Without initiatives that call for the preservation of a learner-centered environment, to these problems will undoubtedly compound. To influence the collective mind that constitutes the Internet, we must build a community of like-minded developers and users committed to retaining the educational integrity of the medium. If such a community has a handle on what principles are worth protecting and what practices can nurture those principles, it is hoped that the quality of the Internet will be influenced.

The Guiding Principles

1. Maximize the Internet as a tool for learning and growth.

2. Promote learner safety.

3. Commit to equity.

4. Respect property rights.

The Best Practices

Members of the Internet community who share the above values will find independent and collective means to act on them. A few of the "best practices" (abbreviated as "BP") contained in the draft document are listed below:

BP1 Content is designed with multiple entry points which enable learners to be engaged by their curiosity, to shape their experience and to follow their interests.

BP2 Tools support learners' construction of understanding (e.g., tools that encourage learners to test, revise, reformulate, and share their ideas and models).

BP3 Learners are encouraged to lead or participate in learning communities with tools that invite, exclude, schedule, communicate, share documents and distribute information (e.g., clubs, e-groups, listservs, newsgroups).

BP4 Tools are provided that include parents and families in the educational experiences.

BP5 Support is provided for learners to develop effective on-line collaboration skills.

BP6 Learners have control over the collection and use of their own information, including personal data that they have explicitly provided to the site as well as behavioral tracking data that is collected on the site.

BP7 Feedback loops are provided for learners to interact with developers and access control functions of Web sites.

BP8 Learners are provided the means to network with real world community contacts and distant experts and to apply their knowledge and skills in real world situations.

BP9 Procedures and technologies are provided that protect the intellectual property rights of individuals in the use, display and distribution of their products.

BP10 Sites provide resources to accommodate multiple styles of learning.

BP11 The adaptable and malleable nature of the Internet is used to best serve the special needs and diversity of all learners (e.g., translation services, localized content).

BP12 Learners are empowered to create their own economies/markets (exchanges of goods and services, conversations, etc.) and seek to grow from them.

BP13 Content and activities are designed to take advantage of new ubiquitous technologies that stretch the boundaries of on-line learning environments (e.g. PIMs, PDAs, Gameboys) and provide both synchronous and asynchronous opportunities that maximize learner opportunities.

BP14 Learners are encouraged to participate in the proliferation of informal and unconventional learning opportunities and build upon them.
 

Internet developers and users are encouraged to provide feedback on this first draft of the E-Learning Manifesto so that the document can continue to evolve.