The way that people organize themselves in social relationships results in diferent structures of networks (small-world, for example). Can those structures influence the learning?
A couple of interesting concepts:
- communities of practice (Wenger 1999, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity).
- social capital (Coleman 1988, Social capital in the creation of human capital) also.
- structural holes (Burt 1992, Structural holes: The social structure of competition).
Also, studies about network position and publishing or patenting activity can be interesting if one wants to view learning and innovating as inter-related phenomena. Ex: Zucker and Darby (1995) Star scientists and institutional transformation: Patterns of invention and innovation in the formation of the biotechnology industry. Also interesting are Prof. Catherine Beaudry studies on collaboration networks.
Social networking as one of the means of learning and educational endeavors is proposed by many researchers. But evidence on the use of such sites for formal online learning is yet to emerge. Normally learners enjoy the social learning experience and support others in their learning. On the other hand, there are also indications that students limited their participation to course-related activities, exhibiting little use of social networking and sharing.
Definitely, it has its own influence. The people who are in rural areas, villages have "learning divide" with people who are in cities. The people in the former group can interact with their own people, who may be "Less-Literate", whereas people in cities can interact with people who are "Well-Literate". Hence, the learning will have barrier depends upon the social network structure.
Remote and online learning will witness many advances due to networking, such as providing learning opportunities for people who cannot attend institutions, either due to the distance of for financial or physical reasons.
Interesting thoughts. Maybe you find some additional inspiration in this quite insightful RG discussion about open learning online and strategic educational plans: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_is_open_learning_online_the_solution_to_all_of_our_strategic_educational_plans
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