About a week ago I saw a link on Twitter to something called a MOOC. Curious as I am I clicked the link to see what it was. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. I had heard of online courses before of course, but never of MOOC. I started reading the information on the page and realised that this actually was quite interesting. So what is the course about? The course is Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2011( #CCK11 ) and it is facilitated by Stephen Downes and George Siemens. I had never heard of Connectivism before but once I started reading about it I realised that this was actually quite interesting. I have a huge interest in Learning in general and Learning with assistance of new technology in particular and this is basically what Connectivism is all about.
As some of you might know I am quite new to the Social Media world. I have used Twitter for a couple of months now and blogged for about two months. And in these months my own learning has sky rocketed. I have built up a Personal Learning Network of people that I admire and respect. We share our knowledge and assist each other and together we create huge amounts of Learning. In these few months I have also realized that there are so many technologies out there that I don't know how to use, and so many interesting people that I have not yet connected with.
Now you might wonder what Connectivism is all about. Since I haven't started the course yet I can only give you a short and probably not fully correct answer. But as I understand it, Connectivism is a new pedagogic theory with its base in the possibilities new technologies offer to us. We learn by connecting with others, sharing our thoughts, ideas, failures and successes. Instead of Learning being seen as something that is only happening within a humans brain Connectivism sees Learning as something that happens in the connections we create with each other. Again I need to stress that this is just my very first understanding of what Connectivism is. I am sure that I, as the course progresses, will have a much clearer view of what it is.
Here are five reasons why I decided to join #CCK11:
1. Expand my Personal Learning Network.
2. Get new insights in what Connectivism is and how I could use it in my work and private life.
3. Learn about new tools.
4. Share my knowledge - to me there is no better way to learn than to share what you know with others.
5. To have FUN!
So all of you who have decided to join the #CCK11 journey, why did you take this decision? What do you hope to get out of it? Leave a comment and tell your story.
Thanks for taking the time,
Mattias (@mattiaskareld)
Hi Mattias,
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog post and thank you for sharing your reasons for undertaking this piece of CPD.
I saw the programme advertised via Twitter and was keen to participate but unfortunately it clashes with 2 other online programmes that I am undertaking at the moment, so I had to give it a miss.
It would be great if you could continue to share your journey with us all as who knows.... I might be free the next time it comes around....?
Craig
Nice post. My social media is history is pretty similar to yours.
ReplyDeleteI joined as a way to expand my skill set, meet new people and because I've been looking for further education possibilities for a few years now.
With Stephen Downes and George Siemens at the helm it should be great!
Hi David and Craig,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posts. I will for sure use this blog to keep you updated on my views of the course. It will be an interesting one I hope.
Thanks again.
It's always interesting to see why others have decided to join something you have decided to join as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your first 4 points, although my PLN is getting really big and I'm starting to struggle a bit with being overwhelmed. Some reassessing of what I tap into is going to have to be done. I might be trying to connect to too many topics all at once and some focus may be necessary.
As for point 5 - the fun....whew right now I'm a little scared by it all, but I suppose fun is as good a word as any for jumping into this.
Looking forward to connecting with you and others.
Hi Tracy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I agree with you that it's nice to know the reasons why others have joined the CCK11 course.
As for point 5 - I am absolutely sure that you will have fun once some of the initial question marks are straightened out.
I wouldn't say that I am scared at the moment. However, I was really scared when I first started to use Twitter and set this blog up. But for me that had to do with the fact that I took a step out of my comfort zone, and then it's perfectly fine to feel scared.
Being scared is also part of being confused. At the moment I think many of the participants are a bit confused of what is going on. I have started to write a post about that. Hopefully I can have it done later today.
Thanks again!
/Mattias