Before Facebook, Ning, and even Moodle there was social bookmarking. Without a doubt, the quintessential way to connect with others in the digital era is the through sharing of information, resources, images, and content. The theory of connectivism has never been more strongly evident than with social bookmarking where individuals come together to form groups based on shared interests based on shared resources. Diigo reflects its ability to connect individuals and allow them access to learning opportunities not otherwise available via other current learning theories in education.
Image courtesy of John Dykes
The power of connection
The starting point of many learning theories, including connectivism, is the individual. It is also important to recognize that one's very own personal knowledge is comprised of a network; a network which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network (Siemens, 2005a). As a result, the cycle provides a means of learning and making meaning for an individual. This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed (Siemens, 2005a). The development of connections using a Diigo network is no different from those of Facebook, MySpace, Delicious, and the like.
According to digital technology theorist, George Siemens, connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations (2005a). New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital, and the ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical (Siemens, 2005a). The value of pattern recognition and connecting our own “small worlds of knowledge” with those of other like-minded individuals are apparent in the exponential impact provided to our personal learning networks (Siemens, 2005a). Making connections is about learning. Make the right connections is the most valuable contribution.
Essentially, our ability to allow these connections to form organically is paramount. What distinguishes a connectivist network from other learning theories is that it produces connective knowledge. According to National Research Council of Canada senior researcher, Stephen Downes, this is what makes it suitable for learning (2009). Professional and personal learning. The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today (Downes, 2009). So, why hasn't education caught on?
A real challenge for any learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of application (Siemens, 2005a). When knowledge, however, is needed, but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill--digital literacy. When I need to find information, my growing Diigo social network of professional and education-based groups comes to my rescue. In fact, i am no longer relegated to Google and other monstrous search engines to sift through information. Diigo has afforded me a new way to access information. Rather than relying on a single community for social capital, individuals often must actively seek out a variety of appropriate people and resources for different situations (Rainie et. al, 2006). As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses.
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 (Downes, 2007). 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, 2005). Autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness all offers a connectivist dynamic to any community and to all the members and learners contained within (Downes, 2009).
Learning Ecologies: a new way of thinking about social networks and lifelong learning
My Diigo social bookmarking network is part of a larger network: my personal learning network. Networks, however, need to occur within something--an ecology (Siemens, 2005b). While an ecology does have some similarities to a learning network, it possesses some unique elements that sets it apart. A network is largely a structured process. The places of connections (the nodes) comprise that structure. In contrast, an ecology is a living organism and it influences the formation of the network itself (Siemens 2005b). The learners while making the connections themselves influence the formation of the network.
For example, each learner in a class possesses a personal learning network. The health of this network is influenced by the suitability of the ecology in which the learner exists (in this case the specific classroom or school teaching faculty) (Siemens, 2005a). If the ecology is healthy, it will permit networks to flourish and to grow. If the ecology is not healthy, networks will not develop optimally. The task of the educator is to create and foster a learning ecology that allows learners to quickly and effectively enhance their existing learning (Siemens, 2005a). As teachers and administrators push for professional development reform, one that includes autonomy, diversity, and connectedness, we better prepare ourselves to help our students prepare themselves for the new social era.
What does this mean for the individual and social bookmarking? It means that we need to continue to make connections, join groups (both personal and professional in nature) and cultivate new relationships with those not necessarily (Downes' call for diversity).
John Seeley Brown, a former chief scientist at Xerox, sees connectivism as natural part of technology. He also recognizes "a shift between using technology to support the individual to using technology to support relationships between individuals" (Brown, 2002). With that shift, Seeley Brown (2002) is convinced, that "we will discover new tools and social protocols for helping us help each other, which is the very essence of social learning and connecting. It is also the essence of lifelong learning a form of learning that learning ecologies could dramatically facilitate. And developing learning ecologies in a region is a first, important step toward a more general culture of learning." No doubt, Diigo, Facebook, and other current digital networking tools will continue to evolve, and to revolutionize our personal learning for the better.
References
Downes, S. (2009). Retrieved October 6, 2010 from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/02/connectivist-dynamics-in-communities.html.
Downes, S. (2007). Retrieved October 7, 2010 from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-connectivism-is.html.
Seeley Brown, J. (2002). Retrieved October 6, 2010 from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article01.html.
Siemens, G. (2005a). Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm.
Siemens, G. (2005b). Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.astd.org/LC/2005/1105_seimens.htm.
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