Connectivism: a new reality or dogma of modern pedagogy

While studying PGCERT (Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning), I have covered many popular teaching and learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. However, I have not heard about Connectivism till the recent time when I joined the LTEP module (part of MALT course) as a student. This post will include the author's review and comments on the article written by George Siemens. 

The article describes the theory of Connectivism. This theory began actively discussed in the blogs in 2005, leading to an expansion of the discourse around the term "connectivism" as a new theory of learning. Moreover, there were two reasons indicating the need for a new theory: 

* The first one is the need to replace old theories that no longer correspond to modern trends and realities. 

* The second is the need to combine old theories without discarding them since "old" theories individually can no longer be a good explanation for many things going on. 

With the changes that have taken place due to the expansion of access to information and the rapid technological advancement, academics in higher education have been forced to adapt their teaching approaches without clear instructions that would take into account the different needs of students. The wide range of approaches and teaching methods needed to reorganize the curriculum has caused significant difficulties for teachers and educators, who must provide learning materials in accordance with the requirements of their institutions. Generally, the Connectivism is not only a teaching theory but also a theoretical basis for understanding the concept of learning. In this theory, the starting point is the moment when knowledge is updated through the process of connecting the student to the information field. Knowledge is distributed over an information network and can be stored in various digital formats. Since the information is always changing, its validity and accuracy may change over time as new information about the module/topic emerges. Thus, the understanding of the module/topic and the ability to learn about a given issue will also change over time.

E-learning platform developers assume that the growing influence of the Internet and online communication will significantly affect the educational practice. The rapid development of technology and exponential growth of Internet use, along with the improvement of mobile technologies, will make the creation of various new educational structures and organizations a new reality. As the result, students (not teachers or universities) will be in the center of learning. This perfectly fits the Student-centered teaching approach that is promoted as the most advanced recently.

(420 words)