LTU seminar organised by the IoE's Learning Technologies Unit

Seminar Description

The Community Development Model of Learning came out of a series of research activities and projects within Becta and with partners. Dr John Cook at LTRI carried out some key research and Dr Diana Laurillard asked key questions to help shape the model. The work was carried out to help identify how UK online centres could provide positive learning experiences. It developed into a framework for learner-centred learning from an institutional perspective and raises many questions about current institutionalised approaches to learning. I will discuss the ideas in four stages, demo an interactive version of the work and then raise two key discussion questions.

1. Digital Divide Content Debate
   An online debate between the US project COntentbank.org, with the participation of Randall Pinkett of BCT and Andy Carvin of the Digital Divide network.
   This identified the need positive for "Community Content", or "Fit for Context" Content.
   This became the basis of the
2. "Metadata for Community Content" Research Group
   This examined what metadata was needed for Community Content and interest-driven learning.Our conclusions were that the underpinning metadata for learning is focussed on course-based information retrieval and does not match to the self-directed learning which is a key affordance of e-learning.
3. The model of Informal e-learning
   The LTRI research identified the "lifecycle" nature of learning as a social process and the model of Informal e-learning attempted to model the relationship between centred based informal learning activities and the needs of web-based learning resource developers to provide relevant resources. (handout provided for this)
4. The Community Development Model of Learning
   This was built on the above work and based on Discussions with Dr John Cook and Professor Laurillard. This is designed to address the question of how Learning Centres can meet both the need of the DfES for "additionality and progression" (to qualifications) and match to the interests and motivations of socially excluded learners.

The issues that this work raises are

1. Does the current obsession with the concept of "personalisation"avoid dealing with underpinning pedagogic and learning process issues that learner-centred learning needs to address? My view is that we need a continuum that allows for pedagogic, andragogic and heutagogic teaching and learning strategies.
2. How can we operationalise an Interest-driven learning model as proposed by the Community Development Model of Learning in a curriculum-driven learning world; is it through co-creation of the learning process?

The research and theories have been modelled as an Interactive Flash Movie, the Silwood Cyber Centre, available online here:
http://www.intomedia.org.uk/silwood/ENTER.HTM
Please feel free to play with this before the seminar.

Some of the ideas in this seminar were presented to the German Digital Inclusion Conference in 2005:
http://www.digitale-chancen.de/transfer/berlinerg/33.ppt

Bio

Fred Garnett FRSA
Strategic Advisor Post-16 Education - Becta

Fred is currently Strategic Advisor on Post-16 Education at Becta working on the e-maturity of FE colleges for 2010. Fred has also being working on Offender e-learning since 2005. His interests are in community learning and social inclusion and Participatory Media Literacy (with OFCOM). He set up the Last Friday Mob Public ICT group who lobby for "creative, participative and interactive" national projects and has been involved in the Ealing e-communities project, now shortlisted for the best Digital Challenge project. He recently gave a paper on Digital Inclusion as Social Inclusion at e-learn 2006 and is giving a paper on "Policy 2.0" at CAL 07.

He has worked on many government Community ICT projects for DfES, DCMS and NOF and serves on a number of National Advisory Boards. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Ideas Lab and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for "creative and innovative" work in Community Learning.

Fred lectured on Political Science in the US and Computer Science in the UK. From 1984 he lectured on the social impact of IT working with the Internet from 1995 and e-learning from 1997 and on a range of Lewisham Connected Community projects from 1997. He developed a Community Grid for Learning (TaLENT) and was Accessibility and Usability consultant on the EU-IST GALA project for them.

Fred helps run the Creekside Environmental Education Centre in Deptford Creek where the Futurelab "mudlarking" ambient learning environment project is based.

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you want to attend for catering purposes (tea/coffee).