1. Connectivism
Learning Today

2. The network is the learning

3. What’s Happening (the “why” of connectivism)?
Rapid knowledge growth (duh? Really?)
Changing tools and needs=changing learners
Informal learning eclipsing formal learning
“know-how” and “know-what” replaced by “know-where”
Two-way flow - creator and consumer of content can interact
Questioning bias
End-user in control - Voices given to individuals
Decentralized - power pushed to the edges
Modularization
Pliable connections (or connected specialization)
History given to knowledge/learning that used to vaporize

4. Learning impact? Are LMS’ sufficient? “To fully know” is impossible
Connections to others who know is how we function in a complex environment
Living is a learning process
Do we need courses? Learning outcomes?
We aren’t always constructing, but we are always connecting

5. What’s wrong with existing theories of learning?
Processing/constructing is loaded onto the learner…an unsustainable model in rapid knowledge growth

6. Perceptions of Learning
Domains
Transfer
Acquisition
Emergence
Accretion
Intent
Baseline learning, compliance, collaborative, innovative

8. Connectivism
Theory of organizing, learning, communicating and functioning in a digital, knowledge economy

9. Principle 1: Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions
Effective learning occurs in an ecology of diverse opinions and views
“I know” is moving to “we know as a team”
Connected specialization

10. Principle 2: Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
Complexity of functioning in today’s environment requires forming connections among specialized nodes
The aggregation of differing knowledge fields and perspectives is the corner-stone of learning

11. Principle 3: Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
Data
Information – data with intelligence applied
Knowledge – comprehension of information
Meaning – implications of knowledge
Learning happens between knowledge and meaning
These elements can reside in databases, iPods, or be integrated into tools

12. Principle 4: Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
Knowledge is the oil of the information/knowledge economy. Those who understand how it flows are the keepers of the new pipeline

13. Principle 5: Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
Connections ensure continued access to changing dynamics – corporate, global, societal

14. Principle 6: Ability to see connections and patterns between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Pattern recognition replaces mental processing functions in complex environments

15. Principle 7: Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the most critical function in a knowledge economy
Rapidly changes result in existing elements becoming outdated
Outdated/disconnected decision making is a key challenge for organizations

16. Principle 8: Decision-making is itself a learning process.
Choosing what to learn and the meaning 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.

17. LearningEcology
Shift from designing learning to designing ecologies in which learning will occur

18. Types of tools? Functionality of ideal tools evidenced by:
Blogs, wikis, podcasts, vlogs, del.icio.us, collaborative tools, groupware tools, VoIP, Furl, bloglines etc.
Any tool which enables people to connect with each other or with content.

19. It’s all come undone: Centering Agents
Newscast
Newspaper
Any single source of information which aggregates multiple sources
Evisceration of centering agents

20. Challenge for knowledge workers today
Rapid knowledge requires greater efforts on the part of the centering agents (i.e. everyone has a voice (podcast, blog, wiki)
The elimination of centering agents generates stress – It’s too much!!!
KM, elearning, epss, content management, knowledge discovery, network creation, CoPs, PKM – it’s all the same mess – Let’s strategically Connect

21. General assumptions
Information pace too rapid for current model of learning
Organizations need to rethink learning
Model selected must be dynamic (self-updating) and fluid (not artificial construct of courses)
Different learning format requires different responses
Pressures from other fields – music, video, news – are being felt in education

23. Learning as Network Creation
Nodes – people, data, programs, communities – anything which can be linked
Connections – some meaningful form of interacting, RSS, Aggregators, epss
Chaos is ok

24. What does this mean to corporate education?
Learning conceptualized as continual process, not isolated, artificial constructs
Currency in decision making
Education not used to support strategy – learning used to inform strategy (and as a by-product of strategy implementation)
Can we achieve strategy when we give up control? SOSS (shaped by structured ecology)
Foster connections – relationships, dialogue

25. What does this mean to higher education?
Centering agents – of information for your learners
Non-courses (beyond basic level – i.e. bachelors)
Accretion learning
Life-long – social, self-forming, dynamic (tether learner to organization)
Subscription revenue
Form connections – people, content, ideas
Diversity of tools and concepts

26. Questions?

27. George Siemens