Cognitivism and Connectivism

Cognitivism
Cognitivism places importance on thought processes and acquiring information. Mental processes are shaped by our experiences. This shapes how we process new information. Social Cognitivism states the learner is an active participant in learning and motivation plays a strong role.

Cognitive load is the amount of effort it takes to process something in working memory. Working memory holds 5-9 items of information at a time (Atkinson and Shiffrin "Human Memory" - 1968) so it's important to reduce cognitive load:

Break content into smaller segments
Use a combination of audio and visual communication
Omit non-essential information
Place words near the corresponding imagery

Connectivism

In Connectivism, digital technology expands our network of tools, resources, and people when learning. Learners must think critically when choosing information sources. Constructivism and Connectivism both take social and cultural influences into account.

Personal Experience

At age 14, I wanted to build my own website so I used Connectivism to learn HTML code. I searched Ask.com (Ask Jeeves) for HTML tutorials. I used HTMLgoodies.com for tutorials, Notepad for typing code, and Internet Explorer for testing/debugging.

The sites also used Cognitivism, reducing cognitive load with bite-sized segments for learning technical knowledge with ease. Tutorial images were placed beside corresponding text. All of this built self-efficacy.

Learn more in my blog post about Connectivism and Cognitivism.

References:

Jonesrebandt, Erin. (Oct. 22, 2013).  Connectivism [video file]
     Retrieved from https://youtube /cFCYjm6nf40

MacLeod, Saul. (2016). Bandura - Social Learning Theory.
     Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Siemans, George (2005). "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age"
     Retrieved from  http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/ article01.htm

Atkinson and Shiffrin. (1968)."Human Memory".

Guyan, Matthew. (2013, November 1). "5 Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in eLearning".

Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/5-ways-to-reduce-cognitive-load-in-elearning