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Becta's "Next Generation Learning" campaign aims to improve the way schools and colleges use technology for learning, and a key part of this drive is about raising awareness among parents of the benefits of technology and the internet, while encouraging them to stay safe online. There is a huge amount of advice and guidance available for parents to ensure their children are protected in the virtual world. Organisations like the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and Stay Safe Online, for example, are working hard to help parents understand more about what their children are doing on the web.

Albert-László Barabási states that “nodes always compete for connections because links represent survival in an interconnected world” (2002, p.106).

Some questions to explore in relation to learning theories and the impact of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning: How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired in the linear manner? What adjustments need to made with learning theories when technology performs many of the cognitive operations previously performed by learners (information storage and retrieval). How can we continue to stay current in a rapidly evolving information ecology? How do learning theories address moments where performance is needed in the absence of complete understanding? What is the impact of networks and complexity theories on learning? What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process on learning? With increased recognition of interconnections in differing fields of knowledge, how are systems and ecology theories perceived in light of learning tasks?

Constructivism suggests that learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences (Driscoll, 2000, p. 376).

Key findings from the research are that: Media literacy, whether in traditional or convergent media contexts, is important for being engaged in society. Effective use of media and communications services is increasingly a prerequisite to broader citizen engagement including access to essential services. While the gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is narrowing in terms of access to information and communications technologies, there is evidence of a digital ‘use/literacy’ divide associated with socio-economic status, age, workforce participation and household type. The promotion of media literacy is an important prerequisite to effective regulatory intervention designed to protect consumers, particularly for online and mobile services.

Teachers and lecturers are getting the lowdown on how to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo in an educational way.Most schools and colleges in the UK block access to the websites but they are missing out on their potential for education, a government-funded guide says.The report for Childnet International and funded by Becta, the government body for technology in learning, says while teachers and lecturers may be using social networking services they may not recognise the educational potential for their students.Schools could help students develop "e-portfolios" where learners can record their achievements and collect examples of their work, the guide suggests. Or teachers could use social networking services to set up groups that "semi-formalise" students' online communications and "document discussions and milestones as they go".Young people are more likely to have learned their social networking skills from their friends or classmates than from any formal instruction or support from adults.

diluted her role as an expert, reducing her to just another figure with limited video skills. That also limited her ability to act as an authority figure, one that plays an essential role in keeping the discussion from degenerating into chaos.