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Social constructionism and social constructivism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena develop in social contexts.

Editor's Note: This is a milestone article that deserves careful study. Connectivism should not be con fused with constructivism. George Siemens advances a theory of learning that is consistent with the needs of the twenty first century. His theory takes into account trends in learning, the use of technology and networks, and the diminishing half-life of knowledge. It combines relevant elements of many learning theories, social structures, and technology to create a powerful theoretical construct for learning in the digital age.

This paper defines and examines three generations of distance education pedagogy. Unlike earlier  classifications of distance education based on the technology used, this analysis focuses on the  pedagogy that defines the learning experiences encapsulated in the learning design. The three  generations of cognitive-behaviourist, social constructivist, and connectivist pedagogy are  examined, using the familiar community of inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) with its focus on social, cognitive, and teaching presences.