A learner is like knitting a scarf...

      I know, I know. My analogy is strange but knitting is a part of my life and so is learning. Let me explain my reasoning. As I read A Learning Theory for the Digital Age , I thought about the "digital age" and the way we spend our spare time.  When people see me knitting, they look at me with this strange look as if to say "Girl, you are 26 years old and you knit?!" For me it is a break from the "digital age". It is a break from a screen in front of me. When people look at my husband's cell phone they act like he lives in the stone age. "A flip phone, really?" We are constantly measured in decades as the article says. As a "knitter of today" I feel that I am outnumbered by the "non-knitters" of today. As a "terrible user of technology of today", I feel as though I really am a learner of today. I learn about technology every day from my students. I add layers to my "technology scarf" every week. My knowledge grows and grows. Just like my knowledge, the scarf or blanket that I am knitting grows and grows. Each stitch that goes together is like the knowledge that the learner gains. In the video, The Changing Nature of Knowledge, the development of knowledge is discussed. We are all a part of a wider network. Our mind is part of a neuro-network. The external network is when we connect with other individuals and other sources of knowledge. Each piece is like a stitch on a scarf. 
     When I first started to knit I was in the ninth grade. My scarf was made from chunky, thick, multi-colored yarn and I was so excited to start it. I worked on it at my knitting club with all of my friends and when I got home I couldn't put it down. I was so enthralled with learning something new and creating this scarf. As I knit by myself, I noticed that my scarf was getting wider and wider... and messier and messier. What was I doing differently? Why wasn't this working like it had an hour ago? I swear I had it. 
     Many times I think that this is what happens when my students learn something in class but get home to practice and are too distracted by other things, or simply have forgotten how to conjugate those darn verbs!
      Just like there are many ways to learn things, there are many ways to knit things as well. A long time ago when I started to knit I thought that I could never learn how to do something so complex and time consuming, but it came to me very quickly. In the article it says that "knowledge is an objective that is attainable." This piece of knowledge was definitely attainable for me and I am so glad that it is a part of my life. 
         As I continued to read the article I thought that the definition of "constructivism" was very interesting. "Constructivism suggests that learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences." I believe that we all create knowledge and begin to understand new experiences throughout our lives. I believe that this process happens each and every day. This is exactly what happens as I knit a scarf or blanket  or sweater. 
       The article also states that "Constructivist principles acknowledge that real-life learning is messy and complex. Classrooms which emulate the “fuzziness” of this learning will be more effective in preparing learners for life-long learning." In real life, my knitting is messy. I am constantly making a mistake, reflecting on my mistake, pulling out the stitches and moving forward with what I am making. This messiness seems to happen in my classroom as well. For example, I have three classes of level three Spanish this year and I have noticed that I might make a mistake in my first class or skip over something, or a student might bring up a great point and I take all of these things and make my next class better and by my third class of the day, I have reflected so much and tweaked things just enough to make it a perfect lesson. (Sometimes, I get it on the first try, but who doesn't do things better the third time, right?)
    When the article discusses connectivism, I thought about each stitch and how it is connected to the next. Just like the theory states that it is "important to see connections between fields and ideas." If we aren't knitting our theories, ideas, and lessons together, we aren't creating that beautiful product at the end. "The starting point of connectivism is the individual. Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual. This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed."
    Learners of today have a huge advantage over those old "knitters". We have screens full of information that can lead us to the next source of information that we need. We are constantly connecting with another "stitch". 
Thanks for reading and trying to follow my analogy. 
Alissa