Since the late eighties, a growing movement in the learning sciences has theorized learning as it is embedded in everyday social activity in varied settings, including but not restricted to formal educational contexts. More recently, the spread of new networked and interactive media has invigorated this line of inquiry by foregrounding the ways in which knowledge and learning opportunities are distributed across networks that cross institutional boundaries of home, school and community. New media enables learners to access learning opportunities and resources in ways that are not dependent on traditional gatekeepers such as the school, teachers, libraries, or parents. This planning project builds on this growing recognition of social and networked forms of learning with new media to develop a new paradigm for sociocultural learning theory keyed to digital media and models for understanding learning as it is distributed across social and informational networks that span different locations and practices, and is centered on the learner rather than specific institutions. The goal is to develop a plan for a research network focused on understanding and researching distributed learning in a digital age. Activities include pilot research projects documenting learning in school. afterschool, and online context, and convening meetings to explore the broader conceptual and theoretical terrain.