The course management system (CMS) reinforces the status quo and hinders substantial teaching and learning innovation in higher education. It does so by imposing artificial time limits on learner access to course content and other learners, privileging the role of the instructor at the expense of the learner, and limiting the power of the network effect in the learning process. The open learning network (OLN)—a hybrid of the CMS and the personal learning environment (PLE)—is proposed as an alternative learning technology environment with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to dramatically improve learning.Keywords: course management system; higher education; open learning network; personal learning environment; technology; internet

Institutions looking to adopt competency-based education often struggle with the technological challenges of supporting this model. In response, this chapter proposes a “born-CBE” infrastructure intentionally designed to support the data exchanges and workflows required by CBE. This modular infrastructure contains a system of record, a digital learning environment, a recommendation engine, a financial aid processor, a competency dashboard, and a competency transcript. In order for these components to work together cohesively, data standards for interoperability (LIS, OneRoster, and LTI) are essential. The authors then discuss the essential capabilities of the learning infrastructure. These include support for backward design, authentic assessments, various learning workflows, personalization and adaptivity, and learning and performance analytics.