A Learner Needs to be Like a Sieve
Social media has changed not only our society but also the way in which individuals process what is happening in society. In the article, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, George Siemens argues for a change in the way we perceive the act of learning. He describe the change in the way which we measure knowledge and compares the past to the present. In the past, knowledge has been measured in decades due to the slow development of information. In today's society information development is rapid and at times information can be seen as outdated within a matter of months. Due to this drastic shift he proposes we change our view of learning. I believe that today's learns must act like sieves because on a daily basis we are bombarded with information/knowledge but it is our task to determine which is relevant or helpful to us. Siemmens states, "The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital." As a learner in the Digital Age we must make decisions about what information is unwanted material and what is necessary.
In his video, The Network is the Learning, he argues "the way we are connected...is largely responsible for how we stay current". Staying current in our fields is of the utmost importance today. Technology is changing everyday and it is being used in new ways, thus, we as the learners/users must adapt on a regular basis. Additionally, in another video titled The Impact of Social Media on Learning, Siemmens discusses the idea of creating connections in order to promote conversations. These conversations result in a growth in our own knowledge; however, an individual learner must choose which knowledge to store and what to get rid of. I believe that the best tool we can give our students is the ability to be critical thinkers about the information they are exposed to. Learners must filter the information and knowledge gained by social software.
"The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital."
ReplyDeleteThis quote is so important. Perhaps there will be a course offered to high school students to "teach" this skill. It is frustrating to sift through the spam and trash out there. I can only imagine how bad this will get in the years to come, as more and more information is posted on the Internet.
I liked Siemen's quote,"Technology is changing everyday and it is being used in new ways, thus, we as the learners/users must adapt on a regular basis." Both for ourselves as learners and ourselves as teachers, we have a responsibility to explore the constantly changing tools available. This constant exploration should help us which tools are truly useful for helping us meet our goals.
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