WE are Smarter than ME

Brian Eno is credited with inventing the term 'Scenius', as a tool to describe 'group genius' that tends to erupt serendipidously. Specifically, he's reported to have said "Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius."

This definition fits with the collaborative intelligence I've experienced for the past few years. Through a conscious effort to harness social media for personal and professional learning, I've confirmed that WE are smarter than ME.

Innovation, whether in the education sector, or otherwise, comes when individuals give themselves permission to think creatively, and to share their ideas, inferences, and insights with the crowd. As a result, similar but coincidental "A-ha!" experiences will sometimes take place completely independent of one another.

Kevin Kelly, writing on The Technium, offers four characteristics of Scenius, each of which is characteristic of the Personal/Professional Learning Networks being cultivated by more and more connected teacher-learners:

• Mutual appreciation - When educators suggest they're going to try something unique, they get affirmation from members of their PLN. (E.g., A user tweets about hosting a Skype conference. Others affirm the idea; suggest guest speakers; and later, offer congratulations on the initiative's success.)

• Rapid exchange of tools and techniques -- When interesting discoveries are made online, they rapidly fire through the retweet circuit until connected learners have been brought into the loop. (E.g., From node to node, and network to network, a presenter's slidedeck; resources page; or recorded presentation, are shared on Twitter via hyperlink)

• Network effects of success - When innovative practices emerge, loosely connected participants, and random observers alike, readily acknowledge and celebrate the success. (E.g., Local and distant micro-bloggers use common hashtags to raise the profile of an Educon learning experience.)

• Local tolerance for the novelties -- Creative thinkers who challenge the status quo, are often respected in networked learning environments. (E.g., A dissenting view is shared on a blog post. Although discussion participants may disagree with one another, the post can be recognized and valued for inspiring thoughtful debate.)

The expertise of my co-learners seems to me, to be exponentially more powerful when hyperlinked together. Whether or not we call it 'scenius', there's little doubt it's changing the way I consume, communicate, and create. Have you noticed your network having similar effects on your learning?


Next step: Find out more about the 'hive mind' in Kevin Kelly's latest book, Out of Control.
Photo Credit: Elisabeth Audrey

CCK08: A Unifying Theory of Learning

Writing is such a ‘School 1.0’ tool, yet as a vehicle for communicating information from one person to another, it continues to stand the test of time. In providing evidence of my understanding of connectivism, these characters on the page are as much reflective of the idea of connectivism, as they are a coalescent artifact that demonstrates my current understanding.

In order for my thoughts to hit this hypertext page, a vast amount of information has had to move between and within a great number of distinct networks. Documents shared within the course have been in audio, text and video formats. Those bits have been transferred around the world by hyperlinks where they’ve been taken up by course participants. Learners have then attempted to process the connections among these ideas and to reflect their individual understandings back to the others, and in so doing have led others to incorporate this new information into their own processes of understanding. And now, we’re attempting to pause in summarizing what we’ve observed from all of these connectivist transfers. In a very real way, all of these transfers of information are changing the way in which each of us perceives the content of this course. Extrapolating, one can conclude that such interactions have a significant impact upon the ways all types of learners see the world.

As important as the interactions are, the networking within the course has not been always been natural; it has often been a forced relationship. Connecting to the ideas of others, has been an expectation that has led many to seek personal links that they might not otherwise make. Forging networks with people whose only obvious similarities are the inclination to participate in this course; and doing so in what is for some a foreign learning environment, has at times created a ‘disconnect’ from the connectivist potential of this course. In the struggle to make meaning from all that has been shared, many have failed to recognize the importance of those classmate connections.

Nonetheless, a far greater disconnect exists within the school system today. With so many resources in education, set in place measure the learning done by students, isn’t it about time that we reach some consensus on the question “What does it mean, to learn?”?

With so many theories struggling to hold the attention of classroom teachers, I see connectivism as a unifying lens through which to observe the process of learning. Rather than being a new theory or previously unknown phenomenon, connectivism identifies the mechanism by which information moves within any learning system. Whether students are learning from methods and strategies whose roots are in constructivism, or collaborative learning, or project-based learning, or from models of inquiry, said learning is amplified through the network channels harnessed by teacher and student alike. Whether using evolving technologies to enhance and expand networks, or relying on past practices that engage students in individual or group learning, connectivism can be used to explain how ideas and skills are shared among participants.

With most attempts to measure learning, relying on a limited selection of performances, usually by the individual, and usually in writing, the revised recognition of learning as the movement of ideas among nodes in networks, provides opportunities for competing learning strategies, to find common ground in the use of a wider variety of learning exhibitions. As a connector itself, the theory of connectivism can offer support to other theories that ask learners and teachers to engage rich performances to demonstrate their understanding.

Although I’m not convinced that connectivism helps to explain the generation of spontaneous ideas, I hold out hope that creativity can also be addressed within learning networks. As much as I find myself re-considering the words I’ve used to show my current understanding of what connectivism is, I suspect that this traditional authoring task is very familiar and comfortable territory for course participants. In a world where relatively few teachers provide students open creative opportunities to show what they know, I find myself looking forward to the more open culminating task for the CCK08 course.


Photo Credit: Felipe Morin, and Jonathan Jones

Note: In lieu of referencing course readings (and the writing of my peers), I decided to draw inspiration from the 'biggest idea' and to use this task as a forum to summarize my current thinking.

CCK08 Concept Maps

The above map is my attempt to show how information travels in connections beginning with the wiring in the brain; moving to wiring in machines and the Internet; and returning to the brains of course participants.

The more I try to create a concept map around my current understanding of Connectivism, the more I am coming to realize:

1] Thinking in words graphically represented, forces you to see connections you would not otherwise see;

2] Three dimensional models of connectivism would be even richer... but working in 2 dimensions is challenging enough;

3] The more I try to show relationships among ideas, the more I know I don't know so much! This is a challenging task;

4] That concept maps can show relationships more succinctly than words, but the cost in time can be significantly greater on the part of the creator;

5] Ideas with images provide greater insight than do words and arrows among boxes and hexagons;

6] I need to re-prioritize the reading of Dan Roam's Back of the Napkin.

For fun, here is an earlier concept map that I created with Smart Ideas to arrange broad concepts, tools and activities we've been using to explore connectivism. The end result is not nearly as chaotic as I'd originally envisioned.

CCK08: Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Boltzmann, Witchenstien, Polanyi... Oh My!

During my noon hour today, I had the opportunity to join 40 CCK08 participants in what turned out to be an audio tutorial on "Rethinking epistemology: Connective knowledge". Although complex language was used to explain competing views , I found a path to follow - call it a yellow brick road of sorts.

While what is 'true' continues to move around in my mind, one pathway is being reinforced: the idea that learning has to be connected to an individual's experience, in order to gain traction.

One might think that the disagreements in our individual responses to the theory of connectivism might be due to the fact we've read different things, or that we've read things differently; but I now suspect that our diverse understandings are directly the result of our varied 'prior experiences'. After all, we have to 'connect' these new ideas, to existing understandings.

Stephen Downes brought this home for me when he broke down what at first seemed to be a straightforward question: "What is the capital of France?".

The number of connections necessary to make meaning of this question, gave me great pause. In order to respond with understanding, concepts of physical geography, cartography, politics, civics and more, would have to be considered. The thought struck me that the individuals in any classroom, are experiencing unique learning experiences, no matter the strategies being employed. Indeed, it may well be impossible for everyone in a room to make identical connections

The road became an even brighter shade of yellow with Dave Cormier's clarification of Rhizomatic Education. Hearing that "Learners need for the curriculum to arise from the group, in order to develop literacies and to make their own knowledge, and adapt to the world as it will be." My neurons made the 'connection' to the Reggio Emilia educational approach (which I first read about in Howard Gardner's "Frames of Mind"). It was the first time since the course began, that I was able to connect a concept from this course, to a concrete classroom application!

Just as the children in Reggio Emilia classes must have opportunities to explore relationships with fellow students and with a choice of materials, so too must participants in this course be provided with the freedom to explore areas of personal interest, and to make connections with fellow course participants.

Whether the 'connections' we're making are leading us to Oz or to Paris, at least we're having a say in which paths to take, and with which colleagues to link arms and ideas.


Photo Credit: Valerie

Getting Beyond Parallel Processing

The dinner bell rang; Everyone came; Most sat silently through the appetizer...


The richness of the CCK08 course is not in the content, but in the interactions of the participants. Unfortunately, the conversation is not so likely to come to you, if you don't take the leap to attach your ideas to those of the others in the course.

Instead of working in parallel with the others in this course who are processing the rich information in the presentations and links shared by Stephen and George, I think more can be accomplished if we reflect, compare, contrast and build on the ideas of others.

As the main course of this rich meal comes to the table, I'll be making the effort to add my ideas to those of others in this course, maybe you'll do the same? Connectivism isn't found in the facts we process, but in the connections we make!

FYI, Today's Teacher 2.0 Podcast touches on this idea of parallel processing in the classroom.


Photo Credit: Groovnik

Walking the Talk: CCK08

For the past 7 years or so, I have been involved in teaching continuing education courses that deal with a wide variety of communications technologies. It has been my very good fortune to be involved in continual learning in the online environment. Beginning in September 2008, I will be a participant in what I suspect will be one of the most unique courses ever launched.

Courtesy of the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba, George Siemens and Stephen Downes, two innovative leaders in connectivist learning, will be leading hundreds of educators in the 'open' Connectivism and Connective Knowledge Online Course.



Admittedly, the major attraction of this course, is the range of 'connected' edu-bloggers and twitterers with whom I hope to interact in constructing knowledge in a networked learning environment. With the launch of the course Connectivism & Connective Knowledge blog, I'll be using The Clever Sheep Blog to reflect on much of the collaborative learning taking place throughout the course.

Trusting fully in the instructors, my online peers, and the evolving online learning tools we'll be leveraging, I have no doubt that we'll be pushing the boundaries of teaching and learning. If you have an interest in discovering more about connected learning by 'walking the talk', consider signing up.

A parallel 6 minute podcast on this idea is now available.
Photo Credit: Paul Watson