When analyzing the process of obtaining knowledge through the lens of the Connectivism theory, a learner is like the Higgs Field. The Higgs Field being the energy field astronomically believed to exist everywhere in the universe. The field that uses its particle, known as the Higgs Boson, to continuously interact with other particles, similar to how a learner uses its available networks to interact with other learners. Connectivisim, like any learning theory, attempts to give reason or explain how an individual should or currently learns. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and now Connectivism all give rational thought to explaining the most beneficial way to educate our youth. Connectivism, being the most recent approach to explaining learning, has until recent been given the short end of the stick. However, with the increase of technology usage in the classroom, Connectivism is truly becoming a theory that needs more attention.
Theorist and Connectivism advocate George Siemens (2005) states in his Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age article, “Learning…is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.” In other words, the Connectivist approach focuses more on the learner’s ability to generate and utilize connections made with other people, groups, networks, and/or systems. This understanding is very critical to examine in a time where our world is so connected. Just how should we be educating our youth? Currently, not only is technology changing within the classroom, but society is changing as a whole with current technologies connecting us more so than ever before. It seems like a pretty rational idea to consider just how we our educating our learners. Does it not? Our once thought learning theories are certainly a valid foundation to understanding the learning process, but it has never been in human fashion to sit stagnate.
Where I tend to differ with theorists in general is that my mind tends to focus a lot of its efforts on the rationality of day to day life. Meaning, it is wonderful to have theoretical explanations to why human aspects, specifically learning approaches, are the way they are, however all that is pretty minuscule when it comes to actually interacting with students on a daily basis. When I'm facilitating a classroom, I can assure you learning theories are not on my mind. Although, I’m sure one can argue that my educational studies, that of which is theory based in general, has conditioned many of my actions throughout a given day. Either way, real interactions are much different than theoretical approaches. That being said, our current society is as connected as it has ever been. Our students are born into a world that has almost entirely moved to online dictionaries. Students are connected to the World Wide Web as soon as they are born, as parents take pictures and upload them to the web. Which I must say is personally quite strange! My point is that our approach to learning needs to start leaning towards our societal shift. We should allow our pedagogical focus to embrace our connectedness. Educating our students on how to not only efficiently use technology that is present, but providing them with the essential knowledge on how to sift through, organize, and become lifelong learners of the vast amounts of information conceived through our connectedness as a whole, is critical in leading them to success throughout life.
After all, isn’t it our job to prepare our students for success in their college and career endeavors? As stated by Siemens in Vieira’s (2007) video The Network is the Learning, “What we know today is not as important as our ability to continue to stay current.” Taking a Connectivist approach rational leads our pedagogy to truly incorporate how to educate our students to successfully communicate and interact with others. I tend to link this directly to my inquiry based approach in the classroom. If students can not respectfully and professional communicate with one another, they will have a difficult time successfully and meaningfully completing the inquiry. With such pedagogical techniques as inquiry based learning, building in a Connectivist approach is very natural, especially if you are aiming for your curriculum to be relevant. Educating your students on how to effectively connect and collaborate through web based platforms is one simple step in accomplishing a more Connectivist approach, while at the same time allowing students to reap the social and emotional benefits of collaboration through inquiry. I believe it is essential to have an open mind and utilize ideas from all learning theories when educating students. Being in the 21st century and living in a unique connectedness state means becoming informed with and practicing 21st century connectedness skills. Siemens, in his WhatIsConnectivism video/recording, states, “Any idea or concept now, can be hashed to death in multiple spaces and in multiple ways so that every potential viewpoint conceivably can be represented.” Throughout history we have always learned from one another. We, as humans, have this need to connect and communicate. We began recording our day to day life through cave paintings some 30,000 years ago, leading us to where we currently are today. We distinguish the terms History and Pre-History through our ability to write. A Connectivism approach seems to have been present throughout much, if not all, of our human existence. With the World Wide Web allowing us now to connect more so than ever, why would we not focus our attention on how to effectively and efficiently utilize such connectedness?
I agree about not thinking about theories on a day-to-day basis all of the time. But you are also correct that not thinking about how students connect with each other constantly and how it impacts their educations isn't good practice on our part either.
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