Electronic networks are being increasingly used to support a variety of educational activities. Although early research in this area has been promising, there has been less work to date concerning more basic cognitive and theoretical issues associated with the design and use of educational electronic networks. This paper proposes a distributed network learning framework (DNLF) which will be presented through three main aspects: (a) network mediators and the flow of information and knowledge, (b) networks and cognitive theories of learning, and (c) the network-human interface. A s an example of an application of the distributed network learning framework, an ongoing research and development project is discussed that involves a cognitively-based educational electronic communication tool. The Message Assistant. In addition to the standard electronic mail features such as creating, sending, and receiving messages, this program includes a user-defined incremental expert system and hypertextual linking functions to assist a network mediator in her or his evaluation, organization, and distribution of network information and knowledge. The distributed network learning framework can function as a flexible-and extendable—set of conceptual views from which to examine and to work with different aspects of dynamically evolving network learning environments.

Education is a complex system, which has conceptual and methodological implications for education research and policy. In this article, an overview is first provided of the Complex Systems Conceptual Framework for Learning (CSCFL), which consists of a set of conceptual perspectives that are generally shared by educational complex systems, organized into two focus areas: collective behaviors of a system, and behaviors of individual agents in a system. Complexity and research methodologies for education are then considered, and it is observed that commonly used quantitative and qualitative techniques are generally appropriate for studying linear dynamics of educational systems. However, it is proposed that computational modeling approaches, being extensively used for studying nonlinear characteristics of complex systems in other fields, can provide a methodological complement to quantitative and qualitative education research approaches. Two research case studies of this approach are discussed. We conclude with a consideration of how viewing education as a complex system using complex systems’ conceptual and methodological tools can help advance education research and also inform policy.