The 2025 Connected Learning Summit convened a global community of over 500 educators, researchers, and…
We Are The Connected Learning Alliance
Connected Learning Alliance
The Connected Learning Alliance (CLA) supports a network of organizations, innovators, and thought leaders dedicated to learning that is culturally connected and centered on youth interests and agency. We host the Connected Learning Summit and Connected Camps, develop and share content for the connected learning community, and provide operational and communications support for projects of the Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine.
Blog
Crossposted from Neurodiversity NPO. Read the full article here. Neurodiversity and Project-Based Learning In…
“In the information environments that young people spend a lot of their time, they’re…
After six years with UC Irvine and the Connected Learning Lab, I’m moving on to…
I’m delighted to share a new report that offers insights and recommendations about integrating neurodiversity-informed…
“The value of CLS is that its foundation is so strong that a community…
Crossposted from Neurodiversity NPO. Read the full article here. Neurodiversity and Game-Based Learning –…
“What we don’t know how to do is help build connections more equitably between…
Crossposted from Neurodiversity NPO. Read the full article here. Neurodiversity and Connected Learning –…
In Tracy Fullerton’s and my new book, The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully, part of…
Featured Projects
Our mission is to build a global online community where kids build, code, play, and learn from one another. As a not-for-profit organization, we provide connected learning experiences – our “camps” – that foster creativity, problem solving, collaboration and interest-driven learning.
To accomplish this, we tap the power of youth tech experts – our “counselors” – to teach and mentor. In turn, we provide our counselors with multi-year job experience and professional support. Through this system, we have served thousands of kids through our online and community-based programs.
Date: October 5 – 10, 2025
Location: Online and In Person
With a unique focus on cross-sector connections and progressive and catalytic innovation, our summit brings together leading researchers, educators, and developers. Our mission is to fuel a growing movement of innovators harnessing the power of emerging technology to expand access to participatory, playful, and creative learning. We offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities for organizations to demonstrate their commitment to connected learning while aligning with their goals and initiatives.
Featured Resources
Brokering Youth Pathways
A toolkit for connecting youth to interest-driven pathways that go beyond a single program experience
Connected Civics
Papers and resources about civic and political engagement grounded in young people’s deeply felt interests and identities
Connected Educators
A curated collection of interviews of inspiring educators on how they support learner agency, co-learning, media literacy, civic engagement and online learning
Connected Learning Research Tools
A collection of tools and instruments for researchers and evaluators to conduct research and evaluation related to connected learning
Connected Learning Through Libraries
Libraries support connected learning by offering access to technology, learning resources, and expert guidance for young people to pursue their unique interests.
Institute of Play
Curriculum and other resources for transforming education through play, developed by game designers and educators at the Quest to Learn school
Race-Grounded Career Advising
A framework and tools for youth development practitioners to develop programs centered on the assets, identities, and voices of BIPOC youth
Reclaiming Digital Futures
A toolkit for informal educators mobilizing digital technology in youth-centered learning
Featured Publications
Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning
A book drawing from ethnographic studies of online affinity networks that expand learning and opportunity for young people, by Mizuko Ito, Crystle Martin, Rachel Cody Pfister, Mathew H. Rafalow, Katie Salen, and Amanda Wortman
The Connected Arts Learning Framework
A report offering a framework for arts learning that connects the arts to children’s community, civic, and future professional life, by Kylie Peppler, Maggie Dahn, and Mizuko Ito
The Connected Learning Research Network: Reflections on a Decade of Engaged Scholarship
A report presenting a vision for understanding and revitalizing how we support learning in a networked world, updating the framework presented in the 2013 connected learning report
Connected Learning Research Network
Archive of publications from the research network that developed the connected learning framework between 2011 and 2018
Connected Wellbeing Case Studies
11 case studies of projects that center youth and community wellbeing through strengths-based, socially-connected, and youth-centered approaches
Learning Connected Civics: Narratives, Practices, Infrastructures
Connected civics is when civic and political engagement is grounded in young people’s deeply felt interests and identities, by Elisabeth Soep, Neta Kliger-Vilenchik, Sangita Stresthrova, Liana Gamber-Thompson, and Arely Zimmerman