CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR E-ENABLEMENT IN ‘RISK SOCIETY’

1. CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR E-ENABLEMENT IN ‘RISK SOCIETY’ PROFESSOR BOB FRYER CBE Chief Executive, NHSU

2. LIVING IN AN ERA OF PROFOUND & WIDESPREAD SOCIAL & CULTURAL CHANGE • Changes in social, political & cultural institutions (Family, Politics, Consumption etc) • Restructuring of work, employment & industry • Shifts in personal & group identities & aspirations • A growing tendency for ‘choice’

3. LIVING IN AN ERA OF PROFOUND & WIDESPREAD SOCIAL & CULTURAL CHANGE • An information & knowledge revolution • Changing technologies • Greater localism within globalisation • Social fragmentation & division • New forms & expressions of citizenship

4. ‘LIVING AT THE CROSSROADS’ - Bauman “The overwhelming feelings of crisis (in education), of ‘living at the crossroads’ , …have little to do with the faults, errors or negligence of the professional pedagogues or the failures of educational theory, but quite a lot to do with the de-regulation and privatization of the identity-formation processes, the dispersal of authorities, the polyphony of value messages and the ensuring fragmentation of life… Beyond all this slicing and spicing, one can sense the crumbling of time. (Crisis) plays havoc with all the rules … the fragmentary life is lived in fragmentary time.” Zygmunt Bauman, The Individualized Society, 2001

5. TOWARDS ‘RISK SOCIETY’ (Beck) Ubiquitous Change Unreliability Uncertainty Risk Society Unpredictability Un-sustainability ‘Fuzzy’ Boundaries Choice Beyond Conventions, Rules & Structures Multiple & Contested Information & Knowledge

6. ‘TURBO CAPITALISM’: an Age of Uncertainty & Insecurity? “No jobs are guaranteed, no positions are foolproof, no skills are of lasting utility, experience and know-how turn into liability as soon as they become assets, seductive careers all too often prove to be suicide tracks. In their present rendering, human rights do not entail the acquisition of a right to a job, however well performed , or - more generally - the right to care and consideration for the sake of past merits. Livelihood, social position, acknowledgement of usefulness and the entitlement to self-dignity may all vanish together, overnight and without notice.” Zygmunt Bauman, Postmodernity & its Discontents, page 22

7. TOTAL AB C1 C2 DE CURRENT OR RECENT PARTICIPATION IN ADULT LEARNING 1996 -2004 BY SOCIAL CLASS Source:NIACE

8. Current / Recent Likely / Fairly Unlikely CURRENT UK ADULT PARTICIPATION IN LEARNING & FUTURE LEARNING INTENTIONS, BY SOCIAL CLASS Source:NIACE 2001

9. All Managers Professionals Assoc Pros Clerical / Sec Craft Protec Sales Plant UK EMPLOYEES RECEIVING JOB-RELATED TRAINING IN LAST MONTH BY OCCUPATION & LOCATION OF TRAINING Source: DfES

10. TOWARDS ‘TERTIARY’ LEARNING “The world in which post-modern men and women need to live their lives and shape their life strategies puts a premium on ‘tertiary learning’ - a kind of learning which our inherited institutions, born and matured in the modern ordering bustle are ill prepared to handle; and one which educational theory, developed as a reflection of modern ambitions and their institutional embodiments, can only view with a mixture of bewilderment and horror, a pathological growth or a portent of advancing schizophrenia.” Bauman, op. cit.

11. AN EMERGENT MODEL OF LEARNING

12. THE PROMISE & POTENTIAL OF ‘E-ENABLEMENT’

13. A UK ’UNIFIED E-LEARNING STRATEGY’ “The e-learning strategy should help to shape a vision of future learning, and suggest how the vision can be realised. “E-learning exploits interactive technologies and communications systems to improve the learning experience. It has the potential to transform the way we teach and learn across the board. It can raise standards, and widen participation in lifelong learning. “At the heart of the strategy will be the aim to realise the full potential of digital technology through its effective use and embed it in all our learning and teaching processes.” Towards a Unified e-Learning Strategy, UK DfES, 2003

14. High Low High COMPARATIVE LEARNING CHANNELS Adapted from Morrison 2003 Peer-to-peer collaboration Sophistication & complexity of Learning Form E-mentoring Self-paced course Self-paced ‘bite’ Virtual Class Web cast Challenge & skill of preparation & Learner Support E-mail

15. PERSONALISED LEARNING & LEARNERS’ NEEDS Personal, pastoral, motivational & developmental Time / pace Place / space Learners’ needs, sociabilities & interactions Administrative, financial & organisational support Academic, pedagogic, content & technical support Resources, facilities & technologies Lifestyles, cultures & work-life balances Learning outcomes & credit

16. E-PORTFOLIOS AS A ‘LEARNING SPACE’ “By facilitating & capturing the evolution of concepts & ideas through revisions of work & interactions with instructors, mentors, classmates & friends, electronic portfolios can be much more than a Web site that simply organizes and presents final projects. They can foster learning spaces where the author can gain insights & a better understanding of him/herself as a learner” Source: eportconsortium, Electronic Portfolio White Paper

17. ADVANTAGES OF E-PORTFOLIOS TO THE INDIVIDUAL • Individually owned (and controlled?) • Self-driven & self-organised • Choice & personal learning style reflected • Reflective & developmental • Promote self-esteem & self-confidence • Paperless, transportable & ‘portable’

18. ADVANTAGES OF E-PORTFOLIOS TO THE INDIVIDUAL • Single locale • Multi-dimensional – holistic • Composite & comprehensive • Personalised learning ‘log’ or ‘profile’ • Basis for sharing & connecting

19. A DEEP - & DEEPENING? – ‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’

20. Remote Access Individualised Learner’s own time Learner’s own pace Part of ‘blended’ In-class tool Other support Source:NIACE 2001 USE OF INFORMATION & LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES IN MAINSTREAM UK FE COLLEGE PROGRAMMES 2003 Source: BECTA 2003

21. MEASURING ONLINE SKILLS & EXPERIENCE • Can locate information on the WWW • Searched for political information online • Looked up information on government services online • Searched / applied for job online • Taken a class / learning online • Used computer to do ‘homework’ • Used computer to find books in library without help Source:K. Mossberger et al, 2003

22. Percent able to do tasks Linear (Percent able to do tasks) AN INDEX OF ONLINE SKILLS & EXPERIENCE Source:K. Mossberger et al, 2003

23. “ONLY THE WELL EDUCATED WILL BE ABLE TO ACT EFFECTIVELY IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY” “The key to the Learning Society is to seek the learning potential in everyday situations….A ‘learning culture’ must, after all mean finding learning in the most unlikely places…” Michael Barber, The Learning Game

24. 10 BARRIERS TO LEARNING & FOR LEARNERS • Patchy & uneven provision • Variable management support for learning • Unequal access to learning opportunities & facilities, including ICT • Insufficient time for learning • Lack of funding/ resources for learning • Problems / costs of staff ‘cover’ or availability to release learners from work

25. 10 BARRIERS TO LEARNING & FOR LEARNERS • Inadequate information & advice • Uneven capacity for learner support • No common frameworks for quality or accreditation& little ‘portability’ of credit • Insufficient opportunities to apply learning & progress in job

26. MAKING LEARNING NORMAL • Beyond fear and dread • Based on confidence and self-esteem • Promising achievement and progress • Linked to own life’s priorities • Where, when and how you like

27. MAKING LEARNING NORMAL • ‘Just-for-you’ learning • ‘Woven’ into everyday life • Supported by advice & guidance • Driven by new methods of credit & funding • A sense of personal and local ownership & control

28. POST-16 E-LEARNING PRACTITIONERS’ CONFERENCE 2004 G-MEX Manchester ICC Monday 29 November 2004