Connectivism

Networking, especially through such outlets as twitter, facebook and a host of other social places online has become the choice of professionals for communication.  Because information is vital, these outlets allow you to both receive and deliver instance information.  The advancement in technology allows individuals to have information streamed live to via your iphone instantaneously and sometimes as it is happening from more than one source.  This has changed the learning process over the past 10 years and will continue to evolve.  Because of the vast social resources such as Google, Facebook, twitter and even the many universities offering distance education it is easier to gain knowledge when you have questions. 

Google and Facebook have become the most popular networking sites especially for me.  Facebook enables me to connect with friends that I have not seen in over 20 years.  I now can have conversations with people that share the same interests and over time have found myself making new friends that share my passions for such things as football, politics, food, etc.  This social networking site has also replaced the way in which professionals connect with one another.  I have set-up my page in such a professional manner that it has allowed me to network for employment.   Google is my most used search engine.  Whenever I have a question on any subject, I Google it.  Besides being quick and accurate, you can get many different views and opinions as well as a myriad of information on different subject matters and best of all, it is free.  I can remember 20+ years ago when trying to complete homework, the encyclopedia was the book of choice that became outdated by the time you received them.  With Google and other search engines, obsolete is now obsolete.

Although the advancement of technology is value, it has come with a cost.  Because of this technological revolution, people have become less social in a sense.  When I first joined the Air Force, there was no Internet.  If you wanted to know something from someone for instance, you would have to go to that person’s office and “talk” to him/her.  This would often lead to training sessions, especially between superior/subordinate.  Now what do we do, we send an email and hope that the individual that receives it, can follow directions.  But does this facilitate learning?  I don’t think so.  To me, it is just a quick answer, not involving the person that needs to know how to accomplish the task.  I find that technology is replacing human interaction, one of the central tenants of connectivism.  As a system’s administrator, often instead of troubleshooting a computer problem, young technicians will Google the problem.  By taking a “shortcut”, there are valuable steps and analyzes that the individual is missing.  It is during this these steps that other issues and learning takes place which increases the technicians awareness as well as understanding of the system.  My father often says to me, if you really want to know someone or what someone is thinking, you have to look them in the eye.  I believe although technology is a valuable resource and I continue to encourage growth in that area, it must not replace human interaction.