Connectivism

In my opinion, the learners of today is like the beacon towers. The beacon tower is designed as a signaling or guiding device. The main function is to connect with other beacons to form a large "network". The learning environment today is like a big network. It is amazing because we can exchange a large amount of information with the help of technological tools like blogs, wikis, etc. It is possible now that we can acquire the information or knowledge we need in a very short time, no matter how abstruse the information is. To realize this, every learners will perform as a beacon tower, trying to link with each other to form a huge "information network", and provide useful information to other people.

In George Siemens's article, he holds a very similar view toward the learners of today. He contends that "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe" (Siemens, 2005). From this, I think Siemens is trying to convey a notion that in this information age, it is more important for you get the ability of acquiring the information through the network, and serving as part of the information network, than the ability of simply having some knowledge. Also in the video - The Impact of Social Software on Learning, Siemens said that "I think in the learning today is one of forming networks with each other". Again he emphasizes the importance of networking, and that learners have to play the role of information exchangers.

I used to hear a saying that you can be connected to anyone in the world though six people around you. I believe in this, and I suppose that we are all connected with each other in this "network". On the basis, I guess if all of us can fully serve as the "light beacons", the amount of information we can access to will be unbelievable, and that should be a great thing for all of us, especially the learners.

Reference:

Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
The Impact of Social Software on Learning