CONNECTIVISM (MOD#5 post1)
Today, a learner is like a GPS.
If it wants to find a destination, it has to know the correct routes to get there. A typical GPS has thousands of roads stored on it and to get to the correct destination, it has to sort between all of the unnecessary roads and the roads that lead to that destination. Then, based on that information, it chooses the quickest route among them to get to where it was asked to go. Another critical key point about a GPS as well is that it needs to be kept up-to-date. It may know how to get to a destination today, but in the future, because of road changes and changes to the environment, if it's not kept current, it may not be able to get us to the same destination using the same route as it was able to before or there may be an easier and faster route it would not know about. Therefore, it is important that it is given updates, so that it stays efficient and doesn't fall into obsoletion.
If you didn't understand the metaphor, then lets break it down (Hey, we are not all GPSes). The destination would be a task we are given. In order to complete the task, we need to be able to sort through all of the irrelevant information or methods and relevant information or methods (roads and routes) to complete the task. The more information or methods a learner knows about the easier and faster it will be for that learner to complete a task. Just like a GPS, a learner today has to remain up-to-date on the methods and information for completing these tasks as changes in technology and fields of study over time most likely will affect the methods and information we should utilize to complete certain tasks. Not staying current on these changes (i.e. not being a life-long-learner), we ourselves as learners will fall into using obsolete methods and information making us inefficient or unable to complete future tasks (and teaching others how to complete certain tasks as well). George Siemens mentions this in his video. He says,
"[...] it's not just what we know today that's important, it's our ability to continue to stay current as knowledge changes. What I've learned today and, of course, by the time I go out into the industry, that knowledge may well be obsolete." (2007)
This is extremely true and important in today's world as these changes are a lot more frequent than they were in the past. George Siemens emphasizes this exact point in his article,
"Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime. Information development was slow. The life of knowledge was measured in decades. Today, these foundational principles have been altered. Knowledge is growing exponentially. In many fields the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years." (2005)
This necessity of being a life-long-learner is the main take away lesson from this blog post. Especially for us as educators, the line between success and failure may well rest in our choice of being a life-long-learner or not.
SOURCES:
Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, Retrieved December 12, 2011
Vieira, P. "The Changing Nature of Knowledge" Online video clip. Youtube, 2 September 2007. Web. 22 September 2017. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=0&feature=PlayList&v=YMcTHndpzYg&list=PL3E43054A8703F57A.
Today, a learner is like a GPS.If it wants to find a destination, it has to know the correct routes to get there. A typical GPS has thousands of roads stored on it and to get to the correct destination, it has to sort between all of the unnecessary roads and the roads that lead to that destination. Then, based on that information, it chooses the quickest route among them to get to where it was asked to go. Another critical key point about a GPS as well is that it needs to be kept up-to-date. It may know how to get to a destination today, but in the future, because of road changes and changes to the environment, if it's not kept current, it may not be able to get us to the same destination using the same route as it was able to before or there may be an easier and faster route it would not know about. Therefore, it is important that it is given updates, so that it stays efficient and doesn't fall into obsoletion.
If you didn't understand the metaphor, then lets break it down (Hey, we are not all GPSes). The destination would be a task we are given. In order to complete the task, we need to be able to sort through all of the irrelevant information or methods and relevant information or methods (roads and routes) to complete the task. The more information or methods a learner knows about the easier and faster it will be for that learner to complete a task. Just like a GPS, a learner today has to remain up-to-date on the methods and information for completing these tasks as changes in technology and fields of study over time most likely will affect the methods and information we should utilize to complete certain tasks. Not staying current on these changes (i.e. not being a life-long-learner), we ourselves as learners will fall into using obsolete methods and information making us inefficient or unable to complete future tasks (and teaching others how to complete certain tasks as well). George Siemens mentions this in his video. He says,
"[...] it's not just what we know today that's important, it's our ability to continue to stay current as knowledge changes. What I've learned today and, of course, by the time I go out into the industry, that knowledge may well be obsolete." (2007)
This is extremely true and important in today's world as these changes are a lot more frequent than they were in the past. George Siemens emphasizes this exact point in his article,
"Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime. Information development was slow. The life of knowledge was measured in decades. Today, these foundational principles have been altered. Knowledge is growing exponentially. In many fields the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years." (2005)
This necessity of being a life-long-learner is the main take away lesson from this blog post. Especially for us as educators, the line between success and failure may well rest in our choice of being a life-long-learner or not.
SOURCES:
Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, Retrieved December 12, 2011
Vieira, P. "The Changing Nature of Knowledge" Online video clip. Youtube, 2 September 2007. Web. 22 September 2017. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=0&feature=PlayList&v=YMcTHndpzYg&list=PL3E43054A8703F57A.
I find it interesting that you mention that people would enter a career that would last a lifetime. Now we are finding that people who fall into the so-called "millennial" category may have as many as 4-5 different careers, not jobs, careers in their lifetimes. Something our old school system doesn't prepares us for. Even the GPS industry is all but defunct for cars now. People don't even want it as an option since they have their phones. It used to be the biggest deal. But Apple's newest watch has it and it's a huge deal. Keeping up is tough!
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