Connectivism



It is truly interesting how my view about learning has evolved throughout the years as I have matured. In my younger years, I thought of the lessons I learned through peers, jobs, and family as lessons which were interesting and which might serve as reference in the future, but they were just lessons. Now that I am mature and understand the lessons I obtain more in detail, I treasure the value these have and the impact they may have in my professional career and personal life. When I learn something, I immediately cross-reference it with an experience I may have had or as something of value that may help me in the near future.

My network connections, (professional, educational, personal, and technological); have been of great influence to me. My educational network has made available tools and material, which have enhanced my knowledge and understanding of concepts not known before. Professors have shared personal and professional experience, which have enhanced topics of interest and electronic tools have been essential and valuable for facilitation and understanding the concepts and lessons taught. Supervisors, peers, and material in my professional network have allowed me to understand the needs of my organization and have taught me lessons that have enabled me to learn by utilizing the tools available within the workplace including learning from my peers and technology. My personal network has provided insight on issues and subjects of interest. The communication within my personal network through tools such as email and social networking has allowed me to explore new matters and have enhanced my learning of electronic tools. Lastly, technology has not only made online learning possible, it has also enabled me to share with others, meet new people, and have an enormous amounts of information and learning tools at my fingertips.

Digital tools such as blogs, e-journals, e-books, e-newsletters, webcasts and educational websites best facilitate my learning. These tools provide information, lessons, and insight of subjects of interest and educational material needed not only as part of my educational curriculum but for information and lessons about personal topics of interest such as hobbies, household affairs, and professional research. To gain new knowledge when I have questions or concerns, I often use search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo to ask questions or request information as needed. The content on the internet today, is much up- to-date and many times more concise than published information. I then read the information posted on the links returned from my search and adapt the information if appropriate. In addition, if I know a source that can provide me the information I need, I search for the information directly on the website. I also supplement my search with published information, if need be.

Finally, my personal learning network supports the tenets of Connectivism by providing me the opportunities and information sources from which I can learn.

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Connectivism. [Video]. George Siemens.