Mariis' digitale refleksioner

Back from vacation I’ve been catching up on several blogs. Reading Fleep’s Deep Thoughts I was reminded of a very remarkable course given online by George Siemens and Stephen Downes on Connectivism & connective knowledge – CCK08. I’ve been hesitant in signing up for this 12 week course, because my calendar for the fall semester already is quite full. But … Today I signed up and here are the reasons why:

• I teach learning theory, and Connectivism is in my opinion an increasingly important part of the general learning landscape (both theoretical and methodological) – especially when put in relation with new media/Web 2.0

• I’ve been a devotee of both Siemens and Downes for quite some time now – and I think participating in a course facilitated by them will prove to be quite the experience :-)

• According to Siemens currently 1200 people have signed up for the course – participating in such a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for sure is a unique learning opportunity.

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• As an online teacher I think it’s important, that I participate “on the other side” as a student once in a while – lots have happened especially on the tech side, since I last studied online in 2003.

• Joining the course means joining a learning network, connecting with people from all over the world, who share the same interest – and this is actually one of the core principles of Connectivism!

• I’m excited to see that Fleep and the Chilbo community will host and help facilitate a SL cohort for synchronous meetings – another great opportunity to use SL.

The course is free and it’s still possible to enroll – so connect :-)

/Mariis