The Wales-Wide Web

In january this year I posted an excerpt from a forthcoming publication entitled 'Commodication and the shaping of e-learning'.

You can find a short summary below. I have still not finished the English language version of the paper. But thanks to the sterling effort of Konrad Jocksch, Christiane Koeth and Lars Heinemann, I do now have a final German version (attached). would love any feedback form German language readers.

The hypothesis on which the paper was based is that the forms and uses of technologies are shaped by political and social processes. If learning is a social process, then any consideration of the development and impact of e-learning and e-learning technologies needs to examine the wider social, economic and cultural processes and discourses involved in the development and implementation of new technologies in education.

The paper suggests that three dominant policy discourses in education have shaped the development and implementation of e-learning: commodification, privatization and a restricted discourse of lifelong learning, which in turn are based on broader discourses around globalization and the privatization of knowledge. These discourses are explained below followed by examples of how they have effected the development and application of e-learning technologies. However, the development of capitalism and capitalist societies is contradictory based on dialectical development and struggle. Whilst the discourses may be dominant within the present period of capitalism and have thus shaped the development of e-learning, there are alternative and contradictory trends. Some commentators have pointed to e-learning as a disruptive technology. Furthermore, there is emerging evidence that learners themselves may be shaping technologies in different ways and for different purposes than was intended.

commodDE.rtf

Technorati Tags: e-learning

Carole quotes Step[hen Downes whos ays "LMSs as perpetuating old ways of learning" (she is kind enough to also trackback to an entry on this site.

Carole goes on to questions if all academics are ready to create personal learning environments. Big question. I would say they most certainly are not. Lets face it, most academics are not ready to embrace e-learning.

But this is not an issue of going at the speed at which academics are happy (or for that matter, institutional managers). the reality is that young people (and not just young people) are themselves creating and shaping their own learning environments, regardless of the wishes and prejudices of academics.

Technorati Tags: e-learning, Peronal Learning Environments

At last - the long awaited Sounds of the Bazaar 3. Sorry its taken so long but we have had workflow and hardware problems. Anyway its sorted now - and we hope to get back to our planned fortnightly production schedule, You can either access the podcast on the Bazaar website, download from the link above (beware: 20mb file) or click on the blue tab below the file to play in-line.

Sound of the Bazaar 3 - Sleeve Notes

Quality, pedagogy and e-learning 2.

Graham Attwell talks about new ways of looking at quality in the light of the emergent e-learning 2. He questions the effectiveness of existing quality assurance measures, which he says, ignore the context of learning, and suggests present quality methods based essentially on expert opinion have failed. Social software offers new tools for quality assurance. A short video on the same subject can be found on Graham Attwell's main weblog, the Wales Wide Web.

Web site of the week
The featured web site of the week is the Cynefin Centre. The Cynefin Centre is an international network that focuses on the application of complexity science to management and organisational practice. At the heart of the Cynefin Centre is a distinction between ordered and unordered systems, and the consequent recognition that systems with fundamentally different qualities require the application of contextually differentiated methods for both diagnosis and intervention.

The Bazaar Interview
The Bazaar interview is with Mike Malloch form Knownet in Wales. Mike talks about standards for education, the development of Web 2.0 and his views on Personal Learning Environments. The interview took place at the Bolton Institute seminar on Personal Learning environments held in June. Mark van Harmelen from the University of Manchester has developed a Wiki as a resource for PLE research and development.

Mike Malloch's position paper for the seminar can be found on his weblog - e-Learning2.0.

Blogspot
Blogspot features Tom Hoffman's personal web site, Tuttle SVC. Tom is project manager for SchoolTool.

Just happened to have a few minutes whilst the software is processing things and noticed this in my inbox. I get messages like this every other day - this one at least comes on a list server I have subscribed to - most are academic spam. But the real question is who do they think they are kidding. The only reason deadlines get extended is because there are not enough applications and we all know it.

"Due to the surge of applications for places under The e-Learning Foundations subsidised delegate scheme for this years Handheld Learning 2006 conference they have decided to extend the deadline for applications until the 30th July."

Have not posted lately - have had flu and been totally exhausted from too much travel. But today I have a few brain cells back in action.

Last week I was in London for a meeting of the Workplace Learning Partnership project. This is an interesting project. Funded by the EU Leonardo da Vinci programme, It brings together parters form six different countries, seeking to build partnerships between education providers and enterprises to provide learning opportunities.

The project application envisaged using Information technology for 'managing' the partnerships. form the beginning there was an ambiguity as to whether this was managing the partnerships - in terms of administration etc. - or managing the learning process.

As the project has developed - and the ideas of Web 2.0 and e-learning 2.0 have become more prevalent - combined with the increasing use of social software, the project has reexamined how ICt might be used.

It quickly became apparent that one size does not fit a ll in terms of using software to support WLPs. Whilst in each country there is collaboration between employers and educational institutions for providing learning opportunities, these take different forms and are at different stages of development in the different partner countries. Developmental needs are different. Above all, the context s different. One thing we do know about e-leanring is that context is extremely important.

the project has inched towards an understanding of how Personal Learning environments could support work-based learning. But, at the same time, we have come to appreciate that a PLE is not a 'thing', it is an approach to supporting learning. That approach involves the use of different practices using social software in different contexts.

Thus, instead of developing a platform for workplace learning, the need is to support the partners in developing their own practice in the use of social software. This is not as easy as it sounds. Education and training providers - and for that matter researchers - still have little knowledge and experience of the use of social software for learning. help is limited. Examples of vivid and appropriate practice are few and far between.

And yet I think this sort of work is more valuable than all of the 'create and on-line course' projects funded by the EU.

However, those partners with the most to contribute - those parters dealing with everyday practice in work-based learning, are looking for answers now. Whilst they might appreciate the 'micro-experiments' that would seem so useful, they are also trying to extend their own use of e-learning in the short term.

the issue os how to balance these different priorities and imperatives. For the WLP project the answer is probably to support parters in using already available Open Source software (Moodle?, ELGG?), whilst at the same time undertaking small developmental and experimental activities in the use of social software for learning - or better put, the development of social pedagogic processes and practice utlising ICT.

One further issue is worth pointing out. Whilst I was at the meeting, I interviewed a number of the participants for a series of short videos I am making about the project. It rapidly became apparent that there were tow radically different discourses. Some of the partners - the practitioners - were talking about workplace learning partnerships, whilst others - the researchers - were talking about research into workplace learning partnerships. I guess this is common in a project of this sort - but it does set up two dynamics which may not necessarily be convergent.

Technorati Tags: e-learning, Peronal Learning Environments, social software

Multimedia software is not particularly difficult to use. It is quite rewarding in that there is an air of mystique - you really know how to mix sound or to edit video. In truth it is no harder than using Microsoft word (although perhaps that is not a recommendation).

What is difficult is the workflow. even using Apple software (designed with a services layer for interoperability between different applications) workflows are clunky, each project seems to be different and require advance thought with alternative ways of doing things. the result if that even simple projects become extremely time consuming.

Why is this? Large file sizes don't help. Sharing files can be difficult - they often will not fit on a memory stick. More than that no one seems to have thought out what the software might be used for in the real work. Instead it is designed to a technical specification - for ideal type uses by specialists - not by educationalists, teachers or researchers as one part of a busy workload.

Technorati Tags: multimedia, technology

PLE Workshop | Scott Wilson's Workblog:

I missed this post by Scott Wilson in his comments about the Cetis PLE event in Manchester.

Scott asks:

"Can we adopt an approach whereby a teacher does not have to have mastery of - or even familiarity with - the technology used by learners? This moves responsibility onto learners to teach their teachers to understand what they have accomplished using Blogs/Wikis/Writely/Second Life/dead trees/etc and how it relates to their learning goals."

This is a big question. Given that one of the perceived barriers to the use of ICT for learning is seen as the competence and confidence of teachers with technology and - despite massive training programmes - that barrier still appears to remain, Scott's approach offers a welcome rethinking of the problem and ways of solving it.

An added advantage of this approach is it could free up the system to recognise all learning - not just that which takes place in the school

Technorati Tags: pedagogy, Personal Learning Environments, PLEs

Its time for the regular education blog - Sounds of the Bazaar - only just over two weeks from the last edition so we are beginning to get the schedule I am aiming at.

Here are the sleeve notes for this edition

Graham's rant - my regular slot.

In this edition I talk about issues arising from the Leonardo da Vinci funded Workplace Learning partnership project. How do we resolve the tensions between wanting to try small scale experiments with Web 2.0 technologies towards developing the concept of the Personal Learning environment, whilst practitioners and education and training providers want solutions now - software which works and software which makes their lives easier.

The Bazaar Interview

I interview Lou McGill who leads the JISC e-Learning programme work on e-assessment. Lou talks about moving away from a simple multiple choice question approach to e-assessment to more formative approaches to learning and assessment.

The JISC work on e-assessment can be found here.

There is also a Special Interest Group on e-assessment, run by CETIS

Web site of the Week

This edition has a bit of a CETIS theme. web site of the week is Scott Wilson's work blog. Scott, who works for CETIS is for me a rare hard core techie who can make himself understood to those of us of less technical backgrounds. Right on Scott!

Wilfred Rubens and edu-bloggers

The theme continues although it is a few steps removed.

Wilfred Rubens works for the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Wilfred is involved in the SURF programme - which is a partner of - yes you've got it - CETIS. In this discussion recorded in a bar in Salzburg, Wilfred talks to me about the Dutch Edu-bloggers and the role of blogging in education and research.

You can listen to the whole programme here [33:08m]. But, if you would prefer just to listen to one or more of the different sections, click one of the links in the list below, or, head over to the Bazaar web site.

• Graham Attwell on Web 2 and education [5:48m]:[
• Lou Mc Gill talks about e-assessment [12:36m]:[
• Wilfred Rubens and edu-blogging [8:37m]

Technorati Tags: blogging, e-assessement, e-learning design, e-portfolios

Last year I spoke at the Educa on-line conference in Berlin about e-learning in Small and Medium Enterprises. my presentation was based on the outcomes of a European Commission funded Leonardo project called ICT and SMEs.

Some time later, I received an invitation to talk at a meeting of the Elearn2work project in York in the UK - which I gather has similar aims.

So Wednesday I am off to York. Anthony Busk who works for KnowledgeBase UK - who are the project coordinators - asked me for a summary to send out in advance of the meeting. I sent him my long paper based on the project - about 23 pages and also a shorter version - about 6 pages - which I recently wrote. Anthony replied:

"Thanks for paper Graham – hope the 2 pager is OK. Had to leave out much. Many issues-allowing scope for lots of discussion?".

And indeed Anthony has condensed my pages of researchy prose to an excellent bullet list of tow pages focused on the issues arising from the project. So impressed was I, that I am posting it on the blog.

Scope
350 SMEs, focus groups, 90 case studies in seven countries (2002-2005).

Learning:
Is interactive with communities of practice
Builds on personal knowledge bases
Takes place in communities of practice
Controlled by the learner in terms of pace and time
Is episodic
Is sequenced by the learner
Response to problems or interests

ICT for Learning and Work Organisation
Main way of learning was through search engines (Google in particular).
ICT for learning is more likely to be used with flatter hierarchies and employees having greater autonomy in organising their work. –mainly smaller companies (Also, such firms has tended to have a more experienced workforce and low employee turnover).
Hierarchical work organisations tended to have least use of ICT for learning (largely manufacturing/production line enterprises).
Especially in micro firms, SME employees tend to be isolated from wider communities of practice.
Search engines are used to seek out potential forums and contexts for learning.

Knowledge of e-Learning
Few SMES aware of potential or possibilities of ICT for formal learning. Not received information from Public Sector providers – if advertising material sent, seen as junk mail.

Use of ICT
Varied by sector and occupation. Uses included administration and accounting, e-trading, customer communications, advertising and promotion, stock control and logistics. ICT not seen as a means of learning, but as a normal part of the work processes. Use of ICT in SMEs is increasing, but limited e-commerce growth.

Availability of ICT Skills
Managers did not perceive a shortage of ICT skills in the workplace as younger workers had sufficient skills.

Formal Training and Learning
Very little formal training other than regulatory, either face to face or using ICT.
Where seen as necessary: buy in initially from public sector providers, and if unavailable use private training based on word of mouth reputation.
Attitudes and involvement in training varies by size and sector

Accreditation of Learning
No employees had attempted to claim recognition or accreditation

Education and Training Policies.
Many managers are unconvinced of the benefits of initiating or continuing training:.
Few enterprises had a formal policy for education and training.
No budget for training
Nobody with formal responsibility.
Gained required skills through experience or buying in staff already trained
Few managers had formal management qualifications
Most networked with other managers
Variety of management style
There is little correlation between employees previous qualifications and their present employment.

Informal Learning
In contrast to formal learning, much informal learning was taking place.
It was learner driven rather than planned, and problem motivated or linked to personal interests.
There were differences between enterprises in use of ICT for informal learning.
Where ICT for informal learning is common, employees have developed their own occupational profiles, based on needs of the enterprise and their own specialities and interests. There may be a relationship.

Discussion
Learning and Knowledge Development
There is a big political interest in informal learning – if it could be systematised it could be a cost effective route to increasing training. First though it is necessary to formalise that learning. Attwell suggest (2005) all learning is valid – not just that supported by qualification frameworks.

Acquiring information is not learning. Case studies found learning is purposeful, influenced by context, often results in behaviour change, learners structured their own learning, problem or personal interest driven.

Whilst formal learning is progressively increasing and building on existing knowledge on a sequential basis, informal learning within the workplace is more incidental. To cope with the unexpected or unknown, relevant information is acquired which then adjusts existing knowledge.

Is European Quality Framework Flawed
The EQF is competence based rather than course driven, with the aim of developing systems and processes to accredit informal learning. It is based on educational achievement, goals and structures, rather than focusing on work based learning and knowledge.

Potential of EC I-Curriculum
The EC Socrates I-Curriculum project distinguishes between transformational, integrating and operational skills and knowledge, and is used to develop a framework for digital skills (I-Curriculum 2003). This framework matches the kind of skills for learning observed in the case studies.

Technorati Tags: e-learning, education and training research, Small and Medium Enterprises

Inside Higher Ed :: New Model for Scholarly Publishing:

It might be summer but the Open Content movement continues to gather strength.

Here is the first of two post on recent announcements / releases.

"Rice University Press, which was killed in 1996, will be revived. But unlike every other university press, it will publish all of its books online only. People will be able to read the books for no charge and to download them for a modest fee. Editors will solicit manuscripts and peer review panels will vet submissions — all in ways that are similar to the systems in traditional publishing."

Much to be welcomed especially given Rice's association with the Connexions project. Interesting - why would I publish through Rice, rather than just put the PDF on my own web site. Guess the answer has to be that they see publishing through the Rice site as conveying some kind of additional prestige. I am not so sure this will work in the long term.

Technorati Tags: Open content

Second of two posts on new open content initiatives.

"Intute is a free online service providing you with access to the very best Web resources for education and research. The service is created by a network of UK universities and partners. Subject specialists select and evaluate the websites in the database and write high quality descriptions of the resources. The database contains 113495 records."

Many years ago I was involved in the REM project, run by Bangor University. REM was supposed to be a Resource Locator. It sort of got built - but would only run in Netscape 4 - on a good day - when the servers were feeling friendly. REM was years ahead of its time - so of course the funding was withdrawn. Now 8 years later Intute comes along showing what REM should have been.

Its been a long wait - but its worth it.

Technorati Tags: open content

A very short post because I am too tired to write more.

I have been speaking about the use of ICt for (mainly) informal learning in Small and Medium Enterprises. The meeting was in York. travel has been a nightmare - I missed my flight due to a cancelled train last night and seem to have been traveling ever since.

Anyway - more about the York meeting next week - to any of you who were at the meeting, thanks for the invitation and especially for some very interesting questions which came up after my presentation.

I am especially interested in the issue of learning (and learner) driven occupational profiles and in the contradiction between institution supporting increasing productivity through better performance, whilst generating new competences which do not fit their own accreditation programmes.

Finally many thanks to whoever organized the excellent Zulu singers prior to my presentation (I kid you not readers- if I had bluetooth on this computer I would show you the pictures). Hope to get a copy of their e-learning song for the next Sound of the Bazaar Podcast.

And now I ma off to the Cambridge folk festival for a couple of days holiday. And I am sending this live from the train over a wireless network. It is free -a t least for a trial period. Ubiquitous computing moves a tiny step nearer.

Technorati Tags: non formal learning, Small and Medium Enterprises