Toward a multi-level knowledge building innovation network

Abstract

Knowledge building requires collaborative bootstrapping, with participants at all levels of the education system part of a collective effort to go beyond information exchange to innovation-producing networks that demonstrate that education can operate as a knowledge creating enterprise. Organizational theories and research are increasingly focused on multilevel perspectives for creating actionable knowledge; the challenge is to take advantage of emergence to self-organize around solutions and new means. By “innovation networks” we mean networks that go beyond sharing and discussion to the actual creation of new knowledge and innovations. Self-organization and emergence surround us, all the time and at multiple levels, whether we are aware or not. However, self-organization around idea improvement is rare and requires engaging innovative capacity at all levels, a research-intensive enterprise surrounding innovations, and an open source engineering team committed to enabling new forms of interaction, media, and analytic tools. “Multi-level” envisions inclusion of students, teachers, administrators, researchers, engineers, and policy makers in a collaborative enterprise. This session takes the form of a design think tank to advance conceptual frameworks and means for new and more powerful environments to support a multi-level knowledge building innovation network.