The Velcro Ball

A learner is like a Velcro ball. Each hook of Velcro linking itself to a network. The more Velcro hooks the more links that are able to be made about a certain topic. To stay current the hooks reach out for more networks and have the ability to move away from others when they have become obsolete. This is important because “what we know today is not as important as our ability to stay current” according to George Siemens in his YouTube video “The network is the learning”. As a rolling Velcro ball the ball is able to change its networks.

In the article Connectivism: A learning Theory for the Digital Age, Siemens also points out that “the starting point of connectivism is the individual”, in this case the ball. The Velcro represents the “Personal knowledge” which then hooks itself into other networks making it part of its own network. In turn part of the other network which makes the learning environment reciprocal. Being a ball with hooks, a Velcro ball, the learner can connect itself to many networks all at once in many different directions. Being connected to so many networks at once allows the learner to be a part of what is current in the world and stay current as time progresses. Just don’t forget to roll around on occasion.