My Learning Network has Certainly Changed!
I used to learn by reading the newspaper, usually a national and a local one and also nightly TV news was a big source of information for a while. I also used to be a big magazine reader, especially trade rags that specialized in topics related to my career or state of life. I also used to buy HOW TO books, devouring any book with useful instruction on whatever was my need at the time. Now, however, I rarely watch the network news, never read magazines and usually only read newspapers online. I subscribe to headline feeds and Blog feeds that help me to interpret news events. I hope I continue to find credible Blogs and slowly increase my learning from them. I also see that in just the last 18 months, I have experienced learning by live or asynchronous interactive webinars and by self-paced online modules. I also cruise some favorite think tank web-sites that both agree and disagree with my points of view. Occasionally, I click to a major TV station’s web site just to get follow-up on one story of interest. I also facebook (yes I used the word as a verb) family and friends on my latest intellectual tinkerings and get their feedback. I looooooove learning through the virtual world because I am “motivated to learn by internal factors” (Conlan, Grabowksi & Smith, 2003) and it’s “accessible and adventurous” (Foley, 2004).
My Most Valuable Digital Learning Tools?
By far, the Browser search engines and my emails are the two most important tools for getting information of any sort, professional and personal. I have also taken to downloading books, reading them on my laptop and frequently watch informational documentaries on internet TV. My husband and I are planning to stop cable because ROKU, flickr, even Amazon and other internet video library sites have more informational viewing. I have also become a Bloghead and feel excited to learn more from other smart people. Lastly, I have been slow to learn through my blackberry. I do still treat my cellphone simply as a voice or text device…no searching the net much, although I have tried it. Hey, I feel hip just because I text at all! Since I am a very visual learner, I hate the limited screen and the tiny keypad buttons. My son, a “digital native” (Timeline of the history and learning, 2011-prensky) tells me that getting an Iphone or Ipad of some sort will change all that. We’ll see. When I have questions, I just “google it” and voilà, tons of articles, sites, etc. to choose from for learning the answers.
My Personal Learning Network Supports the Central Tenets of Connectivism
No question that my new way of “learning how to learn” (Davis, Edmunds, Kelly-Bateman, 2008) supports the basic precepts of Connectivism. Since “the half-life of knowledge has decreased significantly” (Davis, et al, p. 15) learning for me has now become “a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources” (Davis, et al, p. 16). My “decision making itself is a learning process” (Davis, et al, p. 17) as I pick and choose which tool will best help me get information for today’s needs. My Mind Map above clearly demonstrates a, “diversity of network” (Davis, et al, p. 17) options that is still growing as I morph ( I hope) into what Marc Prensky, a connectivist theorist and gaming company CEO, considers a successful learner: “adept at multi-tasking and always connected” (Timeline of the history and learning, 2011-prensky).
References
Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning,
teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning
Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging
perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from
Foley, G. (2004). Dimensions of adult learning. Berkshire, NY. GBR: McGraw-Hill Education.
(chpt. 11, p. 200, by author Bruce Spencer). Retrieved from
Timeline of the History of Learning. (2011, May 1). [Flash Media Program].Baltimore, MD:
Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from
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