Reflection

My network has changed the way I learn over the years parallel to my personal development and how it has changed. The associates I have are quite different than they were ten years ago. Out of these changes have emerged specific networks that provide me with certain information and insight satisfying my drive to acquire knowledge. My mind is at the center of my network from there I look to family, more specifically my father because he is the smartest man I know bar none. My dad earned his PhD in Education by the age of twenty seven. Next, I look to my friends and co-workers for information surrounding personal concerns, politics, business, sciences and industry. After many discussions and debates I like to turn my attention to researching data. I rely on the world wide webs various search engine, for example, google.com, delicious.com, ask jeeves, bing, ask.com, yahoo and more to locate information on subjects of interest. I also attend Walden University, which has become a major part of my learning network. Walden has put me in touch with so many classmates or future collegues which share my drive and desire to learn and share knowledge with the world around us. My classmates have been added to my network via discussion boards, blogs and e-mail. Google reader has been another tool that has changed or should I say increased my network and my learning. Since I began coursework at Walden my network has changed by having more information come to me. I am now able to filter through and target the information that I want to research and have it delivered to me.

Digital tools such as google, PowerPoint, Multimedia presentations, Video conferencing at work, Online text publishing sites like Elsevier, and through blogging and blog surfing I am able to better facilitate my learning experience. I find that I can have many different aspects of one subject made available to me in a variety of ways and I do not easily exhaust the subject before it becomes part of my permanent memory.

I gain new knowledge when I have questions by fielding them throughout my network. Many times after asking my first line of resources, reading and then searching my favorite search engines I am quite satisfied. Depending on the question I may be able to locate one or two experts and ask them for insight.

My personal learning network completely supports the central tenets of connectivism utilizing George Siemens components of connectivism (Davis & Bateman, 2008). I learn so many different things daily, whether it be for personal use or required for school or work because it comes from so many different avenues I would say the chaos theory applies. The importance of network theory is also relevant because I share my thoughts, questions and newly acquired knowledge with many of the resources in my network thus “cross pollinating the learning environment” (Davis & Bateman, 2008). The final component of complexity and self - organization is the result of my learning network joins together with other well organized structures and how my input helps to further morph and affect the conditions changing them because of my participation. I see more ways my personal learning network supports the principles of connectivism than not. Every forum in which I participate welcomes debate and insight. Resources have to be nurtured in order to keep them relevant, and while what you know today is “currency” what you are open to learning and in search of will become more valuable”(Davis& Bateman,2008).
References:

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Conectivism. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and technology. Retrieved on February 3, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism