Networked Learning and Postdigital Education

Abstract

This paper considers the positon of networked learning in higher education learning and teaching in the postdigital era. The underlying origins and principles upon which networked learning are based can be traced back to the critical pedagogy of Freire and emphasise a critical relationship with the digital, the human and the current socio-political and material higher educational context. We examine the theoretical and practical ideas around networked learning in which connections are forged between learners; between learners and their tutors; and between learning communities and learning resources. We describe two case studies to illustrate the theory, pedagogy and practice of networked learning for contemporary higher education learning and teaching. One from the perspective of the online distant learner and their experience of networked learning; the other from the perspective of tutors, which focuses on the challenges they face in moving into the digital world. We conclude by claiming that the way networked learning has developed in theory and practice means it is an approach and pedagogy that makes it entirely suitable for a postdigital world.