Abhari, K. (2017). A Connectivist Approach to Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners: The Role of Social Technologies. Teaching, Colleges & Community Worldwide Conference. Honolulu. A Connectivist Approach to Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners: The Role of Social Technologies Kaveh Abhari STEMD 2 R&D Group, Center on Disability Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii United States abhari@hawaii.edu Abstract: Whereas many higher education programs have led inclusive strategies for some time, the move toward inclusive instruction through open learning networks and social technologies is relatively recent. Connectivism is a set of pedagogical approaches that have the potential to address the challenges associated with inclusive education. The primary goal of this paper is to operationalize the connectivism approach and its four principles as a set of technology-enabled strategies (social exploration, social ideation, and social experimentation) to improve diverse learners’ educational outcomes. Introduction The higher education imposes serious challenges to diverse learners including students with racially, culturally, socioeconomically, intellectually and linguistically diverse backgrounds (Moriña, 2017). Inclusive education intends to address these challenges by enhancing dynamic but equal learning opportunities for all students regardless of their background and differences (Florian, 2015). Whereas many higher education programs have led inclusive strategies for some time, the move toward inclusive instruction through connectivist approach is relatively recent (Iniesto & Rodrigo, 2016). Connectivism is characterized by its key principle that the capacity to learn is more important than what is currently learned. In the connectivist approach, knowledge is distributed across networks, and therefore, learning occurs through navigating these networks and understanding the connections. Connectivist learning is thus defined as a process of connecting information sources in which the ability to see these connections is the core learning skill. Connectivism demonstrates the potential for inclusive education due to its emphasis on diversity, flexibility, openness, and learner agency. The primary goal of this paper is to operationalize connectivism as a set of strategies to improve diverse learners’ educational outcomes by reducing educational inequality. This occurs through the development of a scalable model that leverages connectivism principles and social technologies to support inclusive instruction in post-secondary settings. In this paper, social technology refers to social software that facilitates social interactions, enabled by ICT capabilities, such as wikis, blogs, forums, and social media. After reviewing diverse learners’ challenges, this paper discusses how connectivism can enable autonomy, openness, connectivity and diversity by using social technologies to advance inclusive pedagogy in higher education. In the Recommendations section, the application of connectivism is discussed as an instructional model with three strategies: social exploration, social ideation, and social experimentation.