Networked Learning : An Educational Paradigm for the Age of Digital Networks

Abstract

This single-authored volume presents technical, academic, and societal context for networked learning across educational settings. It lays the necessary groundwork by differentiating networked learning from related concepts such as e-learning and technology-enhanced learning, and situating technological progress within the larger context of social change. From there, the most salient questions relating to infrastructures and institutions are analyzed, including challenges for the university, the role of affordance in digital educational design, whether networked learning has (or needs) its own pedagogy, and the wider political implications of networked learning. This synthesis transforms a wide-ranging and seemingly scattered multidisciplinary field into a cohesive, accessible, and operable whole. Featured among the topics: · Theories of learning in a digital age. · The significance of networked theories for networked learning. · Openness, open educational resources, and the university. · Cloud computing and hybrid infrastructures. · Pedagogy and the scholarship of teaching and learning. · Relationships between technology use in society and in education. Given its balance of theoretical and practical information and present-day and future-based insights, Networked Learning has considerable value for education researchers, educational technology researchers, teachers, policymakers, and students.