Connectivism: Learners Are Like Highways

A learner is like a well developed highway.  A highway that is a one-lane road that gets us from point A to point B is not nearly as effective as a highway that has several lanes with many exits between point A and point B.  The same is true with learners in today's society; a leaner that does not branch out to connect to many different people and places of information is just as ineffective as a one-lane highway.  Therefore, an effective learner develops the ability to create many different branches (or exits) that connect to knowledgeable people or resources. 

There are so many sources of knowledge in society, students need the skills to be able to make connections and use these sources.  In his video "The Changing Nature of Knowledge," Siemens states "the learners themselves, the connections they form with each other, the connections they form with databases, with other sources of knowledge, is really the primary point of learning."  In that, it is where students branch off (like exits on a highway) that are the essential points in the learning process because they give the learner more opportunities to connect with other sources that may be more knowledgeable than them.  The more sources they have in their network, the more knowledgeable they will be presently and in the future.

In addition, the actual process of learning how to connect to others is a vital skill needed for the ever-changing nature of knowledge.  In his article "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age," Siemens (2005) states that "[as] knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses."  This statement is an integral principle in connectivism because knowledge is viewed as something that is constantly changing and it is how we receive this knowledge that is, now, more important than ever.