ABSTRACT
Professional learning is critical for our economies to remain competitive. This claim is underscored by research on the information society we live in (Castells, 1996), the knowledge economy in which we earn a living (Drucker, 1993) and the Global Village that we inhabit (Toffler, 1980). These areas of research also reveal that contemporary problems have become too complex to be solved by a single person. Professionals need to tap into networks, inside and outside their circle of colleagues and collaborators, to find the knowledge and expertise needed to solve those problems (Nardi, Whittaker & Schwarz, 2000; Rajagopal, Joosten-ten Brinke, Van Bruggen & Sloep, 2012). That is, they need to learn collectively. This chapter attempts to sketch a networked view of the collective learning of professionals. To frame the discussion, I first introduce a fictitious case of two companies that are involved in professional learning.
