Connectivism - Mind Map

Connectivism is not focused on current knowledge and how it is stored and retrieved. George Siemens states in his article, "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age," that "our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today" (Siemens, 2004, p. 5).  He also explains that learning is an activity of connecting different sources of information, whether it be people or technology.
My network of connections is broken into two different branches: people and technology.

PEOPLE

TECHNOLOGY

Resources

Siemens, G. (December 12, 2004).  Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age.  Retrieved from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Webspiration was used to create the mind map

An Evolving Understanding

From a constructivists' viewpoint, a learner's environment alone cannot create knowledge.  On the same token, the constructivist believes that a learner cannot learn apart from his/her environment.  "It is the specific interaction between these two variables that creates knowledge" (Ertmer & Newby, 1993, p. 63).  In addition, a learner's understanding of a certain word or idea is ever-evolving based on past and present experiences.
Take, for example, the idea of a mother.  My understanding of a mother was formed primarily from my experiences with my own mother.  I would assume that the majority of those who grew up with a mother have drawn their first understanding of the word in a similar manner.  However, there are many people who do not grow up around their own mother.  Whatever the circumstances, their initial understanding of a mother must have been undoubtably different than my own.
Thirteen months ago I became a mother myself.  Once again, my understanding of a mother changed and I can only assume that if I am blessed with more children my understanding will continue to evolve.

Ertmer, P. & Newby, T. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective. Performance Quarterly, 6(4), p. 50-72.

An Example of Transfer in Behaviorism

Most of the graphing material that is learned in Algebra 1 and 2 have 'rules' that can be applied to all mathematics functions.   I have given an example below of how learning the 'rules' for shifting a graph for one function can be transferred to a new function.  Although the equations from the old material to the new material are different, it is the similarities that will help students apply previous knowledge to the new material.  For example, both equations in the second row have a  + 3 at the end and both equations end up getting shifted up 3.

Old Material                           (Transfer)                   New Material

y = x Original Graph     y = x^2   (read as "x squared") Original Graph

y = x + 3 Shift original graph up 3                         y = x^2 + 3     Shift original graph up 3

y = x - 2      Shift original graph down 2       y = x^2 - 2     Shift original graph down 2

Brain Functions and Memories

Klaming and Vedder (2009) describe an interesting finding regarding memory and the brain:

           “Recently, Canadian neurosurgeons unintentionally demonstrated the memory enhancing effect of a

            neurotechnology called deep brain stimulation (DBS). In order to improve the condition of a patient with 

            morbid obesity, they decided to stimulate a region in his brain involved in the regulation of metabolic 

            functions by means of electrical impulses. This brain-based treatment was intended to suppress the 

            patient’s appetite, but it inadvertently evoked autobiographical memory of events that had occurred more

            than 30 years ago. The autobiographical memory effects were found whenever electrical stimulation 

            occurred.  Although the correctness of these memories remains to be verified, for example by comparing 

            the patient’s recollections of his past with his family members’ recollections of his past, the surgeons 

            found persistent memory improvement when they conducted a neuropsychological assessment with 

            standardized tests after the operation. (p. 203).

The Interconnectedness of the Brain:

It is an interesting article to say the least, and this is only the introduction!  There are many different sections of the brain, each controlling different functions.  The following video gives a brief tour of the different parts and functions of the brain.  Click here to view the video.  Although each section of the brain has a particular function or multiple functions that it controls, the article above shows that brain function is not quite as clear-cut as the video portrays.  The neurosurgeons used electrical impulses with the intention of controlling a patient's appetite and instead, recovered previously 'forgotten' memories. Even simple pieces of information such as a social security number can be allocated throughout several different parts of the brain (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009).  

Memory Retrieval:

Why is it that some memories are easily recovered while others seem altogether erased from memory?  The authors of the article,  "On the permanence of stored information in the human brain," ask a similar question: "Does forgetting consist of an actual loss of stored information, or does it result from a loss of access to information, which, once stored, remains forever" (Loftus & Loftus, 1980)?  The following two statements were taken from the article, "On the permanence of stored information in the human brain."  

1. "Everything we learn is permanently stored in the mind, although sometimes particular details are not ac- cessible. With hypnosis, or other special techniques, these inaccessible details could eventually be recovered" (Loftus & Loftus, 1980).

2. "Some details that we learn may be permanently lost from memory. Such details would never be able to be recovered by hypnosis, or any other special technique, because these details are simply no longer there" (Loftus & Loftus, 1980).

Statement 1 assumes that the primary reason for forgetfulness is in the retrieval process.  Statement 2 presumes that the memory was never properly stored in long-term memory and therefore, can not be retrieved.  Many theorists have disagreed and wrestled with the previous two statements.  The question of storing memories versus the retrieval of memories being the main culprit for forgetfulness may be an impossible question to outright answer (Loftus & Loftus, 1980).  Methods such as studies with animals, postmortem studies, case studies, electrical recording, and neuroimaging (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009) have been used to study the brain.  However, each method has disadvantages which makes studying the complexity of the brain a difficult process.

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Brain Anatomy and Functions [Video]. (2009). Medical Legal Art. Retrieved from:  

          http://www.necleusinc.com/medical-animation 

Klaming, L. & Vedder, A. (December 1, 2009).  Brushing Up our Memories: Can we use Neurotechnologies to   

         Improve Eyewitness Memory? Journal of Law, Innovation and Technology, 203-221.  Retrieved from 

         Walden Library.

Loftus, E. & Loftus, G. (May 1, 1980). On the permanence of stored information in the human brain. Journal of American Psychologist, 409-420.  Retrieved from Walden LIbrary. 

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009).  Learning Theories and Instruction (Laureate Custom Edition). New York: Pearson. 

A Blog About Blogs

Before this week, I never realized how many blogs actually existed.  There are blogs about anything and everything.  Thankfully, there are people out there that know a lot more than I do in every possible subject matter.  How better to increase my knowledge as an instructional designer and high school mathematics teacher than to pull from the knowledge that is already out there?

Here are three blogs in particular that I will be following closely:

Blog #1: Great Maths Teaching Ideas (www.greatmathsteachingideas.com) by William Emory.  This blog is a great resource for high school mathematics teachers.  There are several links to free resources for teachers, great lesson plan ideas, sample problems and puzzles, and a place to chat about different teachings ideas I may have.  My first year of teaching my mentor taught me that in order to grow as a teacher I must use other teachers as resources.  She told me to, "Beg, borrow, and steal any and all great ideas!" Using blogs as a resource is a great way to gain knowledge from seasoned teachers.

Blog #2: ID and other Reflections (http://idreflections.blogspot.com) by Sahana Chattopadhyay.  This blog caught my attention for several reasons.  The first reason being location.  Thanks to the internet I am able to connect to people from all over the world.  Like Sahaha, for instance, who is from India.  I am looking forward to seeing if and how her culture and location effects her outlook on instructional design and collaboration.  The second reason this blog caught my attention were the variety of topics that Sahana discusses.  Collaboration, informal learning, networking, eLearning, technology, and learning resources are a few of the topics discussed in this blog.

Blog #3: The Rapid E-Learning Blog (http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/) by Tom Kuhlman.  Tom has over fifteen years of experience developing elearning courses.  His blog is filled with tips on instructional design, elearning, and creating and designing courses.  Although I have the knowledge to teach a high school mathematics course, I am not sure I would know where to start in designing an online course.  This blog is a great resource for me as a teacher even though I teach in a 'traditional' classroom because of the impact technology has on younger students.