work-based learning

Directory

The Little Book of the Future

23 June 2011

The Little Book of the Future is your free guide to the future of training and development. It's produced by Reed Learning and written in collaboration with experts including Martyn Sloman, Google, LinkedIn, Training Journal, Jane Hart, the Campaign for Learning and trainingzone.co.uk.

The free tools in this book support the connection, communication and collaboration of individuals, and the sharing of resources, ideas and experiences. You might find yourself inspired to try some of these tools. You might even introduce some of them to your workplace.

tool, collaborative learning, Implementation, work-based learning, guide, communication, sharing
Projects

E-View, Building a European Virtual Environment for Work-based Learning

10 June 2011

Partners in E-ViEW are developing and piloting a European Virtual Campus aimed at learners in the work place which will focus on enhancing their management skills and competences within a European context.

Partners in E-View are developing and piloting a European Virtual Campus aimed at learners in the work place which will focus on enhancing their management skills and competences within a European context.

The project begins with a needs analysis followed by the creation of the Virtual Campus Framework. This framework utilizes a customised open source delivery methodology and a work-based learning module based on the needs analysis aimed at trainee managers in European enterprises. The module with an emphasis on working within Europe is being piloted with at least 100 employees in the UK, Poland, Portugal and Ireland involving 4 employers.

 

Concrete outcomes from E-ViEW include a Virtual Campus Framework for Work-based learning with a sample undergraduate module, a pilot implementation of this course and an online handbook with a description of the experiences gained in creating and delivering this course in the Virtual Campus Framework for Work-based Learning.

 

You can read a Polish or Portuguese description online.

work-based learning, Virtual Campus, e-view, learning at work, management
Articles

Promoting the learning mobility of future workers: experiments with virtual placements in university-business arrangements

22 December 2010
Virtual placements are learning arrangements, which generate new possibilities for accumulating professional (work-based) knowledge. Virtual placements are beneficial in many ways; they merit increased training opportunities, exposure to un-/never-thought-of occupations, integration of disadvantaged individuals, and preparation of, and blending with, physical placements.
This paper reports on multi-country experiments with technology-enabled remote access to work, as a contribution to the work-based learning and professional mobility of students. The central question is: how may virtual placements be arranged so as to bring about a contribution to the development of professional skills?

The article first addresses the contribution of traditional placements, followed by the strengths and weaknesses of virtual ones. Next, real pilots with virtual (work-based) arrangements are discussed. Regular universities experiment with virtual placements in on-campus courses and curricula, within the framework of self-organised learning, whereas open universities experiment with virtual placements in off-campus courses and curricula, within the framework of social-collaborative and networked learning. Subsequently, the results of the different arrangements, their pros and cons, are described. Final conclusions from the study are drawn regarding the development of professional skills in students, implemented didactics and applied technology.
virtual placement, learning arrangement, work-based learning, networks
Articles

Turning up critical thinking in discussion boards

21 September 2010
This paper adopts a constructivist view of learning. It seeks to explore the mechanisms behind knowledge construction and higher-order thinking in discussion board usage amongst a less traditional, increasingly growing student population of work-based, distance learners.
Recent studies (JISC, 2008; 2009) have highlighted a need to endorse and value studies which focus on the learner experience and have illustrated the need for students to have control and ownership of their online environments in order for them to be successful. However, these studies only included full-time students, in the 17-19 age bracket. As a consequence, this research aims to fill the gap by exploring the development of an online community within a more diverse and mature group of learners.

This paper details an empirical study which explores an online environment and identifies the factors needed to enable work-based, distance students to learn from sharing their professional experience. The authors believe that there is a need for insight into the ways in which this sub-group of students communicates, and the individual learners’ experience within this. This paper will therefore discuss how the project explores the processes that lie behind the foundations of a successful online community, in the hope that this will help us to better manage the development of this technology within work-based online courses. It considers the views of this group of students and attempts to provide solutions to the issues raised concerning the under-use of this interactive tool. The research may therefore be of value and interest to those involved in designing work-based eLearning modules.
virtual learning environments, , work-based learning, critical thinking