Connectivism
How has your network changed the way you learn?
When I was a child, I would learn through books corresponding to my personal interests–whether dictionaries or books available at home or from a library. Later, I would purchase books that had content I thought I might be interested in learning.
Some years ago, the Internet became available to me, opening up its dazzling array of resources. As a result, the conventional, brick-and-mortar library long ago became obsolete for my purposes: there really is not any information I would typically have been interested in that I cannot find online.
Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
This is difficult to say; however, I would probably identify the online O’Reilly books I can access through Walden University library system. These have been indispensable to me in learning ASP.NET and C#. I also find forums helpful, as I can pose questions and usually get answers. I have used forums for advice on automobile purchase and care, nutrition and fitness, and Latin and French.
For certain subjects, I use a search engine to look for articles and compare the information I find. The social bookmarking site delicious.com is helpful here, as it allows me to keep track of sites I’ve found and categorize them. Google Reader is also helpful, as it allows me to highlight salient portions of text and add my own notes, as well as simply store a reference to the page.
How do you gain new knowledge when you have questions?
This depends on the nature of the question. If I want to know how to say something in another language, I consider forums trustworthy: with multiple participants, it is unlikely that incorrect information will go unchallenged. In some cases, I will even consider a translation algorithm (such as those available through google.com) reasonable.
If I want to know something about math, I can simply do a search and trust that any of the results is likely to be reliable. At the same time, there is one particular site I favor, due to its breadth of content and its clean, professional look and feel. (This is mathworld.wolfram.com.)
Some subjects that interest me require a little more research. Recently, I thought it would be worthwhile to inform myself about the basics of Big Bang theory, so I started reading books, collecting Web pages, and making notes. On such a subject, there are differing perspectives, as well as strong disagreements; so part of the challenge is sorting what information belongs with what point of view.
Other subjects are difficult because of the highly tendentious nature of much of the available content. One’s options seem to be to become an independent expert or to choose sources one will regard as trustworthy; and I have typically opted for the latter. It’s natural, after all, to gravitate toward authorities that one finds congenial to one’s worldview.
In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?
Although I’d actually like to be able to use my experience to challenge connectivism, it appears to me that it does tend more to support it.
Based on the Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman article, I find most of the “Principles of Connectivism” lining up with my approach to learning. For example:
Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions: I would actually prefer the word “perspectives”; and yes: I do like to compare perspectives–and not necessarily to see if two sources disagree but even just to see how they will complement one another.
Capacity to know is more critical than what is currently known. Yes: having a fishing rod and a place to use it is more important than having a bucket with fish in it.
Nurturing and maintaining connections: Of course–and especially in a rapidly evolving field such as online technology.
Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts: Yes. This is what allows one to recognize a single mountain, as viewed from several different angles, rather than thinking one has seen several different and unrelated mountains.
Accurate, up-to-date knowledge. Again, of course: on many subjects, article dates are important, because if information is a few years old, it could easily be obsolete.
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