Connectivism

Different structures and pedagogies of online and distance learning.
connectivism and connective knowledge (CCK)
personal learning environments and networks and knowledge (PLENK)
Online learning for today and tomorrow (EduMOOC)
mobile learning (MobiMOOC)

In one of our weekly web sessions in Learning Analytics 2012 (LAK12), Dragan Gasevic described an interesting paper describing three generations of distance education: cognitive-behaviorist, social constructivist, and connectivist.
Anderson and Dron (2011) describe three generations of distance education (DE) pedagogy: cognitive-behaviorist, social constructivist, and connectivist. All models exist today, but have evolved before and with each other, and with the technologies. Some of these theories were developed before learning was truly impacted by technology. Learning theories should reflect their underlying social environments. Connectivism seems to contrast and integrate principles of learning theories, such as behaviorism, cognitism, and constructivist learning pedagogies.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are gaining popularity in recent years. Examples are CCK08, PLENK2010, MobiMOOC (2011), EduMOOC (2011), Change11, and LAK12.

In the article, Dialogue and connectivism: A new approach to understanding and promoting dialogue-rich networked learning | Ravenscroft | The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, the author considers: "how we can achieve these aims this article will review the principles of connectivism from a dialogue perspective; propose some social constructivist approaches based on dialectic and dialogic dimensions of dialogue, which can act as levers in realising connectivist learning dialogue; demonstrate how dialogue games can link the discussed theories to the design and performance of networked dialogue processes; and consider the broader implications of this work for designing and delivering sociotechnical learning."

One question: Is networked social media a new landscape for dialogue and connections for learning? It is becoming increasingly important to critically assess learning and the development of connections of people and resources. The web is truly now open, participative, and social, requiring the user to develop and practice higher order cognitive abilities and social competencies. Can we work to create technology platforms that reorient the traditional learning process to teach learners to think, analyze, and reason?


Siemens (2005) states the following principles of connectivism, which are also currently available through Siemens’ writings in Wikipedia.

Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
Learning is a process of connecting specialised 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 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.
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.
The author discusses the importance of dialogue in connectivism, defining various structures:
"Diverse opinions (1) will be typically expressed through discourses and clarified, contested, and refined through critical dialogue. The connection of specialised and contextualised information sources (2) will involve the assessment of discourses, reflections about them, and recognition of meaning and value. The principle that “Learning may reside in non-human appliances” (3) seems to play out in two ways from a dialogue perspective, although the word “reside” perhaps needs additional qualification. ... To realise a capacity to know more (4) will benefit from reflective and inquiry dialogue to maintain and evolve a community of inquiry and function critically within these spaces. Similarly, nurturing and maintaining connections (5) with people can correspond to opening up and maintaining what Wegerif (2007) calls “dialogic spaces” that emphasise “the interanimation of real voices” within learning relationships. These may then support learning through dialectical and knowledge-building dialogues of the type proposed by Scardamalia and Bereiter (2003). “Seeing connections” (6) is likely to involve dialogue processes such as reflection, clarification, and negotiation. And currency (7) will be realised through maintaining up-to-date and responsive dialogues, and we will often decide what to learn (8) through processes such as clarifying, reflective engagement, and negotiation. To realise a capacity to know more (4) will benefit from reflective and inquiry dialogue to maintain and evolve a community of inquiry and function critically within these spaces. Similarly, nurturing and maintaining connections (5) with people can correspond to opening up and maintaining what Wegerif (2007) calls “dialogic spaces” that emphasise “the interanimation of real voices” within learning relationships. These may then support learning through dialectical and knowledge-building dialogues of the type proposed by Scardamalia and Bereiter (2003). “Seeing connections” (6) is likely to involve dialogue processes such as reflection, clarification, and negotiation. And currency (7) will be realised through maintaining up-to-date and responsive dialogues, and we will often decide what to learn (8) through processes such as clarifying, reflective engagement, and negotiation." (Ravenscroft 2011)