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• Funding: Technology in schools is often grossly under-funded, thereby putting additional pressure on administrators
to develop innovative financing strategies. Funding is often provided through grants and special programs, making it
difficult for administrators to put into place long-term technology plans.
• Documenting Performance: Administrators need to demonstrate improved performance of the schools and be
able to correlate and direct school-related investments to improvement goals.

The possibilities envisioned with an effective and comprehensive learning ecosystem can be achieved and the challenges
overcome with the Connected Learning Community approach.

All ecosystems require balance in order to function A Framework for Improving the Learning Ecosystem
successfully. Each element and party within the system Although specific products such as hardware and software
has a role to play and through this will influence the sum come and go over time, the fabric that binds a learning
of the parts that represent the learning process. Keeping ecosystem must endure through successive generations.
such an ecosystem in balance requires key partnership This fabric must also be sensitive to change in such a way
commitments between schools, educational institutions, that it is capable of progressive improvement without the
students, parents, and government agencies in order to need for expensive, large-scale replacement in future years.
sustain a long-term environment.
Learning without limits
Engineering such an ecosystem requires processes,
Within the ecosystem, access to appropriate and reliable standards and a range of technology and architecture that
information is crucial so that stakeholders in all parts of the map directly into learning activities.
system can make informed decisions and take appropriate
action. The ecosystem must also address the time and cost
dimensions in automation and the streamlining of key tasks,
and allow an evolutionary approach to cost management.
The notion of connected learning today and in the future
also must consider the challenges of changing social and
political pressures in a world of constant technological
innovation and improvement.

The Connected Learning Community Approach enables
such an ecosystem. The Connected Learning Community
is vision for a world that encourages lifelong learning. It
removes time and space constraints and enables a world
of flexible learning, rich content, community involvement
and more. The Connected Learning Community approach This mapping can be viewed as a framework of
is not a single entity or product, but a series of architected building blocks tied together by an underlying fabric
frameworks, global standards, and best practices. The of interoperability, communications and collaboration
following outlines this framework for improving the services, school business intelligence, and technology
learning ecosystem, including learning, teaching, parenting standards. These are the building blocks of the technology
and administration scenarios made possible when applying infrastructure that will address challenges found in the
this framework, and the design objectives for making this learning ecosystem of today, and enable the Connected
potential real. Learning Community of tomorrow.

Learning without limits
In the Connected Learning Community, formal education simultaneously meets dual objectives. First, it creates
a lifelong passion for learning in every student that transcends and outlives school. Second, it encourages and
supports the highest level of student academic achievement.

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