Connectivist

A connectivist is a proponent of connectivism, a learning theory that emphasizes knowledge as distributed across networks of people, tools, and information sources. In this view, learning involves constructing and navigating pathways through these networks rather than acquiring knowledge from a single source.

Connectivism was proposed in the mid-2000s by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. It posits that in a digital age, learning is a process of forming and traversing connections between nodes such as individuals, communities, databases, and technologies. Knowledge is not static; it resides in the network and evolves as connections are made and updated.

Core concepts include network literacy, the ability to locate, evaluate, and connect information across distributed sources; the value of diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives; and the learner as an active curator and strategist. Instructors are often viewed as facilitators who design environments that support collaboration, contribution, and reflection, rather than traditional top-down instruction.

Applications in education emphasize open resources, social media, collaborative projects, and asynchronous communication. Assessment tends to focus on a learner’s capacity to synthesize and apply knowledge obtained from networked sources, as well as the ability to adapt to changing information landscapes.

Criticism notes that empirical support for connectivism is limited and that the theory is sometimes seen as a description of contemporary practice rather than as a distinct, testable framework. Some critics question its boundaries with other constructivist ideas and its practical implications for measurement and pedagogy.