The overall objective of WP2 (work-package of Learning Layers, the European research project in Technology Enhanced Learning) is one of designing solutions for scaffolding learning in networks. Specifically, this means developing designs and tools to scaffold help seeking learning in a networked workplace context. This paper presents the conceptual research of the 1st year (WP2). We provide a theoretical discussion around the concept 'Networked Scaffolding', and illustrate our research ideas through a specific case study 'Seeking Support' in the Healthcare context. Social Network Technologies, the focus of this paper, scale personal interactions by extending and augmenting the reach of personal networks, and form a central part of the Learning Layers integrated systems view on scaffolding informal learning at the workplace. In this context, semantic technologies are used to scale the representation and generation of meaning. In particular, we focus our study on an illustrative case of the Healthcare context in UK. Specifically, we are interested in studying how professional exchange trusted learning opinions, becoming more the norm in professional settings, developed around intentional networks that are constantly managed and reconstituted as Personal Learning Networks. The significance of mobile technology to enable and support these processes is an important aspect of this research. Indeed, there is still a lack of research in this field (i.e. scaffolding networked learning on a large scale for work-based learning). However, some authors such as Sandars, Langlois, & Waterman (2007) provide some very useful insights into online collaborative learning within Healthcare that is particularly helpful for developing theory around mobile technologies that healthcare professionals will be using within this research. Regarding the topic of Social Network Sites (SNS), we elaborate the concept of “Networked Scaffolding” with the aim of understanding how scaffolding has to be applied in SNSs with a work-based context. For this reason, in this paper we review how technology is currently being used in work-based learning contexts and the main related approaches. In the next section we present and discuss the theoretical and technological foundations related to the Networked Scaffolding concept proposed. Then, we show the application of our ideas through a design team called PANDORA which aims to scaffold seeking support in the Healthcare context. A summary of the co-design activities and the preliminary outputs are presented. Finally, we conclude with next steps to be done in future work.

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Networked Scaffolding: Seeking Support
in workplace learning contexts
Patricia Santos Rodriguez
University of the West of England
Networked Learning Conference, Edinburgh, 2014
Authors: Patricia Santos, John Cook, Tamsin Treasure-Jones,
Micky Kerr, Joanna Colley

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Introduction: Learning Layers
http://learning-layers.eu/

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Introduction: Wp2
http://learning-layers.eu/

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Interacting with people
Objectives:
• Improving interactions among
professionals by exchanging
Questions/Answers
• Towards Trusted Opinions & Guidance
Challenge: Support and facilitate connections among
professionals in cross-organizational learning networks

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Networked Scaffolding
• Based on a low-barrier approach that collects
Questions/Answers typically asked in practice
• Community Scaffolding (Social Network) + System Scaffolding
(Semantic analysis)
Q/A
exchange
Social Semantic Server
Help Seeking Scaffolding
through contextual
recommendations

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People Tagging
• Not only tagging people but also discussions (Q/A) and learning
resources
• Tags used to recommend resources: emergent metadata
• Build, maintain and activate connections – Collaborative Filtering
From Personal Learning Networks to Shared Learning
Networks

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Aggregated Trust in Social Networks
• Trust is a key aspect when Help Seeking:
• Surrounds the reason why individuals choose to ask for help?
• Why do individuals move from local trusted Personal Learning
Networks out into wider Shared Learning Networks?

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Help Seeking, guidance and support

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Case Study: Healthcare Context
• Healthcare sector (GP practices in North East England)
• More than 500 GP Practices
• GP Practices are small
organisations (SMEs)
• GP practices work in networks
(Clinical Commissioning Groups)
 General practitioners, Practice Managers, Data Quality, Nurses

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Case Study: Co-Design

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Empirical studies during 1st year:
 Lack of time and mobility issues
 Cascading Learning & Training
 Cross-organizational working and learning
 Support exchange of opinions and discussions
Case Study: Systemic Pain Points

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Empirical studies during 1st year:
 Nurses/Healthcare assistants mainly rely on face to face support
and help seeking
 Nurses/Healthcare assistants in small GP practices can feel
isolated and have small pool of people to ask for support
 Trust has been found to be a key aspect when seeking support
Case Study: Systemic Pain Points

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Case Study: Co-Design
Design Artefacts to build Design Ideas – Learning Layers 1st Year

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 Discussions will take place within PLNs and in a more
organizational level through SLNs
 Development of those networks, and the associated help
seeking and support in such networks, requires Scaffolding
 The Help Seeking tool will improve the communication and
knowledge sharing in a cross-organisational network
Case Study: Hypothesis

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Individual Peers
c
Questions/Answers exchange
Tagging
Networked Learning
Scaffolding
Aggregated Trust
Distributed Cognition
c
c c
Personal Learning Network
Shared Learning Network
Help Seeking
PROBLEM – PROCESS - SOLUTION
Help Seeking

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Prototype 1: Help Seeking tool
http://odl.learning-layers.eu/seeking-support-prototype/

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 Staff can create their own PLN by tagging people and learning
resources
 Semantic analysis of the exchange of questions and
corresponding tags will be applied by using the Learning Layers
Social Semantic Server
 Relevant resources & people will be automatically and manually
recommended
Prototype 1: Help Seeking tool

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Next Steps
• Evaluation & Iteration of the Help Seeking tool (Year 2014)
• Co-design activities + workshops in NE England
• Populating the system with real data (end Year 2014)
• Scaling up the system (Year 2015)
• Construction sector (Germany)
• Clusterland (Norway)
ConstructionScaling
Systemic pain points
Healthcare

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Conclusions
Learning networks+ People Tagging +
Maintenance, activation and building of Trust
can be used as mechanisms for scaffolding to
enhance the exchange of knowledge and
discussion in informal learning contexts at the
workplace

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Questions?
Thank you!
Patricia Santos Rodríguez
@: patricia.santos.rdz@gmail.com
@: Patricia.Santosrodriguez@uwe.ac.uk
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/patricia-santos-rodriguez/54/207/a97
http://learning-layers.eu/