The next generation: design and the infrastructure for learning in a mobile and networked world

Abstract

Focusing on intermediate and institutional levels of design for learning, this chapter explores how institutional decisions relate to design, using recent experience at The Open University as a case study. To illuminate the relationship between institutional decisions and learner-focused design, we review and bring together some of the research on learner practices in mobile and networked learning. We take a critical stance in relation to the concept of generation, which has been applied to understanding learners of different ages using terms such as net generation and digital natives. Following on from this, we propose an integrated pedagogical design approach that takes account of learner practices, spaces for learning, and technologies. The chapter also proposes future research directions focused on the changing context for learning, a distinction between place and space and an understanding of how the different levels of educational systems interact with mobile and networked technologies