Archive for the ‘Connectivism’ Category
A pedagogy of abundance or a pedagogy to support human beings? Participant support on massive open online courses
This paper examines how emergent technologies could influence the design of learning environments. It will pay particular attention to the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning experiences on massive open online courses MOOCs.
The research shows that it is possible to move from a pedagogy of abundance to a pedagogy that supports human beings in their learning through the active creation of resources and learning places by both learners and course facilitators. This pedagogy is based on the building of connections, collaborations, and the exchange of resources between people, the building of a community of learners, and the harnessing of information flows on networks. This resonates with the notion of emergent learning as learning in which actors and system co-evolve within a MOOC and where the level of presence of actors on the MOOC influences learning outcomes.
Sage at the Side
A number of years ago, I wrote an article talking about how we might go beyond our current ‘apart’ learning experiences. The notion is what I call ‘layered learning’, where we don’t send you away from your life to go attend a learning event, but instead layer it around the events in your life. This is very much part of what I’ve been calling slow learning, and a recent conversation has catalyzed and crystalized that thought.
Think about the sort of ideal learning experience you might have. As you traverse the ‘rocky road’ of life, imagine having a personal coach who would observe the situation, understand the context of the task and the desired goal, and could provide some aid (from some sack of resources) that could assist you in immediate performance. Your performance would improve.
Emergent Learning and Learning Ecologies in Web 2.0
In this paper we argue that it might be useful for educational institutions to actively explore alternative frameworks such as complexity theory, communities of practice, connectivism, and the underlying threads of emergent learning to inform their planning and strategy. We will attempt to bring together elements of all these areas of research and practice to develop a framework for emergent learning that can be applied across education, work, and social networking, with their increasingly blurred boundaries.
We explore the following:
- What are the conditions that enable emergent, self-organised learning to occur and to flourish?
- What mechanisms of validation are effective, can emergent learning networks be self-correcting, and if so, how?
- Is it possible to link, or even integrate, emergent and prescribed learning, and if so, how?
Read also: Presentation
An Interview with Stephen Downes
Discussion with the hosts of Ed Tech Crew about the nature of MOOCs, how they work, connectivism, open source and open licensing, and the rest of it.
Connectivism & the Relationship Era
Connectivism is an emergent theory for learning that aptly came out in the relationship era. During the information age going into the knowledge era, about a decade ago, finding the right information as well as finding the right knowledge assets was key. That’s why Google came out as the primary technology that enabled the world to go about their business.
Connective Learning: Challenges for Learners, Teachers, and Educational Institutions
Connective learning is the main way humans have always been learning so it cannot be challenged. However, connective learning in a digital world that hugely increases the number of possible connections does pose several challenges to learners, teachers, and educational institutions. These challenges must be met because learners are availing themselves of this digital connectivity anyway (and at times any way). Ignoring this fact won’t make it disappear.
