L Butler's Library tagged LTMS525 →  View Popular

Some questions to explore in relation to learning theories and the impact
of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning:



• How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired
  in the linear manner?
• What adjustments need to made with learning theories when technology
  performs many of the cognitive operations previously performed by learners
  (information storage and retrieval).
• How can we continue to stay current in a rapidly evolving information
  ecology?
• How do learning theories address moments where performance is needed
  in the absence of complete understanding?
• What is the impact of networks and complexity theories on learning?
• What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process
  on learning?
• With increased recognition of interconnections in differing fields
  of knowledge, how are systems and ecology theories perceived in light
  of learning tasks?

Including technology and connection making as learning activities begins
to move learning theories into a digital age. We can no longer personally
experience and acquire learning that we need to act. We derive our competence
from forming connections. Karen Stephenson states:

“Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge.
Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences,
and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge. ‘I
store my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge
through collecting people (undated).”

Principles of connectivism:



• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information
  sources.
• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual
  learning.
• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is
  a core skill.
• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist
  learning activities.
• 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.

Implications




The notion of connectivism has implications in all aspects of life. This
paper largely focuses on its impact on learning, but the following aspects
are also impacted:



• Management and leadership. The management and marshalling of resources
  to achieve desired outcomes is a significant challenge. Realizing that
  complete knowledge cannot exist in the mind of one person requires a
  different approach to creating an overview of the situation. Diverse
  teams of varying viewpoints are a critical structure for completely
  exploring ideas. Innovation is also an additional challenge. Most of
  the revolutionary ideas of today at one time existed as a fringe element.
  An organizations ability to foster, nurture, and synthesize the impacts
  of varying views of information is critical to knowledge economy survival.
  Speed of “idea to implementation” is also improved in a
  systems view of learning.
• Media, news, information. This trend is well under way. Mainstream
  media organizations are being challenged by the open, real-time, two-way
  information flow of blogging.
• Personal knowledge management in relation to organizational knowledge
  management
• Design of learning environments