Is learning online theoretically different, or can it be encompassed under existing theories of learning?

Online learning is fundamentally different and I believe that an online learning theory already exists to elucidate ‘digital learning’. Although many parallels can be drawn to the more traditional pedagogical approaches of cognitivism, behaviourism and constructivism, online learning differs because it offers autonomy, connectedness/interactivity, diversity and openness. These are the basic tenets of Connectivism, the learning theory for online learning postulated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes in the early 2000s.

Digital learning is a powerful premise that encapsulates what is good about many learning theories, technology and social constructs. Online learning can encompass elements of the other social, developmental and cognitive learning theories but it is operating under a connectivist view. Our world has evolved exponentially in terms of available information and technological advances. These rapid changes created a niche for a new learning theory that could explain how people learn in the digital age.

Is the Connectivism theory actually a pedagogical perspective? I believe that it addresses how people learn (through automony, diversity, interactivity and openness), what people learn (through the internet and www) and why it is learned (LMS) so therefore it is both.

So why is online learning different? The affordances of online learning promote both synchronous and asynchronous interactions allowing ‘think time’. The Connectivist framework embodies the idea that knowledge is disseminated across a network of connections and that learning manifests as the ability to navigate and assemble those networks where learners can create and consume knowledge simultaneously.

Has the computer become “a catalyst for deep and radical change in the education system” as Seymour Papert postulated more than 25 years ago? Absolutely! Whether using Computer-Based Training, Internet-Based Training, Web-Based Training, eLearning, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, Web 2.0 applications or any combination of technological devices within a blended learning approach, the computer has certainly changed the way we are teaching and I believe Connectivism is the best umbrella to learn under.

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References

Connectivism. (2010). Connectivism: a learning theory for today’s learner. Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://www.connectivism.ca/about.html.

Downes, S. (2009). Places to Go: Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol5_issue1/Places_to_Go-__Connectivism_&_Connective_Knowledge.pdf

Kop, R and Hill, A. Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? Retrieved from: http://www.u-learnspace.info/Connectivism%20learning%20theory%20of%20the%20future%20or%20vestige%20of%20the%20past%20Kop%20and%20Hill%20IRRODL%20Sept08.pdf
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2008). The “twoness” of learn 2.0: Challenges and prospects of a would-be new learning paradigm. Closing keynote presented at the Learning 2.0: From Preschool to Beyond, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved September 22, 2010, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm