Digital Connections

(Connected Learning Alliance, n.d.)

The concept of digital connections has reshaped how I understand contemporary learning, highlighting the importance of connected learning, networked learning, and communities of practice as frameworks for inclusive and lifelong learning. These approaches represent a significant step away from traditional, teacher-centred pedagogies that are often rooted in positivist ideologies that privilege standardised outcomes and generalised knowledge. While such methods may support consistency, they frequently fail to respond to the diverse cultural backgrounds, interests, and lived experiences of today’s learners. Reflecting on the Digital Connections module has prompted me to critically think about how digital technologies can disrupt these limitations and foster more collaborative, interest-driven, and socially meaningful learning experiences. Connected learning centres the learner’s interests and lived experiences, promoting engagement through peer-supported and academically oriented activities that link formal and informal contexts. This framework connects with my own learning values, as it supports different forms of knowledge and empowers students to take ownership of their learning needs and journeys. 

(Queens University, 2025)

Similarly, the concept of networked learning, as outlined in Networked Learning: Inviting Redefinition, expands on this by recognising how digital technologies enable relationships and sharing of knowledge across time and space. In this model, learning becomes co-constructed and context-sensitive, occurring through digitally mediated interactions rather than being passively received. Communities of practice further deepen this vision by emphasising sustained engagement with shared goals and mutual learning. I have come to appreciate how blogs, forums, and social media platforms are not merely informal communication tools but powerful educational spaces. These platforms support collaborative knowledge-building and identity formation as learners engage in authentic, participatory learning. 

However, my reflection has also led me to recognise that these affordances are not universally accessible. The idea of digital connection carries with it an assumption of stable access, familiarity with online platforms, and the confidence to participate, factors that are shaped by social and economic contexts. This can lead to the formation of a limitation for some learners. While digital connections offer potential for personalised learning, inclusion, and community-building, they can also exacerbate existing inequities if implemented without care. Not all students have the same ability to engage in connected or networked learning due to inequitable access to devices, internet, and digital literacy support. These constraints must be taken seriously, particularly if we want to avoid reproducing the very exclusions we aim to challenge. 

Moving forward, I intend to apply the principles of connected learning and networked practice in ways that acknowledge these disparities. This includes following the guides of the Activity-Centred Analysis and Design (ACAD) framework. This framework helps teachers design ways of pedagogy in complex learning spaces, helping to design flexible tasks that allow for different modes of participation, encouraging digital literacy within the classroom and use technological tools to extend connections. Digital connections can be impactful by transforming education, but only when paired with a commitment to equity and inclusion. As a training educator, I see it as my responsibility to leverage these tools to support collaborative, culturally responsive, and life-long learning opportunities for all students. 

References:

Business Production. (2018). ACAD Framework Animation Mix. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/302378219/ddc8afc306

Connected Learning Alliance. (n.d.). What is connected learning. https://clalliance.org/about-connected-learning/

Farnsworth, V., Kleanthous, I., & Wenger-Trayner, E. (2016). Communities of practice as a social theory of learning: a conversation with Etienne Wenger. British Journal of Educational Studies, 64(2),139-160.  

Networked Learning Editorial Collective (NLEC). (2021). Networked Learning: Inviting Redefinition. Post digital Science & Education, 3, 312–325.  

Queen's University. (2025). Communities of Practice. https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/services-and-support/communities-practice

Wortman, A., & Ito, M. (2019). Connected Learning. The International Encyclopaedia of Media Literacy.