My network hasn’t changed the way I learn. Most of how I learn is still reading and writing. I don’t sit in a lecture or sit down and discuss topics with classmates or professors. I have asynchronous discussions which, while very different for me a “face-to-face” native , not a digital native, has its advantages. It allows more time to collect your thoughts and compose responses. My network has vastly expanded my access to knowledge as well as the views and opinions of many from around the world.

But it also has disadvantages in creating a feeling of strong “connection” with a learning community. It is odd to me Siemens and Downes chose the term “connectivism” for their ideas about learning. Not seeing or spending time in the physical presence of classmates and professors creates, for me at least, a much less connected feeling in comparison to my land-based undergraduate and graduate experiences.

The digital tools that best facilitate my learning are a word processor and the virtual library at Walden. A word processor, for those who never had to use a typewriter, is such a time saver. It also makes it much easier to organize and reorganize my thoughts within a document. The Walden library makes scholarly research so easy.

I recall spending hours and days in the “stacks” at the Penn State library during grad school hunting down articles. Culling through almanacs filled with abstracts you might find a few articles that fit your research topic. Then you traveled to the stacks to find the journal. I can’t tell you how infuriating it was to find numerous time that the journal issue I need had somehow sprouted legs and walked off from the shelves!

When I have a question that needs answering I access that information online, either through research articles, blogs, wikis or books. I must say I don’t like reading off a computer screen and usually print out (sorry trees) or purchase hard copies. As far as learning it, which I am assuming means to store that information internally so that it informs my actions and thinking,

Technology, Collaboration and Constructivist Principles

As in anything there is the myth and the reality. Hollywood, textbooks and other sociological elements have created many myths. The myth of the Wild West, the pioneers, the settlers, all involve a lone wolf fighting against nature to survive and are tainted or imbued with romantic and heroic imagery. The reality of each is quite different. The settlers may not have survived without the aid of local knowledge. I think Rheingold is dealing more with the myth versus the reality of how we work cooperatively. Humans are definitely social animals as are most primates. The ability to cooperate and work as a group has allowed us to adapt to every ecosystem on the planet.
Technology is certainly changing how and whom people cooperate with. It can allow instantaneous collaboration across the globe. We just purchased an interactive whiteboard in our school. The company’s website has thousands of lesson plans made and uploaded by teachers from around the world. As well students can interact, cooperate, and build knowledge bases with students around the world via wikis and blogs. This learning can happen in more organic social structures, or structures the learners create rather than the forced social structures of schools and classrooms.