konnektivisme | mnr.muller
Tag Archives: konnektivisme
Posted on Maart 9, 2011 by mnr.muller
Die pa wys na my en sê: “Kyk die snaakse oom! Kyk, hy is ook bang vir die water.”
Posted on November 2, 2009 by mnr.muller
Ek dink om ‘n goeie onderwyser te wees, moet jy kan connect met ‘n kind op sy/haar vlak.
So stap ek nog op die strand, moeg en warm van balgooi vir ‘n paaltjiewagterknaap, verby ‘n pa met ‘n peuter wat skree. Hy probeer sy bes. Paai sy dogtertjie wat om die dood toe nie met haar voete aan die watermassa wil raak nie.
Laat los hy; laat spaander sy: hulle mossel aan mekaar vas.
Ek kyk en besluit hier moet ek help!
Stadig sluipvoet ek oordrewe nader aan die terugtrekkende brander, sodat sy nie anders kan as om na my te kyk nie.
Nes die volgende brandertjie beginne breek, draai ek beangs om en hardloop met slow motion trekke op my gesig wég van die dreigende gevaar!
Die dogtertjie lag!
Ek frons en loer wantrouig die brander agterna. Sy kyk hom ook, stip.
Soos die skuimerige waterslym slu terugtrek, mimiekvoet ek wéér sluip-sluip agterna, nuuskierig…
Maar die oomblik toe die volgende spoegbrander breek, rukbewe ek, vries verskrik botstil – en draai weer volspoed bitterstadig om, met hoë knieë en bang treë stadig volspoed sagtesand se kant toe. Sjoe!
Die dogtertjie skater!
Reg, ek het geconnect. Nou vir die les.
Ek frommel my gesig in ‘n duisend plooie. Asem ‘n mond vol Wolraad Woltemade in. Stap met reghoekige elmboë swaaiend bo my ken. Dawerend die noodlot trompop tegemoet! Basta met bangwees!
Dapper kyk sy agterna hoe ek dapper haar vrees invaar, en klou dapper aan haar dapper pappa se hand.
Haar pa hou sy asem op.
Sy kyk my na.
Selfs omstanders staan stil.
En soos die witskuim rol, draai ek amper-amper om – ek weet sy weet ek wil weg, maar ek weet sy weet ek moet in – en wrik waagmoedig terug. (Pot)sierlik – net-net vroegbetyds enkelhoog op SPRING ek – met ‘n glimlag breed soos dié van ‘n nar – …en land pabloems! in die water, mond waterwyd oop!
Sy is verstom!
En tóé begin ek dáns soos ‘n watermakranka en spat-spot rond-en-grond in die water. Haai, haai, joegaai! Luidrugtig gaan ek tekere sonder om ‘n klank te maak.
Sy is oorstelp! In haar -g-a-n-s-e- lewe het sy nog nooit so iets gesien nie. Maar die punt is, sy glo die leuen. Sy glo die les. Van oor-tot-oor glo sy my. As hierdie snaakse omie kan…
Ek glimlag breed en groet gul, sonder ‘n woord.
En ná ‘n paar treë se aanstap, netmooi ver genoeg dat ek weet hulle my nie meer sou nástaar nie, loerkyk ek vir ‘n oomblik om:
Die krulletjieskopkind los haar pa se hand… beur braaf-braaf branders toe… en spring pabloems! die bangmaakwater plat!
Pappa voel-soek in sy sakke, kry sy selfoon en neem ‘n klinkklare kiekie van sy klein waternimf: hoe sy verspot, met hoë harlekynknieë, in die water dans!
En ek stap rustig aan.
Filed under Klasgee, Lewendood, Woordwerke and tagged dans, konnektivisme, krulkop, mimiek, see, strand, waternimf |	19 Kommentaar
Closing the student learning loop (after an IR conference in PE)
Posted on September 23, 2009 by mnr.muller
I have just returned from the annual Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR) conference. It was held in The Friendly – as well as The Windy – City of Port Elizabeth, at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) campus.
As conferences go, it followed the typical pattern: a keynote speaker opening the day, followed by speakers from different institutions (universities) delivering papers on their recent research findings, followed by tea, more speakers, lunch, some more speakers, tea, and an evening excursion, (Monday evening a boat ride in the harbour; yesterday a game drive in the Kragga Kamma Game park), followed by dinners.
The theme of the conference was Closing the Loop.
Even as a novice in the field I really enjoyed the variety of topics ranging from closing the quality assurance loops (departmental evaluations and programme reviews) to measuring graduate employability as an indicator of institutional effectiveness.
Yeah, I know – it might sound a bit boring, but you really do get insight into the Southern African Higher Education sector if a representative from Umalusi presents A comparative evaluation of the Senior Certificate curricula. I especially enjoyed my colleague, dr Gert Steyn’s presentation on Measuring student participation in higher education with special repeference to South Africa. (I will put the links in when the powerpoints are uploaded to the SAAIR website.)
What was most interesting to me was that, at the end of the conference when the keynote speakers and chair led a panel discussion, they came to the conclusion that institutional research (IR) actually cuts across the borders of institutions and could indeed in a sense be referred to as connectivity research.
This made me think. Since recently becoming aware of a learning theory called connectivism, I now like the idea of connectivity and creating connections/promoting lateral thinking. It provides a construct for the way in which we learn: through neuron connections we create/construct within our brains. It also provides us with a construct for the way in which we should teach/act as knowledge partners.
Thinking of IR divisions at universities which convert knowledge (raw data e.g. student enrolment figures) into meaningful information (business intelligence) to inform action (insight for decision-making)… made me realise that IR personnel are in fact teachers who need to strategically facilitate learning to all managers and decision-makers at universities (academic and administrative colleagues).
Connectivism therefore, I think, may provide a useful paradigm for assessing the effectiveness of the business intelligence reports we produce.
According to constructivist and connectivist learning theories, lecture formats (such as the way in which the papers were presented) are not the most effective teaching methods for promoting student learning. If you go to a conference, sit passively and dose off every second powerpoint slide, you will be none the wiser afterwards. Students (conference goers) need to talk too, share ideas, integrate diverse opinions and reflect on the learning that takes place.
For me this happened in the evenings when we debriefed in our guest house and chatted informally over coffee, tea and a decanter filled with sherry. I really only learned something – or realised what I had learnt – after a couple of sherries with our American guests, Rick and Alice Voorhees of the Voorhees Group. (Read his blog at http://voorheesgroup.org/wordpress/)
And according to constructivist and connectivist learning theories one needs to reflect about one’s learning for learning to truly take place.
Thus, by writing this blog, I am closing my IR learning loop (…or maybe rather, swinging my learning lasso).
Connectivism also explains the mistakes we make: the connections we incorrectly create between unrelated matters. Haha, that may just be the case with this post! Do you think IR and learning theories are in any way connected?
Filed under Klasgee and tagged closing the loop, connectivism, constructivism, institusionele navorsing, institutional research, konnektivisme, konstruktivisme, Port Elizabeth, SAAIR, SAAIR 2009 conference, Voorhees |	1 Kommentaar
Konnektivisme: ’n nuwe leerteorie
Posted on Maart 18, 2009 by mnr.muller
Ek is besig om op te lees oor konnektivisme – ‘n leerteorie wat kortweg sê dat die skep van kennis as nodusse en netwerke voorgestel kan word.
Dit is dus ‘n verfyning van konstruktivisme, wat sê dat leerders self kenniskonstrukte skep. Die nuwe -isme beskryf in verdere detail hoe die konstrukte (op neuronvlak) lyk – en beperk “leer” nie net tot lewende organismes nie. Ook verreken hulle die uitwerking wat tegnologie op (informele) leerprosesse het.
(Die konstruktivistiese leerteorieë het op hulle beurt weer behaviorisme uitgebrei, wat leer d.m.v. kondisionering aangeprys het.)
Vanuit ‘n artikel deur George Siemens http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm is die volgende leertendense en -beskouïnge vandag relevant:
Die uitgangspunte van konnektivisme is:
Ek hoor graag wat julle hieroor dink. Veral my ingenieursvriende en ouens wat spesifiek met netwerke (en wiskundige modulasies daarvan) werk. Intussen lees en wonder ek verder.
Miskien is ‘n beter vertaling: verbintenisme?
Filed under Klasgee and tagged konnektivisme, konstruktivisme, leerteorie |	4 Kommentaar