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Dave Cormier is a Canadian researcher, writer, blogger and theorist focusing on education and technology. He identifies as an “open educator (Cormier, D., 2017)”. For the past two decades, he has been writing about the role of technology in education with a specific focus on MOOC’s and Rhizomatic Learning.

In 2008, Cormier, along with fellow Canadian educators Stephen Downes and George Siemens, created and branded the first MOOC, Massive Open Online Course, which is a free online course available for anyone to enroll in. Since that time, hundreds of MOOC’s have been offered by universities and learning centres around the world. 

Cormier describes Rhizomatic Learning as utilizing curriculum that is “not predefined by experts; it is constructed and negotiated in real time by the contributions of those engaged in the learning process (Cormier, D. 2008).” 

Cormier has also written about the concept of postdigital thinking. In 2009, Cormier was part of a group of educational thinkers, 52group which wrote a position paper coining and defining the “postdigital” term. To them, we have arrived in a “postdigital” era, in which technology has fully osmosed into our everyday lives. We no longer view the digital as a new and unfamiliar addition, but as a common aspect of our environment. In this postdigital world, we have more power over our digital tools, and innovation is now driven by the “human condition condition and the aspiration towards new or enhanced connectedness with others (Cormier et al, 2019, p.5).”

Cormier remains an active blogger; his postings at davecormier.com are now in their thirteenth year. His blogs address a variety of issues and ideas including collaborative learning, knowledge assessment, and criticism of current edtech orthodoxy. 

My awareness of Cormier began with a blog post I wrote about participatory culture. After reading it, Elizabeth Childs suggested that I read Cormier’s blog as he, along with Bonnie Stewart and others, is very much active in promoting a pro-social, pro-human participatory web. I look forward to reading more of Cormier writings and discovering Bonnie Stewart along with others who advocate a pro-social digital world.

 

References

Cormier, D. (2008). Rhizomatic Education: Community as Curriculum. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 4(5). Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/104239

Cormier, D. (2017, Oct 9). Three Kinds of Open Education  [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3Lfxm5Dgk

Cormier, D., et al. (2019). Ten Years of the Postdigital in the 52group: Reflections and Developments 2009–2019. Postdigital Science and Education 1(2). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333855012_Ten_Years_of_the_Postdigital_in_the_52group_Reflections_and_Developments_2009-2019/citation/download

Cormier, D., Jandrić, P., Childs, M., Hall, R., White, D., Phipps, L., . . . Fawns, T. (2019). Ten years of the postdigital in the 52group: Reflections and developments 2009–2019. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(2), 475-506. doi:10.1007/s42438-019-00049-8

 

Websites:

davecormier.com

https://www.edx.org/