EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 1

Learning2.0

Kirsti Ala-Mutka, Christine Redecker & Yves Punie

European Commission, JRCInstitute for Prospective Technological StudiesInformation Society Unit

Learnovation workshop in the EFQUEL Forum:Quality and Innovation in Learning

The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the EC

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 2

IPTS: Part of DG JRC of the EC: 7 Research Institutes across Europe

Mission: “to provide customer-driven support to the EU policy-making process by researching science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic as well as a scientific or technological dimension”

Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 3

Social computing

• Digital applications for social networking (e.g. Facebook); video-sharing (e.g. YouTube); photo-sharing (e.g. Flickr); user-generated content (e.g. Wikipedia); multiplayer virtual online worlds (e.g. Second Life); blogging, etc.

• Social computing applications enable interaction and collaboration: –Users are participants (co-creators not end-users) –Networks of individuals and communities become collective resources

• Related IPTS studies:–Exploratory research on socio-economic impacts of social computing–Web2.0 and user-driven innovation in public services–Social computing for immigrants and ethnic minorities–Social computing for health–Impact of Learning2.0 innovations for E&T in Europe–Upcoming: Pedagogical innovations and new learning communities

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 4

Wikipedia: Collaborative content

• Available in 250 languages with a total of 10 million articles

• 8th most visited site worldwide, reaches 9.7% of internet audience (May 2008, Alexa.com)

• Over 680 million visitors annually• 7,2 Million registered users in English

Wikipedia only

=> For learning • Immediate access to up-to-date information• 36% of US adult internet users look for

information in Wikipedia (especially well educated) (Pew/Internet 2007)

• In Spire survey even 55% using, 14% contributing to Wikipedia (Spire 2007)

• 53,6% of people editing entries over 45 (Hitwise 2007)

• Informal learning for participants both on topics and on online collaboration

• Many global and local wiki initiatives exist

Jan 2008Jan 2001

2,4 million ENGL articles

Source: Wikipedia

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 5

• In May 2008, more than 110 million blogs tracked by Technorati

• 175.000 blogs and 1,6 million posts created daily• 40% of internet users read blogs (OCLC 2007)• 17% of internet users contribute (OCLC 2007)• 32% of companies either using or planning to

take in use blogs (McKinsey 2007)

=> For learning: • Reflect quickly current events• Access to alternative sources of information &

knowledge• Motivation for blogging: creative expression

(77%), sharing personal experiences (76%), sharing practical knowledge (64%) (Pew/Internet 2006)

• Room for reflection & discussion• Tools for both organized and informal learning

Blogs: Sharing and discussing opinions

Source: Sharing, Privacy and Trust in our Networked world, OCLC study2007.

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 6

• 3 Million User accounts • 100 million unique bookmarked URLs• Store bookmarks online• Personal tagging • Search and share others’ bookmarks and tags

For learning:• Personal knowledge organization• Knowledge sharing • Tapping into tacit knowledge• Ranked first amongst Top 100 Tools for Learning (Spring 2008) by 155 learning

professionals http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/top100.html

Del.icio.us: Tapping into tacit knowledge

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 7

www.livemocha.com

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 8

Potential of Learning2.0

• New availability of resources for learning – Easy access to free information resources (dictionaries, encyclopeadia) – New variety of sources and resources – Education providers opening up their resources to show their quality

• New learner empowerment and connections– New empowerment in choosing the learning provider– New means to express and show one’s skills– Collaborative communities, new support for informal learning and professionalism

• New participation in learning processes– Digital natives expect to use participative approaches also in organized education– Availability of a variety of tools for participation and sharing, also across courses and institutions– Collaborative approaches let students with their special expertise support and teach others, also the teachers

• New challenges– Quality and reliability of information and resources – Responsibility and awareness of security and privacy issues– Ethical questions, e.g. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/, cyberbullying– Need for new skills (danger of new digital divides) -- both for learners and teachers

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 9

Summary

• Social computing is increasingly used for leisure, work, civic participation and learning, also in innovative ways

• Education and training need to prepare people for these tasks – Young people are already using social computing outside school, but may lack necessary skills– ICT skills, media literacy and participation skills are needed also by people past formal education

• Social computing can enable new collaboration between and among teachers, learners and other actors

– New opportunities to support formal education with informal learning and networks– New opportunities to support building personal skills and resources for lifelong learning

– New demand for quality in education through empowered learners

• Challenge of enabling everyone to benefit from the potential of social computing

• Social computing can be both a driver and an enabler for innovation in education and training

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 10

Questions

1. Why Learning2.0? What’s new? Which aspects of Web 2.0 make learning experiences different, better? What is the “added value”? Are there new skills learned?

2. How?– Can learning2.0 be used effectively for organized education? Primary, secondary, higher, professional? Internal or external tools?– Can learning communities and informal learning be connected to support formal learning?

3. What is lifelong learning2.0?How to build a lifelong learning2.0 practice and culture? What skills are needed? How to ensure equal opportunities?

4. What are the major challenges? What do institutions have to do to adapt? Settings for courses and assessment? Teacher training and upskilling?

5. What are the risks?How to ensure valuable learning? Will other skills suffer? Will everybody profit?

EFQUEL 2008 Forum, 16-17 June 2008, Lisbon 11

Thank you for your attention!

kirsti.ala-mutka@ec.europa.eu