Learning Theory : Connectivism

Connectivism is a learning theory, in which knowledge exists outside of the learner, and the learner makes connections between information to build knowledge. The connections that learners make help them create their own learning network.

 

Through this connected web, learners will be able to stay up-to-date with content as it changes. It is important for the learner to be able to identify credible resources.

 

Siemens outlines the major ideas of connectivism as:

• "Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions"
• "Learning is the 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 learning"
• The ability to identify connections between concepts is important
• Maintaining current and accurate knowledge is the purpose in connectivist activities
• Decision-making is a learning process as information can change and what is viewed as correct one day may be incorrect the next (Siemens, 2004)

 

Use of this theory:

This theory can be used whenever research needs to be conducted. In this digital age, learners can set up RSS feeds, follow organizations on Twitter, link to certain sites, search videos, and much more. With all of these resources available, learners can build a learning network that is constantly growing and can receive the most up-to-date information on any topic.

 

Strengths:

Since learning is networked and connected to a variety of sources, information can be obtained easily and instantly. RSS Feeds and other Web 2.0 tools allow for the learner to retrieve the most recent updates to any topic.

Weaknesses:

Because so many sources exist, it can become difficult to determine if a source is legitimate or not.