Davis, Edmunds, and Kelly-Bateman (2008) explain connectivism as "driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly changing foundations" ("Connectivism", from "Connectivism Defined"). In light of this fact, when looking at the mind map I posted earlier this week, it is interesting to note how broad some of the connections in my networks are and the potential to bring new information to my attention. My learning network and what I have gained from it support the basics of connectivism by providing me with specialized connections to information, a broad aspect of opinions and expertise in the area of my profession (education), and also giving me a social aspect to go alone with it.
The advent of social media such as Twitter has affected how information is shared and and synthesized. I participate in Tweet chats through #PBLchat and #engchat with other educators from around the world. These individuals become a sounding board for my thoughts and provide their own thoughts as feedback. The additional layer of synthesis of information happens depending upon who is responding to my thoughts. A person who I regard in high esteem is someone who I will be more likely to pay attention to as someone who is able to filter irrelevant material out of his or her speech before conversing with me; I am more likely to listen openly to what he or she has to say. Socializing with these people I respect via Twitter is a way in "nurturing and maintaining connections...to facilitate continual learning" occurs (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).
These same "experts" are the ones to whom I turn when I am having conundrums over best practices. If my friends and connections cannot point me in the right direction, I invariably will end up on a website such as Edutopia or Mindshift from KQED to see what opinions others have on the subject. A variety of thoughts and opinions on a similar subject ensures that when I am trying to make sense of a topic, I can see multiple perspectives and evaluate which is the best fit way to apply new knowledge.
Thanks to the advice of colleagues and learning network connections, I have been able to use some different web tools to aid learning in my classroom. Web tools like Bubbl which I used to create my mind map, brainstorm apps like Scrumblr, and audio editting software like Audacity are all tools I have begun using based on the advice of those around me.
Whether I had a label to give this idea of broad input of information from various sources which are always changing (connectivism) or not, the fact is that I would still be benefiting from the the idea of it.
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism.
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