Connectivism 2008
From LTCWiki
Welcome to the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge Online Course support wiki.
Conference tags: CCK08
This page is also available in: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Hungarian, Chinese (Simplified Character Version), and German. See also this short post on making surfing in China easier]
This course also has a FaceBook group at CCK08
Please enter your email address here if you'd like to be involved (either for free participation or to enroll for credit).
Course blog is available here
Course Details
Delivered in partnership with: Extended Education and Learning Technologies Centre, University of Manitoba
Course Code: 98813- 08-01
Course Description: Connectivism and Connective Knowledge is a twelve week course that will explore the concepts of connectivism and connective knowledge and explore their application as a framework for theories of teaching and learning. It will outline a connectivist understanding of educational systems of the future. This course will help participants make sense of the transformative impact of technology in teaching and learning over the last decade. The voices calling for reform do so from many perspectives, with some suggesting 'new learners' require different learning models, others suggesting reform is needed due to globalization and increased competition, and still others suggesting technology is the salvation for the shortfalls evident in the system today. While each of these views tell us about the need for change, they overlook the primary reasons why change is required.
Programs: For credit in Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education and Certificate in Emerging Technologies for Learning (certificate will be available January, 2009.
Date: September 8, 2008 - November 30, 2008
Technologies Used: Through out this "course" participants will use a variety of technologies. For example, participants will use blogs, Second Life, Page Flakes, attend UStream sessions, attend Elluminate sessions, participate in discussions in Moodle forums, and so on. Additional technologies will be introduced as is required to attend to concerns or opportunities arising over the next 12 weeks.
Facilitators: George Siemens and Stephen Downes will co-facilitate this innovative and timely course.
Weekly Activities
Each week will consist of the follow activities
This course will be a different type of learning experience. Learners from around the world will be participating, creating an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and feedback. While facilitators will be active in the conversation, and will provide feedback to the work of students who have enrolled in the course for credit, the number of participants makes it impossible for traditional teacher-centric instruction to work well.
Each week will begin with a series of short readings (1-2 pages), podcasts, or video recording by both instructors. Course readings and online videos will be provided each week as well. These resources will accessible late Sunday (GMT-5). Email comes out Sunday night.Weekly reading lists are provided below. Additions will be made based on the nature of the ongoing discussion. Please visit the weekly reading list prior to the start of each week for the most updated version.
Monday morning (according to CST zone (GMT -6) you will receive an email with a link to a short podcast/paper/video or online presentation by both George and Stephen. These short presentations will serve to provide a brief introduction to activities during the week.
During the balance of the week, you will receive daily emails summarizing key aspects of the existing conversation.
Wednesday will consist of an elluminate session. These sessions are not structured and can best be seen as informal conversations with other participants. George, Stephen, or invited guests will moderate the weekly discussion. Where guests have been invited, they will provide a short 20 minute presentation, followed by discussion.
Friday will serve as the weekly concluding event. Stephen and George will host a debate/discussion based on the activities of the week. This session will be held in UStream. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions, provide critiques, etc. Dave Cormier will serve as host and moderator of the UStream Sessions.
We want to move beyond didactic presentation of information. The discussion around readings and short presentations we provide will form the central part of the learning experience. As learners, you can participate in the Moodle forums, your own blog, or any other open forum.
Learner Assignments and Evaluation
Learners will be asked to complete the following activities during the course (students enrolled for credit through University of Manitoba will receive feedback from facilitators.
- Weekly reflections on blogs
- Participation in moodle forums and commenting on blogs by peer learners in the course
- Three short reflective papers (500-750 words)
- Concept map (using a tool like CMAP)
- Final presentation - video, podcast, presentation addressing "What is the quality of my learning networks: diversity, depth, how connected am I? How has this course influence your view of the process of learning (assuming, of course, that it has)? What types of questions are still outstanding?"
Course Links
Elluminate discussion (on Wednesdays)
UStream sessions (on Fridays)
Course Twitter profile (Stephen's personal twitter account...George's personal twitter account)
Pre-week 1
Activities:
Set up your course blog (edublogs or Wordpress are recommended, but you can set up your blog with any other service)
Introduce yourself in the moodle forum or on your blog - be sure to use the CCK08 tag. For the introduction, let other participants know:
- Where you're from
- Why you're interested in this course
- What has to happen in order for you to consider this course a success
- Random information about yourself - your work, your experience with networked technologies, etc.
Wednesday will be a test elluminate session (click here to join), 7 pm CST: see Time Zone Conversion
Friday will be a test UStream session 11 am CST see other time zones
Background Readings
What is Web 2.0? Ideas technologies and implications in education (.pdf)
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture (.pdf)
Teens and Social Media (.pdf)
Media Multitasking Among American Youth (.pdf)
Week 1: What is Connectivism? (September 8-14)
Presentations & Papers
George Siemens presentation on Defining Connectivism and Comparing Connectivism
Stephen Downes presentation: A quick introduction to connectivism (ustream)
Readings
Little Boxes, Glocalization and Networked Individualism (.pdf)
What is the Unique Idea in Connectivism?
Learning Theory or Pastime of the Self-Amused? (.doc)
Bill Kerr - Critique of connectivism
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Elluminate discussion 11 am CST: See time zone conversions...and 7:00 pm (time zone conversion)
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Post comments an reflections on week 1 readings on your blog. Participate in discussions in the Moodle forum. Provide comments to blog posts of other course participants.
2. Download CMAP (free) and begin tracking key thoughts or emerging ideas in visual form. You can use services like Mindmeister as well, though mind mapping tools lack the ability to demonstrate conceptual relationships.
Additional resources and readings:
Maarten de Laat's dissertation on Networked Learning
Stephen Downes: Buntine Oration
George Siemens: Learning as network creation
George Siemens: Original connectivism article
Connectivism interview (hosted by Rick Schwier)
Connectivism interview (hosted by Robin Good - video autostarts)
Practices of distributed intelligence and designs for education (.pdf)
Week 2: Rethinking epistemology: Connective knowledge (September 15-21)
Presentations and Papers
Types of Knowledge and Connective Knowledge - Stephen Downes
Video introduction to Week 2 (George Siemens)
Readings
Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge
Shifting Knowledge (from Knowing Knowledge)
Rhizomatic Knowledge (Dave Cormier) - free registration to Innovate is required to read the article.
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Post comments an reflections on week 1 readings on your blog. Participate in discussions in the Moodle forum. Provide comments to blog posts of other course participants.
2. Work on your concept map - capture key themes in the ongoing conversation that resonate with your views of learning and knowledge
3. If you haven't done so to date, begin to follow the CCK08 tag via Google Alerts, search for recent posts on CCK08 on Technorati, and begin tracking and contributing to del.icio.us tags on connectivism and networked learning
Additional Readings
Rethinking Learning (.pdf)
An Introduction to Connective Knowledge - Stephen Downes
Week 3: Properties of Networks (September 22-28)
Readings
Networks for Newbies .ppt
Stephen Downes: Learning Networks: Theory and Practice .ppt and audio
George Siemens Introduction to Networks
Activities:
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. The 11:00 AM CST session will feature a presentation by Valdis Krebs on social and business networks.
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Post comments and reflections on week 3 readings on your blog. Participate in discussions in the Moodle forum. Provide comments to blog posts of other course participants.
2. Continue to develop your concept map
3. Review the assignment requirements for your first paper
4. If you have not done so, begin to follow the distributed conversation on course's Pageflakes site
Week 4: History of networked learning (September 29-October 5)
Readings
A History of the Social Web (for some reason, Trebor Scholz took down the original link and now we rely on the link to the archive)
A Brief History of Networked Learning George Siemens
Optional
A Folk History of the Internet - this is very much a work in progress that I have been assembling over the years. If you are logged in on my website (downes.ca) you can edit the contents of this wiki. - Stephen
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. '
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Export the image you've completed to date on your concept map and post on your blog
2. Complete your first paper: Assignment 1 (Due date: October 6, 2008). You can post the paper on your site as a blog post or post in the Moodle Forum
3. Regular weekly activities should continue: blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts)
Week 5: Connectives and Collectives: Distinctions between networks and groups (October 6-12)
Readings
Groups Vs Networks: The Class Struggle Continues - Stephen Downes
That Group Feeling - Stephen Downes
Downes Interview: Groups and Networks (here's the image from the video)
Group and Network (presentation, George Siemens)
Optional
Collectives, Networks and Groups in Social Software for E-Learning - Terry Anderson and John Dron
7 Habits of Highly Connected People - Stephen Downes
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. '
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts). In your blog posts, consider the question: Have you begun to see the rudiments of a learning network forming? Has some of the conceptual uncertainty settled?
2. If you have not done so, set up an account with Google Reader and subscribe to a few of the blogs from fellow participants that you've found to be insightful or valuable in your learning.
Week 6: Complexity, Chaos and Randomness (October 13-19)
Readings
Developing Online From Simplicity toward Complexity: Going with the Flow of Non-Linear Learning
Video Lecture: Complexity Science
Complexity and Information Overload in Society .pdf
Complexity, Chaos, and Emergence (George Siemens)
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. Alec Couros will be presenting during both times, followed by informal conversation.
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 10:30 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Begin work on your second short paper.
Additional Readings:
The new dynamics of strategy: Sense-making in a complex and complicated world (.pdf)
Week 7: Instructional design and connectivism (October 20-26)
Readings
New Schemas for Mapping Pedagogies and Technologies
Cloudworks: Social networking for learning design .doc file
Instructional Design and Connectivism (George Siemens) 23 minute presentation
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Elluminate discussion 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. Grainne Conole will be our guest at 11:00 am...
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Begin your final project. If you would like to join a small group (3-5 people) to begin sharing ideas and exchanging your final project before submitting, go to the Moodle forum and join a group. The process should work like this: If, when you log into Moodle, no group member requests are outstanding, create a new thread expressing your interest to form a group. Or, if open threads exist for groups (less than 5 members) join one of those. The person who initiates the thread is responsible to close the thread after five members have joined.
Week 8: Power, control, validity, and authority in distributed environments (October 27-November 2)
Readings
The Fifth Estate — Through the Network (of Networks) .pdf
Network Logic: Who governs in an interconnected world? (.pdf) (this is a long paper/book. Skim sections that you find to be of interest).
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Elluminate discussion 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Post your updated concept map on your blog.
3. Continue to work on your final presentation.
Week 9: What becomes of the teacher? New roles for educators (November 3-9)
Readings
This is a heavy assignment week, no readings are assigned. George and Stephen will, however, provide a short paper/recording on the subject to initiate discussion...
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link):
- 11 am CST: See time zone conversions. Nancy White is our scheduled guest
- 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. '
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Begin work on your final paper
3. Submit your second paper - Due November 10, 2008. You can post the paper on your site as a blog post or post in the Moodle Forum
Week 10: Openness: social change and future directions (November 10-16)
Readings
This is a heavy assignment week, no readings are assigned. George and Stephen will, however, provide a short paper/recording on the subject to initiate discussion...
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link):
- 11 am CST: See time zone conversions. Howard Rheingold is our scheduled guest
- 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. '
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Optional readings:
Models for Sustainable Open Educational Resources
Reusable Media, Social Software and Openness in Education
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging, developing your concept map, and follow the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Complete and submit final paper (Due November 17). You can post the paper on your site as a blog post or post in the Moodle Forum
Week 11: Systemic change: How do institutions respond? (November 17-23)
Readings
Higher Education, Globalization, and the Knowledge Economy (.pdf)
Video intro to the week (George Siemens)
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link):
- 11 am CST: See time zone conversions.
- 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. Women of Web 2.0 will be guests during both sessions...
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Continue regular weekly activities - blogging and following the distributed conversation through various sites (pageflakes, delicious, Google Alerts).
2. Make final revisions to your concept map and post the final version to your blog. Due November 24
Week 12: The Future of Connectivism and Directions in Research (November 24-30)
Readings
Opening Education: 2020 and beyond
Activities:
Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list
Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link):
- 11 am CST: See time zone conversions.
- 7 pm CST: See time zone conversions. '
Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion
Assignments:
1. Post your course wrap-up email incorporating personal reflections on your experience in the process, what would need to change to make the experience more valuable, and whether you feel this course approach could be applied to other subject areas.
2. Complete your final project and post a link to it on your blog (due December 1)
Short Paper 1: Your position on Connectivism
Due: October 6, 2008
Details:
The first few weeks of this course have provided a backdrop against which to consider the need for new views of learning. Strongly suggested through the readings is the view that information growth, technology, developments in social learning theory, and advancements in our understanding of minds and cognition require a reconsideration of learning theory. This course is partly concerned with providing participants access to learning through networks - experiencing the value of forming connections between people and ideas/concepts. This short paper (between 500-750 words) is an opportunity for you to clarify and state your position on connectivism. Is it a new theory of learning? Or is the concept of theory distracting? What are the weaknesses of connectivism as formulated in this course? What are the strengths? Does connectivism resonate with your learning experiences? If so, how? What are your outstanding questions?
Length: 500-750 words. Please provide citations/links to support your position. Citation formatting will not factor into your paper mark, but use of APA formatting is appreciated.
Short Paper 2: Changing roles of educators
Due: November 10, 2008
Details:
The shifting basis of certainty has been a critical focus during week 5-8. Through readings and discussions, we have focused on complexity, chaos theory, instructional design, power and control, and the changing roles for educators. For your second paper, select your point of emphasis as that of the instructional designer or educator. Explore changing roles for your selected field. Do you agree their roles are changing? If so, what are appropriate responses? What are impediments to change? If not, how can current trends be best utilized to serve in the traditional role of educator or designer? In your paper, focus on creative conceptualizations of different roles (or different approaches to serve new needs in existing roles) played by educators. Consider metaphors that capture your views. Times of change permit reformulations of existing viewpoints. Take this opportunity to enjoy a creative stroll in rethinking "what could be".
Length: 500-750 words. Please provide citations/links to support your position. Citation formatting will not factor into your paper mark, but use of APA formatting is appreciated.
Short Paper 3 Opportunities and Resistance
Due: November 17, 2008
Details:
This final paper is less formal and can be seen as a free roaming thought piece. Reflect on the opportunities and resistance found in society and organizations in adopting different approaches to teaching and learning. Why is it so difficult to change the practice of education? What kinds of opportunities can we embrace if we are able to make fundamental and systemic changes? What can we learn from voices of resistance? Can our current world of weak ties and easy connections produce the depth of learning required to meet the complex challenges facing our future?
Length: 500-750 words.
Concept Map
Due: November 24, 2008
Details:
This course will require you to use a concept map to capture and express relationships between ideas. Concept maps are an opportunity to relate ideas and concepts and demonstrate connections that are often not noticed in more linear instructional processes. Throughout the course, you will be asked to take the key ideas discussed each week and detail how the concepts are connected. You may find that you only add a handful of items per week, or you may find that you get quite detailed in expressing conceptual relationships and add dozens (or more) items.
Tools: You can create your concept map by downloading CMAP (free tool) or using TheBrain (free trial version). Throughout the course you will be asked to export (with CMAPs) your concept map and post online for feedback. If you use TheBrain, you can export your entire "brain" and post on a site (via ftp).
Final Project
Due: December 1, 2008
Details: Your final presentation can be handled in a variety of formats: podcast, slidecast, Articulate presentation, video recording, Second Life presentation, or, if your feeling creative, an approach of your choosing (if you're enrolled in the course for credit, please confirm your project with instructors). The final project should answer questions such as: "What is the quality of my learning networks: diversity, depth, how connected am I? How has this course influence my view of the process of learning (assuming, of course, that it has)? What types of questions are still outstanding? How can you incorporate connectivist principles in your design and delivery of learning?"
Midway through the course, you will be given the opportunity to voluntarily form small groups to bounce around ideas on how to handle this assignment and to submit your work for peer-review before your final submission.
Marking Scheme
The marking scheme is available here (.rtf).
This page is licensed under a
Creative Commons Licence
