Recently I engaged in some blog posting with George Siemens and Dave Cormier regarding connectivist theory of learning. George clarified his understanding this way...
"Knowledge is an emergent property of the manner in which we connect information.
What does this mean? Well, I have knowledge – a state of personal possession, there is no such thing as knowledge in a magazine or paper – based on how I’ve connected information. For example, when I place value on “social justice” and connect it as part of my conceptual framework and way of looking at the world, this new node influences and shapes what already exists. In a paper in 2004, I suggested that learning networks (I used the term connectivism) site at an intersection of chaos, complexity, self-organization, and network theory. Complex systems exhibit patterns based on the various ways in which its elements interact. And, when we add a learner, we amplify complexity. Knowledge connected (not constructed) will be influenced by the existing knowledge of the learner, her emotional state, experiences during the day, etc.
A person of liberal political orientation will assign value to different sources of information and draw different connections from someone with a conservative political orientation. The “what” (information) is connected (or not) based on the “who” (person) and “how” (medium and accessibility) and a myriad of other factors. We have, I think, much to learn from coming to a better understanding of complex systems." (posted 9/8/09)
