Stephen Downes (born April 6, 1959) is a Canadianphilosopher and commentator in the fields of online learning and new media. He has explored and promoted the educational use of computer and online technologies since 1995.[1] He gave the 2004 Buntine Oration[2] and was a presenter at the February 2007 Online Connectivism Conference.[3] In 2008, Downes and George Siemens designed and taught an online, open course reported as a "landmark in the small but growing push toward 'open teaching'"[4] - widely considered the first massive open online course (MOOC).
Downes was the winner of the Edublog Award for Best Individual Blog in 2005 for his blog OLDaily.[6] He is Editor at Large of the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning.[7]