CCK09 -The Singularity

Thanks to the participants in this thread in the CCK09 Moodle forum for bringing up the concept of The Singularity. I had not really given this much thought before, but it would appear that there may be something to the idea that we are approaching a somewhat critical mass in terms of our knowledge creation and accumulation and perhaps a singularity is the natural evolution of that.

I do find Dolores’ statement in her response to be very insightful.  “….the singularity is in us, not on the network or the tools” she writes.  I find this to be a very interesting comment, but I am not sure what it means to me just yet.  I am also aware of the dangers of group-think, as Catherine brought to our attention in this post (she had many other thoughts on techno-communism in CCK08).

Hopefully I will be able to write more on this subject after some further research and reflection.

Principia Connectivia (Redux)

Well, another round of CCK begins with the ‘09 version.  In the ‘08 version, in which I participated, I learned some new language, e.g. MOOC and Trolls

I also blogged frequently here, and had some comments on the principles of connectivism at that time.  I don’t know if I have changed my views much since then, perhaps I will be a little kinder in my cynicism due to the passage of time.  I am looking forward to actively participating…..I haven’t been blogging a lot this year and it might be time to let loose again.

Chaos and Narrative

Is there a link between Chaos theory and Narrative tradition?

“An affordance is the product of the interaction between the learner and the environment. Each interaction potentially alters the knowledge and the identity of the learner, as well as the micro-ecology of the environment (paraphrasing Gibson)”.  (from  http://learning-affordances.wikispaces.com/Affordances)

Are these interactions ‘deterministic’? Are the affordances deterministic?  Do we relive the stories of human experience? Is it an accident that we resonate with narrative, as told to and by us? Are we determined by our narratives? Do our narratives determine us?

Thoughts and questions for today….

Determinism

Well, that has been a long break from blogging, and a welcome one at that!

On my long commute home this evening I was reflecting on connectivism, and the CCK08 course, and the word ‘Determinism’ came to mind.  I am not sure why this occurred, but will assume that there is some relevance to this revelation, and propose here to examine further.

In CCK08, a number of  ‘isms and other fine concepts were bandied about., to wit:  eliminative materialism, behaviourism, collectivism, etc.  I don’t recall too many of them. I do recall some mention of free will, but can’t remember in what context it was being discussed. Was it regarding networks, with the absence of free will being noted therein?  Help if you can.

So, determinism.  What could this have to do with connectivism?

 the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

 

I shall have to reflect more on this….

Revelations and a Gathering

Well, final week for CCK08, final paper, and final map. I don’t know if I made all the assignments or not but it doesn’t really matter as I am not a credit pupil.  Revelations within:

Creativity/educere for children

A few thoughts/writing on this matter from another course….. 

The rot within the core

Some random thoughts and quotes located and written a month ago, tossed out here for other minds to oggle, and to clear off my ‘unfinished manuscript’ pile.

The Context of Connectivism

George’s version of connectivism appears as a form of pseudo-constructivism. It is an application of constructivist principles pivoting on the expansion of technological access to a sharing of knowledge.

The fruit around the core

To summarize the emergent propositions of Connectivism: 

(Connectivia Principia - CP)

Suck and Blow

Take a straw, insert one end into your mouth, the other into your favourite beverage.  Then try to suck up the liquid, and blow bubbles in its container, at the same time.  Can you do it?