Connectivism the new constructivism?

I understand that the students we teach today may have jobs that have not even been invented yet and they they will probably change careers several times in their lifetime and that as educators we need to provide them with the tools to be successful in jobs that may be beyond our imagination. 

However, what if the future looks more like "Soylent Green" and less like "2001 A Space Odyssey"? 

I think about Indigenous people in various parts of the world who have incredible knowledge of the natural world and how that knowledge is passed down from generation to generation-the old fashion social learning network.

I think about the 'useless bits of information' that I had to learn in college a quarter century ago that I can still pull out of my head and that on occasion do serve me well.

I was reading Chrissy's blog about putting all her eggs in one technology basket and wonder what WOULD happen if the world had to be internet free for a day or a week or a lot longer? 

I guess since I entered adulthood in a pre- internet world I would attest that learning can and does take place off line and maybe, I would argue, in a more visceral way. I will never forget the first time that I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. It had to be at least 20 years ago and I remember waiting on line to see it and being surprised at how small it was and being distracted because the painting was under glass and there was glare on the glass. It was summer and there were a lot of tourists and I remember looking at the other people who were sharing this experience with me. Is this just me sharing a memory or is this an example of me constructing my own knowledge? Was this a pre-web 2.0 social network?

I'm trying hard to be open minded and excited about using social networking as a positive and powerful tool to help students construct or if you insist connect to form knowledge. I do see the power of making sense of new information with others- I have read several of my colleagues blogs on this article-thanks Harvey, Vu, Teresa to name a few. This has helped me in my thinking about the reading so I guess there is something to be said about connectivism.

I would just hate to think that those who do have the opportunity to see the Mona Lisa face to face would choose not to because it would be easier to do a google search and pull up an image.