Today, society is changing and we all need to change with it. We are now using technology for learning, communicating and organising our lives. New learning theories, like connectivism, are emerging as these are based on the digital age, unlike other theories, such as behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism (Seimans, 2004). Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn.
We are now living in a knowledge economy. Knowledge can be shared and transferred around the world at lightning speed due the emergence of new technologies in the last 20 years. This knowledge is virtually free and easily accessible. “The rising knowledge intensity of the world economy and our increasing ability to distribute that knowledge have increased its value to all participants in the economic system” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 1) Companies need to keep up with changes or they will be left behind. Today we see global competition and production as firms operate in more than one country. This results in firms being highly competitive. “Many firms are becoming multi-technology corporations locating around centres of excellence in different countries” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 13). This has sped up globalisation. We are able to make knowledge public by use of the internet and other technologies, such as blogs, facebook and twitter. Once this has occurred there is a small cost to adding more users. “Because knowledge does not wear out and people can duplicate it practically without cost, it is a source of supervalue and superproductivity. Knowledge alone can add value to an otherwise closed, zero-sum system of value” (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000, p. 14). Businesses must provide learning opportunities for all employees so they can keep abreast of new technologies. All businesses are always looking at new ways to reduce costs and technology can help with this. For Example bar code scanners in shops for buying, selling and ordering goods via the internet, emailing instead of traditional posting of documents, the list goes on. People in existing and emerging jobs are affected by the speed at which technology is changing. Therefore we need to better prepare our students for their life after formal education. As Siemans (2004) states "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe".
Houghton, J., and Sheehan, P. (2000). A primer on the knowledge economy. Centre for strategic economic studies. Melbourne Victoria
Seimans, G. (2004) Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm