Preparing for Learning Layers Bristol meeting – Part Two: Taking homework with me to Bristol
In my previous blog I mentioned that our EU-funded Learning Layers (LL) project will have its consortium meeting in Bristol next week. As preparation I have had a final run with reporting on activities that have taken place in the Construction pilot of the LL project – in particular with the deployment of the Learning Toolbox (LTB). In the previous post I tried to give a picture, what we are achieving altogether with our user engagement and tool deployment – enabling the users to become owners of innovation. Yet, at the same time I drew attention at the hurdles we still have to overcome to get the best out of the ongoing processes. Now, in this post I shift the emphasis to the agenda and to the topics the we are working with – to prepare the final deliverable of the project. However, I will not discuss in detail the plans we have – instead I try to put together my thoughts on what we (as the Construction pilot team) can contribute to some main points.
Below I try to outline my thoughts and a todo-list, how to proceed with them:
- Impact scorecards: We have earlier this year to use impact scorecards to present, what difference the introduction of LL tools has made in different pilot contexts. So far we in the construction pilot have not been rushing to draft them. However, due to our recent field activities we can give a far more differentiated picture with emphasis on different user groups of Learning Toolbox and on the role of complementary tools. However, we are looking forward to enrich the gallery later on with the results of our forthcoming workshops with construction companies (scheduled for September).
- Text for the section ‘research & development methodologies’: Here we need to give insights into the way in which the participative co-design activities and the contributions of accompanying research have nurtured each other. In particular we need to draw attention to some lead ideas and theoretical concepts that have characterised our work, such as a) enhancing vocational learning as action-oriented and self-organised learning, b) supporting the acquisition and exploitation of ‘work process knowledge’ and c) promoting co-design as social shaping of work, technology and work environment. Here, I have drafted the structure for our contribution and collected the key materials from our Theory Camp contributions, conference papers, LL website articles and contributions to Y2 and Y3 deliverables.
- Contributions to ‘Learning scenarios’: With the scenarios we want to highlight a) how our ‘lead theories’ have supported our development work and 2) how they help us to specify the potential and actual changes in the (informal) learning at working contexts. Here we are having a differentiated look at trainers in Bau-ABC (and their peer learning as change agents) and apprentices as users of new tools (and their insights into their role in vocational learning).
- Contributions to ‘Exploitation activities’: Here we can revisit the exploitation landscape (consisting of several spin-off or follow-up projects) that we presented last June in the Tallinn consortium meeting. As things stand now, most of these projects are going on and are looking for opportunities to introduce Learning Toolbox (and eventually other LL tools) in their contexts. This requires further talks on the partnership relations to be created with the tool developer teams and the new projects.
I guess this is enough for the moment. I have put down some of my thoughts and I need to work with them before the meeting and in the respective sessions. That is what will be there for – to achieve common results for the final phase of activities. I am looking forward to busy days in Bristol.
More blogs to come …
