Bridging Networked Learning between the Knowledge Economy and Higher Education: A Philosophical Approach

In the first part of this paper the topic of networked learning is approached from the perspective of workers in the knowledge economy who engage in lifelong learning in communities of practice and in formal education. Distributed communities of practice (DCoP) in the knowledge economy are similar in function to networked learning communities (NLCs) in formal education with a stronger focus on situated learning in DCoPs and on critical, reflective learning in NLCs. In the second part of this paper, the authors explore positive and negative reactions to NL and its potential to effect structural, cultural, economic, and pedagogical change in higher education. Using data on a study involving early adopters of NL, a learner-centred approach to NLC is proposed that is based on democratic approaches to pedagogy and able to meet the needs of the growing diversity of its student population.