ABSTRACT
The invention of computer networking in 1969, and of email and computer conferencing in the early 1970s, introduced new and unprecedented possibilities for human communication and education. By the mid-1970s, a few professors involved in computer networking research began to explore educational applications for networking in their own classrooms. This chapter presents the concept of connectivist learning which was first presented as a theory in 2004; it introduces and examines connectivism as a new learning theory. Human invention of the technologies of speech, writing, printing and the internet have been integral to human learning and knowledge building. The invention of these communication technologies represents key paradigmatic moments when human, societal and technological development coincided to trigger major social and economic shifts and great leaps forward in civilization. Siemens' knowledge of learning theory appears relatively thin, especially in explaining the role of technology and learning.
