WK5 REFLECTION ON MIND MAP: CONNECTIVISM

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 I value connectivism as a context in which learning can more favorably occur, thanks to available technological solutions (Fallows, 2006), on the other side I acknowledge that connectivism is also enabled and allowed by an always stronger user participation to the creation, sharing, use and management of resources (contents, relations, applications) through social software. I have certainly become a professional consume.  My awareness and receptivity as a teacher and as a learner grow rapidly using the mind map of the learning environment of my choice.  I can easily post and select reference reading material for my class, or participate in a debate through a video sharing social network.  Connection forming, selection, filtering information will prepare me to even work in a group. Contribution and involvement in active and effective work using tools and combining resources to come to a shared strategy of discussion for the class meeting become easy.

 “Learning must be a way of being – an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups that they employ to try to keep abreast o the surprising, novel, messy, obtrusive, recurring events…” (Vaill,1996).  It is said that behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism seemed to be the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environment (http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm), but connectivism, through the medium of multimedia, to me, exemplified the existing theories available to the learner and my mind map would enable me to be part of the scholars who will never cease to learn.

Formerly, I gain information through books, news, and limited social interactions only, but with internet, podcast, video, and with blogs this year, information is readily available for dissemination; learning now occurs in a variety of ways through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks.  These days I gain new knowledge through set up feeders and questions and answers sessions on my computer.  The social networking theories and tools support connectivist-learning activities, and build new and effective e-learning practices.  Connectivism , the social

networking applied to learning and knowledge contexts can lead to a re-conceptualization

of learning in which formal, non-formal and informal learning can be integrated to build a potentially lifelong learning activities to be experienced in my personal learning environments. In order to provide a guide in the design, development and improvement both of personal learning environments and in the related learning activities we provide a knowledge flow model highlighting the stages of learning and the related enabling conditions.  Today, networked learning, collaboration technologies, collaborative learning, informal learning, learning 2.0, web 2.0, web 3.0, personal learning environment, wikis, telematic technologies, and blogs contribute effectively towards an e-lifelong learning experience; thus connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age takes learning to a new height.