New infrastructures that dramatically change our possibilities for knowledge production and learning have also brought forward ideals on 'new' connectivity. Two important ideals of connectivity are that of the individual who tailors his or her knowledge among expansively dispersed resources, and the ideal of access to multiple, diverse resources that provide individuals rich learning opportunities. In order to better understand what cultural norms are implied in our ideals of connectivity, we argue, they must be tested in the crucible of empirical data through the analysis of the actual socio-technical practices of different social and cultural groups. Through a combination of ego-network analysis and a qualitative, in-depth discursive approach, we analyze the networked learning practices of three ethnically different groups in the Netherlands from an extensive research study called 'Wired Up'. We comparatively describe Dutch youth as 'unrooted' learners, Moroccan-Dutch youth as 'routed' learners, and Turkish-Dutch youth as 'rooted' learners. We propose the idea of the Networked Configuration for Learning as a means to contrast the learning opportunities individuals and groups have in relation to particular offline and online connections, their historical geographies, the development of learning 'places', and particular learning affinities.

Understanding the affordances that networked platforms offer is a good place to start rethinking our notions of learning. The article discusses how social connectivity has changed, arguing that networking and networks have become foregrounded in how we perceive and experience our (digital) social worlds. Our aim is to understand the nature of networked structures, and the networked practices that these have enabled, to shed light upon how they ‘work’ for learning. While making use of the concept of affordances, the article discusses a selection of four affordances of digital networks (visibility, scalability, flexibility and persistence) and argues how these impact upon opportunities to learn through social media. The article finally critically reflects on how sociocultural theories of learning need expansion and revision, given social changes involving the rise of social media, but it also shows how this perspective leads the way in pointing to new challenges for theorising learning.

This exploratory study examines ethno-cultural diversity in youth´s narratives regarding their online learning experiences while also investigating how these narratives can be understood from the analysis of their online network structure and composition. Based on ego-network data of 79 respondents this study compared the characteristics of the online social networks of native Dutch, Moroccan-Dutch, and Turkish-Dutch youth. Subsequently, thirty interviews were analyzed to compare youth's narratives regarding two aspects typically associated with 21th century online learning: 'individual online exploration', and 'participation, collaboration and exchange of information in online communities'. The results show that the three ethnic groups significantly differ regarding their online network composition. Youth's narratives also reveal that their online learning experiences are ethno-specific. Youth differ regarding the nature of online communities in which they search for information, make new contacts and distribute their own media creations. For example, Turkish-Dutch youth primarily engage in their own ethnic transnational networks to find information and to share media content, whereas Moroccan-Dutch youth seem more open to develop new contacts and to search for information outside of their familiar network. It is suggested that these ethno-specific narratives can be understood as resonating specific network configurations.

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 1227 high-school pupils the network composition and networked interactions of youth are mapped. We present detailed results regarding with whom online interaction happen and if network interactions in young people's personal networks (i.e., ego-network) result in discovering new information, artifacts, web-sites, 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 youth with new discoveries, the participants reported that they encountered novel content frequently.

Digital technology facilitate interactions between learners and resources at a global level. New learner prototypes are therefore proposed, such as the notion of the global learner. In this paper, we argue that these prototypes of global learning often do not account for the variety of ways in which youth use technology and see themselves as learners. We take the example of Turkish-Dutch youth to show empirically how they represent an alternative for what is often seen as the prototype of what a global learner is. We combine ego-network methodology with in-depth interviews to provide a detailed account of how 25 Turkish-Dutch teens see themselves as learners, how they make use of technology to pursue their interests, how they reach out to others and media resources, and how they form selves in relation to the values and norms of their (transnational) community. Using the notion of ‘learner identity’, the study shows how these teens develop learner identities that are built on specific and culturally informed notions of ‘what a learning subject is’ that challenge the universality of the autonomous subjectivity implied in prototypical notions of the global learner. In addition, the study shows how through digital affordances, unique networked (trans)national connectivities are formed, which are informed by these teens’ specific socio-cultural position. We argue that by acknowledging these alternative ways of what a learning subject is, and how connections are formed, we can proactively incorporate them as useful models of global learning.