Towards an educational infrastructure for lifelong learning: from institutional silos to networked ecosystems

Individual learning journeys are made up of many steps and include both formal and informal learning opportunities. However, the IT ecosystem of our educational landscape is primarily oriented toward institutional structures. This results in media disruptions and sometimes cumbersome transfer steps during educational transitions. Even worse, it restricts collaboration across institutional boundaries. Informal learning opportunities are not at all connected to existing infrastructure. Moreover, in a digital age the education system must develop new knowledge and skills using new methods. This requires reshaping educational infrastructure and tools, which in turn would help to improve supporting lifelong learning. This article examines the contributions that educational technology can already make here and what research is still needed along the time-frames of 5, 10 and 25 years.