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learning about scenario planning and thinkingTo learn about the future and to see what kind of patterns and trends will affect your strategy it is always useful to rely on scenario planning. A scenario is basically a story that describes a potential future. For learning professionals it can be a powerful method to learn about the possible driving forces that will affect our world so that we can incorporate them in our future learning strategies. The development of a scenario entails a collaborate process, the creation of a common language and specific tools that can bring people from different backgrounds together. Jisc Infonet puts it as following:Scenarios provide alternative views of the future. They identify some significant events, main actors and their motivations, and they convey how the world functions. Building and using scenarios can help us explore what the future might look like and the likely changes of living in it.At Online Educa last year DELTA participated in a learning scenario planning exercise with Hans De Zwart and Willem Manders. During this meeting we mapped out the (corporate) learning environment, the important actors and the driving forces which gave us a solid base to map out different scenarios. Click here for an overview of the used scenario methodology.
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Linking with Learning Professionals. Article one: LinkedinSocial networks are growing and the labyrinth of social media tools and networks is not always easy to oversee, let be the added value what you can get out of these networks. Therefore we will on a regular base zoom in on some of the specific tools and reflect together with you what the added value could be for learning and training professionals. The first one to kick of the series is Linkedin. For those who want a simple explanation about the tool we refer to the In Plain English series What would be the real added value of Linkedin for learning professionals and institutions? To kickstart this brainstorming session we would like to invite you to read two articles and extract there all possible tips for learning professionals. 10 ways to use Linkedin Smart ways to use Linkedin With the background of these two articles in mind we found 10 interesting hings that any ITC-ILO learning professional could engage in: - the entire staff and resource persons have an updated profile on Linkedin that could serve as yellow pages and reflect quite well what kind of internal expertise is available in the organisation - all learning events are activated as Linkedin events since they automatically circulate to your professional network and the networks of your networks - subject matter specialists can engage in technical questions and answer sessions in order to become a recognized expert in a particular field - be active in thematic and network specific linkedin groups because some professional interest groups really make the difference - ask advice because the chance that the collective intelligence in your entire network provide you with some good answers is very real - benchmark with similar institutions and track their Linkedin activity, it might give you inspiration for yours - ask the resource persons that act in your course/activity to provide you with their Linkedin profile, do the same with your participants (it might be a useful icebreaker) - post job opportunities, internship possibilities and other available assignments out there - having consistent links with your insititutional webpage will lead automatically to increased pageranks - Make sure your company profile is up to date. It will also give you interesting information about the people who follow you What other arguments could you think of? Filed under: networks Tagged: learning professionals, linkedin, network, social networks         |
the art of knowledge exchangeIn a training institution more and more activities move beyond the traditional cycle of delivering courses. Learning and training gets closely connected with knowledge sharing and the larger domain of knowledge management. We will take this aspect into account and feed this blog also from this knowledge angle. Two elements that might be of interest for you: - ITC-ILO is launching its first knowledge lab:”From Knowledge Management to knowledge sharing“. A workshop that will walk you through the entire knowledge management cycle address all the necessary tools and techniques to share organisational knowledge in an efficient and effective manner. More information and registration available on this link.
- The World Bank Institute published recently : “The art of knowledge exchange“. A step-by-step guide for practitioners with methodological insights on how to set up and manage knowledge exchange activities such as study visists, peer reviews, communities of practice, dialogues and conferences. Download the publication here.
Any other knowledge sharing link, publication or event more than welcome !
Filed under: capacity development, knowledge sharing Tagged: KM, knowledge management, knowledge sharing         |
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Blogging in 2012At the start of the new year we want to share with you the annual visitor’s report of this blog about learning and technology. It is available here : http://itcilo.wordpress.com/2011/annual-report/ . After 3 years, almost 60.000 visits and about 100 published articles it’s time to review, upgrade and innovate this knowledge sharing blog. Below you will a word cloud of key concepts that were addressed in the last three years of writing.
What could we change ?
Some ideas and suggestions:
- more interviews with external experts in learning, training and knowledge sharing.
- continue with live blogging at important learning events to make the information and knowledge accessible.
- asking more questions to you, the reader, in order to capture more user-generated knowledge that will feed this blog.
- backing up our technological articles with more how-to guides and instructions.
- continue to review interesting articles and books in this specific knowledge domain.
- more reflections, lists, polls, …
What else would you suggest? Ideas welcome !
Filed under: knowledge sharing, learning and training, news Tagged: blog, cloud, reflections, statistics, visual         |
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Introduction to E-learning MethodologiesFAO recently published it’s “E-Learning Methodologies” publication which serves as a guide for designing and developing e-learning courses. More and more it becomes important to focus beyond the mere technological side and understand the importance of instructional design and related processes that are crucial when you want to start with e-learning. The current e-learning debate is still heavily dominated by the choice of tools and technologies.This guide is a good counter recipe that shows you from the methodological side how to go about designing an e-learning course, how to create interactive content and how to manage and evaluate your e-learning activities. Recommended for everybody who is about to start with e-learning in his or her institution. Not only a good overview of the entire instructional cycle but also practical models for content creation, delivery and evaluation. One remaining question: “When is FAO launching an interactive e-learning module about the content which is available in this guide”? If you know of more similar guides that focus on “starting with E-Learning” feel free to add them in the comment section. E-Learning by Design http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/794/book-review-e-learning-by-design-2nd-edition-by-william-horton Getting Started with E-Learning. Be-ODl http://www.be-odl.org/images/beodl/pdf/elearning_getting_started_EN.pdf Filed under: distance education, e-learning, facilitation Tagged: distance learning, e-learning, FAO, technology enhanced learning         |
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Share, Learn and InnovateOHCHR initiated in collaboration with ITC-ILO a coordinated knowledge management approach with the goal of making OHCHR work more effective in the fulfillment of its mandate. Based on a KM needs assessment and a review of KM approaches and practices of UN agencies ITC-ILO developed a knowledge sharing toolkit which includes methods and techniques to enhance knowledge sharing within OHCHR and through OHCHR activities. The entire project was called Share, Learn and Innovate and focused on the following objectives:
 Filed under: innovation, knowledge sharing Tagged: innovation, knowledge management, knowledge sharing, toolkit         |
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The art of asking questionsThis blog has been updating you in the last two years about the most recent participatory learning methodologies that you can use in a learning context. One question always remained a little bit in the background, and that’s the old simple technique of asking a powerful question. Something you need almost always in the application of every facilitation technique whether it’s a panel expert discussion or a world café. To answer on what is the art and the architecture of a powerful question we have collected a series of interesting short publications on the topic? Do you have any other interesting resources to add? |
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Social media revolutionThe importance of social media is a returning element in a lot of interesting video’s that appear on the internet. It all started with the first version of ‘Did you Know‘ and every now and than we see new inspiring video’s (like the one below) to highlight that social media is becoming very important in our daily life and work. To explore the potential of social media in a learning and training the ITC-ILO organises a knowledge lab where different learning professionals will exchange their international experiences. A very rich domain containing a lot of challenging questions: “How are wiki’s changing the way we work and write together? What’s the pedagogical added value of using blogs in learning? How we can manage better our information through using web2.0 tools? How can we support communities of practices with networked technologies? How do we use these tools in low-resource settings?“ For more information surf to the promotion blog: http://webfordev.wordpress.com/
Filed under: knowledge sharing, learning and training, web2.0 Tagged: knowledge lab, knowledge sharing, social media, tools, web2.0         |
Mobile learning toolkit launchedA while ago we have mentioned our mobile learning plans at ITC-ILO. We are now happy to share some of the results of the ongoing mobile learning pilots. First of all Jennifer Parker finished her internship at ITC-ILO successfully and published her master thesis on ‘mobile learning for Africa‘. Part of this project included also the development of a mobile learning toolkit which we will use in the framework of the MyCOOP training package (“How to set up and run agricultural cooperatives“). With adding a mobile component to this training package, MyCOOP trainers will be able to choose out of 15 different methodologies where a mobile device can add value to the learning and training process. Feel free to contact us in case you are interested to pilot some of these mobile learning methods. [contact-form]
Filed under: mobile learning Tagged: mobile learning, mobile learning toolkit         |
Is your thinking pragmatic and systematic?Nowadays, development organizations are increasingly compelled to show that their programmes produce meaningful and lasting changes for their beneficiaries. However, such “impacts” depend on many factors, such as behavioural change by those concerned or the relationships among them. This makes assessing development impacts problematic; yet many organizations strive to measure results that go far beyond the objectives of their programmes. Outcome Mapping[1] offers not only a methodology[2] for monitoring and evaluation but also planning systems that enable organizations to document, learn from, and report on their achievements. It is designed to help with understanding an organization’s results, while recognizing that contributions by other players are essential to achieving the sustainable, large-scale improvements in human and ecological well-being toward which the organization is working. These contributions are planned and assessed in terms of their influence on the partners with whom the organization is working to effect change. In essence, development is accomplished by, and for, people. This is the central concept of Outcome Mapping.
Outcome Mapping focuses on behavioural change (outcomes are defined as changes in behaviour and relationships among those with whom a programme works directly), boundary partners (those individuals, groups and organizations with which the programme interacts directly); and contributions (to outcomes). It is divided into three stages and twelve steps. The first stage helps a programme establish consensus on macro-level changes. It also helps to organize and plan the strategies to be used. It helps answer four questions: Why? Who? What? and How? The second stage provides a framework for monitoring the programme’s actions and the boundary partners’ progress toward the outcomes. The third stage, evaluation planning, helps the programme identify evaluation priorities and devise an evaluation plan.
Outcome Mapping can be used as a planning or re-planning tool, at the beginning or in the middle of a project or programme. It can also be used for monitoring or as a framework for evaluation.
What do you think about the usefulness of Outcome Mapping? Can you see advantages in it for you? How can it enhance your strategic thinking?
Evaluation unit ITC-ILO
Filed under: evaluation Tagged: evaluation, impact, outcome mapping         |
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Enhancing learning for Effectiveness“Enhancing Learning for Effectiveness” is Train4Dev’s new methodological guide on design, implementation and evaluation of Joint Learning Event. It was presented in Brussels during the last annual meeting of the network and is the result of a truly collaborative process. The assignment was coordinated by the Turin Centre and we could count on the strong commitment of the team that brought this guide into existence: the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, GIZ, UNDP, UNSSC, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAO, CEF, and Lux-Development.
The wealth of knowledge, experience and tools embedded within the Train4Dev network, was pulled together or emerged from the hidden corners of complex institutional structures. It took time and patience and endless efforts to ensure that the guide would meet the required quality standards and suit the need for strengthening the learning methodologies, as identified by the network. The aim is to contribute to the shift of Joint learning events from traditional top-down training to purposeful participatory learning events where participants share as well as acquire knowledge, compare and enhance their practices, and rely on process facilitators, not only on subject matter experts. Only after this guide will have been used by a large group of training managers and trainers will we know whether this demanding objective will be achieved.
It is hoped that this small brick in the wall of joint learning for development will contribute to the noble mandate of the network to “add value as facilitators of joint learning, in areas of high priority for aid and development effectiveness”.
Download the guide !
Robin Poppe
Filed under: capacity development, facilitation, knowledge sharing, learning and training Tagged: capacity development, effectiveness, learning, methodology, training         |
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Gamestorming. Do you want to be more innovative?Practical and inspiring guides with innovative and participatory learning and knowledge sharing methods are always interesting to read. “Gamestorming, a playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and change“, written by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo is a good illustrative example. The entire instructional cycle of a meaningful learning or working event is documented in a very visual and pragmatical way. It moves beyond the usual participatory methodologies such as ‘fishbowl‘, ‘world cafe‘ and ‘open space‘ and introduces you to a variety of new techniques from ‘bodystorming’ until ‘spectrum mapping’. The book is also structured along the cyclical nature of an event from opening until closing and shows you the different creative processes that occur during an event (diverging, emerging and converging). For facilitators and trainers it is handy because the methods are written in a way that you can apply them immediately on-the-job. The book has a virtual extension on http://www.gogamestorm.com/. Any other must reads in this area of participatory learning and knowledge sharing?
Filed under: books, innovation, learning and training, tools for learning Tagged: games, gamestorming, innovation, learning, methodologies, techniques         |
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E-Learning Africa in Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaITC-ILO will be represented through DELTA in the upcoming E-Learning Africa conference, held in Dar es Salaam this year. DELTA will host an interactive knowledge sharing session which focuses on the rapid growth of Web2.0 technologies within the context of different projects in developing countries (with cases from World Bank Institute, International Training Centre of the ILO, UNHCR and FAO). The session will highlight how these types of technologies can become an important driver of innovation in learning and knowledge sharing from different perspectives.E-learning Africa is the biggest network event in Africa for developing e-learning capacities in Africa. Feel free to consult the entire conference programme.  Filed under: capacity development, distance education, e-learning, networks Tagged: e-learning Africa         |
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Online EducaNext week DELTA is participating and representing the Centre at Online Educa; the largest global E-learning conference for corporate, education and public service sectors, held in Berlin annualy. You will find us actively contributing and presentating at: - the pre-conference gathering of the UNeLearn group : “Collaborating on e-learning within the United Nations Systems” |
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augmented reality and data visualization
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L&T; Podcast #1: ‘New methods of knowledge sharing?’Throughout the creation of The Compass, a toolkit for the enhanced design of learning activities, it was frequently noted that contemporary methodologies starkly resemble the traditional practices of many Indigenous Peoples. In order to further explore this paradigm, Karen Moir interviewed Marc Steinlin on the matter. Marc is the Founder and Director of Ingenious Peoples’ Knowledge (IPK) and has extensive experience working with Indigenous Peoples in the past. In this podcast, a variety of methodologies are discussed within the context of modern learning trends. Podcasting can be used in a variety of circumstances to enhance learning activities. This example was produced with a simple Skype recording plug-in in combination with easy to use open source editing software (Audacity). The Compass will be launched in January 2011. The launch of the on-line tool will be announced at this blog and a hard-copy will be accessible for staff from Learning Resources and Information. Listen here to the podcast with Marc Steinlin Karen Moir |
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International Certification for the Lifelong E-Learning courseThe Lifelong E-Learning course received its first international quality label for e-learning for capacity building. An intense review of the entire programme through peer review of international experts took place before granting this quality label. The ITC-ILO has proven its excellence in delivering e-learning supported capacity development together with other international institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the World Bank Institute and InWEnt – Capacity Building International. The sixth edition of Lifelong E-Learning is planned in June 2011 and registration are currently open. A community of international professionals from developing countries will work, communicate and collaborate together during five weeks in a community of practice to improve technology enhanced learning within their institutions and organisations. The international certificate can be found here.
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Collaborative writing. The world of wiki’sWriting together in team on an article, a publication, a project or a toolkit, it more and more happens in the wiki way. If wiki still sounds chinese for you have first a look at wiki’s in plain English. Almost ten years ago the wiki way of building collaboratively knowledge started to grow slowly with Wikipedia as it’s most successful example. Now more and more organisations rely on wiki’s to support the collaborative writing process. Avoiding endless e-mail-conversations with word-documents that lost track of versions, the wiki-approach allows groups easily to work together in one document just by clicking the edit-button and start the writing process. Starting up a wiki is one thing and rather easy nowadays. It takes you three steps to open an account on wikispaces, pbworks, google docs and plenty of other wiki-tools that are currently out there. (cf. wikimatrix). Another thing is to keep the wiki alive, structured and methodologically clear. Wikipatterns might be a useful resource to structure your wiki-approach in your organisation. It is a useful toolbox that orients you in different patterns and anti-patterns that give structure to every stage of your wiki. Feel free to contribute any other methodological resources that orient us better in this interesting world of wiki’s.
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Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management and Knowledge Sharing are re-current themes that emphasise the importance we put on “the learning organisation” (Peter Senge). DELTA is currently involved in several interesting Knowledge Management Initiatives. Last year we started to give input in the KM series of United Nations Staff College “Think UN, act smart”. This resulted in a series of interesting workshops facilitated by Staff College and Geoff Parcell and Chris Collison. (Learning to Fly, Practical knowledge management for leading and learning organisations ). This year we will collaborate with the the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on a KS toolkit that will institutionally enhance the use of knowledge sharing methodologies and technologies. This collaboration will also result in a tailor-made workshop titled: “From knowledge management towards knowledge sharing”. Based on these experiences you may expect in this blog more articles on knowledge management and knowledge sharing in general, to broaden the scope of learning and training in the framework of organisational development. If you are interested in tailor-made training for your institution in knowledge management and knowledge sharing or if you want to receive a series of KM resources, feel free to fill in the following form. [contact-form]
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a visual overview of learning methodologies @DELTA @ITC-ILO
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social network analysisKnowledge is located in social networks, therefore it is important to better understand them. Social networks are nodes of individuals, groups, organisations or related systems which are connected by types of interdependency. Social network analysis is an instrument to map these connections and visualizes formal and informal connections and knowledge flows between people, groups and organisations. When to use it? Doing a social network analysis in the scope of your project, activity or even in the entire organisation can bring you the following results: - improve innovation and learning - refine strategies - visualize relationships within and outside the organisation - identify knowledge bottlenecks, isolated individuals and groups - identify knowledge flows: who’s seeking information and knowledge from whom? - accelerate knowledge flows across functional and organisational boundaries - strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of existing formal communication channels How is it applied? - identify the network of people to be analysed - gather the necessary background information - clarify the objectives and the scope of analysis and agree on the level of reporting required - formulate hypotheses and questions - develop the survey methodology and design the questionnaire - surveying the individuals and identifying the relationships and the knowledge flows between them - use a software mapping tool to visualize the networks - review the map and the problems and opportunities - design and implement actions to bring desired change - map the network again after a suitable time Questions to ask?
How to adapt it? - You can use the SNA method in combination with other methods:
What to consider? It is very important to visualize the networks. Make sure you have large walls, paper, and other visualisation material available (if social network analysis software is not available). Some social network analysis tools GEPHI |
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Towards a new organization ?
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Mobile learning (2)After introducing the mobile learning theme in this blog, DELTA started to explore how mobile learning could create an added value for learning at the Centre. Therefore we will update you in the upcoming months of the MyCOOP mobile project. The MyCOOP training package is about the management of agricultural cooperatives for cooperative managers and trainers. DELTA is exploring where mobile technologies could enrich the current existing training material. Mobile phones are widely used withing this target group and learning and training could be made more accessible by exploring this mobile track. The exploration will tackle different important dimensions. What about the technology and infrastructure we can use for this? In this context it is interesting to refer to new mobile for development report of UNICEF. Not only technological insights will be needed, more and more the pedagogical and didactical strategies that are needed to launch successful mobile learning are important. A good opportunity to explore these dimensions together with a range of mobile learning experts is to participate in the Massive Online Course on Mobile Learning. Click here if you want to learn more about this initiative.
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