"Connectivism"

________________________________________________________________________________________
One aspect of connectivism is the use of a network with nodes and connections as a central metaphor for learning. In this metaphor, a node is anything that can be connected to another node: information, data, feelings, images. Learning is the process of creating connections and developing a network. Not all connections are of equal strength in this metaphor; in fact, many connections may be quite weak. Dr. Mohamed Ally at Athabasca University supports connectivism as a more appropriate learning theory for online learning than older theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. This position rests on the idea that the world has changed and become more networked, so learning theories developed prior to these global changes are less relevant. However, Ally argues that, "What is needed is not a new stand-alone theory for the digital age, but a model that integrates the different theories to guide the design of online learning materials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_%28learning_theory%29).

1. How has your network changed the way you learn?
Currently, learning for me totally consists of the internet. My entire life is completely surrounded by the use of technology. For example, my current job title as student services coordinator and it's responsibilities deals heavily with social networking sites such as: facebook.com, youtube.com etc... My network has changed the way that I learn because, whether the information is old or new, each source within my network will be utilized to the fullest extent.


2. Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
Facebook is a social networking website that best facilitate leaning for me. Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.
Facebook is a social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.

3. How do you gain new knowledge when you have questions?
We all know that the internet is about knowledge, sharing and giving. Therefore, whenever I have a question I always seek the advice of various websites; site sources, references etc. the internet seems to be the most accurate and or timely source of news to date. Reading books are great; however, the downside of reading a book is, not only is confined to the message of the author of that particular book but there are no link to point the reader to other books and or topics of relation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook).


4. In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism? My personal learning network supports connectivism by allowing me to engage in online resources conducive to learning and development. Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are the people and resources that help us learn, being able to pick and choose how to learn various concepts gives the learner control of how and what what information is important towards the learning goal(s).

Reference:
1. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_%28learning_theory%29
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook