I read the article Connectivism by Siemens: In A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, the way knowledge is acquired and the concept of knowledge mentioned in the article gave me some new ideas. Combined with the arguments raised in this article and my second WOW and Wonder blog, let’s offer some ideas about how knowledge can be reformed and updated. There are many ways to obtain current information, such as short videos on the Internet, school libraries, newspapers and interpersonal communication, all of which enable us to get the information we want. Connectivism, of course, refers to the knowledge we acquire through the learning experiences of others. The difference is that each person has different learning methods and understanding levels of cultural background, resulting in different results. There will be some ambiguity and bias when we get some information through short videos such as TikTok. For example, when I wanted to learn some methods about fund investment, I searched Tiktok for the analysis and insights of some financial bloggers. While researching and reading the information, I also found some personal accounts that gave a different perspective than the financial bloggers and maybe even a completely different idea. This information may have created some ambiguity in my analysis of the same fund.

However, one of these benefits is that our access to knowledge has become faster and more diverse. When we want some information, we no longer need to go through a lot of data to find it. The simplest example is the meaning of a word. For example, “bias,” the traditional model requires a paper dictionary and a series of lookups to find the word’s meaning. However, due to technology innovation, we can directly type in some translation tools to get its meaning. Of course, we can also use the fastest way, such as asking people around you the meaning of this word, but does it mean people should eliminate the dictionary. The obvious answer is “no.” So I don’t think a lot of the new knowledge mentioned in the text is the product of old knowlege. We’ve just changed the way to get the answers we want to know in a much faster and more convenient way. In other words, the pace and technology of modern society are too fast for us to waste time on unnecessary steps. So think about older people who don’t know how to use technology. Through White and Cornu’s article, I also found that they mentioned that some learners could quickly master the necessary skills while others struggle to master them, regardless of age.

At the same time, according to my third article Wow and Wonder, I developed new ideas. When we, as residents, leave traces of ourselves on the Internet, will it pose a threat to identity information. I think there are a lot of people who are wondering. I think it might be. We often find Instagrams where people post stories, and they post their location(like the picture I showed), and it’s not just that. Many of my friends will tag their friends. It means anyone will know their lifestyle and relationship. To add, some people will post their business and their information on their page on some platforms. And we often see some people for making profits on some websites by coping some bloggers video from  another PLN to make their accounts. The profile pictures and videos are all the same, and some netizens fall into the trap when they can’t tell the difference. I think this is also some of the negative disadvantages when technological innovation changes and is different from traditional.

References:

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1).

White, D. S., & Cornu, A. L. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday.