Connected Learning Summit 2019

The evolution of connected learning has been powered in part, by a partnership between design, research and practice. Efforts to identify, build, support, and study connected learning environments have been fueled by teams of designers, educators, youth, and researchers working together in a spirit of experimentation and iteration. In moving from research to practice, what kinds of guiding theories of design are needed? What kinds of tools and supports are required? Helping youth equitably access and navigate connected learning requires attending to the features and affordances of the learning environments in which they engage. Removing obstacles and barriers, enabling connections to peers and caring adults, creating connections across settings and enabling future learning opportunities are all part of this work. In this session we will profile three resources developed by veteran members of the connected learning community, created to help guide the design of connected learning environments, programs, and platforms. The resources include: an updated new Connected Learning Design Framework that draws on over a decade of research by the Connected Learning Research Network; the Connected Learning Guide, a quick reference providing in-school and out-of-school practitioners with guidelines and examples for how to design, implement, and reflect on the connected learning experiences they create; and the Brokering Youth Pathways toolkit, created to share tools and techniques around the youth development practice of “brokering” or connecting youth to future learning opportunities and resources. The session will introduce and allow participants to engage more deeply with each resource.