Connectivism and Educational Technology 1

Connectivism and Educational Technology

By Christina Jorgensen
Edtech 504- Spring 2012

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Abstract Since there has been learning, there has been someone coming up with learning theories trying to define and describe the way people learn. There are three main learning theories that most learning fits within, behaviorist, cognitivism, and constructivism. Each builds upon each other, not replacing one another but adding upon each other. When educational technology and the new age of technologies and endless knowledge platforms are taken into consideration, one can see what is lacking in the three major learning theories (behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism). Connectivism is able to take the flaws or holes from the other theories and create an emerging theory that fills in all those gaps or flaws. This paper discusses what educational technology is, the technologies behind educational technology, Web 2.0 tools, what connectivism is, and how educational technology plays a role within connectivism.

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What is Educational Technology? Educational technology has always been a part of learning. From the very beginning and basics of educational technology, using paper and pencil and chalkboards, to educational technology in the 21st century, where Web 2.0 tools and technologies such as computers, laptops, iPads, and cell phones are becoming the norm not minority. There have been many definitions of educational technology, and with educational technology evolving with all of the new technologies being created, refined, and redesigned, definitions of educational technology will continue to be created and redefined to stay current with those technologies. To better understand the connections and implications of this paper, the first step is to define educational technology as it will be used in this paper. With so many definitions available, the definitions can seem overwhelming and impossible to understand. After looking through many different definitions and the different settings to which those definitions work, the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) gives the closest definition of educational technology as it works with connectivism and with this paper. Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (ACET 2008). By using this definition, the teachers role is moved from more of an instructor

to a facilitator. The definition also covers technology as processes and tools or resources as ACET describes them.

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Technologies No longer are chalkboards and paper and pencil the first things one thinks of when educational technologies are talked about. Most classrooms have moved on from chalkboards to whiteboards. Some classrooms have moved on from whiteboards to Smart boards. With the world of technology ever changing and growing, more and more technologies are being integrated into classrooms and schools than ever before. Computers in a school are no longer just a nice to have addition or an extra benefit, but they are now a necessity. Not only do most schools have computers, but each teacher has at least one in his or her individual classrooms. Computers are no longer the only way to access the Internet and type reports. Laptops are a way that schools are starting to create more technologies with less space. Within the last two or three years, tablets have become present not only in homes but in schools as an additional resource and tool within the classroom that teachers can use without having to go to a computer lab. These tablets are like giant iPhones. Tablets have wireless Internet and hundreds of different applications that can be downloaded to the device. Many teachers like the fact that students are limited by what they can view on the device. Teachers can put different applications that pertain to their class on the tablet and students are unable to view content not pertaining to class. Cell phones no longer just make phone calls. The internet can be viewed from phones, and many phones are like tablets, in that they have various applications that can be added to them. Many phones have cameras on them and even GPS. Teachers are finding creative and new ways to use all of the new and emerging technologies.

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Web 2.0 Tools There are many technological tools available to educators in various varieties and complexities. The technologies that can be implemented into classrooms are known as Web 2.0 tools. These tools help to facilitate learning and offer new strategies of learning that can benefit a wide range of learners without the teacher neglecting the higher, lower, or middle level students within their classroom. While many are still debating the benefits of using so much technology in the classroom, many teachers have found success in their own classes by implementing these Web 2.0 tools into the classroom, not as a replacement for instruction or textbooks, but as an additional resource to enable more children and help everyone succeed. These Web 2.0 tools are available on the Internet and allow teachers a new way to use the Internet as more than just a search engine. Many of these Web 2.0 tools are created for collaboration and allow the users to be more active and inventive. There is hundreds of different Web 2.0 tools out there for anyone to use and most are free, a big bonus for teachers who are on a very limited budget. In this paper, five main Web 2.0 tools will be mentioned. The growth of Web 2.0 services has made the read/write web more of a reality, with people becoming producers of information, whether that information is their online presence, a read count, comments, tagging of objects, a remix of someone elses content, or original content. The Web offers the possibility for many to distribute their ideas and creative works, although it is often still a small minority who participate by posting and commenting as most only read (Bell, 2011, pg. 100).

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Web 2.0 tools are becoming greater tools for educators as more technologies are available in the classroom, and students are more comfortable using the Internet as more than just a gaming system or search engine. These tools are ever-changing because new ones are created as often as the Web 2.0 tools to stay current with changing trends, new technologies, and needs inside the classroom. One of the complaints of teachers using Web 2.0 tools is that the teachers will use them more as time filler then use them for educational purposes. Web 2.0 tools are great examples of emergent social behavior but the tools themselves do not automatically lead to knowledge of learning (Williams, 2011). Teachers still need to help facilitate learning and not just throw the students into various tools without providing appropriate foundations.

Connectivism Since there has been learning, there has been someone coming up with learning theories trying to define and describe the way people learn. There are three main learning theories that most learning fits within, behaviorist, cognitivism, and constructivism. Each builds upon each other, not replacing one another. but adding upon each other. There are three main learning theories (behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism) that have been used most often in education and instructional environments. Siemens (2004) points out that when those learning theories were created, technology was not part of learning. Over the last twenty years that has changed. Technology has immersed itself into daily life and has been integrated into learning. Learning theories should reflect all the ways in which learning can be done. The big three lack the learning principles and

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processes that are currently being used in the social environments. Including technology into a learning theory is becoming necessary as learners become more dependent upon technology for knowledge and learning processes. Marias (2010) discusses that technology is not only changing the way we learn but also the way we communicate, and live. We are no longer learning just to learn, from constructing ideas, or from our behaviors. Learning has turned into a process from which we take knowledge and find meanings through connections of different sources, patterns, and from social interaction. Learning is no longer an individual process. Group learning and online interaction is becoming more the norm then the exception to the rule. With the advancements of technology, Internet, and search engines, knowledge is more readily available and easily accessible than ever before. In this digital era, we recognize that theres simply too much knowledge to take in and it changes too quickly anyway. So forget about trying to know everything. Instead, build your network of knowledge sources, and access them whenever you need them (Tracey, 2009). With all the knowledge available to us, learning has changed. Not only has knowledge expanded quickly, but with the growth of technology many other aspects of our world are growing quickly also. New discoveries are made almost daily in the fields all fields of learning. What scientists told us twenty or even ten years ago has been changed and new information been given to us. Learning is no longer stagnant, it is constantly changing. Learning has changed to a continual process in which knowledge is transformed into something of meaning through connections between sources of information and the formation of useful patterns, which generally results in something that can be acted upon appropriately, in a contextually aware manner (Siemens 2004, pg. 2).

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With all of the information out for learners to read and learn, the process for which learners learn has to change to accommodate all of the knowledge that is out in the world. Learners are finding new ways to collect, share, and find information. The learning process is cyclical, in that learners will connect to a network to share and find new information, will modify their beliefs on the basis of new learning, and will then connect to a network to share these realizations and find new information once more. Learning is considered a . . . knowledge creation process . . . not only knowledge

consumption. Ones personal learning network is formed on the basis of how ones connection to learning communities is organized by a learner (Kop & Hill, 2008, pg. 147).

Connectivism as a learning theory Connectivism is where the learner makes connections not only inside themselves from previous knowledge or experiences, but also allows learners to make connections with other people, things, ideas, and experiences. By using connectivism, a learner is no longer limited to just himself or herself. Facebook and Twitter come to mind as people make connections with others by sharing thoughts and ideas and getting almost instant feedback from others. Connectivism was introduced as a learning theory in 2004 by Siemens and Downes. Many still do not believe that it really is a learning theory. What is connectivism and is it really a learning theory? Connectivism as a learning theory implies the development of integrated knowledge networks while reducing information to emergence, that is, the understanding that emerges from various people interacting and

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producing unexpected outcomes. The knowledge that students acquire in a course is no longer dependent on the knowledge of the lecturer it evolves around the connections they build with other people and information sources, and the latter includes not only physical connections but also relies on transactional and virtual connections (Marias, 2010, pg. 175). It seems to be looking at the other three major learning theories which are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, and seeing what is lacking from them. Connectivism is able to take the flaws and holes from the other theories and create an emerging theory that fills in all those gaps and flaws. In proposing it as a learning theory for the digital age, Siemens (2004) characterizes connectivism as a successor to behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. He identifies three limitations of these theories: their intrapersonal view of learning; their failure to address the learning that is located within technology and organizations; and their lack of contribution to the value judgments that need to be made in knowledge-rich environments (Bell, 2011, pg. 100). When Siemens (2004) posted his blog post on connectivism, he claimed that there were eight principles of connectivism that helps make it a learning theory.

1. Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions. 2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. 3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances. 4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known. 5. Nurturing and maintaining connections are needed to facilitate continual learning.

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6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. 7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. 8. 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. After connectivism started spreading as an emerging learning theory, many spoke out against it. The relatively recent theoretical accounts of connectivism (Siemens, 2005, 2006) and connective knowledge (Downes, 2006) as ways to understand and explore learning in the networked digital age are timely and particularly useful, both in what they offer and what they question. These positions are not without their critics, Verhagen (2006) for example, but what is particularly exciting and important about them is that they have started a serious discourse, and hopefully discipline-wide reflection, about what learning is in the digital age, the inescapable and unavoidable role of networked technologies as mediating artifacts for learning, and how we should design and support learning for the digitally literate learner in the networked landscape (Ravencroft, 2011 pg. 143). Verhagen was not the only one with reservations about connectivism. Connectivism is mainly concerned with cognitive development, and as such does not concentrate on explaining how connections to networks may be interpreted in relation to physical maturation or the changes that occur over time via a persons exposure to, and interaction, with the social world. This is particularly the case where explaining

Connectivism and Educational Technology 11 behavioral performance and moral development in specific contexts is concerned (Kop & Hill, 2008, pg. 7). In response to all the negativity about connectivism Siemens said, that a new learning theory, in fact, is required, due to the exponential growth and complexity of information available on the Internet, new possibilities for people to communicate on global networks, and for the ability to aggregate different information streams. Siemens argues that knowledge does not only reside in the mind of an individual, knowledge resides in a distributed manner across a network . . . learning is the act of recognizing patterns shaped by complex networks. These networks are internal, as neural networks, and external, as networks in which we adapt to the world around us (Siemens, 2004, pg. 2).

Why Connectivism with Educational Technology? Educational technology and all of the new technologies and discoveries being made are the reason that connectivism is necessary as a learning theory. The exponents of connectivism characterize it as a network theory of learning that draws on a diverse set of theories from learning, education, philosophy of knowledge, and knowledge management, situated within a discourse of change in education and related to the transformative possibilities offered by emerging technologies. In that sense, its scope would appear to be broader than those of existing theories (Bell, 2011, pg. 102). According to Siemens (2004) connectivism is knowledge that is distributed across a network and all the information collected can be stored in various formats, mostly consisting of digital ones. Connectivism allows learners to make connections in all of the

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knowledge and information that they are given and grow and learn from those connections. Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity. How people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. The field of education has been slow to recognize both the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes in what it means to learn. Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era (Siemens, 2004, pg. 3). With the way the world is moving and transitioning so fast, connectivism is starting to emerge as one of the learning theories that is evolving with the world and technology not holding it back or becoming stagnate. At times learners sit and digest tons of knowledge and pool their ideas. At other times, the knowledge learners gain is fleeting or runs right on to the next thing. Siemens (2004) takes the knowledge learners are gaining and compares it to a river. At times the river flows quickly and moves on after stopping only briefly, if at all. At other times the water pools and sits for a great length of time before it moves on down the river. Learning in todays world is much like a river. Information flow can be swift and quick in retaining, at other times information can be large and the learner takes the time to internalize it before moving on to more information.

Conclusion

With educational technology and the new age of technologies and endless knowledge platforms, one can see what is lacking in the three major learning theories

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(behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism). Connectivism is able to take the flaws and holes from the other theories and create an emerging theory that fills in all those gaps and flaws. Embracing connectivism means that we need to consider new design metaphors for future learning that place the person, their social behavior, and their community at the center of the design process and the resulting networked technologies. And whilst future learning landscapes will be characterized by the greater penetration of the Web within our everyday lives, fundamentally we must remember that we will still be, mostly, people socially interacting with other people. And this interaction will, in turn, be supported primarily through new dialogue and discourse (Ravencroft, 2011, pg. 155).

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References

Bell, F. (2011). Connectivism: Its place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology-enabled learning. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning 12(3), 98118. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (Eds.). (2008). The definition. Educational technology: a definition with commentary. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning 9(3), 113. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com Marais, N. (2010). Connectivism as learning theory: The force behind changed teaching practice in higher education. Education, Knowledge & Economy 4(3), 173182. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com Ravenscroft, A. (2011). Dialogue and connectivism: A new approach to understanding and promoting dialogue-rich networked learning. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning 12(3), 139160. Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm Tracey, R. (2009). Instructivism, constructivism or connectivism? Training and Development in Australia 36(6), 89. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com Tschofen, C., & Mackness, J. (2012). Connectivism and dimensions of individual experience. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning 13(1), 124143. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

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Williams, R., Karousou, R., & Mackness, J. (2011). Emergent learning and learning ecologies in Web 2.0. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning 12(3), 39 59. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com