Connectionist and Connectivist Teaching
Connectionism [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connectionism/] is the study of learning and cognition in neural networks.
Connectivism [http://www.connectivism.ca/about] is a theory of:
- learning as network actions
- learners as network nodes
Principles of Connectivism
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
- 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.
- 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.
Connectionism is the abstraction
- The internet = computing nodes
- Connectivism = learner nodes
It matters because
- we are dealing with a new kind of learner (digital natives) in a new modality (digital literacy)
- learners are (should be/will be) participants in a new global community whose economy is based on the virtous circle of the formation of social and intellectual capital
Characteristics of the New Learner
- Participation, Doing, Searching, Finding, Discovering — the Constructivist Network
- Network effects in learning: strong and weak ties, producers, attractors, refiners, instigators, iconoclasts
- Contingent knowledge discovery and network negotiation
- Magnifies our teaching flaws
The Old Rules Still Apply
- It’s Not the Tool, it’s How You Use It
- Classroom Community and Collaboration
- Communities of Learning Embedded Within Communities of Practice
Links and Resources
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