background

Structural Core of the Brain

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Wikimedia Commons

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