Blogging and learning

Will Richardson at Weblogg-ed – The Read/Write Web in the Classroom has posted a reflection in which he brings together recent posts by George Siemens and Barbara Ganley.

The Siemens post that he cites offers some explanation of connectivism as a theory of learning, distinct from other theories such as constructivism. Connectivism does not replace other modes of learning but Siemens makes the point that, although we are not always constructing meaning, we are increasingly connected continually. This needs to make a difference to how we operate as educators.

The Ganley post makes an argument for much of what students write being accessible at every stage of development. The value for learning lies in the connection to what is being learned in and out of the classroom.

There seems to be some significant food for thought in this as we look towards adopting some of these tools with our students.