Connectivism

Tony Bates, in Teaching in a Digital Age, highlights Connectivism as one of the most provocative epistemological positions to emerge in recent years. It challenges traditional views of knowledge as something constructed or transmitted by individuals and institutions, instead framing knowledge as distributed across networks of people, technologies, and information flows.

What is it? (Info adapted from Teaching in a Digital Age & Western Governors University) George Siemens and Stephen Downes argue that knowledge is created beyond the level of individual human participants. It is constantly shifting as nodes connect and disconnect, and as information flows across networks. Siemens stated,

“The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.”

In this view, learning is the ability to tap into significant flows of information and follow those that matter.

Downes expands this idea:

“Knowledge has many authors, knowledge has many facets, it looks different to each person, and it changes moment to moment. A piece of knowledge isn’t a description of something, it is a way of relating to something”

Connectivism emphasizes that technology is central to learning today. Students no longer rely solely on teachers or textbooks; instead, smartphones, laptops, and digital assistants like Siri or Alexa serve as hubs of information. A 2015 study found that 87% of college students used laptops weekly for schoolwork, while 64% used smartphones evidence of how connected devices now mediate learning.

Principals of Connectivism

• Learning rests in diversity of opinions.
• Knowledge may reside in non human appliances.
• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.
• Nurturing and maintaining connections is essential for continual learning.
• Decision making is itself a learning process, shaped by shifting realities.

In classroom applications these principals state:

• Students are “nodes” in a network, and learning occurs when they make “links” between nodes (books, webpages, peers, databases).
• Knowledge is not hierarchical, multiple viewpoints are legitimate, and learning is about navigating connections rather than mastering static content.

Networked Learning vs Learning Management Systems

Bates emphasizes that connectivism challenges the traditional role of formal institutions. Instructors are no longer the sole transmitters of knowledge; instead, their role shifts to creating the initial environment and context that allows learners to connect. Once learners are plugged into networks, knowledge emerges through participation, interaction, and reflection. Massive Open Online Courses, such as Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2011 designed by Siemens and Downes, exemplify this model. In these courses, learners were encouraged to build personal learning environments drawing on blogs, wikipedia, and social media to create knowledge flows beyond the learning management systems. The result was a decentralized, learner driven system where knowledge was constantly evolving.

By contrast, Learning Management Systems such as Canvas, Moodle, or Brightspace provide structure, accountability, and centralized control. They are designed to deliver content, manage assessments, and track progress, which aligns more closely with traditional theories like cognitivism or constructivism. While LMS platforms ensure consistency and institutional oversight, they often reinforce a content delivery model that can feel rigid compared to the fluidity of connectivist learning.

Networked approaches, on the other hand, embrace the principles of connectivism by allowing learners to curate their own experiences and connect across diverse nodes of information. Examples include:

• Social Media: A class Twitter account or discord fosters peer-to-peer learning, enabling students to share resources, debate ideas, and extend discussions beyond the classroom.
• Gamification: Apps like DuoLingo transform learning into interactive, game like experiences. Learners track progress, earn points, and engage competitively, which motivates participation while reinforcing knowledge through repetition and feedback loops.
• Simulations and VR: Online labs or immersive environments allow students to experiment with concepts in physics, medicine, or engineering. Instead of passively consuming content, learners engage in experiential learning, building connections between theory and practice

Connectivism reframes learning as the ability to connect, traverse, and interpret networks. LMS platforms and networked approaches represent two ends of a spectrum. One that prioritizes structure and accountability, the other that prioritizes openness and autonomy. The future of online learning may lie in hybrid models that combine the strengths of both utilizing LMS tools for structure while integrating networked opportunities for collaboration.

A hypothetical example of this could be an online psychology course delivered through Brightspace.

• Weekly modules are hosted in the LMS with readings, quizzes, and structured discussion forums.
• Each module also includes a “networked activity,” such as contributing to a collaborative board, joining a Twitter chat, or blogging reflections linked to external sources.
• Students are assessed both on LMS based tasks (quizzes, assignments) and on their ability to curate and connect external resources into their personal learning environment

In this hypothetical example both streams are integrated providing a full learning experience