My Connections and Learning

Back in my “old days” in the late Soviet Union, people would meet in person. It was OK to drop by without appointment, take you away from whatever you were busy with and demand hospitality for the rest of the day, or the whole week – depending on how far the guest came from. You’ll eat and talk, talk and eat – find out all the latest news about people you haven’t seen in years and about the city or village you’ve left long ago and haven’t made it back to visit, yet. That was before the widespread phone service, and I’m not even mentioning long distance service – for that you had to go to the post office, select a date, notify the other party and come back a few days later, get into a booth and scream into the phone for about 3 minutes – that was a big event of the day. All business was conducted by showing up personally. Everything was done by foot (or by bus), by long waits in lines, by coming back numerous times. You would learn news by word of mouth, letters, phone, a couple of TV channels and radio – radio was big – you could tune up to interesting things.

I am glad I’d experienced all that. I am 40, but remember things my kids wouldn’t be able to ever imagine! The first time I touched a computer was here, in 1995, and I did not know what to do with it – I thought it was just a fancy typewriter/calculator.
Look at us now! Look at the whole world! The former Soviet Union region, especially more populated western areas, is pretty much of the same technological level as we are here! That means, since I left in 1993, they have made a huge leap into the advanced technological age, very much in pace with me. I know exactly what Thomas Friedman is talking about when he calls the world a “giant playing field”: ”These new players are stepping onto the playing field legacy free, meaning that many of them were so far behind that they can leap right into the new technologies without having to worry about all the sunken costs of old systems. It means that they can move very fast to adopt new, state-of-the-art technologies, which is why there are already more cellphones in use in China today than there are people in America.” (Friedman, 2005)

So, yes, my own personal networks, by which I learn and obtain information about the world have changed in the crazy big way! But I am still a technological infant, a true “digital immigrant”, how Marc Prensky would call me. I still get overwhelmed by all these complex functions on a cell phone or a digital camera. About a month ago I finally decided I needed to start thinking of getting myself an iPhone, because it would make it much easier to study on the go. Not too long ago I preferred to have separate devices for each digital purpose – I couldn’t understand the need to stuff one little machine with all those not perfect functions. I guess, times have changed, technology improved, and quality of those extra functions, too. I’m committed to Macs. That’s the computer I’ve always used since my first time sitting in front of it at SVA’s digital lab. That’s what I use for my learning purposes. I bought myself a little portable PC a couple of weeks ago, but did not get a chance to work on it extensively – I need someone to explain to me what it is I need to have in it, where to download it from, what to buy and what not to, how to navigate in this giant virtual store where it is impossible to choose anything on my own. I need a guide for this – something I didn’t think of before.

I am still fascinated by the fact that I don’t have to go anywhere or wait for days in order to get some information. It’s such a fantastic thing to be able to turn to your machine, Google something, and in a matter of seconds read the information off your screen! I know, I’m still not good enough at searching – somehow, others manage to do it better, but I do find what I need in most cases.

Connectivism. It is a fascinating theory, and I understand most of its tenets. I think, I still need more experience and knowledge to start playing with it more confidently or try to refute any of the major principles. My networks, however abundant, are not producing a steady stream of knowledge – I am only starting to realize the importance of “nurturing and maintaining connections” (Siemens, 2005), thanks to the Learning Theories and Instruction course. I’ve come a long way!

References:

Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com
It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. by Friedman, T. Copyright 2005 by The New York Times Company. Reproduced with permission of New York Times Company in the format electronic usage via Sage Publications, Inc.

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