George Siemens proposed a learning theory for the digital age that revolves around the nature of learning with computers and the internet, stating that "it is no longer possible to know everything, that it is more important to identify how and where to find knowledge than it is to know. In other words, the pipeline and its connections are more important than what is in the pipeline" (Siemens, 2005).
In some ways, I do agree with that statement. With information being so readily available for our students we do need to be able to know how use and find information easily. However, I would not agree that we encourage students to switch off their brains and focus on only knowing how to find information instead of actually learning it and knowing it.
Perhaps the best way to use Siemens theories would be to incorporate them with other theories. Such as Vygotsky's social theory. Students can scaffold on what they already know by using the internet to further their knowledge. By using such things as Wikis or Blogs, students will be able to bounce ideas off one another, interpret their own views on others ideas based on their own prior knowledge.
The internet is an extremely valuable tool for students, but I do believe we still need to challenge our students to learn content. For example in an assesment situation, students should be able to extend their knowledge through the use of the internet not completely start blank or else we are just handing them an assesment that involves no thought process, just copy and paste.
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