A learner is like a...

A learner is like a resource manager. (I struggled with coming up with something creative, but I'll do my best to justify it). In the past, the resources available to students were limited and slow to receive. Students had to rely on those around them and text knowledge to obtain information and they could share it only as far as their classroom or community. Learning happened primarily in the classroom and it was limited in what was made available to the students.

However, with the multitude of technologies made available to students now, they have the ability to find resources from all over the world, pan through them and select what they want, and contribute whatever they please back into the world wide web. In his video "The Changing Nature of Knowledge", George Siemens states that "The connections [students] form with each other, the connections [students] form with databases, with other sources of knowledge is really the primary source of learning." In other words, learning is no longer about what happens in class but is instead focused on students' management of the resources around them and the networks with which they involve themselves. Students have a much more interactive role in the learning process and they have the ability to choose just how involved they wish to become and how to do so. Because the resources and networks made available to students are essentially limitless, so are learning opportunities. The connectivity of our world opens many doors to students and it is their responsibility to determine how involved they want to become in the learning process, to determine how to do so, and to make it happen.

As Siemens noted in his 2005 article: Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, "New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical." In this way, I believe that a lot of the "managing" comes into play. Students have many resources that are available to them and they know how to access each. However, what is most important is their ability to understand the value and importance of the information that they receive because learning is a life-long process and students' participation in that process is what most determines how successful in the long run.