Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

I can really relate to this quote in the article we were assigned to read, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age , by George Siemens:

Connections between disparate ideas and fields can create new innovations.

It's something that my husband and I jokingly argue about because he says that innovation comes from the abuse (of a thing or knowledge), whereas I believe that it comes from its misuse (or misapplication). My view stems from the synergistic relationship between the arts and the sciences. For example, a lot of science fiction books draw from existing science, but also act as a driving force for exploration.

That's why I read a lot of really disparate books and blogs, because they give me ideas. As I muse on them, different connections are made.

As far as chaos and emergence are concerned, though, I'm not sure where the author is really going. Sensitivity to initial conditions has an effect on what pattern emerges. Do we just stand back and watch things emerge? Or do we try to do something about those initial conditions, trying to somehow alter or affect the emergent pattern? I believe that the latter is virtually impossible. I mean, we can have an affect, but we'd be sorely disappointed if we were actually attached to a particular outcome.

I really love the idea and phrase, "This amplification of learning, knowledge and understanding through the extension of a personal network is the epitome of connectivism." I think that "amplification" is an excellent choice of words. I think that amplification of learning (or knowledge) is very closely tied to communities of practice as well as to interdisciplinary collaborative teams. It reminds me of an article from the book What is Intelligence, called The Role of Language in Intelligence, by Daniel Dennett. He says:

...our brains are in effect joined together into a single cognitive system that dwarfs all others. They are joined by one of the innovations that has invaded our brains and no others: language...each individual human brain, thanks to its communicative links, is the beneficiary of the cognitive labors of the others in a way that gives it unprecedented powers.

I really like Seimen's concluding statements to the article. It echoes why I am excited about being in the ITEC program and what I hope to gain from it:

How people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. The field of education has been slow to recognize both the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes in what it means to learn.