adult

Advances in technology have made this easier.  Adults can access learning at any time and almost anywhere, using audio, video and text content from broadcasters, education providers or their own peers on social media.  The tools they've used to do this have changed too, with around one third of web users now accessing the web through a mobile device, such a tablet or smartphone.

To adapt to this change, learning providers can look at how technology can help them achieve what they already do in a better way, how they can use their own or learners own technology to teach in a different way and how they can use the vast communication network online media opens up to widen access and engage different learners.

Through contributions from community and voluntary organisations, local authorities, learning organisations, the private sector and eminent speakers, the "Innovating Learning" conference, brought to you jointly by NIACE and the BBC, will showcase the use of digital technologies in learning and explore how they can provide more learning opportunities, address the needs of different learners and deliver better learning.  It will also give recognition to learning practitioners through the Digital Practitioner Awards, supported by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service and the Skills Funding Agency, to be held at its close.

Held at the BBC's flagship studios in MediaCity, Manchester, the conference will encourage dialogue between practitioners, managers and policy makers, to discuss how technology can innovate how adults learn and help shape NIACE policy through responses to keynote addresses, workshops and forums.

Aims

The conference, brought to you jointly by NIACE and the BBC, will provide delegates with:

• A chance to see what providers are doing and can do with technology
• A wide view on how technology can widen participation, make delivery more effective and improve outcomes for learners
• Information on digital technologies and recent developments in broadcasting.
• Increased awareness of free learning resources and digital tools.  
• Increased awareness of technology for inclusion.   
• Knowledge of cost effective or free digital learning tools. 
• Models and examples of using technology to innovate learning, engage and support learners.
•  Support for informal and formal learning practitioners in developing their own professional practice.
• Knowledge of how adults as learners can benefit most from the application of technology.
• Support for participants in the delivery of their adult learning programmes, identification of CPD needs and strategic priorities.
• Awareness of how technology can increase adult learning opportunities and widen access.      

Outcomes

How participants can use the information gained from the event when they get back to their institutions

• Review their use of BBC and other free learning resources and digital learning and marketing tools.  
• Review and update their organisation's CPD provision to ensure it meets future needs.
• Disseminate information on digital technologies and their potential to enhance and innovate adults' learning.
• Make an informed review of their organisations' learning programme ensuring the effective use of technology to address current priorities in learning.
• Use opportunities offered by digital technology to increase their organisations' effectiveness, reach and impact.
• Review their organisations' use of technology for inclusion.  
• Review their organisations' e-strategy plans.

Mobile Devices penetration has exceeded 100% in many European countries. At the same time, device manufacturers have raised the bar with the introduction and success of sophisticated portable devices like iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Google Nexus, tablets, etc. who have already demonstrated good potentials for mobile learning (e.g. ITunesU). At the same time, these modern learning tools which have the potential to alter the educational experience seem to be entirely separated from pedagogy since they simply do not fit with existing pedagogies. This gap from modern learning tools to state-of-the-art pedagogy should be bridged.

From the societal point of view, as society becomes increasingly hectic and knowledge-based, adult employees of all levels are obliged to adopt more vocational education activities to renew, update or certify knowledge and skills in order to remain competitive in the workplace and to accommodate to an increasingly technological environment. On top of that, as documented by the 'New Skills for New Jobs' priority (launched in 2008 by the European Commission): Skills upgrading is critically important for Europe's short-term recovery from the crisis and longer term growth and productivity, for its jobs and its capacity to adapt to change, for equity, gender equality and social cohesion. It is also stated: Too little is done to increase and adapt the skills of an ageing workforce.

Having identified these facts (technological, pedagogical and societal), the main challenge of the MOVE-ON project is to increase the overall volume of participation of adult professionals in learning and vocational education by focusing on the possibilities offered by the portable devices widely adopted lately as the new access medium to learning. MOVE-ON’s expectation is to motivate, enable and support busy adult professionals in learning on-the-move or at 'non-places'.

More specifically MOVE-ON aims at:

• Designing, developing and valorizing a novel mLearning pedagogical approach based on the recent developments in pedagogy which move away from the transmissive, behavioral models and more toward the constructivist models (learning from experience) while place the active learner at the heart of activities.
• Developing and valorizing an innovative and attractive all inclusive mlearning system that will support acquisition of knowledge while on-the-move or at the 'non-place' and offer self-directed personal development in new contexts.
• Targeting adult professionals from all over Europe, users of mobile & other portable devices (tablets) with multimedia reproduction capabilities, who lack free-time and are conscious about their educational needs.
• Designing and developing learning material (courses) that cover a selection of subjects and skills that according to studies demonstrate growing demand from employers across all levels of employees. This material will be easily adaptable for different portable devices and organized into smaller learning units (max. 10 min duration) that fit the transient context of mobile use and the MOVE-ON pedagogy.
• Offering a multilingual service where the system itself and the educational material will be available in several languages (initially all of the partners’ languages expandable to other languages later).

Feedback from pilot testing will provide insight into the appropriate educational approaches that suit the mobile context and motivate mobile users to engage with the MOVE-ON service.