1. COMPARATIVE CHART<br />CONNECTIVISMCHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory)Connectivism is a theory describing how learning happens in a digital age.Connectivism is a theoretical framework for understanding learning. In connectivism, the starting point for learning occurs when knowledge is actuated through the process of a learner connecting to and feeding information into a learning community (Kop and Hill, 2008)Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.A learning community is described as a node, which is always part of a larger network. Nodes arise out of the connection points that are found on a network. A network is comprised of two or more nodes linked in order to share resources.CHAT was developed by cognitive psychologists. Their focus is on how we develop understandings of the real world, draw meanings from that understanding, create learnings from those meanings and are motivated to respond to those learnings. These cognitive “mental models” correspond to how we think about the real world and engage with it, not necessarily how the world actually works in a physical or biological sense. CONNECTIVISMCHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory)Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, complexity, and self-organization theories Principles of connectivism:Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. Learning may reside in non-human appliances. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.CHAT based inquiry combines three components:A systems component – that helps us to construct meanings from situationsA learning component – a method of learning from those meanings A developmental component – that allows us to expand those meanings towards action.CONNECTIVISMCHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory)Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual.Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.Connectivism also addresses the challenges that many corporations face in knowledge management activities. Knowledge that resides in a database needs to be connected with the right people in the right context in order to be classified as learning. Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism do notattempt to address the challenges of organizational knowledge and transference.These three components are constructed from seven basic propositions. Out of each proposition flows a set of evaluative questions that we can pose of the real world.Proposition One – The Fundamental PropositionActivity Theory is based on the proposition that learning is a social and cultural process not simply a biological process.Proposition Two‘Activity’ is what happens when human beings operate on their environment in order to satisfy a needs state. The needs we are seeking to satisfy is the motive for the activity and is what makes sense of what is happening rather than the actions we are undertaking.Proposition ThreeInformation must flow through the activity system in order for the desired result to be achieved.CONNECTIVISMCHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory)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.Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity. How people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. The field of education has been slow to recognize both the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes in what it means to learn. Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era.Proposition FourWe use tools to manipulate our environment and to get information from the environment. The tools (ex. Language, books, computers) we use mediate (or shape) the way we do the work. Proposition FiveThe human systems – social, cultural and organizational – within which we work, also mediate the ways in which we conduct our activities. It is not only the tools we use that shape how we approach our work. Humans are social beings, and mostly we have to come together in some form of organization to undertake the activities that will meet our needs.Proposition Six – The Learning PropositionWhen the tools, rules, community and organization operate as expected those within an activity system proceed by conducting standardized tasks with predictable results. But the system will often be interrupted by unanticipated events (disturbances), or surface underlying tensions between elements of the system (contradictions). Proposition Seven – The CITATION Kop08 1033 (Kop & Hill, 2008) Developmental PropositionWhen a contradiction’s potential as a springboard is triggered by the actions of system participants they enter a ‘Cycle of Expansive Learning”. The Cycle of Expansive Learning is a central concept in Activity Theory and concerns how new knowledge – i.e. innovation – can occur and be nurtured.History is critical to a CHAT analysis and intervention. We cannot understand what is happening in a work system now without understanding how it came to be.<br />REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning , 2-13.Paul, C., & Williams, B. (n.d.). Actrix Networks Limited. Retrieved September 29, 2011, from www.kapiti.co.nz/bobwill/activity.docSiemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. www.knowingknowledge.com.<br />