Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Reusable Learning Objects

Our ongoing work at London Metropolitan University investigates effective ways to design learning environments that add mobile learning into blended higher education modules. Our approach is one of evolutionary, iterative refinement of the learning environment based on student feedback. Blended learning effectiveness can be viewed as a function of effective pedagogical practices. Accordingly, a key question is: What combination of instructional strategies and delivery media will best produce the desired learning outcome for the intended audience? The paper will (i) outline the background issues that led to the development of the blended mLearning approach (ii) describe the initial survey that informed our design, (iii) outline the blended mLearning design, (iv) present our evaluation findings with students, and (v) conclude by commenting on the wider applicability of our approach.London Metropolitan Universit

Improving the general health of people with learning difficulties in the UK: experiences of the implementation of Annual Health Checks

This paper offers a brief overview of the background to implementing a policy of offering Annual Health Checks (AHCs) to all people with a learning disability/difficulty in the UK. It outlines what has been developed through national policy and then offers an insight into the experiences of four people with learning difficulties in relation to understanding and accessing AHCs. All four people are members of The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company (ITC) a company that aims to lay solid foundations for people with learning disabilities to participate fully in their own society, shaping their own environment and controlling their own futures

Going beyond your personal learning network, using recommendations and trust through a multimedia question-answering service for decision-support: A case study in the healthcare.

Social learning networks enable the sharing, transfer and enhancement of knowledge in the workplace that builds the ground to exchange informal learning practices. In this work, three healthcare networks are studied in order to understand how to enable the building, maintaining and activation of new contacts at work and the exchange of knowledge between them. By paying close attention to the needs of the practitioners, we aimed to understand how personal and social learning could be supported by technological services exploiting social networks and the respective traces reflected in the semantics. This paper presents a case study reporting on the results of two co-design sessions and elicits requirements showing the importance of scaffolding strategies in personal and shared learning networks. Besides, the significance of these strategies to aggregate trust among peers when sharing resources and decision-support when exchanging questions and answers. The outcome is a set of design criteria to be used for further technical development for a social semantic question and answer tool. We conclude with the lessons learned and future work

'Cascades, torrents & drowning’ in information: Seeking help in the contemporary GP practice in the UK

This paper responds to the Alpine Rendez-Vous (ARV) ‘crisis’ in technology enhanced learning (TEL). It takes a contested area of policy, rapid change in the National Health Service (NHS), and documents the responses to ‘information overload’ by group of General Practitioners Practices in the North of England. Located between the spaces identified by Traxler and Lally as ‘competitive industrialisation’ and Web 1.0, and the consumer/ customer focus and ubiquitous ownership enabled by portable and devices and web 2.0, in this work we see the parallels of the responses of publicly funded bodies moving towards privatisation as part of a neo-liberal agenda. Interviews with health professionals revealed marginalized spaces for informal learning in their workplaces; and a desire to build a community that would enable them to overcome the time/space barriers to networking. The EU Learning Layers Integrating Project develops mobile and social technologies that unlock and enable peer production within and across traditional workplace boundaries. Through the health professional narratives, we capture insights into their daily life, enable the articulation of their needs for an online ‘Help-Seeking’ networking service, underpinned by their desire to consult what Vygotsky calls ‘the more capable peer’

Dementia in the workplace: are employers supporting employees living with dementia?

ObjectivesAs working lives extend and there is better recognition of early-onset dementias, employers need to consider dementia as a workplace concern. With suitable support, people living with dementia can continue employment – although this is not appropriate for all. The requirement for employers to support employees living with dementia has human rights and legal foundations. This paper considers whether employers consider dementia as a workplace concern; and the policies and/or practices available to support employees living with dementia. Thus, it develops understanding of whether employers are meeting their human rights/legislative obligations.MethodA sequential mixed-methods approach was employed, with data collection undertaken in Scotland (United Kingdom). An online survey was sent to employers across Scotland, with 331 participating. 30 employer interviews were conducted, with the survey results informing the interview approach.ResultsThe survey and interview data were analyzed separately and then combined and presented thematically. The themes identified were 1) Dementia as a workplace concern 2) Support for employees living with dementia and 3) Employer policy development and awareness raising. The findings demonstrate dementia awareness, but this knowledge is not applied to employment situations. There was little evidence suggesting that the rights of employees living with dementia are consistently upheld.ConclusionThis research sends out strong messages about the rights and legal position of person living with dementia which cannot be ignored. The continuing potential of employees living with dementia and their legal rights are not consistently recognized. This highlights the need for robust training interventions for employers