Connectivism: My Mind Map of Learning

The more I study the different learning theories, the more I solidify that there is no perfect single theory and that they are all connected. I’ve created this mind map to layout my network of learning and realized while I created it how much things are truly connected. My network has changed as I’ve gotten older and more experienced, made more connections networking and have access to more technologies that have made it easy for me not to access information far more than when I was younger.

Computers and mobile devices not to mention the internet itself has me constantly saying to myself “man if I had these tools when I was younger, where would I be now?” I primarily use today’s technology for research, training and networking (professionally at least). I use social media to keep in contact with people professionally and personally because it’s a lot easier than writing letters and keeping a Rolodex. I have access to training from a much broader group, some free, some paid. I can ask questions on forums to obtain information, fixes and ideas for problems that before would have taken me much longer to figure out by myself or track people down and wait for a reply. Information that could have taken days to get now can take minutes if you know where to look, which brings up an interesting topic for later which is sifting through opinion to get to fact.

My Learning network supports the central tenets of connectivism because most of the Current and Future learning is based on resources, networking, training and information using technology. Some more, some less. I broke up my mind map into regions listing Past, Current and Future Learning. I also included empirical data which includes Work , Parenting and Social Experience. I found that even though these aren’t technology based and not necessarily formal, I draw off this knowledge extensively as the foundation for a lot of how I approach learning, teaching, managing, etc. I also connected Social and Mobile News Media. They are constantly interactive with each other, however, I view Mobile News Media as more reliable and justifiable sources of information, whereas social media “can be” reliable but often is more opinion, informal and taken with a grain of salt until verified.