A CHALLENGE TO CONNECTIVISM

- Bill Kerr

http://tinyurl.com/37a22g

“The skin is not all that important as a boundary” BF Skinner

INTRODUCTION

• Why am I here?

RESONANCE

• “connectivism resonates with me”

• connection is a good metaphor for our current age

EXCITEMENT!

• “It's not about technology, it's about a new and vibrant information landscape that reshapes teaching and learning”

• “Technology should be like oxygen--ubiquitous, transparent, and necessary”

• http://school20.wikispaces.com/

MY ARGUMENT

• Something is happening but it's not radically new at the level of learning theory

VYGOTSKY & PAPERT

• The role of language (Vygotsky) and “objects to think with” (Papert) in learning theory predates the Internet

THE MIND

• What and Where is the Mind?

• The Mind is a construct which is distributed from the brain to the environment

ACHILLES HEEL

• "The Achilles heel of existing theories rests in the pace of knowledge growth. All existing theories place processing (or interpretation) .of knowledge on the individual doing the learning”

- Knowing Knowledge, p. 33

INVISIBILITY

• Language and “objects to think with” are so ubiquitous that they are not always noticed.

• Network based learning theories might be more visible because the network is more visible

CONNECTIVIST SLOGAN

• “the pipe is more important than the contents (simply because content changes rapidly)”

CONNECTIVIST SLOGAN

• “the half life of knowledge is declining”

ALAN KAY'S NON UNIVERSALS

• reading and writing • deductive abstract mathematics • model based science • equal rights • democracy • perspective drawing • slow deep thinking • agriculture • legal systems

PAPERT

• constructionism: “Objects to think with”

Examples:

• logo programming language,

• LEGO logo robotics,

• Instructional Software Design Project

ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD

• If the third world can have one laptop per child then why can't the first and second worlds?

VYGOTSKY

• Language scaffolds human development

• Language scaffolding for self development, private voice, keeping secrets and solving hard problems

WRITING / BLOGGING

• "we use language to author ourselves, assisted by many co-authors as we grow up" (Daniel Dennett)

• good blogging is Vygotsky writ large

WEB POWER

• Conversation, Communication and collaboration

• No argument but not new concept

• Scaling is not the same thing as innovation or a new idea about how learning works

RADICAL DISCONTINUITY?

Read / write web:

• new tools, web apps YES

• new learning environments YES

• new curriculum?

• New epistemology ?

• new political awareness ?

DISCONTINUITY: SCHOOL 2.0

• “The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet” - William Gibson

• Distribution is mainly a political issue

A POLITICAL ISSUE

• political movement needed

• What are the issues?

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

• support the rights of the child to explore new technology

• “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice.” (Article 13, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child)

RISK OF RISK FREE

• “a risk free society is very dangerous”

• “The fear of what might go wrong can't stop us from doing what is right”

• Spirit of our times?

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BATTLE

• hardware – DRM

• economic - locking in users

• standards - *.doc rather than *.odt

• legal - copyright law strengthened

• software - spying on users

• cultural - demonising