Connectivism & Connective Knowledge

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September 22, 2008

Week 3: Properties of Networks (September 22-28)

This week we leave the heavy theorizing behind and begin to look at the properties of networks themselves. The readings listed here will be supplemented with additional items through the week.

Readings

Networks for Newbies .ppt
Learning Networks: Theory and Practice .ppt and audio

Optional Reading
Introduction to social network methods - Chapter 7 - Connection and Distance

Activities:

Mon: Recorded presentations and readings will be posted to the email list

Wed: Two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST: See time zone conversions7 pm CST: See time zone conversions

Friday: Discussion via USTREAM 11 am CST: See time zone conversion

Assignments:

1. Post comments and reflections on week 3 readings on your blog (if you haven't registered your blog yet, register it here). Or participate in discussions in the Moodle forum, provide comments to blog posts of other course participants, or participate in any of the other places where discussions are happening.

2. Continue to develop your concept map

3. Review the assignment requirements for your first paper

4. If you have not done so, begin to follow the distributed conversation on course's Pageflakes site

Highlighted Resources

Week 3: Introduction to Network Attributes
This presentation explores common network attributes. Many of the terms considered are likely familiar to most readers: small worlds, hubs, weak ties, and so on. Our discussion this week builds on weeks 1 & 2 and sets the stage for our consideration of network history (as applied to learning in week 4). George Siemens, , September 21, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

At the End of Week Two
My reflections on the course at the end of two weeks. I discuss the idea of connective knowledge and talk a bit about the different way conversation has played out in the moodle forums and in the blogs. As a postscript to that: I have coded an RSS autodiscovery function that fixes almost all of the blog feed errors we've been having. If you've registered your blog, check it out on the feeds page. If not, register your blog using the form. Stephen Downes, CCK08, September 21, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

CCK08 - Lessons Learned (1)
Learning about connectivism can be hard. It embodies complexity and chaos, and "Learning how to manage this complexity becomes pertinent, and since there are clear references to chaos theory, it's only natural (?) that this learning process is quite confusing and at least initially somewhat unpleasant." Still, Mariis Mills draws some useful lessons from Lave and Wenger: "you need to become an active participant in the practice of the community, but initially you have to join the community and learn at the periphery. As you become more competent you'll move more to the centre of the particular community. " Mariis Mills, Mariis Mills, September 21, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Challenges, Gardens, and Growing CCK08
This is a very nice post that questions what the 'price' is of participating in the course. "I suspect increasing transparency is the price for me," writes the author, "I have hesitated as I read complex writings by learners who are far more expert than I." At the same time, though, openness of practice gives people a model to follow in their own work. As this post does in bringing together and linking different strands of thought to come to an understanding of the subject. Lani, Possibilities Abound--, September 21, 2008 [Link] [Tags: none] [Comment]

Contributions

Here's what course members from around the world had to say. Want to join the conversation? Login and submit your feed. Then put this at the beginning of your post: CCK08

These are posts from the last 24 hours.

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