George Siemens joined me for an interview about Connectivism, a theory about learning that draws on network theory, social networking, and social constructivism among other things. This interview discusses what connectivism is and where it came from, as well as its unique features and applications to education.
I was producing this for my class on Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology, but I know it deserves a much wider audience. George was his usual articulate self, and he gave a sparkling overview of connectivism in this 25 minute video. It’s just talking head video captured from a Skype conversation — two talking heads as a matter of fact — but his ideas are rich, and it’s always nice to see the person behind the ideas. I could listen to this guy all day long.
Don’t be distracted by the 30 seconds when I moved the video out of the screen capture space.
ETAD Café Canadien 
Rick, thank you for sharing this very insightful interview. All questions were spot on.
I would encourage all interested people not to miss especially George’s suggestions for educators starting around 15:00.
Thanks, David and Stylianos for the comments. I agree. George is really doing the heavy theoretical lifting right now to sort out the meaning of being connected and connective.
Sorry it took so long to see your comments and approve them. I was distracted with some other things, and only noticed them today.
Thanks George for this excellent explanation on what connectivism is. Being a teacher for
more than 23 years, I fully agree with your ideas, mission and vision. The challenges
ahead include: how to integrate those informal learning into formal learning framework, how to conduct research
using network learning (emphasis on collective wisdom rather than individual achievement),
how to recognise output on a collective basis rather individual basis (though individual
recognition may be the primary motivation. How to encourage more people to embrace and
integrate the pathway of network learning in both institutional education and informal network,
to explore the real world, and not being complacent with the current state of knowledge.
How to guide and lead this “movement” or “paradigm shift” – through the concerted efforts
of all stakeholders:government, educational institutions, formal and informal communities etc.
institution – Universities, Colleges, Schools, communities
Hi Rick
Thank you for posting this truly inspiring interview. I keep returning to it again and again. Our team have used the concepts espoused in the interview to underpin the development of a website for educators as part of our Masters of Education/Learning Innovation studies. The website is in early development and requires significant refinement. But hopefully the work we do will help motivate teachers to create a paradigm shift in educational practice in our part of the world.