Networked learning in a networked world

This chapter explores how the conception of a networked world has shaped networked learning as an emerging academic field. The strands share a variety of interests in learning and networks, yet are each shaped by their different histories and theoretical hinterland. Firmly located in what people may call the British tradition, C. Jones offers a definition and further description of networked learning, based on his own work and that of Goodyear and collaborators, which has set a standard in this research community. This division can be identified also in discussion of educational technology quite generally, and according to Jones, networked learning "by contrast stands as a critical research-based strand which adopts neither of these positions". Understanding and prediction of learning understood in the light of network science is one of the theoretical backgrounds of networked learning. P. Goodyear and L. Carvalho draw on comparisons with sociology, history and business studies in understanding the network in networked learning.