The learning theories that have been introduced over the
past few weeks have made me reflect on how I learn. Every week I examine the newest theory hoping
it best explains how I learn, but none of them can truly answer for all of the learning
possibilities. Each theory has its pros
and cons, making it beneficial in various contexts. In addition, the Learning Theory Matrix has
shown that there is a lot of overlap among the theories as well. With this overlap, one cannot defend a single
theory as being a panacea. I will have
to maintain my stance from week one that my own learning preferences will vary depending
on what I have to learn.
Out of all the theories though, the one that gained my
attention the most is connectivism. I
never knew that there was a theory which explored the relationship of
technology and learning. The mind map
shows that technology plays an integral role in how I learn. The majority of the information that I
acquire comes from electronic sources and electronic sources are used to
interpret that information. This course
is a prime example because only a small portion of information is gathered from
a traditional textbook and all of my work is submitted and constructed online
(minus the mind map). The most
fascinating part of connectivism is that memory storage on machines is becoming
more important than memory storage in the brain. Who would ever believe that our brain would
ever lose importance? It truly makes me
think what effect technology may have on human evolution. Will we get to the point where we only have
to remember enough information to survive?
Will brain size shrink over time because we will need less room for
storage? Possibly, technology could have
the opposite effect. Maybe there will be
a large knowledge disparity between those who are dependent on technology and
those who are not. Maybe in this future we will have one theory to explain all
of learning. Whatever the case, I sure
hope I’m not around to see what happens if technology ever falls apart.
No comments:
Post a Comment