George Siemens

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Posts referring to articles by George Siemens

Now that we have selected the curtain colour, let's build a new house
Oh, hey, George Siemens seems to have come over to my way of thinking. Can David Wiley be next? "I'm suggesting something much more subtle: that we no longer allow systems-based arguments and criticism to dampen our creative exploration for what is possible in education. A period of 'no boundaries' in our thinking. Forget even arguing against those who appeal to integration with existing structures. Just ignore those discussions completely. I'd like to focus instead on creating a compelling vision of what education could be given new technologies and almost global connectivity." George Siemens, Connectivism, February 2, 2010.

Open isn't so open anymore
George Siemens quite rightly rails against the watering down of the term 'open' in education. "According to Wiley," writes Siemens, "openness is not an ideological concept, like democracy, but rather a functional or utilitarian construct: like a door or window being open or partly open... [but] It's like saying being alive is a gradient. We are more or less alive." We need "some good ol' radicals in open education," he writes. "You know, the types that have a vision and an ideological orientation that defies the pragmatics of reality. Stubborn, irritating, aggravating visionaries..." Well, maybe. I could use the company. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, December 30, 2009.

Video recording: Learning 2020
Video recording o George Siemens's talk in Oslo. George Siemens, elearnspace, November 27, 2009.

Technologically Externalized Knowledge and Learning
So here are four precepts. Do they define what we know about learning?
1. The learning needed can be defined
2. Control is needed to achieve required learning
3. Students at similar stages need similar learning
4. Coherence and structure needed for learning
Or are they, as George Siemens suggests, exactly what we should not be doing. And should we instead be thinking of learning as something externalized? As something we can interface with, through (say) a TEKL device? Related: Connectivism, a theory of personal learning, by me. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, October 21, 2009.

Heading to Athabasca University
George Siemens is moving to Athabasca University. How this impacts projects I have on the go with him, I don't know yet. But I'm sure he'll make the most of this new opportunity and he joins an all-star team at the Alberta university. George Siemens, elearnspace, October 1, 2009.

Struggling for a metaphor for change
OK, this is a pretty good article. But, that said, it shouldn't be a struggle (nor should it be a metaphor). Let me be rather more brazen about referencing something I wrote more than ten years ago (I link to it subtl from time to time but nobody seems to get it). This: The Conclusion from my essay, The Rise and Fall of Wired. My list is comprehensive, and it's the result of a detailed analysis of the first six years of Wired (back when it actually reported (as they say) stuff that matters). Now I ask, look at my list. Doesn't this capture the change that was - and is - happening? There's really no mystery here, at least, not to me. And they're not metaphors - they are real changes that matter. George Siemens, Connectivism, September 8, 2009.

More aggregation fun

In case you were wondering... in OLDaily, you are reading at level 4 (that is, if I don't presume too much when I suggests that this is a source you trust)... (Oh, and Siemens says "The model emphasizes the role of curators (slightly related: curatorial teaching) in support of aggregation." But no. There are no curators here. There are multiple instances of level 3, multiple instances of level 4, and (significantly) they are self-selecting, not anointed appointed. George Siemens, elearnspace, September 4, 2009.

Change that prevents real change
One nice thing about George Siemens is that he relieves me of the need to write. An excellent case in point is this item. "FWK will succeed for the wrong reasons. It will succeed because it tweaks the existing model of textbooks just enough to disrupt publishers, but not enough to disrupt the industry as a whole. FWK is integrated into the system of education: authors, bookstores, faculty, and students." FWK, in other words, prevents change by introducing the minimum change necessary to adapt to new conditions without disturbing the status quo. Exactly the same sort of thought came to mind as I read this article on Google's deal with publishers to preserve book search - "the agreement designates the Authors Guild as the representative of the author subclass and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) as the representative of the publisher subclass." George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, August 28, 2009.

Here we are... there we are going
Do we work within the univresity (and government) system to effect change, or do we work outside it? At a policy discussion yesterday I opined that expending effort trying to change the existing system merely detracts from useful work we could be doing, and thta it makes more sense to develop an alternative approach, one which would evolve outside existing systems and eventually replace them.

In this post, George Siemens launches what amounts to an effective three-pronged attack against that position. To summarize:

1. It's not going to happen. "Universities aren't going anywhere. They are not going to disappear. Recent UNESCO (here and here) and World Bank publications (here) speak to the centrality of universities in international competitiveness.

2. It's not necessary. "Courses, unlike universities, are not directly integrated into the power system of a society... I would love to see courses more become more distributed and fragmented. Current conceptions of courses should be destabilized (or have a look at the online conference we hosted earlier this year: From Courses to Dis/Course)."

3. It's not desirable. "Many reform advocates suggest that distributed networks can do what organized structures have done in the past (such as Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head and through the network (of networks))" [but] Socially conscious thinking flourishes in universities like it does in no other public venue... The virtues that a society finds desirable are systematized in its institutions. However futile this activity, it helps society, and media, to hold people accountable, to devise strategies, and create laws so people feel safe." George Siemens, Connectivism, August 14, 2009.

Critical Thinking
More from the (non-)series on critical thinking. "When learners have greater control, they also require greater command of critical thinking skills. Why? Well, if I'm taking a course under the direction of an instructor, I will hopefully be able to learn from the instructor modelling these skills." George Siemens, elearnspace, August 6, 2009.

Interrogating media
Reprise of the Postman and McLuhan questions we should ask of media. Things like "What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?" and "What does it extend, enhance, accelerate, intensify or enable?" These days, we need to ask different, less naive, questions. Like: "who owns it?" And "how is it that they came to own something you used to own before?" And "what does it use as a source for 'truth'?" And "who can abuse it to extend their own power?" And "how much will it cost me if it becomes essential? And "Can I trust it? Or anyone over it?" And "Can I do things (say things, reach people) I couldn't before?" And finally, "will people be able to use it to spam me?" George Siemens, elearnspace, July 21, 2009.

Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2009
Well, here we go again. George Siemens and I are reprising the CCK08 course as CCK09. In this article, Siemens outlines some of our early thoughts on the course. If you are interested in course information, subscribe here. Even if you were signed up last year, you'll need to sign up again. It's a new course, after all. The course starts in earnest September 14. George Siemens, CCK09, July 6, 2009.

Learning Leaders Fieldbook
I have had the same problem as George Siemens. "After the presentation, a VP (in charge of training and development) approached me and stated that simple messages are preferable. I assumed this to mean that I had delivered a presentation that was too complex." And I ask with him, "when did leading thinkers in corporate learning conclude that their audience can not handle complex subjects?" or, with even more concern: how is it that our institutions promote people who cannot understand complex concepts to positions of leadership? Isn't that tantamount to mismanagement? George Siemens, elearnspace, July 3, 2009.

Day One Done
Some reflection by George Siemens on Day One of the Ed Media conference in Hawaii. Follow especially the link to the rich Twitter feed from the event.
George Siemens, Ed Media, June 24, 2009.

Why group norms kill creativity
I tried to work this into a paper I was writing today, but it wasn't happening. I still want to link to it, though. "The unwritten rules of the group, therefore, determined what its members considered creative. In effect groups had redefined creativity as conformity." Cited from Psyblog. George Siemens, elearnspace, June 15, 2009.

Challenges faced by African Universities in technology integration
George Siemens is in Senegal and overviews conference proceedings on the challenges African universities face when integrating technology. Funding and infrastructure are of course priorities, but so is this: "Political commitment is most important (leaders to be dedicated to introduce technologies in education... political will can address problem of institutionalization)." George Siemens, Connectivism, May 26, 2009.

Overview of Complexity Science
This is a really nice map of what is here being called "complexity science" and features many of the writers - from Rosenblatt to Watts - that we encounter in these pages. Click the circles to (sometimes) open relevant resources. George Siemens, elearnspace, April 22, 2009.

Cute Kitten Syndrome: Open Educational Resources
I agree with this assessment from George Siemens. I support open educational resources (OERs) - I mean, who doesn't (except evil money-grubbing publishers)? But that does not mean that the way they are being advocated by large foundations and universities should be without criticism. In particular, as Siemens says:
- Why OERs? What are we trying to achieve? Marketing our institution?
- OERs are window dressing if systems and structures of education do not change.
- OERs exhibit (are embedded with) certain ideologies/views/pedagogies, etc.
I have long favoured a community-based rather than institution-based model for OER development. But this is a model resisted by those institutions, predominately from wealthier nations, that have received the lions share of funding for OER development. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, April 13, 2009.

Video of University of Calgary Presentation
A George Siemens presentation. I'll let him describe it: "D'Arcy Norman has posted a video of my presentation at U of C as well as images and links (Thanks D'Arcy!). My intent, and I think I explored too much territory in the talk, was to present how changing information interaction is (will be) mapped into the future of universities." Related: George Siemens and Peter Tittenberger release a Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning (HETL) and as well as a wiki. It's hard not to be impressed with Siemens's prolific (and quality) output. George Siemens, elearnspace, March 18, 2009.

Information (Sensemaking) Tools Are Pathetic
I agree with George Siemens here, and I think I have a handle on why the 'sensemaking' tools are, as he says, pathetic, but it's a bit of a difficult thing to pin down with words. Sensemaking is, or me, pattern recognition. But patterns - beyond the obvious (repetition of word forms, etc) are difficult to recognize, at least mechanically. So why not just have computers do what humans do? Ah - but what do humans do? Therein lies the basic difficulty. George Siemens, elearnspace, March 5, 2009.

CCK08 Final Wrap Up Conversation
George Siemens and I will be discussing the lessons learned (or not learned, or non-lessons, as the case may be) from our connectivism and Connective Knowledge course offered last fall. Since we're offering it again in 2009, we'd like to get the best advice possible. The session will be held at 1:00 pm CST (see world clock times for your time zone) on Monday, February 23, 2009. The session will be held here in Elluminate, with Dave Cormier serving as moderator.
George Siemens, CCK08, February 20, 2009.

How the Crash Will Reshape America
The second part of the crash will hit when the bottom falls out of public spending, especially in the U.S. (even a very large stimulus package will only partially offset this, and tax cuts will make it worse). We are already seeing that education will take a large part of the impact. People like Richard Florida can blithely say some regions will simply decline - but it's more complex than that. There isn't enough space here to discuss this. But we are looking at the same forces that have kept less wealthy regions of the world impoverished coming here. Do not be lulled into believing that it's just the new high-tech economy replacing the old. Our new impoverishment may force us to adopt new technologies, such as e-learning, but there is also a significant effort afoot to permanently convert public wealth into private (and increasingly stateless) wealth. George Siemens, elearnspace, February 12, 2009.

Year of the Cloud
George Siemens puts his stake into the prognostication arena with this post on 'the year of the cloud' - cloud computing, to be precise. He decides to embrace the cloud to answer some questions: "How will my communication and information processing habits change when I don't need to confine myself to a particular computer? What types of software do I need when I don't want to be tied to a particular laptop?" The Edge, meanwhile, asks, "What will change everything?" You mean global warming and economic collapse aren't enough? And Jim McGee looks at simple competence as a theme for 2009. And Tony Hirst looks at internet appliances. George Siemens, learnspace, January 2, 2009.

Connectivism Taxonomy
Why do education theorists, when they reach a certain point, always strive to create a taxonomy? At a certain level, because it's easy - you don't have to do any actual research, you just reinterpret common vocabulary and couch it within the parameters of your own theory. And, at a certain level, it's reassuring - you are telling practitioners that their existing knowledge is, after all, correct. Just look at the way people in the comments are suggesting connectivism build on this or that taxonomy, as though it weren't a critique of these positions after all. But at its heart, the creation of a taxonomy is just an arbitrary categorization of phenomena, often without a theoretical basis or grounding. And a 'connectivist taxonomy', in particular, is at odds with a network-based theory of meaning. George Siemens, Connectivism, December 5, 2008.

Rhizome Project, or, What Have They Done with Dave Cormier?
Some grumbling about the creation of an educational 'rhizome project' without any reference to Dave Cormier's popularization of the concept. Another post saying the same thing. It's the same old thing about credit. People who know this field know Dave Cormier's considerable contribution to it. We don't need to build a genealogy of every person's contribution to every concept. People who jump in and try to take credit for work others have done - well, we know them by their contributions too. Let's stay with the program and not worry about the scorecard (we have to, or we'll go insane). George Siemens, elearnspace, October 28, 2008.

Mid-Course Review
Video posted by George Siemens summarizing what we have done in our Connectivism course over the first 6 weeks. Also video and also from Manitoba: a Michael Wesch presentation at the University of Manitoba on innovation in higher education. George Siemens, CCK08 - blip.tv, October 22, 2008.

History of Educational Technology
I'm working with all these people but I'm not a part of this initiative. george Siemens writes, "Given the tremendously rapid pace of technology development today, I'm concerned that even the little history we have will vaporize. Which is why I'm quite excited about a new initiative with SCoPE, Richard Schwier, and the Learning Technologies Centre at the University of Manitoba: Building a Virtual Museum of Educational Technology. We all agree that museum is not the best word, but it will do for now." I'm picturing myself virtually stuffed and mounted at the front door - but, of course, that is rather immodest. Here's their discussion. George Siemens, elearnspace, October 2, 2008.

I Mean, Really, Where Did We Think All of This Was Going to Go?

I want to repost this item, with the diagram, because of the relevance to current discussions. What MIT OpenCourseWare is to open content, our open courses are to open access, open conversations and connections. It's not a stretch to seeing this as related to open accreditation. George Siemens, Connectivism, October 1, 2008.

Interview with Dave Cormier: Rhizomatic Education
george Siemens interviews Dave Cormier on Rhizomatic Education. George Siemens, elearnspace, September 16, 2008.

Quick Introduction to Connectivism Course
George Siemens has created a short video introduction to our online Connectivism and Connective Knowledge course. Also, our MOOC will be the subject of a Fringe Alt discussion (see here and here). George Siemens, elearnspace, September 4, 2008.

New Structures and Spaces of Learning: The Systemic Impact of Connective Knowledge, Connectivism, and Networked Learning
This paper lies right at the intersection of the questions "How do we change?" and "What ought we to change to?" This is a tricky place to be, because it involves sketching theories about user empowerment and people making their own choices while at the same time pointing to desired states and optimal outcomes. I'm not sure Siemens pulls it off (though it's a good try), mostly because of the last section, which is an extended defense of the role of the institution. I just don't see this happening: "A university becomes a connection forming organization, brokering relationships, providing opportunities for research, and continuing to serve as a critical, but neutral, place of discovery and advancement of knowledge." Too many conflicting tendencies. George Siemens, Website, August 28, 2008.

Digital Natives
George Siemens offers this interesting quote from Chris Lott: 'Academics tend to err on the side of nuance and precision, eschewing generalizations and coarse labels. This is great for documenting cultural dynamics, but not so great for making interventions." Well, yeah - if interventions are what you want, then distortions and simplifications are what you're going to need. But perhaps in the light of this we should be questioning the ethics of making an intervention. Perhaps we should be asking what it means to do this, and to query whether we don't create more harm than good in the process. George Siemens, elearnspace, August 27, 2008.

Social Media Classroom
George Siemens describes the social media classroom developed by Howard Rheingold and being used by him in a course this fall. "The software - SMC - pulls together wikis, blogs, tagging, media sharing, and other tools familiar to the read/write web crowd." George Siemens, elearnspace, August 21, 2008.

What Is the Unique Idea in Connectivism?
We get this question every few months, like clockwork, from people who suggest Well, keeping in mind, as Siemens says, that "All ideas have a heritage. All concepts have roots," there are some things that are at least arguably novel in connectivism. Siemens outlines a few here: the application of network principles to both knowledge and the process of learning; the application of these principles at the biological/neural, conceptual, and social/external; the explicit discussion of the role of technology in learning, the acknowledgment of context and the role it plays in knowledge, meaning and learning; and the positive acocunts of understanding, coherence and sensemaking. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, August 6, 2008.

Connectives and Collectives: Learning Alone, Together
Really nice presentation from George Siemens this morning - I hope someone recorded the audio. In any case, I took extensive notes, so there is at least some record of it. Siemens talks about network learning and the importance of the role of the individual in collaboration. Also from today's D2L conference, I have summarized Brett Emmerton's useful (if technical) talk on virtualization, and David Delgado on integrating iTines U with Desire2Learn.

Tomnorrow I will be taking part in a panel with Barry Dahl, Michael Feldstein and Robbie Melton. We will be broadcasting live on the web - here is the link - starting at 11:30 central time (GMT -6). We will also be using my backchannel - you can input your comments directly from the video page (or so we are planning it as I type this) or through the input page at my web site. George Siemens, Half an Hour, July 21, 2008.

Nanotechnology
Bio-technology and nanotechnology are two "sleeper" technologies within the education and training field. We are still digesting the impact of computers and other "intelligent" devices/programs on the practices of teaching and learning, while developments in these other two fields and their implications largely get unnoticed. George Siemens, always on the leading edge, brings the two together with pointers to an article in a recent British Medical Association journal on two kinds of brain alteration, and to a video on how nanotechnology will be able to "repair and upgrade our bodies" in a few years. -GW George Siemens, elearnspace, July 9, 2008.

Brain Based Learning
George Siemens comments on the redundancy built into the term "brain based learning" ("Is it like butt-based sitting?") and then points to an article entitled "The Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations" as well as an 8 minute video on "Brain based education: Fad or Breakthrough?" He argues that when we hear explanations in "neuro-speak" we tend to be less critical of bad explanations. Personally, I cringe when I hear someone offer left-brain or right-brain as a simplistic argument for any behavior, so I understand and support where George is coming from. - GW George Siemens, elearnspace, June 26, 2008.

Connectivism Course
I may as well let George Siemens say it: "Stephen Downes and I will be offering an online course starting September through University of Manitoba on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. The course is available for credit (enrollment is required) or for personal interest (no fee). All discussions and learning resources will be freely available. More information on how the course is run, weekly topics, etc., is available on the course wiki. If you are interested, you can sign up here in order to receive more information on participating or enrolling." George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, June 13, 2008.

What Does It Mean to Be Digitally Literate?
You can get an Ed.D. for answering this question? Cool. George Siemens, elearnspace, May 19, 2008.

Cute Kitten Syndrome: Open Educational Resources
George Siemens raises some worthwhile questions about open educational resources (OERs). He's right, we have discussed the concept over the years. For me, as for him, it is the ethical dimension of 'denying people access to education' that motivates the discussion. Which means, and I agree, "OERs are window dressing if systems and structures of education do not change." Related: Techdirt on government-funded textbooks. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, May 1, 2008.

Connections Are Everything
Strictly speaking, the suggestion that "connections are everything" is incorrect. Connective knowledge is just one type of knowledge. I have in the past compared it to other types of knowledge as follows:

- qualitative knowledge - our perceptions and understandings about the sensory properties of things - colours, shapes, weights, tastes, and the like. "Qualitative knowledge" includes knowledge of relations (bigger than, closer than), etc.)
- quantitative knowledge - our perceptions and understandings about numbers of things, including simple counting, but also measurement, algebra, set theory, and ratios.
- connective knowledge - our perceptions and understandings about patterns and similarities that result from the connection of objects with each other, through association.

In society, our networks of connections instantiate the third type of knowledge, by creating patterns of information flow, which results in social knowledge (much of it implicit, as it is very difficult to be in a position to recognize such knowledge). Simply knowing who to call to get an answer to a question is a very basic instance of this, and it would be a disservice to say either that (a) other types of knowledge are unimportant, and (b) this type of knowledge is 'everything'. George Siemens, elearnspace, April 30, 2008.

Marshall McLuhan
As George Siemens says, "CBC has an archive of 18 clips (9 audio, 9 video) of McLuhan expressing commentary on media, books, the "tribal drum" of humanity, and learning." Good weekend listening. George Siemens, elearnspace, April 25, 2008.

When Information and Interaction Change
I listened to this presentation from George Siemens this afternoon. He associates our attitude toward information with progress in society. "The more broadly we are connected to individuals of diverse viewpoints... the better we understand that subject area." What I like is the relation between the idea of associative trails between people and associative trails between bits of information. Best phrase of the talk: 'grunt cognition' - information that makes it easier to do, or avoid, 'grunt work'. George Siemens, elearnspace, March 31, 2008.

Pedagogy First? Whatever.
I am in the main sympathetic with George Siemens when he questions the doctrine that pedagogy ought to guide instructional technology. Though it may be for different reasons, as I am less comfortable with his suggestion that context' is "the starting point of planning to teach with technology." He asks, "How should we select technology?" And answers, "In my eyes, selection should be based on the funds available. The experience of the educator. The technology learners can already access. The intended outcomes of the program. And so on." My own take is that technology choice should depend on what we want to do, and that pedagogy - even in a learning context - is not what we ought to be doing. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, March 17, 2008.

Battles for Souls and Such
Newsweek writes, "In short, the expert is back. The revival comes amid mounting demand for a more reliable, bankable Web. 'People are beginning to recognize that the world is too dangerous a place for faulty information'". The expert never left. From his position as a paid columnist or published author working at his benefactor's behest, the expert has decried open source and open content from the moment of their inception. Because, of course, the publisher knows no other source but the expert, and can and will cry, "the expert is back" up to the moment of its demise. As for Wikipedia, well: if the deletionists win, then Wikipedia dies, because it's only if Wikipedia is fundamentally inclusionist that people have any interest in contributing. Don't believe me? Ask Larry Sanger why Citizendium languishes after its launch (5600 articles... wow whee). George Siemens, elearnspace, March 10, 2008.

Additional Connectivism Resources and Discussion
The papers and presentations from last year's Connectivism conference - including my own contribution, The Recognition Factor - have been transcribed. They should probably also be published as a Lulu book or some such thing. George Siemens, Connectionism Blog, March 6, 2008.

Connectivism Positions
Links to an interesting back-and-forth on the question of whether connectivism is a (new) learning theory. As usual (which is an interesting comment in itself) I feel the critics have not read widely enough. "If any part of the theory were relevant it would be the recognition of the potential of networking and connecting, but these are ways of learning, the pedagogy. Otherwise, the theory does not describe how we learn, how we make the connections inside of ourselves nor does it describe what we learn." Indeed? Have we been totally silent on these issues? George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, February 28, 2008.

The Downside of a Good Idea
I have commented before about the importance of autonomy for the reliable functioning of networks. I have also commented that network theorists - I've cited Varela in this regard - find that the optimal density of a network is somewhere between zero connectivity and total connectivity. So the suggestion that the performance of a completely connected non-autonomous network is not optimal is... not surprising. George Siemens, elearnspace, February 27, 2008.

Free Will?
The idea that 'new research' could show whether or not we have 'free will' misunderstands, I think, the meanings of the words. What the words 'free will' describe is a sensation we have of making decisions for ourselves. We can experience more of less of this sensation depending on external constraints (in the same way that the availability of food, say, allows us to feel the sensation of 'sating our hunger'). The idea that research could show that we do not have this sensation is absurd; it's like the idea that research could say we do not have a sense of taste. All that research could say is that the nature of 'free will' is not some sort of miraculous causeless creation of something - an idea, say - out of nothing. But people don't think that's what free will is - do they? And if they do - well, it's a pretty flimsy basis for morality, don't you think? George Siemens, elearnspace, February 27, 2008.

Collective or Connective Intelligence?
Following some of the discusssions of the two concepts recently, George Siemens tries his hand at drawing the distinction. And he does pretty well, using an example I - and every other Canadian - have used since childhood: "Essentially, as defined by common use (not the definitions provided above), the collective presents a 'melting pot' of ideas. The connective represents a "mosaic" of ideas." Probably my own deepest exploration of this is my essay My Canada, which concludes with the slogan, "In diversity, harmony." Which should strike a chord with the people who have listened to be try to explain the way Boltzmann mechanisms create connections in neural network. Anyhow, there's a lot more to say on this, and I'm sure this topic will occupy these pages in the future. George Siemens, Connectivism Blog, February 22, 2008.