My connections and learning

We learn or experience something new every day.  Family, friends or colleagues share their experiences or information they have come across during casual conversation, adding to our knowledge base.  Even those you do not know, but happen to cross your path may open your eyes to something new.

Like many people the internet is probably where I spend most of my time learning these days.  Before I entered my current degree program I spent some time online, surfing the usual websites reading the news of interest and my email.  But since participating in this program my online reach has expanded to sites I would normally not come across.    Assignments due for the degree have opened my eyes to more efficient ways of doing things, and consequently my awareness of the resources that are available online has grown.  One example is creating a mind map, this exercise makes you think about who, where and how you learn, and there are a number of resources available online to help you realize exactly that and draw it out for you, pretty amazing.

So, besides finding out about yourself and how you learn, the internet for me has become a critical component in conducting research.  The RSS feeds really do simplify access and put information that you need at your fingertips.  The topics of interest are added to your page for reading at your convenience without any action on your part, making the whole process of researching information you need more efficient.   Then there are the search engines to help identify and conduct more research, along with the many links from the university’s library.   

The internet, media, schools, friends and family are all part of a network contributing to our experiences, personal and professional growth.  According to George Siemens these components define the connectivism learning theory “So much of our work is distributed.   Our knowledge literally is distributed across other networks of human beings, technological devices, and other ends.  That’s where connectivism starts to come into play.  So that’s the application of the technology to aid and to extend that dimension as well” (Siemens, 2009).  That theory fits my style and needs for learning, socially and technically, with all the tools available today we are always connected to information and each other, continuously evolving and learning.

Siemens, G. (2009). Connectivism.