My reflections on Connectivism

Our Assignment for Week 5 was to write a reflection on how your connections facilitate learning. Consider the following questions:
How has your network changed the way you learn?
Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
How do you gain new knowledge when you have questions?
In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?

Here are my thoughts on my learning network and connectivism.

The major way my network has changed the way I learn is that I have gone outside my former employer’s umbrella of courses. All the courses I took there were on-line and self directed.

This course at Walden is the first on-line course I have taken from a University and it is time constrained. I am also taking classes from another company which are similar to the type of training that I used to do for my user community. These classes are called webinars and they are instructorled with a conference call phone line and on-line screen presentations. The webinars are recorded for future reference and on-line screen presentations may be downloaded.

I don’t have any issues with using the technology tools since I navigated aroundthe internet as part of my previous job. I will say though that prior to this course I used Google search and other Web search engines mostly to find social information like the location or hours of a restaurant, or an entertainment venue.I had never subscribed to an RSS feed prior to this class because I didn’t really have a need for it. The same with Blogs I would take a look now and then at somecorporate Blogs but never had enough time to create one of my own. The laptop is the best tool to facilitate learning for me. The information is at my fingertips and I have access to almost anything I want 24 /7. I do a lot of my reading after everyone else goes to bed because the house is finally quiet and I can concentrate better. I really like being able to watch videos on the lap top. I know that has been available for a while but I just started using the videos for learning purposes.I also really like the “ebrary” to be able to read books and magazine articlesthis way is great. I still can’t bring myself to purchase a “kindle” though. I would want to use it for pleasure reading and I like holding a book in my hands for that.

I gain knowledge when I have questions by using the contact a friend approach (like ‘phone a friend’ from Who Wants to be a Millionaire). I email the person or persons who I think may have an answer or sometimes I contact customer support. I also make use of the ‘HELP’ facility for on-line applications or ask the question in Google. Sometimes I can’t find the exact information I am looking for so it is a matter of really digging into what Google retrieved for me.For the Walden course we also have our instructor Mark who is available via email for questions.

I agree with the main tenets of connectivism as stated by Siemens.

1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the Learning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

I am not sure I agree with point number 3 that Learning may reside in non-human appliances. In this particular statement the word ‘Learning’ bothers me.
Taken from the online dictionary link http://www.thefreedictionary.com/learning

The dictionary definition of learning is (n)The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill. Knowledge or skill gained through schooling or study. See Synonyms at knowledge. Psychology Behavioral modification especially through experience or conditioning
The non-human appliance can store information that can be used for learning but it does not actually gain knowledge or skill. Some one has to feed the information to the storage device that can then be used by a human person for learning to take place. I don’t disagree with the concept I disagree with the choice of the word ‘Learning’.