Thread by @andrewjtagg

So let's start with a little bit of theory... #Edtech2020

"...learning takes place through activity, mediated by others" (Vygotsky 1980)

And so, just by reading and interacting with this thread, you are learning something (very meta!)

bit.ly/Vygotsky1980

Even before the internet existed, Ilich (1972) dreamt of a world "where educational systems are comprised of networks... where learners can access knowledge at any time."

Sounds very much like what we have today.

Twitter allows for the creation of a modern iteration of Lave and Wengers (1991) communities of practice

bit.ly/LaveWenger1991

This is the virtual Community of Practice (vCOP)

To learn more about vCOPs then read this great paper from the team @sim_podcast - @symon_ben @Inject_Orange and @SocraticEM

bit.ly/VirtualCOP

The best thing, IMHO, about vCOPs is that they are unbound by geography, institution, or hierarchy.

Sometimes you only realize what this realy means this once you ask a question out loud.

Once, I got stuck with the analysis of paper during my stats module, so I messaged the author, Kenji Inaba, and got a response with his statistician looped in, within 24 hrs

These vCOPs may grow organically or cluster around a specific hashtag (@jeffpcarpenter et al. 2017) such as #MedEd #EdTech2020, and my favourite #DFTBLive

bit.ly/Carpenter2017

Hashtags function as an 'affinity space' where likeminded individuals gather around a common nexus (@jamespaulgee 2004)

bit.ly/Gee2004

Learning takes place as part of the collective consciousness rather than as a function of the individual.

There are parallels between the core tenets of social constructivism and connectivism.

Anyone can consume (or produce content)

Knowledge is not held by any one person but also in non-human objects

And interaction with the network can change the information that flows through it. (@gsiemens 2005; @Downes 2010)

bit.ly/Siemens2005
bit.ly/Downes2010

If knowledge is a product of the flow of information through connected nodes then, is this the ideal interface? Or is there something better?

No one person can know everything but we learn from the shared experiences of others - for good or bad (Kolb 1984)

Technology blurs the lines between student and teacher and, over time, three different relations appear (@LineDube et al 2005)

The Learner - Teacher
The Learner - Learner
The Teacher - Learner

bit.ly/Dube2005

Next time, we'll explore the place of the learner on Twitter for #edtech2020