Longlife learning network

We want to show how the paradigm shift in the patterns of adaptive e-learning, in which besides offering educational paths with different course materials, depending on student ability, students are also offered to take the role of peer helpers, according to algorithms of similar cognitive relationships and their interpersonal skills. This is particularly suitable for the creation of a network that not only develops contacts among students in the individual university, but with different universities and is a permanent link with the territory. This network is the tool that is essential for maintaining relations with alumni already entered the work world, allowing the learning community to become a true community of practice. This is made possible by the fact that the natural social relations, conceived in the context of learning, are strengthened in the development of a community of peers who come together and learn synergically. The students, who will become active players in the work world, should be encouraged to maintain contact with the academic community, especially in a world where lifelong learning is becoming increasingly essential to withstand the challenges of innovation and training. We believe that e-learning along with social computing is the right tool to develop these connections, which are managed and promoted by the institutions involved. To address this opportunity it is necessary to create a database populated by students, with their cognitive and social activities that will enable a systematic and methodological approach to build relationships beyond the narrow confines of a degree program, allowing the management and development of cross-cutting relationships, not subject (or at least to a lesser extent) to mere personal and spatial limits. © 2011 IADIS.