Future of e-learning.

Future of e-learning, Raymond Elferink, Ray Com bv, The Netherlands

How will be learning in the future? All classroom facilities are based on 19th century.
How do we learn?
Where do we learn?
In reality we learn everywhere, on the train, on the job, during leisure time and of course in the classroom.

How do our learning materials look like? Classicly books, stuff that you find around, learning materials created by others (not by teachers).

Reality of our learning practice.

We don’t learn from 1 person, but learn so much more from people around us.
Learning by listening will not disappear, but will decrease. Learning by reading books, learning by doing (you just start trying), reflection on learning (you need time to find out what you have learned) and sharing of knowledge (the exchange of knowledge is important).

And you can do that anywhere.

Learners are the Architects of their own learning
Tools to empower learners to take control
Resources by learners for learners
Services to coach, guide and enrich (learning)

E-learning courses for IT-professionals

EIT project presentation: E-learning courses for IT-professionals, Alina Ivanovaite, Vilnius Business College, Lithuania

Main idea: Create English language material, oriented to IT field and to put that material on the website. IT students don’t want to learn from books, they need some material online.

Started: In 2002 Course on computer programming was introduced. But students were not interested in General English or Business English, but English for IT.
After a survey they discovered that most info was for higher level students. That’s why, as English is the language for IT but not compulsory to enter the high school, it would be good to start up English for IT language courses.

Target group: IT students and IT specialist at elementary/post elementary level of English, with passive knowledge of IT related voacabulary. What they did? They developed 12 virtual months – each month is about a different IT topic. Courses were build gradually, from very easy to more complex.
Each virtual week exists of

• an IT
• grammar
• language
• communication
• learning
• revision and
• testing section
  

Additonal there is an online glossary of most common words and one on IT Terminology, a language reference section, a online user guide, online forums and chats, IT case studies. At the end the students receive an EIT certificate, which prove that they have achieve a certain level of IT English.

Go to www.english-it.eu/course to find out how it works. The course will stay for free for some time after the project.

Engaging learners using technology

The last session on my behalf. I hope this will be worth it.

RSS to SMS. User get the latest new information on their mobile phones.
Using SMS as a the "glue" to deliver personalised mobile e-learning.

SMS podcast to +44762480869 to get more information on how this works.

SMS is used as reminders or a quizzes or as way of asking questions to teachers who will deal with those at the end of the session.

As students use SMS the most, it can be a good way to keep them interested. Some students SMS 60 to 100 messages a day.
Although schools are not in favor of using text messages, it is the most popular way of communication for students. So maybe it is time to act.

Jumping on the bandwagon of new technologies: what's wrong with that?

• New technlogies tend to creat new learning locations rather than new learning opportunities
• Learning on new technologies often replicate the model of classromm-based instruction, at least at the outset
• Shouldn't we be starting with the learning, and then think about the technologies available - old and new?
  

Web 2.0 is

• many-way participative environment
• anytime
• anywhere
• on the internet
• enraces user-generated content
• may include nlogs, wiki's, blog/vodcasts, social networking, twitter, ...
• non linear structure

Complete presentation on www.thebild.org by next week.

Rapid e-learning: Why?

• Required in 3 weeks or less
• short, focused e-learning; modules 10-20 minutes
• Busy learners
• Frequent updates
• Rate of change increasing

f.i. since 2002 Blackberry developed 60 different models, that's one every 5 weeks.

Managing & updating should be quick and easy with no technical skills to change text or images by using old fashioned XML. This allows fast updating, no authoring tool required.

Typical learning structure

• engagement,
  
• product knowledge,
  
• stories and applications
  
• real-life scenarios,
  
• assessment,
  
• keep it real and practical.

Scenario's are important. real-life scenario's are good for the recognition of the learner.

Some successfactors to a new project.

• You have a Need
• A good idea (an unique idea) to solve this need
• Travel around and talk with them, learn them personal.
• A good consortium.
• Search for people with a complementary experience
• Only hand in a project when you totally behind the idea and have all partners needed.
• Communicate with the EC

Funding possibilities in the Future (part 2)

ICT for education and training:major initiatives at EU level.

Policy Areas: i2010, The European Qualifications Framework, e-Skills ...

Financial instruments:

- LLP
- FP7 7th Research Framework Programme (9 billion Euro for period 2007-2013

Research and Technological development: Technology-enhanced learning. (=TEL)

Challenge 4: Digital libraries and content

What is TEL?
Studying how T improve the way individuals, organisations learn
How we apply the acquired knowledge to our situations.

Knowledge society: The changing nature of our society and the way de do business.
Modes of interaction: thwe way we will learn and the way we will experience life in the future.
Requirements: skills and knowledge needed to operate in very different environments.

Research:
From research to innovation: Support for technology transfer and take-up.
Validation: showcasing, best practices

Key elements for 2009-2010

Learning and Teaching in the 21st Century, the classroom of tomorrow.
- Topics: Future classroom
- Individualisation and collaboration
- Foster creativity and expressiveness
- Increasingly active, reflective & independent learning activities

Research
Innovation in Learning and Teaching
- Take change processes in account

Reinforce links between individual and organizational learning
- Embedding learning experiences in organisational processes and practices
- Solutions which cover talent, knowledge, workflow, collaborative innovation and competence management.
- Effectiveness of learning content

Adaptive and Intuitive systems of learning
- New forms of assessing learning outcomes
- Feedback and guidance mechanisms

Revolutionary learning Appliances,, incl.toys
- Promote specific cognitive processes and abilities
- Address specific social and learning problems
- In the field of science, mathemethics

Interdisciplinary methods
Awareness building and knowledge management

Pratical info: budget

Overall budget 46M€

TEL info day in Luxemburg: 24.03.09
FP7 ICT: Proposers day in Budapest: 22.01.09 to get to know other research partners.

Closing in September 2009.

Contact: infso-telearn@ec.europa.ac

Funding possibilities for the future

ICT for learning by Elena Coello

1. Overview call for proposals in 2009.

Leonardo Da Vinci: 28/02/09
Transversal proramme if addressed to different kinds of education. 31/03/09

Multilateral project: At least 3 participating countries, maximum 3 years, max funding 250.000 Euro a Year with a maximum of 500.000 Euro. 75% funding.
Multilateral networks: Generally involve sharing expertise, identify best practices and dissemination. At least 5 countries. Max 150.000 Euro. Maximum three years. 75% funding.

2. Opportunities for ICT in detail.

Leonardo Da Vinci:

Multilateral projects: among operational objectives: To support developement of innovative ICT-based content and services.
No specific priorities.

Transversal programma: Key activity 3 ICT

Multilateral projects:
Priority 1: Identify and implementing innovative uses of ICT for LLL in particular for groups at risk of exclusion.
Web 2.0 and social software tools boost potencial of social process of learning
Develop and implement expiremental approaches
Analyse the impact on learning; comparing with existing practice and identifying success factors.

Priority 2: ICT as a catalyst for innovation and creativity in LL
Innovative learner-centred approaches based on creative problem-solvin, discovery, experencial learning, critical thinking, learning by doing.

Networks
Priority 1: addressing transversal issues for linking up and connecting learning communities through ICT in an innovative way.
Share knowledge involving all relevant actors: public and private supply and demand: formal and informal: at home, at work.

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/en/llp/funding_en.htm

Global e-learning at the workplace

Laura Overton

Key challenges

• Lack of knowledge about its potential
• staff reductance to adopt
• lack op implemnetation skills
• Unreliable infrastructure
• poor past experience
• cost
• lack of relevant huigh-quality e-learning
• e-learning too generic
• suppliers hype
• staff ICT skills

The more mature e-learning becomes the bigger the organisational impact, staff impact and the take up by the employees is.

At this time 3% of the companies are novice, 17 % use e-learning sporadic, 40% is in the phase of developing, 28 % has established it and 11 % use an embedded system.

Aligning to need towards delivering impact

You need first define the need, and look at the learner context, the work context ((Managerial) cultural aspects)
Then build out the capability and ensure the engagement
To end with a demonstration value.
Every step have to move in time with the others.

Define the need:

• Decision making: Alignment to key business strategies, indentify the influencers, involve local organisations in decision making.
• Local needs: undertake the differences
• Individual need: local continuing professional development
  

Learner context:

• How important is it to put the training immediately in practice.
• Engage and listen to learners
• Involve them in design and implementation
• Make it much easier (embed links)
• Capture attention with new formats
• Connecting learners (really important, employees want to ask questions as the problems occur and employees want to be connected)

Work context:

• Connect to regional priorities: identify work councils, unions and other local stakeholders who will influence success
• Don't fight technical infrastructures: workarounds to accomodate them
• Working local culture to your advantage

Which tools are used in global organ? Video conferencing, LMS, CMS, virtual classrooms, simple screen simulations and online resources are most common, the use of blogs, wiki's less.

Building capability:

• Collaborative authoring of content
• Ensure that local training divisions are equipped to use the latest tools
• Support & connect
  

Ensuring engagement

• Equip your local heros (system and change)
• Pilots (around simplified systems)
  

Demonstrating value:

• Don't be afraid to ask; use technology to routinely collect feedback
• Don't be afraid to dig deeper.

Change or no change in Workplace learning

Clive Shepherd

Change and uncertainty: the making or the breaking of corporate learning and development.

Learning methods are (relatively) timeless. Only a few are depended on media. But the choice that we made amongst them do change.
Forces for change

1. New thinking
2. new expectations
3. new pressures
   

1. New thinking

Connectivism is new; it is all about connections, more importantly we learn in 2008 by means of connections externally.
Defining neuroscience: now we are much more aware to overload learners, to change the way present things to learners, Now we know that 30 hour e-learning course are too much.

Teachers do not create learning. Learner create learning. Teachers create the conditions to facilitate learning.

2. New expectations

How gen Y want learning to be:

• Interactive
• Student-centred
• authentic
• collaborative
• on-demand
  

Don't we all want this. Maybe Gen Y says what they want. In the end we don't have to pamper Gen Y or anyone else. We need do to the right thing.
So new thinking and new expectations demand a shift in emphasis....

3. New pressures

• Time pressures : "72% of all training are time-critical" (Bersin & Associates (2005))

A pyramid of learning interventions
Formal responses (we still need those)
Rapid responses
Use-generated responses

The last becomes more and more important.

• Environmental pressures (drastical reduce of travel)
• Cost pressures (Due to the financial crisis it might occur that some training departments will be eliminated almost entirely (Jay Cross (2008)) Employees are more than your greater asset.

We can't meet these pressures, but have to choose methods to maximise the effectiveness of learning.
Media to maximise the effectiveness of learning.

Learning media are evolving rapidly. New media enable change, like web 2.0 tools.
New tools, cost are getting down remarkably
new devices, mobile devices, laptop, low-price multimedia tools, as half the people are working away from their desk.
new bandwith

A time for action...
When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight (Jack Weigh)
We need to be pro-active.

Generation Y

Donald Clark (shares the session)
Ton Zijlstra

Some ideas from his intervenience.

Suggestion:
Bring in your children, it makes everything more human and talks more interesting.

Now 50% of the companies are one-person companies, it all started when mobile phones reached 2/3 of the Dutch population (2000).
Change in planning, workplace, work life balance, visibility,

Gen Y is not about the digital natives, it is about the world that has changed. Kids are kids. They like to play outside the most and secondly they like to play with the computer.

Is fooling around a part of learning?
never learned so muchn while having such fun (how do we engage them?)
Now i need to choose what to apply

Immerse yourself, be Gen Y(ou)

Training Teachers to carry out e-learning

Inger-Marie F. Christensen is hosting this session and she works for a organisation which wants to facilate e-learning and its tools.

How do they work at the University in Denmark?

Copyrights is something that always pops up. Therefore they have one person responsible for that.
A lot of teachers think that is too time consuming. They are still looking for the best solution to engage teachers in carryin out e-learning.

How motivating teachers, what competences are needed?

• By helping the enthousiasts and hopefully they bring more and more teachers online.
• Sometimes you have to oblige people using several tools.
• Oblige teachers on an online archive folder.
  
• In that way it is easy to uploading it to an LMS.A course on e-moderator is obliged to all teachers.
• Start with teaching them the basic skills of computing.
• What kind of learning activities do your students have to undertake? And what activities can you teach online? What do you hope that they do online?
• Pedagogical approach.
• e-learning support. A responsible person who can tackle the problems teachers have in creating their courses. Just to avoid that they stop at the first barrier (f.i. what if they forgot their password).
  
• Define first what you want to develop. Afterwards the software pops-up.
• Teaching face-to-face sets the teacher as a leader, while an online course gives other opportunities.
• Look for easy software, so that teachers don't have problems with that.
• We have to follow the new way of living, don't stay with "medieval" ways of teaching. In a supermarket workers were obliged to use the barcode system (otherwise they were fired), while in teaching they tend to stay on his 'traditional', well known way.
  
• Management needs to be positive about introducing e-courses, otherwise it will not work.
  
• Gully Salman model. 5-steps model.

The formal model is below. Enjoy!


Conclusions.

How do we secure motivation and commitment?
We believe that you have to put in the compulsery field.
If they get the chance to teach one course online, they will know what it is like.
The e-course has te be firmly planned.

Embedding web 2.0 into workplace learning

Paul Coyne shows some Case studies and reflections:
Why workplace based learning?
Develops critical awareness of research and inquiry issues - self awareness
Involves learning practical

We have a diversity of

• learners on the workplace.
• learning platforms (formal and informal)

Do we support these formats?
Formal course (using web2.0 tools like blog for reflection, wiki for group and individual work
Use of a non-formal academy with action learning, group focus, personal reflection, tacit to explicit knowledge exchange and assessed. (blogs for learning blogs, personal reflection, wiki for group reflection).

He used ELGG open source platform.
After the first month of launch not a big use. Why?

• Another system to learn,
  
• more passwords to remember,
  
• security and confidentiality concerns,
  
• high barriers to participation.

In the meanwhile some other were impressed as

• sms and email alerts were included,
  
• remote contribution to mail, text, ms word and other tools allowed,
  
• reduced the feature set and simplified the design.

After some changes the first users used it more frequently as

• They didn't need to learn a new IT platform in order to use the service effectively.
  
• They can use the more advanced web 2.0 features.

Still some will never use this as

• security and confidentiality concerns
• anxiety of expressing opinions on a public safe
• inability of teaching staff to use the system
• Can't see the value or the point for such an approach.

Some reflections:

• Simple, works (don't offer all users all features, it can be very overwelming)
• web 2.0 evangelism will get you so far
• Be prepared (f.i. support the staff in the long term)
  

Web 2.0 tools and Workplace Learning

Hank Horkoff

Time is too short supply
Not personalised
A lifetime endeavour

Web2.0 tools can address these problems Key success factors are :

• Customization
  
• Collaboration
  
• Channels
  

Podcasts are at the core. They are modular.
Daily routine go to the website, practice (10') f.i. with councelar, at home using Ipod.
In stead of going to the classroom transfer it to your own personal life.

Customize to individual students, if you want to pay for.
1% of students actively contribute to forums, etc...
Try to split the group of students in smaller groups, in order to increase interaction.

Roles of classroom and ICT
In 1980 the classroom was responsible for 100%
In 2000 classroom was still responsible for 75%
In 2006 ICT levels the role of the classroom (50%)
In the future the role of ICT will increase.

Presentation of Hank Horkoff can be found on http://thenetworksense.com/

The future of education

Dr. Michael Wesch (on you tube better known as Mike Wesch) talked about the future of education mostly based on this movie: A vision of Students Today

Look close and enjoy.

Keywords in his presentation were:
User-generated Content
User-generated Filter
User-generated Organisation
User-generated Distribution
User-generated Commentary
User-generated Ratings

Online Educa Berlin: Plenary session

Dr. Harold Elleston ( The new security Foundation, UK) opens the conference by telling that this conference is not just a conference, it is a Phenomenon because of us, the participants, we are here to transfer knowledge, when you come to the conference you feel a kind of optimism in contradiction with the newspapers headlines.

This year we have 2064 delegates of 91 countries.

Top four of the delegation Poland, Norway, The Netherlands and British as highest with 247 delegates.

Educa Online Berlin: Kick-off

Online Educa Berlin – December 3-12-08

For those interesting in what is going on in Berlin, a brief overview of the session of today. As it was my first time being, I decided to subscribe myself for the pre-conference session where I should learn all about “Getting the best out of the conference”. It is a kind of kick-off meeting. Ready for 3 days of intense networking and hoping to discover too much and great stuff.

The session itself starts with an introduction of Sally Reynolds, who is working for ATiT in Belgium. As Educa Online is also meant to enlarge you network, she proposes to start immediately by proposing myself to my neighbour. We can introduce ourselves to eachother by telling our name, the name of our organisation and what you are doing at that organisation. I have the chance to learn some more of Ms. Dogba from Nigeria. She is working at the University where they are introducing a new LMS, namely Moodle. At the end of the session she tells me that she is originally from Poland.

After five minutes of introduction time, Sally Reynolds takes back the floor and asks each time two persons to introduce the other to all participants. Here is what I learned from the audience:

Jakko means sharing in Finnish. Elisabeth is from Sweden and works for a center for Game studies in Malmo, She is doing her PSD. Katia lives in Greece. She just finished her Post graduated studies with a thesis on collaborative learning and teaches now little children about new technologies. Radovan comes from Slovakia and works for a company called E-learn media which develop content and provide LMS services. One of his clients is Maria who is working for ING Insurance Slovakia Himek fidel from Sweden works as a Training supervisor in a company called Gettinga. Ms Sietta is from Brasil: Federal Center of Technological Education. She saw for the first time snow. Tinny lives in Finland as a Highschool coordinator of an e-learning environment There is also a Professor from Nigeria works on the field of Architecture, encourage people Asia Kanie shares experiences outside the classroom on a kind of website. A Professor of Chemistry of Russia. She is interested in all learning Hilde Geujens from Belgium works in a company Engine of innovation. Started First with Cultural Innovation topics and says that e-learning is crucial to that. Jim works in Brussels for an accreditation organisation who provide schools their Sell or Unique label.

A small Background: In November 1995 the first online educa conference started with the idea to bring together an international group (Community) of practitioners interested in exploiting technology to support learning regardless of sector, location or approach.

A small overview of the participants gives us a good idea of what Educa Online can mean for you:

Year # participants # countries
2000 1200 60
2001 1121 47
2004 1703 66
2007 2126 95

Organisation and management ICWE owns and manages the event consisting of a conference and ancillary exhibition. The agenda is built up through the work of the steering and advisory committees. It consists of a mix of public call for papers and selection and invitation process through the committees. The conference is open to everyone who can come to.

Selection starts in January: At that time they identify the themes and a call for proposals is sent out. How are they defined? First of all by the participants of last year and secondly by following what happening is in the world by reading blogs, wikis.
This year main topics are :

• Informal learning
  
• Generation Y
  
• Changes in financial market is this a opportunity for e-learning.
  

In April they close the public call and a first selection of proposals is made. In July they make a publication of the draft agenda and finalise the pre-conference events In September they close the agenda and start the collection of materials In December the final agenda is printed and evaluation can start.

What kind of organisations are attending:

This is a good mixture of organisation over the conference.

Where do they come from?


It is remarkable that only 3% of the participants are Belgian. Is there a lack of interest or maybe a lack of funds to participate in this major event.

What can you expect on Educa Online?
2 pre-conference events
- security & defence learning forum
- Iberoamérica forum
- 16 workshops
4 Plenary sessions
- Opening: Learning, Cultural identity and ICT
- Generation Y
- Friday Morning Open educational resources, sustainability of OER Globalisation
During the conference there are also Parallel sessions (86 different sessions). You can participate in those sessions as being :

• Presentation sessions
• Focus session on a specific topic
• Panel discussions
• Demonstration and best practice show cases.
  

Apart from that you can collect lots of information on the exhibition stands. This year there are 112 stands from 25 countries.

This is not everything, but even more things to do like:

• Show cases: informal exhibition.
• Networking via Notice-board for messages
• Speed networking session: Idea is to meet very fast new people: 2 or 3 mins per person.
• SIG: Special Interest GroupsKnowledge exchange sessions.
  

At the and of the session we got some interesting sites where you can gatter information on e-learning topics:
Websites
www.Eschoolnews.com
www.Checkpoint-learning.com
www.Elearningeuropa.info
www.Astd.org
www.Innovateonline.info

Blogs
www.Clive-shepherd.com
www.Donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com
www.Zylstra.org/blog
www.downes.ca/news/OLDaily.htm
www.janeknight.typepad.com
www.schmoller.net

Some of the last things I heard were

• that diigo seems to be better… then delicious.
  
• Find an active blogger, for the dutch speaking people: Wilfred rubens is an active blogger
• SERV and JISK are good higher education resources
• Safaribooksonline: you can find lots of online books in pdf.
  

This is already an battery full of ideas, in the next days, you get more.

Berliner greetings
Bert Coolen
Projectmanager
Belgian Network for Open and Distance Learning
www.be-odl.org

Ponyfish

Het gebruik van RSS-feeds is bij sommige gebruikers al ingeburgerd, andere beginnen er mee te werken. Er bestaan ondertussen al heel wat websites die een RSS-reader op hun website hebben staan. Op die manier kan je snel veel websites bezoeken.
Maar wat met websites die geen RSS-reader hebben ingebouwd op hun website. Wel nu blijkbaar kan je via Ponyfish, ook op die laatste soort websites abonneren.

Test het eens uit en ga naar www.ponyfish.com

Feedmyinbox

Op zich zie ik er het nut niet onmiddellijk van in, maar als je graag je RSS feeds in je mailbox krijgt, zal dit zeker bruikbaar zijn. De procedure is heel eenvoudig.

1. Tik een URL in. De tool zoekt naar de beschikbare URL's.
   
2. Je selecteert de URL die voor jou het interessants is.
   
3. Geef je mailadres in
4. Bevestig mail die in je mailbox komt
5. Klaar is kees.

Dit alles op www.feedmyinbox.com

Overzicht web 2.0 toepassingen

Deze ochtend heb ik via de online cursus van Work Literacy, een interessante link gevonden. Deze link geeft een overzicht van heel veel web 2.0 toepassingen met een korte beschrijving.

www.go2web20.net

Check it out! Ik zal dit later op de week ook verder bekijken en enkele tools uittesten. Als je zelf ook een tool uittest, laat het me zeker weten, dan kan ik je ervaring hier delen.

Nieuwe intentie

Dag eenzame lezer

Het voelt goed om veel te delen, maar met wie... Web 2.0 slaat ons om de oren. Heeft het zin om een overzicht te geven. Zal het ooit volledig zijn? Een poging ondernemen en rubriceren. Ik weet niet of deze blog de goede manier is, maar laat me allesinds eens proberen. Een Nederlandstalig overzichtje van wat het web te bieden heeft. Heb je zelf software dat totaal vrij ter beschikking is, laat het me weten, dan voeg ik het wel toe.

En hop aan het werk

Bert

Naar aanleiding van het e-buffet van Katho

Deze morgen een interessante sessie gevolgd rond hoe een blog en hoe een wiki opstarten. Het was op voorhand allemaal opgenomen en de auteurs stonden ter beschikking om extra support te voorzien.

Je kunt alles nog wel even raadplegen op : https://www.impulscentrum.be/e-buffet/wwthtml/weblog_video_blogger.html