I have been thinking about Rhyzomatic Learning/Education on an off for a whilebut, in particular, as to whether it is really a good analogy, especailly as the definition changes subtly. So let me pitch in with my cent/6penny-worth.

The trouble with the root/rhizome analogy is that it is structural and describes an adventitious network impinging on other people/peers/tutors/insitutions etc. Fine, the Cloud/network chatting to people works well enough. What it does not say much/anything about is the way in which knowledge is transferred at the points of contact. By ‘knowledge’ here I mean in a general sence of facts/ideas/skills etc. What goes on at the points of contact may be variable, highly beneficial or not at all. The system knows nothing about this.

Now introduce another metaphor, the mycorrhizosphere. Sorry about the extra syllables but this does exist in a botanical sense:

We can use the root as a functional analogy by considering the way in which plant roots (the rhizosphere) interact metabolically with the soil by way of a fungal system that is present in the majority of plant species as mycorrhizae. The fungal system (the mycorrhizosphere) has evolved (since the Devonian probably) as a mutualistic system. Mutualism, a form of symbiosis, is where two organisms of different species co-exist and each benefits from the presence of the other. In a mycorrhizal system, the plant benefits from the increased surface area provided. The fungus gains sugars and carbohydrates from the plant and the plant gains minerals required for growth. This might well be very specific, such as phosphates from certain minerals. In this way we can consider the mycorrizal system as a means of knowledge transfer and brings us back to connectivism.

Comments on this appreciated, especially as French ‘philosophy’ rather passes me by …..