Connectivism is a learning theory proposed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. It assets that learning comes from an initial connection to something. It has its roots in the concepts of connections as nodes, each interconnected, and each with the potential of spawning new connections. Siemens and Downes drew inspiration for this theory from the behavior of the internet, specifically how Web 2.0 technologies allow people to read, write, interact, and react to each other, with each new comment creating the potential for new learning.
There are those who counter that Connectivism is not a learning theory. They argue that the process of learning cannot be observed, only the results of learning can be proven. They also argue that the theory depends too much on the use of the internet as the basis for learning, arguing that if the internet were to go away, learning would not. Clearly that is true. Learning occurred long before the internet existed, and occurs in countless places where people have no access to it.
However, what that argument ignores is that Connectivism is about learning through connections. We learn when we make a connection. That the theory uses the workings of the internet as a basis of example, does not then lead to the conclusion that other examples cannot be made. So let me provide another.
Classes have been taught for years without the use of the internet. In those classes, people interact and make connections. In making those connections, new information is shared, and learning occurs. While it is true that the learning might be different for different people, it is also true that the learning that occurred in those instances, would not have occurred without the connection which was initially made. Thus the learning itself occurred as a result of the reaction from the connection. And that makes Connectivism a learning theory.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that you made regarding classroom connections prior to the internet. Even though I am one who uses the internet every day across content areas I know that if it was not available students would still be building connections, and therefore, would be learning at a higher level. There have been times where I might have been trying to give an explanation and a student just wasn't getting it. So I would have another student explain the same skill and by them making a connection with one another, by them understanding how the other learns, the student would be able to understand the material.
-Melissa