The Learner of Today: Connectivism

No matter how many foundational theories we learn as educators on how to teach, we'll always come into problems, or try something that just doesn't work. From my personal experience, everything I learned in school went right out the window in my first year of teaching. We learn that not everything we were taught works, and education is dynamic: What worked twenty years ago in the classroom isn't necessarily appropriate for the classroom of 2014.

An alternate theory called Connectivism by George Siemens proposes that as educators, we must find a different way to teach, given the technological advances we have today, to implement in the classroom. "It is a model of learning that acknowledges shifts in society where learning is no longer individualistic..." To me, the learner of today is like social software: There is a need to connect with others to stay current, and not in isolation. (This could go for teachers, too.) This is where connectivism comes in: It is "driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations." With all of the technological advances we have today, we need to keep our teaching current and to also keep our learners engaged. Learning is a process that occurs within multiple environments with shifting elements; it is not necessarily under the control of the individual, according to Siemens theory. We need to nurture and maintain these connections to have up-to-date knowledge.

 

 

Siemens talks about the impact of social media on learning in one of his videos, and I believe it relates back to connectivism a lot. He basically says that "through social means, we're able to connect and share with each other." This goes hand-in-hand with classroom teaching too. Since education is dynamic and not so much based on the individual anymore, we can use prompts or certain things to initiate conversation and discussions, rather than lecturing. He refers to Flickr as an example of how we are able to share pictures and images. Anyone who has an account can comment on these images. Basically it is a conduit that leads to conversation. We are able to do this in the classroom. We can stimulate conversation and learn by doing and discussing, rather than just listening. We are social beings that need mental stimulation to learn.

 

I believe that this theory can do great things in the classroom, especially in relation to technology in the classroom. We need to start changing the way of instruction to change with the times. Education should not be a static thing, and we need to also recognize that.