So far the Learning Layers (LL) project has been working with initial interviews, drafting user stories and with field visits that validate the picture – the Application Partner Days (see my prvious posts). Now it is time to take further steps to design activities. The opening event will be the Design Conference in Helsinki next week.

The LL teams of ITB and Pontydysgu have prepared this step with reviewing the material that has been used for the user stories that focus on construction sector. We have tried to put the individual cases into wider contexts and look, how particular design ideas would meet the needs and interests emerging from these wider contexts.

In the first phase we have done some contextual mapping to identify sets of working and learning contexts (Entwicklungszusammenhänge) that are not necessarily visible in individual user stories but become transparent when you construct a group picture of several stories and exemplary situations. Below I give some insights into working  issues and challenges that arise from such wider contexts:

 a) Contexts of induction, counselling and further qualifying: When studying the stories from ecological construction work, we have noted that the leading organisations have to take wide responsibilities in the induction and further qualifying of the new staff. In the same way they have to act as counsellors and advisors of new crft trade companies that want to speacialise in this field. The lack of institutions and resources in research and (higher) education and training requires more efforts from actors in the field. This is a major challenge for mentoring, tutoring and continuing professional development. Here, we have several design issues coming up regarding the use of web.

b) Contexts of sharing information and knowledge – from particular construction sites to wider forums: Other exemplary stories have drawn our attention to rather simple gaps of communication and to limited access to (digital) documents at construction sites. This may cause problems between planners and skilled workers who carry out the tasks. Whilst these could be helped with simple applications, our partners have warned us that knowledge development may not be a matter of collecting experience from individual cases. One of the challenges in ecological construction work is to clarfy, which solutions may be appropriate for certain sets of cases and inappropriate for others. Such level of knowledge sharing and mutual critique requires forums that are characterised by mutual trust and commitment to common cause. Here again, we have several design issues coming up.

c) Contexts that require new information and solutions for making learning gains available for further use: Some of the user stories gave examples of problem situations in which new information was needed on new materials or new regulations for special installations. In such cases the craft trade companies had to carry out searches and to make the results available across the company. In some cases there appeared to be a general pattern that could be identified and made available for a more generals service across companies (e.g. by training organisations or by joint associations or umbrella organisations). Here we see design issues and questions on responsibility for joint services.

 d) Specific challenges in the field of borehole-drilling and well-building: The field of borehole-drilling and well-building (Brunnenbau bzw. Spezialtiefbau) is characterised by specific risks both regarding health and safety and regarding possible damages caused for the environment and materials. Therefore, the industries are engaged in developing applications and web services. Yet, the examples reflected in user stories and APD workshops show that there are possible gaps and needs for double-chacking (that require attention from the craftsmen). Another aspect is that the health and safety traininf is very well regulated but follows a traditional pattern. Therefore, use of web services and new media could enhance the training and the required health and safety awareness. Here again, we see several design issues coming up – linked to the question of responsibilities and conformity with given regulations.

These remarks give insights into the challenges that the LL project is facing in the next step. In my next posts I try give some answers, how the challenges could be responded by our work with design ideas and with the developmental strategies that our application partners have brought into discussion.

To be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

I hereby complete my reporting on the Application Partner Days (APDs) of the Learning Layers (LL) project that were organised this week in Bremen and in the neighbouring areas. My two previous posts gave an overview on the site visits to the training centre area of Bau ABC (Rostrup) and to the premises of Agentur für nachhaltiges Bauen (Verden). I also reported on the workshop events that were organised in the context of these site visits. This blog article focuses on the issues that were raised and observations that were made during the talks in these workshops. As the digestion of  the rich documented material will take some time, I only want to provide a bridging step to further analyses and conclusions.

Below I will sum up some issues and remarks across the discussions during both on-site visits:

1. Who were the ‘users’ whom we met and/or whose interests and problems were discussed?

At the Bau ABC the ITB team members had earlier met senior trainers (Lehrwerkmeister) of the Bau ABC staff and got some of their views documented in the “User stories”. Now these persons were already ‘old acquaintances’ when participating in the event. However, this time there was an opportunity to widen the circle and to engage several senior craftsmen who were completing their continuing training to become certified team leaders/on-site supervisors (Werkpolierer). In a similar way the spectrum of trades was widened to cover different fields of construction work (including the building of houses, construction of roads and the special construction areas of borehole builders).

At the Agentur the ITB team had mainly talked with architects and on the core activities of the Agentur and the supporting network on ecological construction work. Now the workshops set the accent to outreach activities towards craft trade companies (represented by two entrepreneurs) and to apprentices (discussed as a major target group for the forthcoming  exhibition).

 2. What kinds of problems and challenges brought ICT and Web into picture?

On both site visits the discussion was triggered by coordination problems and communication problems at different construction sites. Various examples were presented of gaps of information, gaps of communication, lack of shared information and hurdles in knowledge sharing. Much of this could be helped with simple apps (which were also becoming widely used), some problems appeared to be more deeply rooted into divisions of labour, hierarchies and to cultural boundaries between different trades and companies involved.

3. How are these issues related to learning and knowledge development?

Firstly,  some of discussions might have seemed to be somewhat remote of the theme “learning”. However, in a closer analysis it is possible to discover different instances of learning or instances of professional development when the construction specialists addressed needs for ICT and web support (or proposed possible solutions). Here, it was possible to observe a movement from passive expectations to participative co-development and co-design.

Secondly, it is worthwhile to consider, to what extent is use of web and digital media embedded into the working and learning culture of construction sector. At the moment some of the main documentation is still paper-based and the transition is only taking place (e.g. the apprentices white folders are paper-based and some of the software solutions for planners have not really made a breakthrough). Here, issues of trust and practical benefit are very present.

Thirdly, it is worthwhile to consider the cooperation culture at the construction sites and between different parties involved. The traditional mode of thinking and working emphasised the division of labour (each party being responsible of their task) whilst nowadays new holistic solutions (package offers) may change the picture.

4. What can be considered as “hot issues” or factors that keep the discussion going on?

 Firstly, it is obvious that the construction industry and trade want to attract new workforce and to influence the public image of construction work as low-tech area. Secondly, in many special areas the high risks with costly equipment require more attention to risk management by different parties. Thirdly, trainers have a major concern in improving the quality of training in safety issues and to raise awareness of safety risks (e.g. using video simulations and intelligent games). Fourthly, young professionals who are working their way through via vocational progression routes are interested in acting as change agents (and in being recognised as such).

After all these remarks I find it appropriate to bring my reporting to an end at this point. As I mentioned above, I am not suggesting any conclusions for the LL project but making some remarks that help us to step to the next phase of work.

The discussion will be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

I am continuing my reports of field visits that took place this week as a part of the Application Partner Days (APDs) of the Learning Layers (LL) project. This blog article focuses on the visit to the premises  of Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen and its sister organisations in Verden (South-East of Bremen).

As we have been informed in the project, the Agentur is part of an organisational grouping that is based in Verden and has formed a joint network to promote ecological (sustainable) construction work. Currently this grouping runs an activity centre (Ökozentrum) which provides room for craft trade companies, architect office and joint training facilities. In the year 2014 the network will have a major exhibition building that is currently under construction. The initial buildings were originally used by the German army and they have been reshaped and repurposed for training activities. The new buildings are already demonstration cases for using strawball material for constructing walls. The exhibition building is a demonstration case for wood construction with five storeys.

After a tour round the premises the hosts brought us to a seminar room and organised a major ‘carousel’ workshop. The participants were allocated to four topic tables in which a network member (or two) took the role of hosting the discussion. Each group had a large sheet of paper to make notes (or to add to the notes of the previous group) and sticker dots to mark priority areas for further discussion. After 25 minutes the groups rotated between the hosts. Altogether we managed to complete three sessions in each topic table.

The topic tables were based on the following issues:

• Meister Manfred (Entrepreneur in carpentry and woodwork) hosted a topic table in which he informed of the development of an iPad app for his company to inform their cost calculation program of the time needed for specific jobs at the construction site. This input (supported by a parallel case of another entrepreneur) triggered a discussion on other uses of iPad (or other tablet PCs) at construction sites.
• Architect Enno (Director of the Agentur and co-founder of the network) hosted a table in which he informed of everday life experiences about lack of knowledge sharing between contractors (entrepreneurs) and their staff (craftsmen who do the job). This input (supported by the visualisation of the user story) triggered a discussion on simple applications that would be helpful to overcome such gaps of communication.
• Architect Ute (Member of the network) hosted a table in which she informed of the plans for the opening exhibition during the inauguration of the new building. The idea is to provide a “learning exhibition” that makes good use of live experience on site, of effective web demonstrations and active contact with different target groups (to serve them better on site and via web). This input triggered a discussion of  various groups and different needs or interests to be catered for.
• Project managers Melanie (Bau ABC) and Tobias (Agentur) hosted a table in which they facilitated discussion on knowledge sharing, collaboration and networking in craft trades. They presented inputs on different regions and on different groupings with which they have cooperated. These triggered a discussion on factors that restrict or increase willingness to cooperation (“business as usual” or “competitive advantage with holistic solutions”).

After three rotations the carousel was finished with a brief plenary that had to be stopped abruptly because of time constraints. Yet, the discussions were kicked alive and the issues were there.

To be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am preparing brief reports of field visits that took place this week as a part of the Application Partner Days (APDs) of the Learning Layers (LL) project. This blog article focuses on the visit to the training centre area of Bau ABC in Rostrup (West of Bremen).

As we have been informed in the project, Bau ABC is one of the two major training centres set up by the umbrella organisation of building and construction sector in North Germany (Bauindustrieverband Niedersachsen-Bremen) and it is run as an operative arm of a support association for training in building and construction sector (Verein zur Berufsförderung der Bauwirtschaft Nord e.V.). The training centre Bau ABC in the municipality of Rostrup covers a wide range of occupational fields including initial VET (Erstausbildung), continuing training (Weiterbildung), training of Master Craftsmen (Meisterschulung) and other measures to support professional development of construction specialists.

During our tour round the premises of Bau ABC we had the chance to look firstly at the workshops of carpenters (Zimmerer), concrete builders (Betonbauer), and metal workers (Metaller). In  outdoor areas we saw the training sites for groundwork builders (Erdebauer),  road builders (Strassenbauer) and borehole builders (Brunnenbauer). Then, in the next workshops we had a chance to inform ourselves more of the training of borehole builders (Brunnenbauer) and of bricklayers (Maurer). Finally we saw the special areas for security training with focus on occupational hazards that are related to explosions.

The afternoon program of the visit consisted of two parallel sessions. One session was organised as a Focus Group involving some of the research partners and a number of trainers (Lehrwerkmeister) and participants in advanced training programs from Bau ABC. This group focused on the User Stories and tried to get further insights into workplace learning and uses of new technologies. Parallel to this session there was a small ‘carousel’ workshop in which some of the technical partners hosted small tables and participants from construction sector rotated between the tables.

The technical partner teams  (Graz, Tribal, Aalto and Karlsruhe/Pontydysgu) had made their own preparations for a dialogue session. Bau ABC had provided exemplars of apprentices’ and trainees’ working and learning tasks. Based on these inputs (and on some use stories) the technical partners informed themselves of problems or challenges in construction work and workplace learning. Then the discussion geared towards looking for possible solutions – uses of technology, uses of software and uses of networks and web resources.

At the end of the day all participants had experienced manifold discussions and the participants from Bau ABC had done their best to feed in inputs, ideas and experiences. So, there was much food for thought to be digested.

To be continued …

My previous posts on the Learning Layers (LL) project raised the question: “What can we learn during on-site-visits?” At that time the ITB team was busy doing interviews with application partners from the North German construction sector. The first results were rapidly prepared as draft User Stories for further analyses. In this context the quick blog articles served as ‘appetizers’ for other partners: “Here is your chance for a sneak preview before live visits.”

Earlier this week a considerable number of LL partners were visiting the training centre area of Bau ABC in Rostrup and the premises of Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen and its sister organisations in Verden. The visitors had prepared themselves with the help of the User Stories and the hosts had taken initiatives to bring the discussion further. So, after this shared experience it is appropriate to ask: “What have we learned during the Application Partner Days?” Obviously, this general question paves the way for a number of more detailed questions. Most of these require a closer look at the videos recorded during the sessions and at the sheets filled with notes and dots during the workshop sessions.

Therefore, I am not trying to wrap up all and everything that was learned in Bremen and in the nearby areas on the two Application Partner Days  dedicated to construction sector. Instead, with the two subsequent blog articles I to give an impression of the events that were organised and of the discussions in parallel sessions. I will also outline some questions that help us to digest the impressions on workplace learning, use of (learning) technologies and of knowledge development in construction trade. I then insert some remarks that arise from the joint discussion of the ITB team after the event. I hope these preliminary remarks help to bring our joint work further.

To be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

In December 2012 I started a series of blogs for the Learning Layers (LL) project with the question “What can we learned during on-site-visits“. In the first article I summarised my first impressions from a field visit of the ITB team to the work site of our partner organisation Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen. This visit (and the interviews we recorded) gave us a much richer picture of the special area ‘ecological construction work’ and of the innovations that our partners are pushing ahead in this field.

Now, in January 2013, the ITB team has started its work for LL with further field visits (including audio/video recorded interviews) to the sites of our partners in the North-German construction cluster. Yesterday I and my colleague Werner Müller visited the training centre BauABC Rostrup at Bad Zwischenahn (near Bremen). During our visit we had a quick look at some of the worksites and training workshops and carried out five interviews with seven counterparts.

It is worthwhile to emphasise that Bau ABC Rostrup is not whatever training centre in the construction sector in Germany. It has been launched by the central organisation of the construction industries and employers (Bauindustrieverband) of the federal states Bremen and Niedersachsen and it provides training services across North Germany. In some areas (see below) it serves as a nation-wide centre of expertise. In the initial vocational training serves primarily as an inter-enterprise training interface (überbetriebliche Ausbildungsstätte) that caters for such training blocks that cannot be provided by individual companies. In the continuing vocational training it is in charge of continuing professional development of skilled workers and of training for master craftsmen (Meister) and other specialists in the trade. Due to these training functions Bau ABC has in addition to its training rooms or workshops huge outdoor worksites on which different machines, equipments and construction techniques are piloted for training and development purposes. Moreover, the centre is all the time running real construction sites to convert old army warehouses into modern training facilities (designed by Bau ABC staff and built by their trainees).

Without going into details of the interviews and the points that were made, it is worthwhile to raise some points that help the other LL partners to consider, how they can best support the work of application partners – such as Bau ABC.  In this context I would like to draw attention to the following points:

1) Who are our counterparts and what is their role in the construction sector?  Firstly, we had a chance to talk with two senior Master Craftsmen (Meister) in the borehole building (Brunnenbauer). They were in charge of a whole range training activities – including initial vocational training and the trainings for advanced specialist (e.g. the training for new Meister). They were also involved in producing new learning materials and in examination boards. Then, we had a chance to discuss with two apprentices in the same trade. One of them took his apprentice training as a part of his medium-term contract for the German arm. The other one had taken this training after having had firstly a training in other trade (electrician). Finally, we had discussions with three younger master Craftsmen (Meister) who were in charge of initial vocational training for neighbouring occupational areas (bricklayers, carpenters, road-builders).

2) What kinds of occupational areas are covered by Bau ABC and how can they be linked to the LL project? A major occupational area for Bau ABC is that of borehole builders (Brunnenbauer) and groundwork constructors (Spezialtiefbauer). This trade is characterised by costly machinery and equipment and by high risks regarding the treatment of different geological layers and ground water sources. (Work in this trade has been documented by the German army with the Youtube video Wasser für Marmal.) In Germany there are not many training providers for this trade and among them Bau ABC is considered as a national centre of expertise. In the immdediate vicinity there are training facilities and work sites for the neighbouring trades, such as road-builders (Strassenbauer), bricklayers (Maurer) and carpenters (Zimmerer), who also need to have the know-how on laying the foundation of the buildings and for underground construction work.

3) What can be said about the penetration of ICT and Web technologies to different areas of construction work?  In this context it is worthwhile to make a distinction between the borehole builders (Brunnenbauer) and the more traditional crafts and trades. For the borehole builders the industries that produce their machines and are already intensively involved in the  development of ICT equipment and software. Therefore, the exhibitions of this trade are also characterised by the presence of web services and applications. In this respect the more traditional trades have adopted the use of smartphones and tablet PCs at a later date. Altogether, all of the said areas are making new experiences with the usability of ICT- and Web-based tools, apps and services.

4) What can be said of  the readiness of our counterparts to work with ICT, Web technologies and social media?  In general our counterparts were positive about testing and trying out new solutions (“Was man nutzen kann, soll auch benutzt werden.“) However, depending on their positions, training responsibilities and occupational areas the counterparts raised different issues. For some areas work the problems at worksite opened more opportunities for self-directed search for solutions (and on-site learning) whilst for other areas such problems need to be communicated further to external persons with specific responsibilities. This may reduce the range of skilled workers’ involvement in finding solutions. Yet, there were issues about taking note of different problem cases for the continuing training of specialists and of Master Craftsmen (Meister) – who complete their training programmes with practical examinations on real worksites.

Altogether, the visit and the interview sessions can be seen as  preliminary discussions that helped our counterparts to present their first situation assessment on problem-based learning opportunities in their trade and on the role of ICT- and web-based tools in making themselves aware of such learning. In this respect our counterparts are looking forward to further encounters with the Learning Layers project (e.g. the forthcoming Application Partner Days).

To be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

My latest blog postings on Learning Layers focused on lessons to be learned from predecessor projects. We still need to follow that track. There is surely something to be discussed when we get statements from colleagues who have been involved (and taken the opportunity to think aloud about their learning gains).

However, now the current phase of the Learning Layers is pushing forward the on-site visits and the work with interview materials. At the moment we are just making the very first interviews and the editing of recordings and the detailed analyses are on the agenda in January 2013. Yet, already at this point it is worthwhile to consider, what we (as researchers) can learn during the on-site visits when talking to people who know their trade (and the issues  to be studied)  via their own practical experience.

Three members of the  ITB team visited earlier this week our Application Partner organisation “Agentur für Nachhaltiges Bauen” in Verden near Bremen. We didn’t have much time to look around at their exhibition areas or at their test sites. Yet, we got interesting insights into the wide area of  ‘ecological construction work’.  Here some points as starters while waiting for the analyses and the Application Partner Days (that provide an opportunity for more partners to make such on-site visits):

 1) Who are our counterparts and what do they represent: We were told that we would be having interviews with a student (doing his Praktikum at the Agentur) and with two architects. During the discussion we learned that they all seemed to have a background as skilled workers (and eventually as master craftsmen – Meister) in the construction sector before starting their studies. Thus, their learning histories and occupational careers combined practical work experience and academic studies.

2) What is “ecological construction work” about: Another issue to be considered was the diversity of approaches to ‘sustainability’ and ‘ecological construction work’. Some approaches emphasise sustainability without thinking that much on ecological impact of preparatory processes, logistic chains etc. Some approaches are very thoroughly committed to ecological materials and to construction tehniques with minor ecological consequences. These different positions may also have implications on the use and acceptance of mobile devices and ICT in general.

3) What is the relation between ‘competitiveness’ and ‘knowledge sharing’: Our counterparts gave us a colourful picture of constraints to share knowledge (and make the construction site work together) and to keeping one’s professional secrets to themselves. Both pressures are there – at the individual level and at the level of organisations. It was interesting to discuss, what kind of experiences and observations our counterparts had made about readiness to share knowledge (and with whom, in particular).

4) What works in knowledge transfer and what doesn’t: Each of our counterparts had made experiences of the use of different media to support knowledge transfer.  They drew our attention to personal trust and to social relations (how to get good communication work) above any ranking of possible (old or new media). Yet, they had interesting views on, what kind of media are OK for certain target groups and what might not be considered OK.

5) Cultural changes – readiness or resistance: The pioneers of ecological construction work had made a lot of experiences with changes in construction techniques – both regarding the resistance and regarding the readiness to accept new ideas once you had tried. This was also important for the discussion on usability of web tools and services.

I could go on with this list but prefer to stop here. As I said before, these were just first impressions and rather vague answers to the question, what we as researchers can learn during on-site visits.

The story will be continued …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

My previous posting for this blog (with reference to the Learning Layers project) dealt with the issue “Lessons from prior projects”. I drew attention to several video interviews that I had prepared for another European cooperation project (Coop-PBL in VET). My colleagues in the learning Layers project might consider that the material might be a bit remote to the ongoing project and to the current working issues – maybe, maybe not.

With this post I want to draw attention to the work of an immediate predecessor of the Learning Layers project as regards the work with the German construction sector. The German project Vila-b (Virtual learning in construction work) explored the usability of mobile devices in the context of continuing training for construction workers. The video interviews with researcher Sven Schulte (ITB) make transparent the project concept and users’ acceptance of new media.

In the first video Sven tells about the approach of Vila-b, of the measures to ensure user engagement and of the conclusions, how to make such projects relevant for users.

http://vimeo.com/55277044

In the second video Sven tells about the challenges for getting construction workers interested in using web support. He also draws attention to progress that has been made in the meantime with technologies (e.g. smartphones) and software (e.g. apps). His main point is that active mentoring at workplace has been crucial for supporting workplace learning (in general) and the use of web-based support.

http://vimeo.com/55277043

With these videos I hope to bring  the lessons from prior activities closer to our ongoing discussions on current challenges and tasks.

To be continued … 

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

At the moment several contributors to Learning Layers project (from Pontydysgu, ITB, CIMNE, Bau ABC and Agentur) are participating in Online Educa Berlin. Pontydysgu will keep us updated on their contributions via live radio program (Sounds of the Bazaar),  podcasts and via Graham’s blogs on Wales-Wide Web.

While the travel team is busy over there, the home team is doing some stock-taking on lessons to be learned from prior projects. As a first contribution I have collected some links to video interviews that I produced as the ITB partner for another European project (Coop-PBL in VET).  As you see from the list below, the interview partners (from Pontydysgu and ITB) discussed issues that are relevant for the Learning Layers project as well:

• The interviews with Graham Attwell (four videos) focused on the development of European projects on ICT, Web and learning (in SMEs).
• The interviews with Jenny Hughes (two videos) focused on the experiences of two TACCLE projects in supporting teachers to create and share user-generated web contents.
• The interviews with Joanna Burchert and Sven Schulte (three videos in English, parallel versions in German) focused on the experiences with the German project expertAzubi that developed an interactive online platform for apprentices, workplace trainers and vocational teachers in the Bremen region.
• The interviews with Ludger Deitmer (four videos in English) focused on regional cooperation between vocational education providers, partner enterprises and different innovation programs since the early 1990s to present day.

It is not our intention to dwell in the past. But we do understand ourselves as part of a living tradition of innovation research and part of that ‘living’ is the ability to look back how certain ideas and cooperation patterns have developed. It is interesting to see new issues coming up in Graham’s and Ludger’s overviews. Moreover, it is interesting to see, how dynamic cooperation culture has developed in rather short-lived projects (as Jenny and Joanna & Sven tell in their reports of recent projects).

The story goes on …

Acknowledgements. This work is supported by the European Commission under the FP7 project LAYERS (no. 318209), http://www.learning-layers.eu.

Yesterday I wrote two blog articles based on the videos that the ITB team and the partners in Leeds produced at an early stage of the Learning Layers project. Now the project has officially started and we are going through several meetings, flashmeetings and skype meetings. In this phase we are learning more of each other and – as a consequence – we have to broaden our picture of the users, their expectations and their possibilities to contribute to the project.

So far my first blog article has discussed individual users (medical doctors in Leeds and craftsmen in electric installations in Bremen) as the starting point. My second article shifted the emphasis from individual users (and their workplaces) to their professional communities or networks and to enrichment of shared knowledge.

With this article I want to shift the role to “competence centres” (in German Kompetenzzentrum) and to their role as multipliers of innovative practice. Here I refer to the ideas that have been presented by Melanie Campbell who represents Bau ABC (one of the application partners of the LL project). I am aware that Melanie is preparing a more elaborate presentation for the Online Educa Berlin but I want to draw attention to some ideas already at this stage.

Firstly on the role of Bau ABC in the construction sector. It is easy to get a false impression that it would only be a more advanced vocational school or college (for apprectices) or a training centre (for adult learners on short courses). In this respect the range  of training activities of Bau ABC is wider and it caters for different target groups. In the initial vocational education it serves as an inter-enterprise training interface (Überbetriebliche Ausbildungsstätte). In the continuing vocational training it serves as a provider for different competence-giving and certified programmes. For this purpose it has huge training sites in which advanced training programmes (for various occupations) can be implemented in circumstances that are similar to real construction sites (instead of retreating to mere classroom simulations). And altogether, it serves as a nodal point for continuing professional development and as promoter for knowledge transfer from training contexts to everyday life practice.

For the Learning Layers project it is interesting to note what kinds of target groups can be approached via such competence centre and what kinds of working, learning and transfer processes they can bring into picture. (Here I am referring to the ideas that Melanie and other discussed freely in our skype meeting, we need to discuss this further.)

• Meister (Masters of craft) who are in charge of training in special occupational areas (e.g. die Brunnenbauer). Here we can assume that there are no markets for highly commercialised learning materials. Therfore,  training and learning processes have to rely to a major extent on  work process knowledge gained through work experience. How can this kind of knowledge best be mobilised and shared?
• Apprentices (Auszubildende) that select special areas of construction work tend to be highly interested in their occupation and try to adopt the role of explorers (asking for interpretation why things are done this way and putting the ‘normal practice’ in question). During their apprenticeship they attend in regular cycles Bau ABC and can be addressed at different phases of their learning careers.
• Skilled workers in Meister training programmes (or in other similar programme) are also going through transition in their career and are acquiring new competences. During their training they are confronted with challenges, how to organise group work and mutually linked work processes. Also they attend Bau ABC in different phases of their training.
• Pioneers in using ICT, Web and new media – here we are talking of individual trainers and guest instructors in different occupational areas. In the beginning phase of the project it became clear that there are already several pilot initiatives that have been tried or implemented in small scale. However, there is neither an overarching coordination nor a technical infrastructure (system architecture) that would enable good synergy across different initiatives. Therefore, inquiries on users’ needs or expectations should also take into account such developments.

I stop my list here. As I already said, Melanie Campbell will give more precise information and insights to these issues in the coming days (in particular via her contribution to Online Educa Berlin). Yet, I considered it appropriate to discuss the potential role of Bau ABC as a major regional competence centre as multiplier of innovative practices. As we have discussed it, we see different possibilities to go further but we have to start from the beginning steps.

This was an addendum to the issue “user stories”. But we are not through. The story goes on …