A learner is like an ant -- Connectivism in learning

      Connectivism is a learning theory based on the acknowledge than knowledge exists in the world rather than in the heads of individuals. People learn through contact and interaction. In the digital age, people can learn from others via internet, which accelerates the speed of knowledge transmition as well as the obsoleteness of knowledge.

      A learner is like an ant, which cannot live without community. Ants work together, exchange information and have clear allocation of jobs: the queen gives birth to babies, some ants go out and find food, some take care of babies and some guard the nest. As Siemens (2005) pointed in the article that Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing. I experienced the advantage of collectivism in learning. As we all know that TOFEL test is computer-based, and some of the exercises may exist first in the test in States and then in China. We have a forum that students who take the test in States would post the exercises on the internet by memorizing them and students in China can learn about it. And students exchange experience about how to practice writing, listening, reading and speaking. I found I made greater progress after I entered the forum and studied with others.
      In the vedio, Semens said that The learners themselves, the connections they formed each other, the connections they formed databases with other sources of knowledge is really the primary point of learning. Nowadays, people will search on the internet for solutions to problems. That's why Yahoo questions is so popular in the States and Baidu answers is popular in China. People go to online forum for suggestions about job interview, and even about how to chase a girl. In a word, in today's world, in the digital age, people will rely more and more on internet and they learn through contact and interaction via the internet.

Connectivism:A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
The Changing Nature of Knowledge