Learning through network interaction: The potential of ego-networks

Networking platforms on the Internet constitute a significant place in the lives of young people. These platforms are not often considered as potential learning environments; yet they facilitate the circulation of a great amount of information and digital artifacts. People share, discuss, encounter ideas, find each other, and form communities via these sites. This chapter focuses on how through these platforms informal learning networks become available. The principles of networked learning and ego-network analysis, a sub-strand of social network analysis, guide our research. Based on the survey data of 1,227 high school pupils, the network composition and networked interactions of youth are mapped. We present detailed results regarding with whom online interaction happens and if network interactions in young people’s personal networks (i.e., ego-network) result in discovering new information, artifacts, websites, etc. The findings show that similarity between our respondents and their network contacts prevailed; online networks were often a replica of the offline social circles. Although one might expect that these homogenous networks would not provide these youths with new discoveries, the participants reported that they encountered novel content frequently.