HISTORY OF CONNECTIVISM LEARNING THEORY

CONNECTIVISM WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN 2005 BY TWO THEORISTS, GEORGE

SIEMENS AND STEPHEN DOWNES. SIEMENS’ ARTICLE CONNECTIVISM: LEARNING AS A
NETWORK CREATION WAS PUBLISHED ONLINE IN 2004 AND DOWNES’ ARTICLE AN
INTRODUCTION TO CONNECTIVE KNOWLEDGE WAS PUBLISHED THE FOLLOWING
YEAR.
THE PUBLICATIONS ADDRESS THE IMPORTANT ROLE TECHNOLOGY PLAYS IN THE
LEARNING PROCESS AND HOW THE DIGITAL AGE HAS INCREASED THE SPEED AT
WHICH STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION. SINCE THEN, BOTH SIEMENS AND
DOWNES HAVE CONTINUED TO WRITE AND SPEAK ON THE SUBJECT. HOWEVER, EACH
HAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS. WHILE SIEMENS TENDS TO FOCUS ON THE
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF CONNECTIVISM, DOWNES FOCUSES ON NON-HUMAN
APPLIANCES AND MACHINE-BASED LEARNING.
WHAT ARE NODES AND LINKS IN CONNECTIVISM?
ACCORDING TO CONNECTIVISM, LEARNING IS MORE THAN OUR OWN INTERNAL
CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE. RATHER, WHAT WE CAN REACH IN OUR EXTERNAL
NETWORKS IS ALSO CONSIDERED TO BE LEARNING. FROM THIS THEORY, TWO TERMS
—NODES AND LINKS—HAVE BEEN COMMONLY USED TO DESCRIBE HOW WE GAIN
AND CONNECT INFORMATION IN A NETWORK.
IN CONNECTIVISM, STUDENTS ARE SEEN AS “NODES” IN A NETWORK. A NODE REFERS
TO ANY OBJECT THAT CAN BE CONNECTED TO ANOTHER OBJECT, LIKE A BOOK,
WEBPAGE, PERSON, ETC. CONNECTIVISM IS BASED ON THE THEORY THAT WE LEARN
WHEN WE MAKE CONNECTIONS, OR “LINKS,” BETWEEN VARIOUS "NODES" OF
INFORMATION, AND WE CONTINUE TO MAKE AND MAINTAIN CONNECTIONS TO FORM
KNOWLEDGE.
WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF CONNECTIVISM?
CONNECTIVISM BUILDS ON ALREADY-ESTABLISHED THEORIES TO PROPOSE THAT TECHNOLOGY
IS CHANGING WHAT, HOW, AND WHERE WE LEARN. IN THEIR RESEARCH, SIEMENS AND DOWNES
IDENTIFIED EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF CONNECTIVISM.
THOSE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF CONNECTIVISM ARE:
LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE RESTS IN THE DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS.
LEARNING IS A PROCESS OF CONNECTING.
LEARNING MAY RESIDE IN NON-HUMAN APPLIANCES.
LEARNING IS MORE CRITICAL THAN KNOWING.
NURTURING AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS ARE NEEDED FOR CONTINUAL LEARNING.
THE ABILITY TO SEE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FIELDS, IDEAS, AND CONCEPTS IS A CORE SKILL.
ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE KNOWLEDGE IS THE AIM OF ALL CONNECTIVIST LEARNING.
DECISION-MAKING IS A LEARNING PROCESS. WHAT WE KNOW TODAY MIGHT CHANGE
TOMORROW. WHILE THERE’S A RIGHT ANSWER NOW, IT MIGHT BE WRONG TOMORROW DUE TO
THE CONSTANTLY CHANGING INFORMATION CLIMATE.
CONNECTIVISM IN THE CLASSROOM
IT’S ONE THING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CONNECTIVISM IS AND ANOTHER TO
ACTUALLY INCORPORATE IT IN THE CLASSROOM IN LEARNING ACTIVITIES.
REMEMBER THAT IN A CONNECTIVIST VIEWPOINT, THE NEW LEARNING
RESPONSIBILITIES SHIFT FROM THE TEACHER TO THE LEARNER. UNLIKE
TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS AND OTHER THEORIES LIKE CONSTRUCTIVISM
OR COGNITIVISM, THE EDUCATOR’S JOB IS TO GUIDE STUDENTS TO BECOME
EFFECTIVE AGENTS FOR THEIR OWN LEARNING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. IN
OTHER WORDS, IT’S UP TO THE LEARNER TO CREATE THEIR OWN LEARNING
EXPERIENCE, ENGAGE IN DECISION MAKING, AND ENHANCE THEIR LEARNING
NETWORKS.
CONNECTIVISM RELIES HEAVILY ON TECHNOLOGY, SO THE FIRST STEP TO CREATING
A CONNECTIVIST CLASSROOM IS TO INTRODUCE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIGITAL
LEARNING—LIKE ONLINE COURSES, WEBINARS, SOCIAL NETWORKS, AND BLOGS.
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO INCORPORATE CONNECTIVISM IN THE CLASSROOM:
SOCIAL MEDIA
ONE WAY TEACHERS IMPLEMENT CONNECTIVISM IS THROUGH THE USE OF CLASSROOM SOCIAL
MEDIA. FOR EXAMPLE, A CLASS TWITTER ACCOUNT CAN BE USED TO SHARE INFORMATION,
ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION OR ANNOUNCE HOMEWORK TASKS. THIS CAN HELP BOOST CLASS
ENGAGEMENT AND OPEN THE LINES OF DISCUSSION AMONG STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

GAMIFICATION
GAMIFICATION TAKES ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES AND PUTS THEM INTO A COMPETITIVE
GAME TO MAKE LEARNING MORE OF AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE. THERE ARE MANY
LEARNING-BASED APPS AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES TEACHERS CAN USE TO ADD AN
ELEMENT OF GAMIFICATION TO THE CLASSROOM. ONE EXAMPLE IS DUOLINGO, AN ONLINE
LEARNING TOOL THAT HELPS STUDENTS LEARN LANGUAGES THROUGH FUN, GAME-LIKE
LESSONS. TEACHERS CAN TRACK STUDENTS' PROGRESS WHILE STUDENTS CAN EARN “POINTS”
FOR PROGRESSING THROUGH LESSONS. OTHER EXAMPLES INCLUDE APPS LIKE BRAINSCAPE,
VIRTUAL REALITY HOUSE, AND GIMKIT, JUST TO NAME A FEW.
SIMULATIONS

SIMULATIONS ENGAGE STUDENTS IN DEEP LEARNING THAT EMPOWERS

UNDERSTANDING AS OPPOSED TO SURFACE LEARNING THAT ONLY REQUIRES
MEMORIZATION. THEY ALSO ADD INTEREST AND FUN TO A CLASSROOM SETTING.
TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE, A PHYSICS CLASS WHERE STUDENTS CREATE AN ELECTRIC
CIRCUIT WITH AN ONLINE PROGRAM. INSTEAD OF BEING INSTRUCTED VIA A BOOK
OR CLASSROOM LECTURE, THEY’RE LEARNING ABOUT PHYSICS BY SIMULATING AN
ACTUAL PHYSICAL SETUP.
INCORPORATING SOME OR ALL OF THESE EXAMPLES IS A GREAT WAY TO ALLOW
YOUR STUDENTS MORE CONTROL OVER THE PACING AND CONTENT OF THEIR
LEARNING. IT ALSO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING TO
MATCH EACH STUDENT’S UNIQUE NEEDS AND STRENGTHS.
WHAT ARE THE PROS OF CONNECTIVISM?
BOTH THE STUDENT AND THE EDUCATOR CAN BENEFIT FROM CONNECTIVISM IN THE CLASSROOM. IF YOU’RE
CONSIDERING ADOPTING THIS THEORY IN YOUR CURRENT OR FUTURE CLASSROOM, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING
BENEFITS:
IT CREATES COLLABORATION.

WITHIN CONNECTIVISM, LEARNING OCCURS WHEN PEERS ARE CONNECTED AND SHARE OPINIONS, VIEWPOINTS, AND
IDEAS THROUGH A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. CONNECTIVISM ALLOWS A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE TO LEGITIMIZE WHAT
THEY’RE DOING, SO KNOWLEDGE CAN BE SPREAD MORE QUICKLY THROUGH MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES.
IT EMPOWERS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

CONNECTIVISM SHIFTS THE LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES FROM THE TEACHER TO THE STUDENT. IT’S UP TO THE
LEARNER TO CREATE THEIR OWN LEARNING EXPERIENCE. THE ROLE OF THE EDUCATOR THEN BECOMES TO “CREATE
LEARNING ECOLOGIES, SHAPE COMMUNITIES, AND RELEASE LEARNERS INTO THE ENVIRONMENT” (SIEMENS, 2003).
IT EMBRACES DIVERSITY.

CONNECTIVISM SUPPORTS INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVES AND THE DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS, THEORETICALLY PROVIDING
FOR NO HIERARCHY IN THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE.
IF YOU'RE A CURRENT EDUCATOR OR ASPIRING TO BE ONE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENT LEARNING
THEORIES CAN BENEFIT YOUR CLASSROOM AND HELP YOUR STUDENTS FIND SUCCESS