Connectivism

Throughout the course of this program, I’ve had to define what “learning” means to me several times. Every time I’m asked to think about it, I look at it from a different angle and come up with different thoughts on the word/idea/process. Must be all this reflecting they’re forcing us to do!! Learning to me isn’t just about what you know and acquiring new pieces of information, it’s about knowing HOW to connect with sources to enrich yourself and build on your current ideas. I think a lot of learning has to do with attitude – about wanting to open yourself up to the thoughts and ideas of others and do so in a self-reflective manner.

Wow, did I actually just say that? If I met me a year ago, prior to this program, I would not have recognized me.

After watching a few podcasts by some leading education experts, I realized how much learning has transformed over the years and how much people’s ideas of learning needs to change if we want to make learning successful in our ever-changing networked generation. I think we really need to start shifting our perspective from learning being something that a person does individually on an internal level, to something that can be more powerful in a group setting on an external level. In a podcast (The Changing Nature of Knowledge), George Siemens described how knowledge exists external to an individual, and that it is a function of the network itself. If we do not take the network within which learning is occurring into account in our expectations, we as educators are not setting ourselves (and our children) up for the success that can be possible.

To “know” something is so much more that being able to access and regurgitate information from a source. Networks do not only serve as means to locate knowledge, for knowledge can reside in a network! Again, referencing Siemens (from podcast on “Network is the Learning”), in a networked learning environment, when one connects with a new “node” (a person, a database, an info source, etc), the entire network is amplified. The competence of the network is increased exponentially. So not only does the “learner” gain from the experience, but the entire network gains knowledge from each connected interaction.

My "re-worked" concept map of my learning network, created using bubbl.us:
You can click on the +/- on the top left to increase/decrease size. You can also drag the image around to see all aspects of it.

Networked Learning

My network is composed of a lot of different people:

• First, my colleagues. They share with me their experience, ideas, successes and failures (as do I in return).
  
• Second, my students. Even though I am the one who is teaching them, I learn so much from them. They teach me how to: engage them, explain concepts of varying difficulty, make clear connections, teach to varying learning styles and paces, and respect their thoughts and ideas. They push me to want to try harder. Hopefully they would say the same about me.
• Third, my family and friends. Talking things out with non-teachers helps me clarify what it is that I am trying to achieve. The support that my family and friends give me helps me to feel more confident to try new things and take risks with my teaching.
• Fourth, my LTT colleagues and mentors. Working closely with people who are also interested in pursuing higher education is beneficial in that the learning is reciprocal. We are forced to document and prove our learning, and then share it. My colleagues help me through this process by questioning me, providing ideas, and supporting me, as I do to/for them.
• Fifth, educators/experts/Jo Schmo that I seek out digitally via websites, blogs, podcasts, etc and physically by reading research or meetings with them to pick their brains. At this point in my career, this avenue continues to be one-way for me, but I am working on gaining the confidence to put my thoughts “out there”. My LTT blog is a start.

There are of course many benefits of networked learning. Here’s a few that came to mind that were of particular importance to me:

• It reduces your need to reinvent the wheel. For educators, time is precious, and the time used to come up with ideas, resources, techniques, etc can be better used on more productive tasks.
• It keeps you connected with other education professionals and opens up your resource bank significantly due to that.
  
• It can build your confidence knowing that something you gave someone helped them, which in turn helped children.
  
• It gives a feeling of assurance that other people have experienced the same struggles and triumphs as you.
• It strengthens your desire to learn more.
  

When asked to sketch my learning network (prior to watching assigned podcasts by George Siemens and Stephen Downes), here's what I came up with:

After watching the podcasts and following some blogs of "pros", I'm sure my ideas will change a bit as I am still learning what it means to learn. That doesn't sound confusing at all.


Here are some quotes that I came across on this topic that were inspiring to me:

“If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative.” (unknown)

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” (Ken Blanchard)

“To teach is to learn twice.” (Joseph Joubert)