Developing an infrastructure to support communities of learning

Through the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) the government is calling for new thinking about the potential of current educational institutions to support lifelong learning. One aspect of the reform is the creation and connection of a learning 'community'. However, knowledge of best practice for implementing reform will only come about through understanding the processes that occur in communities of learning, and, from this, developing an infrastructure to support these processes. The BT Laboratories (BTL) research project, 'HomeLearn', examined the impact of an on-line educational service on a community of parents, children and teachers. The creation of a home/school network was the first step in involving the wider community in the learning process. The three-month trial demonstrated that children were enthusiastic and creative in their use of communications technologies in the home. They were extremely confident communicating with adults over a network; they learnt to organise meetings, to manage their own time and to resolve conflicts. Some of the families integrated the information communications technologies into their everyday lives. They gradually built up knowledge of the technology though experience and through learning from other members of the family. From a service provider perspective we learnt that the critical concept in the development of a learning infrastructure is the support of 'relationships', a concept which entails more than simply providing a communications link or displaying static information. The widespread availability of new technologies means that people have an ever-increasing choice about how they want to communicate and with whom. An infrastructure to support learning must provide choice, be dynamic and be personalised. It is only by passing control of the system over to the users that a truly living system will exist.