Introduction
Networked learning and Connectivism
Methodology
Participants
Namea | Gender | Age | Field of Study | GPAb | Tasks Completedc | Length (in days) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weaam | F | 22 | Pharmacy | 87.95 | 10 | 30 |
M. AbuNour | M | 20 | Public Relations | 76.20 | 1 | 46 |
K. AbuNour | M | Information Security | 0 | 0 | ||
Khaled W. | M | 21 | Share’a and Law | 76.80 | 10 | 194 |
Khaled D. | M | 19 | Journalism | 81.50 | 10 | 183 |
Talla | F | 19 | English Literature | 82.70 | 10 | 87 |
Sabha | F | 21 | Education | 85.50 | 10 | 82 |
M. Musharawi | M | Share’a and Law | 0 | 8 | ||
Redaa | F | 20 | Science Education | 93.6 | 10 | 24 |
Salwa | F | Science Education | 0 | 31 | ||
Neran | F | 21 | Math Education | 80.74 | 10 | 37 |
Khoula | F | 21 | Math Education | 82.00 | 0 | 7 |
Nawal | F | 28 | Arabic Literature | 93.25 | 10 | 51 |
Khaled A. | M | English Literature | 0 | 11 | ||
Amal | F | 21 | Math Education | 80.50 | 10 | 42 |
Data collection tools
Analysis
Results
Internal (80) | Cognitive processes (34) | |||
Writing (46) | ||||
External (347) | Internet Search (169) | Laptop or Desktop (133) | ||
Mobile (36) | ||||
Ask People (139) | Face-to-Face (48) | Friends (9) | ||
Family members (26) | ||||
Teachers (13) | ||||
Online (91) | Email (2) | |||
WhatsApp (10) | Friends (9) | |||
Teacher (1) | ||||
Facebook Messenger (57) | Researcher (6) | |||
Friends (26) | ||||
Family members (7) | ||||
Teachers (18) | ||||
Facebook Groups/Pages (19) | ||||
Skype call (3) | ||||
Paper resource (30) | ||||
Digital Resource (9) | ||||
Give up (7) |
Connection forming
Amal: [long period of silence while clicking on the next page of searching results]
Researcher: Please tell me what was in your mind.
Amal: Actually, at that moment, I wasn’t looking at those links [the searching result on the screen], not even one of them; I was thinking if I should proceed like this. What are you doing [Talking to herself]? Go and think of other option.
Researcher: Aha.
The learner decides to stay or to leave the node during the evaluating stage. If the learner has decided to leave the node, typically the next step is to search for another node to connect to. The decision of leaving the node resides in the evaluation stage but searching for alternative nodes resides in the next planning phase (see Fig. 1).Amal: I wasn’t convinced so much of what I am doing. I thought it was unlikely that this [search] would give me a result. It is not even logical to continue in that way. It is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Planning and forethought stage
Self-Efficacy | Eligibility | Feasibility |
---|---|---|
High Self-efficacy | Authority | Ease of Use |
Low Self-Efficacy | Recommended Resource | Relatedness |
Usefulness | ||
potentiality | ||
Remaining Resource |
Self-efficacy
Talla: But the thing [the task] is very hard for me. I can’t solve it.
Researcher: I would like to remind you again, there is no constraints on how you solve the task. All doors are opened for you. You can refer to any resource you wish.
Talla: Of course, I am going to ask someone else but if I am going to cover all [missing] text myself, it would be very difficult.
Researcher: I want you to tell me in more detail. When you started writing, haven’t you think to gather information from the internet or other resources? Or have you just been satisfied with your personal experience?
Talla: Yes, I was satisfied with my own experience and it is also because I have long experience in writing [similar topics]. So, I have good information about the subject.
Eligibility of the resource
Nawal: The book was in my own library and I studied it previously [at university]. I went directly to the chapter in which I thought the information most probably would be. I found some names there.
Weaam: Here, I wasn’t really convinced when I was writing the keywords – ‘writing scientific article about citrus: benefits and harmful effects’ [the text she put in the search text box]. I mean, I wasn’t convinced that I will find what I was searching for; I was just trying.
Sabha: My friend left me alone. She told me: “Proceed by yourself”. But I felt that it is very hard for me. Anyway, at night, I wrote the shown parts of the story on paper.
Researcher: Can you tell me how you wrote it? I mean, did you open your laptop to copy the story?
Sabha: No, I copied it from my mobile. I began to write. And then, my brother came back home and saved me.
Feasibility of the resource
Neran: I was thinking to visit the academics in Arabic Literature department in regarding the question but [in a weak voice] I eventually decided not to go.
Researcher: Why did you decide that? Is it because you didn’t have enough time or because the librarian didn’t help you [in the previous step]?
Neran: Oh, umm… [pause]
Researcher: Don’t be afraid, I am here to listen.
Neran: Actually, I have a perception that academics are not cooperative. I am sure they would have known the answer if I had a chance to ask them, but they will not cooperate with me, I know.
Discussion and conclusions
Siemens (2005) also classified planning and forethought processes as Meta-Cognition skills in that he affirmed “The need to evaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is applied before learning itself begins” (p. 2).“Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision” (Siemens, 2005, p. 4).
Researcher: Ok, after you went to your professor and she recommended you borrow a book from the university’s library, what did you do?
Amal: I thought to follow her recommendation, but I changed my mind. I remembered that [paper] books are not easy to copy from. If I found the right book, should I copy the text by hand?
Researcher: Aha.
In this excerpt, Amal eliminated paper books because she perceived them as hard to copy from, and chose digital books instead because she perceived them as easy to search and copy from. Concentrating solely on why Amal chose the digital resource (ease of use) diminishes the opportunity to understand why she eliminated the paper resource (hard of use). Her decision was, in fact, a combination of her perceptions of all possible nodes (the ease of e-book, the hardness of paper book, and maybe undeclared perceptions about other nodes). Of special note here is that the participants hold two kinds of perceptions about any node: one that is manifested as the reason for choosing the node, and the other is manifested as the reason for excluding the node. The factors reported earlier in the current study show only half of the story: why the participants in this experiment selected each node. However, for a broader picture, future studies should ask the participants both why and why not they selected each node.Amal: So, I decided to search for eBooks instead. eBooks are easy to search and easy to copy-and-paste from.
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The number of nodes surrounding someone limits or increases his/her potential choices.
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The previous assumptions or perceptions about each node determine if one is going to include or exclude the node from his/her choices.
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Three main assumptions were reported as the main factors steering the learner’s choice of nodes in the learning networks: self-efficacy, eligibility, and feasibility of the resource.
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The reasons why a node is selected do not inform us of why the node is not selected.
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Returning to the same node is a possible choice, depending on one’s perceptions about the node.
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The planning process is one of the students’ Meta-Cognition activities.