Work & Learning Partners

The conclusions that paved the way to KLearn
In a nutshell these conclusions can be summarised in the following way:
1) The work programme of the WLP project requires us to develop a web tool or instrument that can be piloted in the participating countries. However, the needs of different parties (and their local counterparts vary to great extent).
2) The prior experience with the work on ICT-supported learning in VET and SMEs shows that the existing designs ("Virtual Learning Environments", "Learning Management Systems", "e-Portfolios") tend to be developed for institutions and organisations, not for the actual users. Therefore, they are often overloaded with  features that are not helpful for selective users that need specific support for work-based learning.
3) The recent experience with social software has led from closed systems with "all at once" packaging of features towards light-weight applications that are linked to general web services. Therefore, new features can be brought into picture when the users make progress with useing the facilities. This enables a transition from the role of consumer-users to the role of  user-developers.

Adjusting the KLearn to the needs of different users
Presently the KLearn instrument has been presented in a rough script that provides the basic guidelines for software developers and gives hints of possible uses. Mostly these hints are related to the needs of individual learners and to possilities to support learning acticities (and cooperation with supervisors. However, for the WLP project there is a need to consider also the role of Training Providers and Partner Enterprises as potential users. For the organisational users there is a need to develop tools that helps them to draw conclusions for the development of partnership cooperation.
Based on this reasoning I have drafted two versions of User's Guides to the KLearn (already before the instrument has been developed). With these Guides I try to outline how the core concept of KLearn can be adjusted to facilitation of ongoing learning activities (= Individual Learners/ Supervising Teachers as users) and to the shaping of such learning arrangements at the level of partnership-based cooperation (= Training Providers/ Partner Enterprises as users).

Individual Learners/ Supervising Teachers as users of KLearn
For individual users the KLearn will provide tools for
a) preparation of learning activities by specifiying learner profiles (on the basis of given instructions) and negoriating individual learning objectives (on the basis of given options),
b) planning of learning activities by analysing learning needs (with the help of a review tool) and by getting an overview of learning materials and resources,
c) implementing learning activities by linking individual activities to group processes or community processes and by keeping a learning diary or learning record in order to document progress in learning.

Training Providers/ Partner Enterprises as users of KLearn
For organisational users the KLearn will provides tools for
a) preparation of a range of learning opportunities by specifying the learning-related support profiles or partner profiles and related institutional or organisational learning objectives,
b) supporting of a range of learning activities by developing coaching and mentoring approaches vis-à-vis identified needs and by specifying the strategic learning resources and related web-based facilities,
c) monitoring of a range of learning processes by promoting group processes and community processes and by creating resource pools of learning diaries/records (in order to draw conclusions from prior learning experiences).

Reflective commentary
Firstly, it is difficult to make lively picture of the potentials of an instrument that is only in the process of being drafted. Yet, the Users Guides try to make the contexts of using the instruments more transparent - both for the software developers and for the members of WLP project who have to consider their role in the piloting phase. In this respect it is more helpful if the user-needs are taken into account in the development process.
Secondly, the KLearn has been deliberately been stripped down to an elementary core instrument. However, with the help of web links it can be connected to attached resource areas and to supporting web services. In this respect it provides an entry point to using web applications and services without overwhelming the users. One of the challenges for the piloting phase is to see how such links can be introduced without making the instrument too complicated.

I guess this is enough for the moment, I welcome comments and questions on this issue. In the next posting I try to link the piloting with the KLearn instrument to the other tasks of the WLP project.

Pekka Kämäräinen