The Aspen Task Force on Learning and the Internet, with support and guidance from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is a group of 20 innovative and respected minds in technology, public policy, education, business, privacy and safety. The Task Force’s goal was to understand the ways in which young people learn today and to optimize learning and innovation within a trusted environment.

After a year of research and outreach, today the Aspen Institute Task Force on Learning and Internet released a new report that describes a vision for an approach to teaching and learning that places the student at the center. “Learner at the Center of a Networked World” balances both vision and action by imagining what a connected set of learning experiences could entail and outlining how we can get there.

In describing the vision, the report describes five essential principles for creating what the task force describes as “safe, optimized and rewarding learning experiences.”

1. Learners need to be at the center of new learning networks.

2. Every student should have access to learning networks.

3. Learning networks need to be interoperable.

4. Learners should have the literacies necessary to utilize media as well as safeguard themselves in a digital age.

5. Students should have safe and trusted environments for learning.