Connected learning: what do our widening social networks mean for the future of learning?

Abstract

Humans learn through interaction with their environment. The most important components of the environment for learning are other humans and their artefacts. Historically learning has been seen as acquiring knowledge and storing it away for future use. However, more recent views have suggested that learning is more about making connections and that, in a world where information is constantly changing and increasing, capacity to learn through making and using connections to other people may be more important than what we actually know. Where once our social connections, and access to learning, were limited by capacity to travel for direct contact or by the speed with which correspondence could be exchanged, modern information and communication technology enables essentially instant communication with people anywhere on the planet. This chapter explores some implications of these changes for how educators approach the facilitation of learning in an age of global information networks.