CONNECTIVISM AND COLLABORATION

Through reading Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age , it did enlighten me to some extent. In this article, the author mentioned that: " Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.” Indeed, nowadays the 21^st century learners are different from that of learners in the past two decades. Every day, after we wake up, the first thing we do is not reading newspapers to acquire information but turning on the computer subconsciously and mechanically. Why? To receive updated news from your friends and news around the world. To give an analogy of that, a learner today is like a spider. In order to prey, it needs to spin its web. The way of spinning cobwebs is like nurturing and maintaining connections so as to facilitate continual learning. Without making webs, a spider cannot catch preys and finally it may die of hunger. It is the same as human beings. If we do not connect ourselves to the world, we will soon fall behind and lose competitiveness.

As for Siemens video,The impact of Social Software on Learning, he said that through social means, we are able to share and connect with each other. Take Facebook as an example which has been widely used all over the world. With it, it allows individuals to form connections with each other. It gives people an ability to talk, to have conversation, to comment and to share ideas and lives. In addition, other social software such as Blogs, Wiki and Podcasts all play a role in connecting people together in terms of learning from each other and socializing each other. Doubtless, for the people in the 21^st century, to nurture and maintain connections is surly needed to facilitate continual learning.