Learn@Work
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Project Summary
The aim of Learn@Work is to enhance the induction and support for learners in the workplace by building on ICT models developed and tested in distance learning and e-learning. These will have to be adapted and enhanced for a work based organisational and learning environment.
The project will explore models of teaching which include the use of online communities and workgroups to reduce the isolation of the individual learner, the development of richer support and "scaffolding" models and techniques to enable ongoing interaction after the learning event.
Induction is particularly important, equipping the learner with the social and intellectual capital to successfully integrate and participate in knowledge construction independently and collaboratively.
Objectives
1. To establish and engage a transnational network of experts and practitioners in ICT and work based learning.
2. To identify current European good practice in the use of ICT the work based learning, determining ‘state of the art’ with an emphasis on how the holistic interaction of pedagogical, organisational and technical elements aid student engagement, interaction and long-term learning.
3. To develop student focused frameworks and components to provide induction, scaffold and structured support for learners’ engagement, interaction and self-direction.
4. To determine and, via evaluated case studies, develop guidelines for good practice with reference to the social, cultural and technical contexts specific to learning in the workplace.
Rationale and Background
In the learning society is has become accepted that workplaces can and should be settings for practical adult learning. With the continued drive towards lifelong learning, employers and employees not only expect continued personal and professional development through and at the workplace, but now demand it. Work based learning has now become an integral part of the ethos and operational structure of many organisations.
The main benefits of work based learning are motivation, the relevance to the job performance and transfer of learning. The main drawbacks are the isolation of the individual from other learners, the need for personalised support and the complexities of formalising and recognising work based learning in a academic context including quality control. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are now seen as a way of addressing these issues.
The use of online communities and workgroups in particular, has the potential to address a number of areas. This includes ways to reduce the isolation of the individual learner by providing better support and scaffolding, enhanced peer interaction and reflective practice in a social context through collaborative tasks, mentoring and coaching. We should be able to use ICT to enable a richer combination of formal and informal learning, group and individual activity, experts and novices.
Many of these approaches are well established in traditional (usually institutional) e-learning contexts, but remain to be explored fully in work-based learning contexts. The underlying aim of Learn@Work is therefore to explore the synthesis between the theories, conceptual frameworks and practices of distance learning, e-learning, work based learning and work placed learning in order to provide the community with practical examples guidance on the design and implementation of e-supported learning at work.
Outcomes of the Project
1. Establishment of transnational expert group
2. Local induction development programme symposiums
3. Online resources:
- A generic induction module (for learners) and interactive Guide (for developers) to support work based and work place learning
- A common shared repository resource of case study examples
- A virtual space for community dialogue and access to resources
4. A number of case studies on work place learning
Learn@Work partners
ATiT, Belgium
eLearning Lab, Aalborg University
Dublin Institute of Technology
Glasgow Caledonian University
The Institute for Future Studies, Austria
Local participants, Denmark:
Department of Education, Learning and Philosophy, Aalborg University
Nordvestjysk Uddannelsescenter (Center for secondary education and vocational training), Thisted
Learn@Work Resources
Learn@Work Poster (PDF)
Resource Collection (Danish, PDF)
Working Paper on CoEd (PDF)
Report from the project: Work Based Induction Training in Europe. State of the Art Report from the L@W-project, Feb.2007 can be downloaded here.
Project website
Further information can be found at the project's website http://www.learnatwork.info
