Connectivism

Technology has made a great impact on the networks that surround me. When I started in education nineteen years ago, the only networks that I had were face-to-face, by telephone, email and the internet. I remember once in a faculty meeting my principal mention sending information via email, only to find out the only ten teachers had an email account. It’s amazing how times have changed. My network now is formed entirely by using technology, and it has completely changed the way that I learn. Below is a mind map of the technology network that surrounds me:





The digital tools that best facilitate learning for me are ProQuest Central, which is found on the Walden University Library website. It is a one-stop-shop for current reviews of research in any area of study. It allows me to expand my knowledge base and learn what other professional are sharing with the professional community. I use email to communicate with colleagues in my learning community, Skype with classmates around the world, and create GoogleDocs to collaborate on assignments with fellow student at Walden University.

When I have a question I typically start with my networks online, Yahoo or Google or some other search engine. If that doesn’t work, I will send an email to colleagues and/or friends to see if they can help. If I am still without an answer I will create a Blog on my personal blog to see if I get any good answers. The most amazing thing I can say about my networks is that sometime after answering my original question I’ve created three of four new questions and I get answer that would have never been produced..

Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold (2008) proposed ?
After listening to Rheingold’s lecture I’ve decided that humans will work together whether it is for profit or not. For instance, Rheingold discussed that many people collaborate on a voluntary basis in order to input data on free informational websites such as Wikipedia. (2008). On the reverse, others will become enrolled in a project if there is profit involved.
I personally believe that whether there is a financial gain or just the feeling you get from working with other I considered both to be a gain, therefore humans interact and work as groups, for a price. Some people like working with others and some people don’t. My sister likes to work alone. I on the hand enjoy being around people and working with others. I like to bounce ideas off of other people to see what new ideas I can come up with. Conflicts and collaboration with others help me to find new ways to form relationships and see, in myself, what personality traits are accepted, refused, and what needs work.

How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
With learners, technology is ever-changing and can facilitate collaboration. Dewey (1997) describers learning as what occurs through a person’s experience. Learning activities such as simulations, cooperative group work, and open-ended problems are examples of constructivist learning experiences (Driscoll, 2005).

Dewey, J. (1997). Experience & education. New York: Kappa Delta Pi.
Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Pearson.
Web video. (2008). Howard Rheingold: Way-New Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html