Introduction to Work Package 5 and the ROLE Test-beds

1. © www.role-project.eu
Introduction to Work Package 5
and the ROLE Test-beds
Alexander Mikroyannidis
http://projects.kmi.open.ac.uk/role

2. 24.07.09 © www.role-project.eu
Outline
• WP5 scope
• The ROLE test-beds:
• Description (users, purposes)
• ROLE objectives
• Summary

3. WP5 scope
• Defining, implementing and validating scalable test-beds for
personal learning augmented with responsive and open personal
learning environments
• Test-bed Design:
• Identify current learning processes and goals
• Identify current services/technologies used
• Identify gaps in current learning processes
• Design scenarios for addressing these gaps
• Propose learning services/technologies
• Test-bed Implementation: Service-oriented approach; 3 iteration
cycles:
• 1st iteration: core functionality in a quick prototype for early user
feedback
• 2nd iteration: real-world test-beds
• 3rd iteration: fine tuning based on detailed user feedback
24.07.09

4. The ROLE testbeds
• Transitions across various learning contexts:
• The Festo Lernzentrum test-bed (Internal Job Opportunity in a
Company)
• The British Institute for Learning and Development test-bed
(Continuing Education for Transition between two Jobs)
• The OpenLearn test-bed by the Open University UK (Continuing
Education for Transition between two Jobs)
• The RWTH Aachen University Course “Web 2.0 Knowledge Map for
academic teaching” (Transition from University to Company)
• The Jiao Tong University Test-bed (Continuing Education for
Transition between two Jobs)
24.07.09

5. Internal Job Opportunity in a Company - FESTO
• The Virtual Academy is the central learning management system
of FESTO
• Providing a responsive learning environment within further
education activities of a training centre in a company
• Target groups:
• FESTO employees
• Participants in long-term education programmes
• Learners from other companies that have outsourced their training
business to FESTO
• ROLE objectives:
• Transform Virtual Academy from a “traditional” learning management
system (LMS) towards a personal learning environment (PLE) that
fulfils business requirements
• Improve openness and responsiveness
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6. Continuing Education for Transition between two Jobs – BILD
• BILD members consist of individuals and organizations from the
corporate sector, public sector, further and higher education, as
well as charities
• The learners are working in a variety of functions and sectors in
which individual and collaborative learning is required
• ROLE objectives:
• Address transition from individual to shared competencies (e.g.
across a multi site organisation or where from home training is
required)
• Open up current learning services
• Enable collaboration and social networking
• Address security restrictions (e.g. in the defence and healthcare
industries)
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7. Continuing Education for Transition between two Jobs -
OpenLearn
• The Open University (OU) provides a wide range of Open
Educational Resources (OERs) through the OpenLearn
educational platform
• OpenLearn has gathered the interest of a wide audience ranging
from governmental and non-governmental entities, public and
private higher education institutes, academic teachers, training
course designers, graduate and postgraduate students,
educational researchers, and generally anyone interested in
informal learning
• OpenLearn has been built around units of study and not the
personal profiles of learners; a learner-centric approach is
missing
• ROLE objectives:
• Improve openness and adaptivity
• Social networking and community-building
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8. Transition from University to Company - RWTH
• The semantic-based Web 2.0 Knowledge Map (WKM) for
academic lectures is a tool for "unstructured, associated or self-
directed learning" which can be used in different domains
• Built and used by university students and teachers
• Multi-domain & collaborative learning scenario
• Mobility of learning environments and life-long learning aspects
• ROLE objectives:
• Special attention to the changes in learning paradigm from the
university to the company context and how efficiently and effectively
this transition can be sustained
• Investigate the mentorship role of late-in-course professional
contacts
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9. Continuing Education for Transition between two Jobs - SJTU
• Cross-cultural collaborative learning and teaching project
• Synchronous and asynchronous tools of communication are used
for collaborative learning tasks and intercultural exchange
• Two groups of students will be involved: a group of English
learners from China and a group of Chinese learners from
Australia
• Development of instructional methods and tools that promote
‘active’ learning by giving opportunities to students to express
themselves and interact in the target language
• ROLE objectives:
• Facilitate collaboration and peer-assisted learning
• Explore ways of benefitting from the experience acquired in a
company, combined with continuing education, to get a better
opportunity in another company
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10. Summary
• We have 5 diverse test-beds with different user bases and
purposes
• Some common themes in all test-beds:
• Learner-centric approaches
• Openness and responsiveness
• Collaborative learning
• Transitions across learning contexts
24.07.09