My network connections have changed drastically over the past two years. Previously I wasn’t that interested in social networking for pleasure or business. My thought process was I do not have time; I am too busy for social networking. I began to notice my husband spending a lot of time on social network sites. I thought it was for pleasure and I began to get upset. He explained how social networking isn’t just for fun but he actually got a couple of business deals from the sites. I became intrigued and began to start researching and joining social networks myself. I realized that social networking wasn’t just for fun but also for getting information. Karen Stephenson states: “Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge. ‘I store my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people. This has become the staple of social networking.
Since I have become more connected with technology, I have begun to explore my options. I use the internet for creations, research and communications. I use iTunes to download podcast, and blogs for information on particular subjects. I listen to talk radio in the car to learn the latest news as well as watch television for news. The internet is the best digital tool for me at this time and as I continue to immerse myself in the world of technology I see myself expanding in the area.
I gather knowledge from several sources when I have questions. I have learned that the internet has a plethora of information waiting to be accessed. Now that I have familiarized myself with technology I typically use the internet to find answers. I use several search engines such as Google or yahoo. I use these two because I am most familiar with them. There have been times when the answer isn’t easily accessible based upon my question and I will have to readjust my wording to find the correct answer. Now that I have become more familiar with the internet my father calls at least once a week to have me Google a question for him. He doesn’t have internet yet but he is interested in getting it in the near future.
My personal learning network supports central connectivism. Since I have taking an interest in technology the majority of my learning has been through connectivism. My online classes at Walden University, the internet for research, eBooks, online journals, videos, and blogs all are reflective of connectivism. I think George Siemens said it best when he stated “Connectivism focuses on the inclusion of technology as part of our distribution of cognition and knowledge.”
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Hi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to being in that place where you felt you didn't have time for social networks - just too busy with everyday life... And I didn't initially see the value in the extentions from what was right at my finger-tips. I initially joined a few networks from email invites family and friends wanting me to see something posted. I didn't find it easy to get around and only joined to see what they spoke of and didn't go back. Then in 2008 I took a course with PASE (under Baruch College) to gain more tools for a new position. The final project was to create a network that would allow busy program managers to stay abreast of resources. This was a group project - Initially we were going to just create an elaborate powerpoint presentation, but we had 2 people that was familiar with creating websites. So they handled the technical parts & the others of us focused on the written material that would appear. It was inlightening, and I soon found myself extending from my regular yahoo emailing and venturing into myspace, facebook, some others created by friends and associates, and google maps/search. It can all be time consuming but I see the possibilities now and the power of the extended networks, professionally and personally. My daughter also introduced me to itunes and other music connections.
Now, our requirements through Walden courses are taking me into other areas of technology - and as with anything, its a new challenge, but I am learning a lot - It's just to retain it all :-).
Like your father, my mother calls me :-). She has a computer now, but gets flustered and says " They keep stopping me from getting in there" I make jokes and ask they who? There's no little people in the computer stopping you - I tell her, you have to give the computer the command to do what you want to do. At 74, I think she's doing great...
I agree that shared information through technology acts as a surrogate that we can explore others experiences and learn through them.
Thank you for sharing. Good stuff.