Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Fad or Future?
Michael Phillips
Phillips first posited the need for a new theory of education to cover 21st century changes in information processing and communication technologies. We all brainstormed together and watched a short film illustrating how fast things are changing and thought about whether new critical thinking skills needed in the real world are being given to students in the modern classroom—or if it is just same old, at a faster speed of delivery. Digital literacy is moving from learning and storing to accessing information; creating has supplanted evaluating.
Siemens (2004/5) maintains that behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism need a concept driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly changing knowledge foundations. After a theoretical review of connectivist learning theory considering new meanings of ‘learning and knowledge' to meet the needs of learners in the digital age, present and future, we were encouraged to discuss in small groups how it would all impact on our teaching practice.
The presentation finished with a thought-provoking video clip which outlined just some of the plethora of ways and means of accessing information on the web—and underscored the necessity of good teachers to disseminate it all into something students can relate and respond to.
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