Connectivism is a later account of learning, associated with George Siemens (2005) and Stephen Downes, that treats knowledge as distributed across networks of people, resources and tools. Learning, on this view, includes the ability to find, filter and plug into those networks.
It is not constructivism (building understanding in the mind or through social activity in a class), and it is not a full replacement for either. Last reviewed: 31 August 2026.
What it claims
In a digital environment, no one holds the whole of a field. What matters is knowing where knowledge lives, when it has changed, and who or what is a reliable node. Currency can matter as much as storing facts.
Classroom use
Useful where the task is to locate, compare and update sources: a research brief, a professional learning network, a class that must judge a live issue. Teach how to evaluate a source and how to leave a trail of what was used. Do not confuse “we used the internet” with connectivist design.
What it is not
- Not a licence to skip teaching content. Networks are weak if learners cannot read, calculate or check a claim.
- Not behaviourism or cognitivism. Those still explain practice and memory. See behaviourism and cognitivism.
Related: constructivism.
Sources
- Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age.
- Downes, S. Work on connective knowledge and networks.
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