Connectivism, What is it?
Connectivism can be described as a perspective that views learning as the creation of knowledge networks. George Siemens from Learning Circuits, provides a concise and thorough explanation of this perspective and discusses the implications that this learning theory has on educators.
According to Siemens, learning occurs when people are exposed to new content, which are then coded into nodes (elements of information and knowledge). These nodes are then connected into the mental networks of a person, and gives the nodes contextual meaning in a persons mental network construct. The success of the learning depends upon how well the node is connected to the person’s existing mental networks. The forming of such networks depends upon a variety of factors such as the persons motivations, emotions, exposure to the new content, the patterning of the content, the logic and the experiences of the person.
The implications of such a perspective on learning, affects how organisations and educational institutions view and faciliate learning. In the past such institutions have based their instructional design upon behaviourist, cognitivists and constructivists learning orientations which depended largely upon how the instructors have organised and presented information.
However, the Connectivist learning perspective recognises that learning is a messy, informal, rich and chaotic process which shifts the emphasis of learning to the learner. This means that educational instructors are required to place greater emphasis on allowing learners to navigate through information themselves; rather than the organisation and presentation of information.
Blogs, wikis and other collaborative learning tools are now allowing this type of learning in which learners are presented with a vast array of tools to construct their own learning pathways and mental networks.
