This week’s Connectivism and Connective Knowledge readings were particularly challenging as they prompted me to reflect on my own epistemological beliefs and assumptions considering knowledge and learning in general.  Consider what you think intelligence means?  What constitutes knowledge and truth; or is there even such a thing?  What about the fact that we are increasingly learning and interpreting things in new ways which challenge what we already know?

A few weeks ago I attended a lecture by George Ellis from UCT discussing the book ‘The Nature of the Physical World’ by Arthur S. Eddington.  From what I gathered, the book discusses the limitation of what can be explained by science alone and attempts to distinguish cultural psychology (that which is constantly evolving) from physical fact.  I see the things that remain ‘constant’ throughout my life diminishing.  Although the fact that my mug sits atop my desk because of physics hopefully will never change!  Where science stops and psychology takes over, something physical becomes something interpreted which changes over time.  But is there a fine line between science and psychology?  Or does the human mind only know what the human mind has made?

In everyday living we don’t risk much if we continue to speak of lovely sunsets and say that tomorrow the sun will rise at such and such a time − even though we now hold that it is the earth that moves and not the sun. Similarly, there is no harm in speaking of knowledge, mathematical and other, as though it had ontological status and could be “objective” in that sense; as a way of speaking this is virtually inevitable in the social interactions of everyday life. But when we let scientific knowledge turn into belief and begin to think of it as unquestionable dogma, we are on a dangerous slope.

Glasersfeld, 1989

I believe connectivism fits well into our current landscape.  Historically, knowledge has been scarce, difficult to record, and difficult to verify. Knowledge could be in a sense owned and commodified due to limited technology-eg. Limitation of the printing press. Today, scarcity is no longer an issue as information is easy to locate, track and compare using today’s technologies.  We employ new tools which allow us to create networks which connect us to anyone, any node, any source of information regardless of time and space.  The widespread adoption of computers and the internet signified the introduction of new cultural tools in society.  When a new tool becomes part of the process of activity it has the potential to modify the “entire course and structure of mental functions by determining the structure of the new instrumental act.”  (Vygotsky, 1930)

Currently we are challenged by an ever increasing and seemingly relentless fountain of information.  Connectivist learning relies on the quality of our networks – where we access information and construct our understanding, what we decide to retain – quality control, our access to current information – currency and value of information, and our ability to nurture and understand the relationships between available nodes.

I think the greatest stumbling block in adopting a connectivist ideology is accepting the fact that knowledge is not stored in any one place and transferred or transacted to others via teaching.  Knowledge and learning occur in the “network of connections formed from experience and interactions with a knowing community.”  (Downes, 2006)  I have always found that being in the company of experts is a good way to learn, a community of practice develops and shared knowledge helps the group be productive.

References
Cormier, D. (2008) Rhizomatic Knowledge: Community as Curriculum.  Innovate: Journal of Online Education.  The Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University.

Downes, S. (2006) Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge.  Unpublished but online.

Glasersfeld, E. (1989) An Exposition of Constructivism: Why Some Like it Radical. Scientific Reasoning Research Institute, University of Massachusetts.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1930) The Instrumental Method In Psychology. Text of a talk given in 1930 at the Krupskaya Academy of Communist Education.

Diagram above uses flickr images from  wilhei55 and Thomas Hawk shared under a Creative Commons license and inspiration from Dr. Dick N’gambi.

I am undertaking an entirely online course with the University of Manitoba’s Learning Technologies Centre. Because I am in South Africa and under somewhat constraining limitation on bandwidth, I wont be able to to partake in the live synchronous chat/discussion sessions. I will however be reading and watching what is said by checking on the other participants blogs to see what is happening. Part of the responsibility in taking the course is to blog and tweet about your thoughts on the weekly online discussions.

This all works because we use a hashtag to identify what we write as part of the course. So if we are tweeting or blogging we include the code: CCK09 to indicate that the text is relevant to the course material. If you were to do a google search for CCK09 you would likely get a mash of stuff from a variety of sources all relating back to the Connectivism and Connected Knowledge Course – cool!

This course presents a contemporary learning theory for the information age.  I have discussed connectivism in depth in my master’s program.  Most of us are from the belief that it is a useful addition to the range of theories that learning designers must draw upon when using today’s digital environment.

The basic principles of connectivism are as follows:

• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

(Siemens, 2004)
Connectivism as a theory of learning is highly contested among various circles. I would side with those that say that while it builds upon the theory of social constructivism and activity theory it also adds some important considerations for learners in an information age.

• Social constructivism says that knowledge is constructed socially, but interpreted locally.
• Activity theory says that knowledge is acquired through the use of tools.
• Connectivism says that learning is the process of creating connections and developing a network of information rich tools.

Connectivism seems to say that learning can exist outside of people. This is difficult for me to accept and I hope to unpack this further within the context of this course.
Reading Pløn Verhagen’s (2006) critique of connectivm reminds us that perhaps we need to differentiate between learning and knowledge. Learning as a process and knowledge as an information store. While I can appreciate that knowledge can be found in tools (technology), I would argue that it exists because humans put it there. Furthermore, it will be interpreted differently by everyone who encounters it.

Those are my initial reflections to the connectivist debate. Apologies to my regular readers who were expecting ‘food porn’ or pictures from around Cape Town, South Africa. I am hoping to begin to diversify this blog to include some of my master’s research discussion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Siemens, G. (2004, 12 12). eLearnspace. Retrieved 9 15, 2009, from Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Verhagen, B. v. (2006). Connectivism: a new learning theory? Enschede, Netherlands: University of Twente.  http://www.surfspace.nl/nl/Redactieomgeving/Publicaties/Documents/Connectivism%20a%20new%20theory.pdf