Learning Ecosystems Living Lab (LELL) is a new initiative anchored in a place-based and collective design approach to mobilize practitioners, experts, policymakers & innovators as a global community of practice and thought-leadership that will support the design of key components of Learning Ecosystems in different regional contexts. This initiative seeks to disrupt and spearhead the sharing of innovative ideas and support the design of Learning Ecosystems globally.
The global community of practice aims to:
As highlighted by the WISE Local Learning Ecosystems: Emerging Models report, there is a clear growing interest in the concept of Learning Ecosystems. Theoretical foundations of Learning Ecosystems are steadily growing stronger, but education stakeholders still lack access to knowledge, a community of practice and practical guidelines on how to build and manage Learning Ecosystems. The goal of LELL is to bridge this gap and to develop innovative and robust models of Learning Ecosystems to be applied in various global contexts.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in researching and mapping Learning Ecosystems. Academics and researchers have sought to map actors and projects, as well as tried to understand trends and best practices to better define this concept.
Thanks to the increasing research and interest, many definitions of Learning Ecosystems abound, each revolving around a similar theme – a system or group of people, coming together with their resources to support the evolution of learning within their community.
This playbook is deeply anchored in WISE’s and Qatar Foundation’s effort to research Learning Ecosystems and is built upon the definition put forward by WISE in 2019 in the Local Learning Ecosystems: Emerging Models report by Valeria Hannon, Louise Thomas, Sarah Ward and Tom Beresford: “Learning Ecosystems are entities already in existence providing directly to learners. They comprise open and evolving communities of diverse providers that cater to the variety of learner needs in a given context or area. They are usually supported by an innovative credentialing system or technology phone that replaces or augments the traditional linear system of examinations and graduation.”
