Saturday, September 6, 2008

Connectivism

Many of the points that George Siemen's makes in his article regarding organizational learning rang true to me. The principles of connectivism such as: "Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinion" and "Nuturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning" are key points that I have been thinking, as I have been brainstorming ways that web tools could be used in organizational learning. 

For example, as I was discussing wikis with a colleague this week, he considered that one way to use a wiki would be as a change management tool; a way for change targets (those responsible or implementing a change) to communicate back to the change initiators (generally the high level managers), allowing for continous feedback and improvement during all stages of a change process. Organizations who do not catch on to this concept are doomed to be less competitive with products, services and retaining staff. I am also preoccupied with the idea of figuring out a way for the trainers in my organization to break out of their departmental silos by working on  connections between the trainersthrough use of how-to wikis and online trainer networks, as Siemens noted "...knowledge rests in diversity of opinion" and we can't get the diversity if we don't connect the trainer nodes. 

1 comment:

Marshall said...

Lilley --
I have tried several times at work--with no success-to develop Communities of Practice using various web tools. But I have found the problem is more the culture than the technology. I would be really interested in any success you have with the trainers in your company