This presentation synthesizes the external knowledge networks of connectivism with internal meaning-making of existentialism. This syncretistic approach has valuable application to teaching and learning in an online environment. The presentation will explore main principles of connectivism and existentialism, present possible incompatibilities, and draw connections between the theories with support from research literature, experience, and examples, arriving at a new syncretized learning theory. We live in a time when there is an overwhelming volume of information online. The currency of this information is almost immediate and the breadth is expansive. There are also numerous channels to access information. Social networking and the read/write web is one aspect of online activity and content. So too are aggregated content and data, tagging, "crowdsourcing," linking, searching, static web pages, and corporate sites. These content-filled environments are also populated with people and their opinions and influence; to navigate these environments one requires not only a methodology for seeking relevant information within networks, but also the internal motivation and ability to apply personal meaning to this knowledge. Both connectivism and existentialism emphasize freedom, decision-making, and self-directed learning. Both advocate a reappraisal of conventional authoritarian roles. And both theories acknowledge the significance of randomness, relationships, and experience. The theories differ in the sense that connectivism offers an epistemological approach to finding knowledge in networks, whereas existentialism promotes personal meaning-making and self-definition. These distinctions may not necessarily be incompatible. In fact, they may be compatible and even complementary, combining into a syncretized theory of learning that empowers students to make decisions about how they interact with content and each other in an online learning environment. Online learning is a particularly suitable environment to illustrate the parallels between connectivism, existentialism, and other learning theories because it is a platform in which networks and associations between content can be physically represented with hyperlinks, multimedia, and mashed-up content. It is also a learning environment in which the students are often a self-selected cohort of independent and self-motivated learners. A survey of research literature supports the compatibility of connectivist learning with existential meaning-making, although a direct synthesis between the two theories has not yet been published. In the presentation, examples and citations from research literature as well as other literature, criticism, and media will illustrate the syncretization of theories. Participants will receive an annotated bibliography handout of this literature and media and will be encouraged to explore these topics on their own and add to the list-- each participant will be invited to contribute to the online bibliography in a collaborative Google doc. In an online course called Information, Computers, and Society, Leif Nelson applied the combined principles of connectivism and existentialism as well as other theories in the design and delivery of the online instruction. Students were offered choices about assignments. Students were encouraged to explore content, and they were given optional readings and learning activities. Discussions promoted student-student engagement and dialectical discourse. Reflection activities encouraged students to apply personal meaning to the content and knowledge. The arrangement of content topics in the course modeled a narrative of coherence, connecting topics with both strong and weak ties. This session is targeted at multiple audiences. Participants will be intellectually challenged, and they will gain a fresh philosophical perspective on the relationship between knowledge and meaning in online learning environments. Participants will have a better understanding of the practical applications of connectivist, existentialist, and other theories in an online format. During the session, participants will play an icebreaker-type game which demonstrates the relationship between connective knowledge and meaningful personal interactions.
