INNOELEARNING Fostering Innovative Self-Learning for Work in the E.U. through Dissemination of Innovative Structures and Applications Identified in the USA and Europe

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INNOELEARNINGFostering Innovative
Self-Learning for Work in the E.U. through
Dissemination of Innovative Structures and
Applications Identified in the USA and Europe
Case - Studies
December 4th 2002
Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação
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Index
1 Introduction 2 Learner Models 3 Soft
Skills and Informal learning 4 Communities
of Learning 5 - Conclusions
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1 Introduction

• The presentation will focus on one site for each
  of the 3 study areas
• Learner Models
• Soft Skills and Informal learning
• Communities of Learning
• The presentation of each site will focus on
• Overview of the site and company
• Characteristics identifying it as a best
  practice case-study (with respect to the
  evaluation criteria developed for each study area)

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2 Learner Models
The application of flexible, personal models for
learning is a crucial aspect in the
effectiveness of instruction provided through
e-Learning. It is essential that a learning model
provide the format, tools and flexibility that
minimize confusion and draw the students
interest, thereby allowing learners to gain the
maximum benefit available through e-Learning.
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2 Learner Models

• The evaluation criteria relate to
• Providing a skills test prior to taking a course
• Providing a tutor to guide and support learning
• Giving students the flexibility to tailor their
  course to their needs/preferences
• (Scheduling, privacy, control of screen info)
• Stating performance/standards to be achieved
• Supporting learning through providing appropriate
  tools/resources
• (Self-assessment, help facilities, document mgmt)

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2 Learner Models

• Company Overview
• KnowledgePool has been involved in the design and
  delivery of training solutions for nearly 40
  years.
• KnowledgePool offers comprehensive managed
  learning services, encompassing the
  identification, implementation and management of
  organisational training requirements. This
  allows clients to depend upon a single supplier
  who can provide managed learning for some or all
  of their human capital development.

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2 Learner Models

• Company History
• 1964 ICL Training Services was established (IT
  training)
• 1992 ICL Training Services became Peritas
• 1995 Peritas became the 1st commercial
  training organization to deliver interactive,
  mentor-supported IT training via the Internet
• 1999 Peritas became KnowledgePool, focused on
  mentoring services, online learning tools, and
  comprehensive course library. It became a
  leading European training provider, and expanded
  to serve clients in the U.S.
• 2001 Analyst group IDC ranked KnowledgePool
  among the top six training providers worldwide.

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2 Learner Models
KnowledgePool has developed a strategic
partnership with NETg. With over 30 years of
experience in the learning industry, NETg
develops e-Learning solutions covering IT,
desktop and business professional development
skills. This brings NETgs wide range of
deployment options such as CD-ROM, Internet and
Intranet to KnowledgePool customers.
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2 Learner Models

• Best Practice characteristics
• KnowledgePool makes use of . . .
• Skills-gap analysis
• Tutor
• . . . to guide learning.

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2 Learner Models

• KnowledgePool makes available pre-course
  assessments, and many courses allow users to skip
  elements of a course that they have a firm grasp
  on already.
• This also allows students to choose their own
  learning pathway, thus effectively tailoring the
  e-Learning to the needs of learners.

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2 Learner Models

• KnowledgePool also provides an Online Mentoring
  Support system
• Learners have access to mentors (tutors) to
  advise them on specific areas and to guide them
  in their learning.
• Mentors provide support for learners via
  interactive chat, message boards or e-mail.
• All online courses have mentor support via
  e-mail and most have chat support available at
  any time.

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2 Learner Models

• Further elements contributing to student
  flexibility include
• self-evaluation exams at the conclusion of each
  topic
• post-course self-assessments
• KnowledgePool is also careful to present learning
  objectives clearly on all courseware, thus
  removing ambiguity.

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2 Learner Models

• KnowledgePool has developed numerous tools to aid
  learners.
• All courses are fully supported by the following
  features
• Online mentoring from tutors accredited in the
  subject area
• Online assignments
• Frequently asked questions and message boards on
  each topic or certification course

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2 Learner Models

• Additional tools include
• Self-assessment
• Feedback
• Help facilities
• Supplemental document references
• Assignments to ensure learning is applied

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
Soft Skills Informal Learning applies to
learning through working together - gaining soft
skills through communicating and interacting with
others. The project evaluated sites based on
their emphasis in supporting the learner to
develop interpersonal communication, team work,
leadership, and project management skills through
interaction, the sharing of knowledge, dynamic
learning, content generation, etc.
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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
A survey recently conducted by Mori asked 886
people from the UK workforce "Which skills are
most useful to you in your job?" The most
frequent responses related to soft skills.
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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning

• The evaluation criteria relate to
• Interaction activity both promoted and actual
  interaction
• Reward/motivation for student interaction and
  learning
• The transfer of soft skills to real world
  application
• Environment (feedback, error tolerance, support,
  etc.)

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
Company Overview Online-learning.com offers
mentor-based courses for those interested in
becoming electronic content authoring
professionals. They offer courses in
professional technical writing, document
usability testing and a variety of XML related
courses. Online-Learning's Information Design
Series offers practical training in four core
Information Design skills writing, visual
design, human factors design and scripting.
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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning

• Company History
• The company has been in operation since 1995,
  when courses were initially developed and taught
  at universities and subsequently to business
  enterprises.
• The professionals at Online-learning have been
  active in distance education for more than 25
  years.

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
Online-learning.com has conducted extensive
research in online learning. Through this
research, the company has discovered that
successful online learning depends on frequent
instructor-student interactions, regular
student-to-student interactions, and practical
task-based assignments. All courses employ these
techniques in delivering a sound learning
experience.
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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
All of the courses are taught by industry experts
acting as mentors. In this way student-student
and student-mentor interactions are encouraged
and guided. In this way Online-learning has
achieved student completion rates of over 80.
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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning

• Using this mentoring approach promotes
  interactivity and lets instructors guide students
  through the course materials using e-mail, chat
  and discussion groups.
• Instructors
• Provide guidance in a students learning path
• Support and motivate learning community
  interaction
• Review assignments and provide personal
  feedback on assignments and student progress
• Guide and monitor discussion boards, forums,
  chat rooms, live conversation, and group work
• Are continuously available for student
  assistance

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning

• As a reward, students receive a certificate of
  completion from Carleton University.
• Each course is assigned Continuing Education
  Units in accordance with the number of hours
  required to complete the course.
• To receive a certificate students much complete
  all assignments and maintain a 75 average
  score.

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning

• Assignments given in Online-learning courses are
  designed to enable the application (or
  transfer) of new skills at the learners place
  of work.
• Students complete between two and nine
  assignments depending upon the course.
• Assignments and quizzes teach both "what and
  how", including the use of tools of the trade.
• Assignments allow students to practice
  real-life tasks.
• (e.g. students write their resume - first
  assignment in the writing course - to train in
  basic writing techniques.)

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3 Soft Skills Informal Learning
Online-learning has also taken steps to ensure
they provide an appropriate environment for
informal learning.

• Courses hold an opening chat session
• Students in the same courses complete selected
  assignments in groups
• Students receive weekly updates from
  instructors
• Students have easy communication to and from
  Instructors and other students

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4 Communities of Learning
A Community of Learning refers to groups of
individuals with similar learning needs, who
share their educational experience and maximize
their learning through this sharing.
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4 Communities of Learning

• The pre-established set of criteria relate to
• the existence of community moderators
• the application of group problem solving methods
• the existence of synchronous and asynchronous
  interactive learning tools
• the establishment of a mission statement or
  guiding principles
• the application of a registration system that
  supports individuality

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4 Communities of Learning
Simultaneous to the development of the
Innoelearning Study, SmartForce which was
selected as a best practice case study merged
with Skillsoft. The new company retained the
name of SkillSoft.
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4 Communities of Learning
Overview SkillSoft, a US-based company formed
through the merger of e-Learning pioneers
SmartForce and SkillSoft, provides a combination
of strengths in products and service. The
company has more than 3,000 customers spanning
financial, healthcare, technology and
governmental sectors. It offers content,
technology and services to deliver
student-centered, instructionally rich and
results-driven e-Learning solutions.
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4 Communities of Learning
1984 - Smartforce had its first steps, founded
as CBT Systems in Dublin, Ireland 1998 -
SkillSoft Corporation was founded 1999 -
SmartForce took its name in conjunction with the
move to Web-based training 2000 - SkillSoft
became public 2002 - Smartforce merged with
Skillsoft
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4 Communities of Learning
Best Practice
Make reference to events and discussion
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4 Communities of Learning
The registration system includes Personal
data Content areas Event Types Media
(software) Types The site presents events based
on the profile of the user.
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4 Communities of Learning
There are Events Listings containing concise
guiding principles for each of the event
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4 Communities of Learning
Each event has a detailed description, including
a background on the moderator (speaker)
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4 Communities of Learning
The seminars support synchronicity audio, video
and slide presentations
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4 Communities of Learning
Students can scheduled their own meetings. These
meetings have chat capability and allow students
to share whiteboards, presentations and files
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4 Communities of Learning
Each synchronous event has the option of being
replayed afterwards. This makes it an extremely
useful asynchronous tool.
It also has the remarkable option of giving
feedback to the event, rating it.
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4 Communities of Learning

• The discussion area includes 3 different tools
• Open synchronous forums (with the option of
  being monitored)
• Threaded discussions
• Contributions

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4 Communities of Learning
The synchronicity of the forums is supported
through the use of the chat tool
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4 Communities of Learning
The conferences allow to have asynchronous
interaction between the community members
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4 Communities of Learning
In the make a contribution area, there is a
forum that allows to post comments and questions.
This tool works as a monitored forum but in an
asynchronous way.
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5 Conclusions
Analysis of the scores under each set of criteria
best
worst
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5 Conclusions
learner models have a more consistent quality
Sites have better classifications under
learner models communities of learning have
a significant range of quality
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5 Conclusions
Analysis of balance of each site under each of
the 3 sets of criteria
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5 Conclusions
The classification of each site under the 3 areas
varies Just a few classify across the 3
areas Most only classify well in one of the areas
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SPI - Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação
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4050-318 Porto Portugal
spiporto_at_spi.pt www.spi.pt
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Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação