What is "connectivism"

Connectivism or connectivist may refer to:

• Connectivism (literature), a movement in literature, ideated by a group of Italian science fiction writers
• Connectivism (learning theory)

Connectivism is a hypothesis of learning which emphasizes the role of social and cultural context. In this sense, Connectivism proposes to see knowledge's structure as a network and learning as a process of pattern recognition. Connectivism is often associated with and proposes a perspective similar to Vygotsky's 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD), an idea later transposed into Engeström's (2001) Activity theory. The relationship between work experience, learning, and knowledge, as expressed in the concept of ‘connectivity, is central to connectivism, motivating the theory's name. It is somewhat similar to Bandura's Social Learning Theory that proposes that people learn through contact. What sets connectivism apart from theories such as constructivism is the view that "learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing".

The phrase "a learning theory for the digital age" indicates the emphasis that connectivism gives to technology's effect on how people live, communicate and learn.