The blurb I prepared for my presentation as part of Net*working 2004 Online to be held from 8-19 November by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.
"Through this presentation, participants will gain an overview of:
· Needs of Learners, Employers and Providers
· What is happening currently?
· What does the literature tell us?
· What can we do?
· What are the future directions?
Learners and employers need relevant, contextualised and flexible learning opportunities. Balancing the sometimes conflicting needs of business with the learner's motivations and interest requires skill and insight on the part of the training provider. Embedding elearning or online learning into workplace activity needs to be considered within the context of each industry, just how feasible this is will be explored and some potential applications discussed. Shining exemplars of workplace learning are founded on mutual benefit, with each party recognising their role and contribution to creating a learning environment. Capturing the informal and incidental learning in the workplace is one of the key challenges for training provider staff. Learners need to be supported to identify learning opportunities, and to seek resources and support from a variety of sources. The involvement of a supervisor or more experienced colleague is a key element to many stories of successful workplace learning. Mechanisms for promoting flexibility and true choice in designing a learning pathway are needed to ensure the best possible outcomes are achieved. Multiple and diverse tools and strategies need to be combined and recombined over time to meet the needs and aspirations of learners and their employers. Training provider staff need to be supported with communities of practice, ongoing informal and formal development opportunities and organisational structures that scaffold their practice. The area of elearning in the workplace needs to be explored further. Flexibility in workplace learning is not just about where the learning takes place. True flexibility takes advantage of all the possible options for learning, and combines them into a movable feast of informal, structured, ad-hoc, formal and incidental learning that permeates the workplace.
Posted by Kirsty at October 11, 2004 07:59 PM