Program planning is about taking deliberate actions to make learning possible. In the past, program planning was seen as a primarily technical-rational process of determining the necessary ingredients, steps and intended outcomes of a structured, educational program. The underlying assumption that it was a rational process was soon dispelled by theorists who introduced the idea that program planning was a negotiated process influenced heavily by control and power issues. Some theorists addressed the power imbalances by advocating for a learner-centric model (e.g. Freire), while others (e.g. Cervero and Wilson) directly identified the political responsibility of the planner in negotiating with multiple stakeholders. Other challenges to the traditional, rational model of program planning came from other influences: feminism, postmodernism, critical theory, etc because planning does indeed occur within a given context.
Because context is so much of a factor in program planning, we need to take a look now at program planning in the new age of social networking, not because of the technology involved but because of new understandings we've gained from the processes involved with social networking. Specifically, the concept of connectivism should make us take a fresh look at program planning.
