Integrating personal learning and working environments

This review paper part of a series of papers commissioned by the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick under the title of 'Beyond Current Horizons – Working and Employment Challenge'. In turn, in forms part of a larger programme of work under the banner of Beyond Current Horizons that is being managed by FutureLab on behalf of the UK Department for Schools, Children and Families. The brief was to cover: - The main trends and issues in the area concerned; - Any possible discontinuities looking forward to 2025 and beyond; - Uncertainties and any big tensions; - Conclusions on what the key issues will be in the future and initial reflections on any general implications for education. Given the wide ranging nature of the brief, this paper largely confines itself to trends and issues in the UK, although where appropriate examples from other countries in Europe are introduced. We realise that in an age of growing globalisation the future of work and learning in the UK cannot be separated from developments elsewhere and that developments in other parts of the world may present a different momentum and trajectory from that in the UK. Thus, when reading this report, please bear in mind the limitations in our approach

Teacher competence development – a European perspective

This chapter provides an European perspectives on teacher competence development

To be or not to be, the importance of Digital Identity in the networked society

The emergence of the web has had a deep impact at different levels of our society, changing the way people connect, interact, share information, learn and work. In the current knowledge economy, participatory media seems to play an important part in everyday interactions. The term “digital identity” is becoming part of both our lexicon and our lives. This paper explores some of the aspect s regarding approaches and practices of educators, using web technologies to foster their digital identity within their networks and, at the same time, developing a social presence to complement their professional and academic profiles. In fact, we think it is imperative to discuss the relationship between our social presence and our professional life, as online the two are often intertwined. We present the issues the web poses through dichotomies: open or closed, genuine or fake, single or multiple. We also comment on different approaches to these dichotomies through examples extracted from recent projects, drawing from user’s experiences in building their digital identities. This paper looks at the importance of digital identity in the current networked society, by reviewing the contemporaneous scenario of the participatory web, raising a set of questions about the advantages and implication of consciously developing one’s digital identity, thus opening the discussion regarding openness, uniqueness and integrity in connection with one’s digital identity. This paper is also a reflection of thinking and practice in progress, drawing from examples and real-life situations observed in a diversity of projects. The issue could be reduced, perhaps, to whether one consciously becomes a part of the digital world or not, and how that participation is managed. It is up to us to manage it wisely, and guide knowledge workers in their journey to create theirs

Community-based mentoring and innovating through Web 2.0

The rise of social software, often termed Web 2.0, has resulted in heightened awareness of the opportunities for creative and innovative approaches to learning that are afforded by network technologies. Social software platforms and social networking technologies have become part of the learning landscape both for those who learn formally within institutions, and for those who learn informally via emergent web-based learning communities. As collaborative online learning becomes a reality, new skills in communication and collaboration are required in order to use new technologies effectively, develop real digital literacy and other 21st century skills

Cartoon planet : micro-reflection through digital cartoons – a case study on teaching and learning with young people

Young learners of today tend to show little enthusiasm for formal schooling. This does not necessarily mean pupils are not interested in learning or developing new skills and competences. In fact, the opposite often happens in the informal settings they belong to. Finding ways of transferring pupil’s informal learning into the school setting is therefore important. This paper gives a brief overview on the development of informal learning activities to encourage young people’s active reflection on their informally acquired competencies through the use of web technologies. The researchers also explore the role of the teacher, and the need of a participatory learning environment in a less formal classroom. Reflections on the experiences and recommendations are also provided

The social dimension of business models: an Actor-Network Theory perspective

We developed BIZ2BIS (from Business Models to the Blueprint of the Information System), an approach to help design, discuss, and evaluate inter-organizational business models, and also derive high-level requirements for their underlying IS. It consists of an iterative process that involves the various stakeholders in seeking a set of value propositions that ensure that the various elements are willing to participate in a sustained manner, thus ensuring a resilient value network. To conceive BIZ2BIS, we started with an exhaustive literature review on business models, which underlined the importance of their socio-technical nature. To address this dimension, we grounded our approach on the tenets of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This alternative outlook gave BIZ2BIS the chance to consider the socio technical nature of business models potentiated by ICTs and provided it with distinctive and promising conditions for exploring the interdependency between information systems and the networked business models in which they operate

The participatory web in the context of academic research : landscapes of change and conflicts

This thesis presents the results of a narrative inquiry study conducted in the context of Higher Education Institutions. The study aims to describe and foster understanding of the beliefs, perceptions, and felt constraints of ten academic researchers deeply involved in digital scholarship. Academic research, as one of the four categories of scholarship, is the focus of the analysis. The methods of data collection included in-depth online interviews, field notes, closed blog posts, and follow up dialogues via email and web-telephony. The literature review within this study presents a narrative on scholarship throughout the ages up to the current environment, highlighting the role of technology in assisting different forms of networking, communication, and dissemination of knowledge. It covers aspects of online participation and scholarship such as the open access movement, online networks and communities of practice that ultimately influence academic researchers’ sense of identity and their approaches to digital scholarship. The themes explored in the literature review had a crucial role in informing the interview guide that supported the narrative accounts of the research participants. However, the data collected uncovered a gap in knowledge not anticipated in the literature review, that of power relations between the individual and their institutions. Hence, an additional sociological research lens, that of Pierre Bourdieu, was adopted in order to complete the analysis of the data collected. There were three major stages of analysis: the construction of research narratives as a first pass analysis of the narrative inquiry, a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, and a Bourdieuian analysis, supported by additional literature, that reveals the complexity of current academic practice in the context of the Participatory Web. This research set out to study the online practices of academic researchers in a changing environment and ended up examining the conflicts between modern and conservative approaches to research scholarship in the context of academic researchers’ practices. This study argues that the Participatory Web, in the context of academic research, can not only empower academic researchers but also place them in contention with traditional and persistent scholarly practice

Implementation of a structural monitoring network in the new stone masonry bridge in Vila Fria - Portugal

This paper reports on the case of a new stone masonry bridge fully instrumented for structuralmonitoring under service loading. Both the monitoring scope and the instrumentation actuallyinstalled are described for this singular type of new construction. The acquisition systems aswell as remote data transmission and archive are also addressed. Some preliminarymonitoring results are included