I have just been taking a look at George Siemens ideas about connectivism on his blog. There are some interesting ideas here about the way that peolpe are perceived to learn. I particularly like the idea of giving each student a blog which is aggregated with something like bloglines so the the tutor can see how the students are developing and adapt the course/session accordingly. Interestingly although it comments on the advantages of the students seeing the ideas of their peers I still get a feeling of tutor control rather than the students be let go to find and evaluate their own material, as in the ideas of Stepen Downes (see previous blog entry).
On reflection perhaps students need to go through a supported phase where material is supplied for them so that they can build up their experience, expertise and confidence enough to “have a go themselves”.
I totally agree with George’s comments that a VLE is a backward step and causes more problems than it solves. Of course the question is how do we get away from our manager’s desire to control everything?
