Connectivism

To be honest, I had not really thought too deeply about how much technology, specifically the internet, has positively affected my life. I still have traditional networks for information, but computers have enabled me to learn about any topic that captures my attention. The way I used to learn before the internet was mainly through books and public television. Now, I use my critical thinking skills that I have developed throughout my life and various sources of credible information to construct knowledge. When I think about how my type of learning relates to connectivism I cannot help but draw a comparison to schema theory; in that I always accommodate new knowledge with something I have learned or makes sense to me. For instance, the other day I was reading about new research on the effects of observation and quantum behavior of particles and I had to use an analogy because the concept was new and complex. The conjecture was that a particle will behave differently if it is observed in the future—or the future influences the past. Aside from all of the jargon and mathematics, I read from a few more sources and likened this new information to having somebody from the future tell you that you are going to do something specific. Once you know your “destiny,” Your behavior changes. The very act of the new information (which rests on particles being able to travel in bidirectional timespace) changes one’s behavior: fascinating. Of course, this has only been observed on an atomic scale….but I digress.

The tool I most rely on is the internet, but I do not approach any information as fact unless it can be verified. I think this is an important consideration with connectivism, that teachers must monitor the sources of information to which their students have access until the students are able to discriminate between what is valid and what is purely conjecture. In addition to the internet, I tend to use books and journals for access to reliable information. No matter how geeky I get, it seems that the written word in a book or journal is nice to have as a reference just as much as having access to it on the net.