One of the principles of connectivism is that you share. You offer your knowledge, skills, abilities, talents, materials, resources to someone else, free of charge. For nothing in return, you give it away.
Now, a true capitalist would smell something fishy in this idea. As a matter of fact, it would not be unusual to hear something like, “There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.” Like I said, fishy.
We sell things. We put prices on goods, materials, resources. You pay a price, to have what I have, to know what I know. That’s capitalism. And it’s pretty much standard accepted practice, from the jungles of the Amazon, to the most isolated Eskimo village in Antarctica.
So, let me say up front, I’m a capitalist, and a consumer. I pay for goods, services, materials and resources, just like everyone else. So, I’m not advocating the overthrow of the world economic system.
Having said that, I do draw your attention to another option, entirely viable, and entirely up to you. We can connect with each other. We can establish personal and professional relationships which enrich our current condition. Rather than be isolated by the power of our pocketbooks, we can be connected by the generosity of our hearts, minds, and souls.
I want to give an example of what being connected to you, my unseen and unknown friend(s) out there in Digital Wonderland, what your connection means to me.
Connectivism is Sharing - freely
1. As a new manager (Head of an English department), I have a learning curve. No matter how many books I read, there are going to be some novel situations that challenge me. This is simply because everything can’t be predicted, can’t be anticipated, can’t be prepared for in advance. Let’s face it, that’s just the way it is.
So, what can I do when I don’t know what to do? Yes, you are right. I can turn to you. You can advise me, recommend alternatives, and then step back to let me take responsibility for my choices, and for the outcomes. And more often than not, your advice is already available, in advance of me needing it.
In the case of my management concerns, an excellent presentation was given at IATEFL 2011 in Brighton. It was filmed, and stored on-line, where all I had to do was, quite simply, take advantage of it. And almost as if to add more value, the entire video came with a 67 page “handout”.
And the presentation itself was made by a gentleman with 15 years experience as Director of TESOL studies at a prestigious university. I speak of Mr. Stephen Heap, from ICTE-University of Queensland, Australia. The presentation was entitled, “Performance Management and Appraisal for Teachers”.
Let me emphasize that I got all of this for nothing. No charge. No user fees. Free. Completely and totally, absolutely free.
Connectivism, on the one hand, and my global PLN, on the other, made this possible. I got access to an excellent resource, to use as it fits within my context.
So, like any good connectivist, I did the following:
Aggregate: Collect a resource.
Repurpose: Adapt for my needs.
Re-mix: Improve on what I have received.
Feed it forward: Share with you.
And now, what am I doing? I’m feeding it forward to you. Yet there is one tiny caveat that needs to be looked at. Did I really get this info – this valuable resource – for free?
If I give nothing in return, share nothing, simply use my PLN for my own benefit, is this system, a good system?
Is my being connected, having a PLN and at the same time being a member of your PLN, any good, if I give nothing back to you?
The answer, of course, is “No”. And that explains my blog, my Facebook page, my Twitter account, my LinkedIn account, my entire digital “footprint”. I use all of these connections to share with you. Free resources, free materials, free Power Points, free Prezi’s, free whatever’s, I can and will share with you.
To sum this all up, we can say: “You have to give a little, to get a little.” Which is why I had a good feeling as I happily watched Stephen’s presentation, and afterwards downloaded his free 67 page handout.
Cave Man and Fire
I encourage you to follow Stephen’s example. Share with your colleagues, and they will share with you.
Is this a new Renaissance? A Rebirth, a Reawakening of our collective intellect? No, I don’t think so.
I don’t think we are overthrowing the system, we are not being revolutionaries, and we are not even close to being transformational.
Being connected, and a member of a PLN, simply reflects one aspect of human behaviour that has been around since the dawn of time: Sharing is good for everyone. As a matter of fact, it was one of the first things I learned in kindergarden, so many years ago. Share.
Can you imagine a world in which the first person with the secret of fire, for example, decided NOT to share with anyone?
Mankind wouldn’t have come very far if such a person had existed, and then, died with the secret…
The connectivist way is the way we’ve always done things: Aggregate, Re-Purpose, Re-Mix, Feed it forward. Share!
Happy Easter to everyone…
