CoP, PLN, and Connectivity

Reptiles 1934 Lithograph   

 I have had the pleasure of teaching Math for the last 11 years and have found some interesting connection between Math and Art.  One of these connection is the artist M C Escher.   Escher’s drawing Reptiles yells PLN to me.   Which is defined as n. – the entire collection of people with whom you engage and exchange information, usually online.

These reptiles are jumping into their PLN group to get information and then out again and repeating this action.  How many times a day do we reach out to our PLN via email, Facebook, or Twitter?

Swans 1965 wood engraving

These swans flocking together is what a CoP looks like to me.  Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. (Wenger circa 2007)  What could be more of a community than a flock of birds working together and learning from each other.

Bond of union 1965 lithograph.

Thanks to the internet we are now more connected to each other than ever. George Siemens said “Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking.”  Our thoughts and actions are now on the internet for everyone to see.  This allows us to use each other’s knowledge.

Siemens, George Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

Wenger, Etienne (c 2007) ‘Communities of practice. A brief introduction’.Communities of practice