ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some key aspects of the evolution and nature of learning networks and networked learning. The aim is to situate research into learning networks in a broader landscape of research in education, technology and the social sciences and to demonstrate that networked learning is an important, widespread way of going about learning, and that it has deeper roots than might at first be imagined. Networked learning is not an esoteric activity, and merits greater attention in educational research and in the social sciences more generally.
