Week 7

Week 7 Blog posting

·        Now that you have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, how has your view on how you learn changed?

My view has changed. I realize that I learn best with connectivism. As I stop and think about how I learn and where I get my information from, I realized its all with technology. I am constantly looking things up on my phone trying to figure how something works or to get instruction on how to replace my tail lights. I love being connected and having access to anything and everything.

·        What have you learned about the various learning theories and learning styles over the past weeks that can further explain your own personal learning preferences?

I did not know about all the different learning theories. Outside of visual learning I never really thought about it. It is really neat to have different ways to teach and to gain the interest of those you are teaching. Connectivism is my favorite because that is how I learn. Having access to and array of information is just spectacular.

·        What role does technology play in your learning (i.e., as a way to search for information, to record information, to create, etc.)?

Technology has a huge role in my learning. Right now I am using multiple different types of technology. First, I am typing this on a Microsoft Surface. I am posting this on the internet. Many different people have access to be able to see why I’m typing. I use google on a daily basis. I have an Amazon echo that I can quickly ask questions to find out what the weather is like or ask for a news briefing while I’m getting ready for work.

The main source of technology I use is Waldenu.edu. Yes, the university I am enrolled in is purely online. I have countless resources in my program. I have an online library among other things. I feel in this new age, technology is our main source of learning, even if we didn’t think about it. 

Connectivism

Connectivism

·         How has your network changed the way you learn?

Being able to step back and look at the network available to me, I see that there are countless resources. The networking that I found interesting is social media. Sure, you can spend hours looking at your friend’s vacation pictures and catching up with old friends. The surprising thing to me was the amount of knowledge that is shared. There are a lot of pages that post informative information from how to cook a duck to understanding how Elon Musk’s newest idea will work. Information is available, we just need to realize where we can get it and use it to our advantage.

·         Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?

A digital tool that I use daily is google.com. This gives me access the all the internet has to offer. I can find anything from learning how quantum mechanics work to learning how to be a better father. Having the world at my fingertips has really helped me in my undergrad as well as my graduate degree.

When I have questions, I use google as well. I have used it to help me understand the meaning of a word. This helps as sometimes I want to use a word and I check it out first and find that it wasn’t what I was wanting and saved my self from an awkward situation. Google connects me to scholarly articles and blogs that give valid information to help me understand new and exciting things.

           

·         In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?

My personal learning network fully supports the theory of Connectivism. As discussed earlier, I use many different online networks. I am connected to many different people throughout the world. Having access to get online and search anything I want. I can learn about what I need to do to become a Sherpa and help people climb Mount Everest. Never before being connected with the world would I ever have access to such a thing. Being fully connected is the way the world is going. Information is shared every day and being connected helps me learn from that information.