Connectivism & MOOCs
Connectivism, according to Siemens (2004), is “knowledge is created beyond the level of individual human participants and is constantly shifting and changing” (Bates, 2019, para 1).
- Knowledge is formed in a network from a connection between nodes.
- Knowledge in connectivism is chaotic (Saba?).
- Information in a network is immense and flows across networks.
- The Internet changes the nature of knowledge.
- Knowledge is beyond any individual; learning is not an individualistic activity.
- Connectivism focuses on individual participants, networks, the flow of information, and the new knowledge resulting from the learning process.
Siemens (2004) states, “The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.” (Bates, 2019).
Downes (2007) differentiates constructivism from connectivism, he emphasizes that constructivism focuses on knowledge construction and that knowledge is subjective. Connectivism argues that knowledge comes from a natural process of making associations between the available information in the network. Knowledge in connectivism is there, and it is on us to make the connections (Bates, 2019).
Siemens (2005) argues that “…learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database)” (Bates, 2019).
Siemens (2005) identifies the principles of connectivism as follows:
- Learning and knowledge rest in a diversity of opinions.
- Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
- Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
- Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
- Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
- The ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
- Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
- Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.
MOOCs stands for Massive Open Online Courses. MOOCS are scaled massively and are open and free for participants. MOOCS is the first application of connectivism to learning.
MOOCs timeline:
In 2008 – George Siemens, Stephen Downes, and Dave Cornier – a non-credit course, Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CK08).
In 2011 by Sebastian Thurn and Peter Norvig of Stanford University – The Introduction to AI. S. Thurn found Udacity; Ng and Koller established Coursera. Today, Udacity focuses more on the vocational and corporate training market.
In 2012 MIT and Harvard University developed edX, an open-source platform for MOOCs. EdX also serves as a platform for online registration and teaching.
In 2015 there were over 4,000 MOOCS in the world, 0ver 1,000 alone is in Europe.
MOOCs characteristics:
Massive – infinite scalability – no limit to their final size. Infinite scalability is also a characteristic of broadcast TV and radio.
Open – no prerequisites for participants to participate in the courses.
Coursera vs edX
Own the rights to materials vs. open-source platforms, any institution that joins edX can develop its own MOOCs with its own rules pertaining to the rights of the materials.
Online – initially is wholly online, but increasingly blended format for campus use, meaning that material is online but by campus-based instructors.
Courses – they are organized into a whole course. But MOOCs completions have not been accepted for admission or credits.
MOOCs characteristics:
Massive – infinite scalability – no limit to their final size. Infinite scalability is also a characteristic of broadcast TV and radio.
Open – no prerequisites for participants to participate in the courses.
Coursera vs edX
Own the rights to materials vs. open-source platforms, any institution that joins edX can develop its own MOOCs with its own rules pertaining to the rights of the materials.
Online – initially is wholly online, but increasingly blended format for campus use, meaning that material is online but by campus-based instructors.
Courses – they are organized into a whole course. But MOOCs completions have not been accepted for admission or credits.
Types of MOOCs: xMOOCs and cMOOCS
xMOOCs – mainly video-based lectures and computer-marked tests. Coined by Stephen Downes. xMOOCs use platform software that allows a very large number of registrations, and provides facilities for storing and streaming on-demand of digital materials, automated assessments, and student performance tracking. Developed by Stanford University and MIT and Harvard.
Strongly behaviorist, information transmission model. The core of teaching is through recorded videos of short lectures. Computer automated tests, and sometimes peer assessment too.
Coursera, Udacity, and edX.
Key design principles:
- Video lecture
- Computer-marked assessment with immediate feedback (multiple-choice, computer-marked questions.
- Peer assessment –
- Supporting materials
- A shared comment/discussion space
- No to very light discussion moderation
- Badges/certificates
- Learning analytics
The technology provider is allowed to collect and analyze student data. Learning is the transmission of information from experts to novices.
cMOOCs – developed by three instructors at the University of Manitoba in 2008. CMOOCS is based on network learning, where learning develops through the connections and discussions between participants over social media (Bates, 2019).
The technology used: webcasts, blogs, tweets, software that connects blogs and tweets via topic and hashtags, and online discussion forums.
CMOOCs are largely driven by the interests and contributions of the participants.
No formal assessment.
No formal instructors were assigned.
CMOOCS heavily emphasizes networking, and strong content contribution from the participants (does it mean cMOOCs can only be attended by participants with a strong background on the issues?).
Learning is sharing and flow of knowledge between participants.
Key design principles of cMOOCs, according to Downes (2014):
Autonomy of learners – diversity – interactivity – open-ness
Arguments over MOOCS:
xMOOCS is, arguably, too behaviorist-cognitivist-like that focuses heavily on “correct answers to conceptual questions… it does not attempt to develop the skills needed in a digital age…” (Bates, 2019).
Unmonitored discussion – it can be good to develop high-level conceptual analysis required for academic learning.
Instructor/ subject expert presence? – I think optional subject expert presence is sometimes necessary, but perhaps not to make it compulsory. Downes & Siemens argue that MOOCs are suitable for adult learners because they have the “ability to self-manage the development of individual level conceptual learning” (Bates, 2019) – I agree.
| cMOOCs | xMOOCs |
| Use of social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook. Conferencing tools – Blackboard Collaborate, Adobe Connect, blogs, wikis, open LMS like Moodle or Canvas. All tools are connected through web-based hashtags | |
| Participant-driven content – “content is decided upon and contributed by the participants themselves, in this sense very much like any other community of practice” (Bates, 2019) | |
| Distributed communication – a self-organizing network with many sub-components. | |
| Computer-marked testing with multiple-choice format, true/false. Peer assessment Automates essay scoring Badge and certificates | Computer-marked testing with the multiple-choice format, true/false. Peer assessment Automates essay scoring Badge and certificates |
| “Primarily use a networked approach to learning based on autonomous learners connecting with each other across open and connected social media and sharing knowledge through their own personal contributions” (Bates, 2019). |
REFLECTION
We are in the digital age era, where technology has become vital in many aspects of living. We, as individuals and in society, are so accustomed to technology. We need technology because it makes our lives easier and more connected.
For me, the digital era is characterized by the increased use, speed, outreach, and incorporation of technology into our lives. The digital age means massive availability and flow of information that we can access by mobile devices, as long as an internet connection is available.
I agree that Siemens’s argument about the shelf life of information can be short or long, depending on the number of people who collectively decide the worthiness of the data make sense. I mean, look at all the information flowing in social media. The worthiness of the information depends on how many people think they are worth to be liked and kept available online, whether it is by being reposted, reshared, retweeted, etc. “Learning and knowledge rest in the diversity of opinions” (Siemens, 2005, qt by Bates, 2019).
Digitization is a beautiful thing. From the historical context and documentation perspective, digitization allows human civilization to digitize many valuable historical documents to preserve them for future use by us and the future generation. I remember when I interned at the Library of Congress in D.C., I went through many sources that have been digitized.
It is interesting to think further about what the digital age would mean for humans in the long run. If technology such as AI has expanded rapidly, what would that do to manual laborers, for example? The expansion of technology has created social issues in many societies, including here in the U.S.
For example, manufacturing has been using advanced technology with less human involvement. This issue has posed some social challenges, especially because many of these manual and traditional workers are older generations. Although a solution has been offered, such as returning to school for more training, only a few people take advantage of the opportunity for various reasons. Sometimes people claim that there is no job available; however, there are also arguments claiming that it is not that the jobs are not available; the required skilled workers are limited.
We must be able to cultivate our ability to work with technology. Adapting to how fast the information is acquired, exchanged, and delivered is its own set of skills, an important one. The skill of managing data is essential to possess because then we will be able to see and make connections between information to be successful in our learning.
In one of the reading topics by Bates (2019), he argues that knowledge in connectivism is geared more toward application knowledge. In contrast, knowledge from traditional education is geared towards academics as it involves research, etc.
As for MOOCS, I know many seem to focus on what is lacking in MOOCS, such as the instructor’s absence in the learning process. I agree that instructor presence is essential for students to receive feedback for correction purposes and to develop more robust knowledge comprehension. However, I also see from a global lens that MOOCs are beneficial for education access equity around the globe.
In the developing world, access to good quality education is still exclusive for those in better economic standing. It would be wonderful if MOOCs could provide good quality education for those who cannot obtain good education due to higher costs. I was one of those people who could not get higher education due to high enrollment costs. My parents could not send me to higher education despite my high academic standing.
Yes, MOOCs learning do not offer certification and credits accepted in traditional institutions; however, I would argue, of course, that it depends on a country’s political system; the government can be the solution to this problem.
If an open university’s certification is acceptable, why can’t MOOCs? Perhaps over time, this is doable. I do not have the answer, but I hope so. In one of my readings, it was conveyed that MOOCs are suitable for adult learners who are in higher education and beyond. It makes sense, considering MOOCs have much reading material and video lectures, which require learners’ independent learning commitment and skills.
I think a collaboration between educational organizations, government, philanthropic organizations, and international organizations, such as United Nations, UNICEF, IMF, World Bank, and so on, can be the elements that would successfully provide access to online learning to the population that needs it.
For example, UNICEF provides online learning to people, including men, women, and children, in conflict areas. This impact is significant! If we see from our comfortable home in the first world, MOOCs may have more to do to improve. But no education is too little. Knowledge is, most time, always have benefit in the short and long run.
References
Bates, A. W. (2019). The nature of knowledge and the implication for teaching. In Teaching in a digital age (pp. 62-66). BCCampus. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/3-6-connectivism/
Bates, A. W. (2019). MOOCs. In Teaching in a digital age (pp. 168-205). BCCampus. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/chapter-7-moocs
Butin, D. (2016). MOOCs and beyond. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/moocs-and-beyond
Downes, S. (2005). An introduction to connective knowledge. Stephen Downes: Knowledge, Learning, Community (blog). https://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=33034
Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past?. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v9i3.523
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International journal of instructional technology and distance learning, 2(1). https://jotamac.typepad.com/jotamacs_weblog/files/Connectivism.pdf
