Connectivism

My above mind map is interactive and requires viewers to click to explore further.

I learn through the networks I connect or create to obtain knowledge. The speed at which technology changes has made information time sensitive. Learning in this field can never end unless you wish to focus on a specific tool. The advantages educationally to sharing through networks provides necessary knowledge to evaluate, synthesize, and create learning opportunities for others. Determining value of the ever-increasing technological tools developed helps design appropriate purposes to guide and facilitate users.

Digital tools allow for a constructed repository of globally collected knowledge. The digital tools that best facilitate learning for me include: my iGoogle page, where I can direct and choose networks to feed my knowledge base; Walden, for researched based best practices and resources to expand my perspective; and Twitter for peer suggested tools/ideas/sites/blogs/etc. I wanted to include email as subscriptions to newsletters offers constant information shared but the value seems lost in the sheer amount of communication received through this avenue.

Connecting, communicating, and collaborating in this world and for the future is the most important skill for learners today and tomorrow. Technological tools have changed how I learn and how I teach. The questions I ask as well as how I seek out additional information to answer questions revolves around others as living resources instead of statically stored information. New knowledge, in my work experience, comes quickest through Twitter, listservs, and forums, to satisfy immediate needs. Research to support and enhance learning is best obtained through Walden and blogs that stretch perspectives.

Reference

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Published online at Lulu.com. Available at http://www.elearnspace.org/KnowingKnowledge_LowRes.pdf