Connectivity Debriefed

My first reaction to this blog was “huh?” because I didn’t (and still don’t) understand many of the applications he talked about.  However, once I listened to the whole thing, I was able to overlook the bits and pieces that didn’t make perfect sense to me and examine the overall picture and the parts of the presentation that resonated the most.  

In a couple different parts of the presentation, Siemens references subjectivity in learning and in our perceptions.  He uses a picture of a network to provide a graphic for his discussion of nodes, and how we are always viewing a situation from a particular node.  In order to further our comprehension of a topic, it is necessary to at least be able to recognize that fact to attempt to incorporate other nodes, or points of view.  This is a main goal of mine as an educator.  I hope to at least make students aware of the wide world out there, and that people have different, and very valid opinions and life styles that may be different than their own.  

He later talks about this further in discussing some of the downfalls of Web 2.0 and educational technology.  He notes that we often find ourselves in an “echo chamber” in that we only seek out information that we agree with.  By only hearing opinions that are the same as our own, we are not deepening our understanding, and our perceptions do not widen.  I would say that most people I know do this, including myself, definitely.  With all the choices that are out there, I seek information from sources that I know I will agree with or at least be sympathetic to, limiting my ability to really learn and be exposed to different perspectives.

Another main piece that I took from this presentation was the focus on learning being part of a network, instead of residing solely within an individual.  Siemens also notes the importance of recognizing this fact to both lessen the responsibility we might feel to know everything, and to widen our perspectives.  

Lastly, the idea that most resonated with me was when the idea of decision making being a learning process in itself, and that learning is not predecided.  I think that many times in the classroom, the focus is often on the content, and what they “must know” that we often do not focus as much on the process.  Connectivity, however, allows us to learn through decision- making and fine-tuning.

In his discussion of what is to happen in the future, Siemens mentions the necessity for a centering agent to be in place to bring the programs together in a more usable fashion for the non-technically inclined.  In our online discussions, I often am exposed to many programs that seem extremely useful, but a bit overwhelming in their scope.  A centering agent would certainly appeal to me in order to make the programs seem a bit more attainable.   Overall, I am curious to see where the future will lead us and I am definitely open to the possibilities.