Tuesday 7 June 2016

#CALRG Keynote Allison LittleJohn professional and digital learning #liveblog @allisonl

Allison Littlejohn opened the CALRG conference day focusing on FutureLearn MOOCs. The keynote had two objectives to keynote: showcase work from OU, and encourage at the end the contributions add to the body of knowledge.

Professionals learn for present and future work.

Littlejohn & Margaryon (2013) technology-enhanced professional learning (triangle with learning in the middle and learning processes, work practices ad tech use.
Driver for learning is tasks, work-processes.
Formal and informal learning: Eraut (2000 – 2004) learning can be intentional (formal, non-formal) and unintentional (recognised, unacknowledged).
Context, resources … and their impact on learning.
Self-agency, driving learning from your own perspective is central to both self-directed as well as self-regulated learning. Learning work is dynamic, so there is a distinction between learning as a student and learning as a professional.
SRL factors: self-efficacy, goal setting (adapting according to need), task strategy, task interest (motivation), learning strategy (ability to integrate new with existing knowledge), self-satisfaction and evaluation, help seeking, learning challenge (resilience to challenge).  
Learning opportunities such as workplace context influence learning activities.
Interesting in study Littlejohn is the profile with negative help-seeking, overlap with individual learner witness.

Key factors in MOOC learning

Context counts (introduction to data science), Hood Littlejohn, milligan (2015) context counts.

Motivation matters (introduction to data science). External motivation for (self-perceived) low SRL,   intrinsic motivation for (self-perceived) high SRL. The latter not necessarily following the course structure, but learning what they needed in terms of learning goals. Emotional language difference in terms of how they share their learning. The low SRL tend to follow all the course elements, while high SRL select more often. Help seeking: Qualitative difference in terms of high SRL and low SRL, as high SRL tend to be less present in forums, yet more goal-oriented in seeking help (in-side AND outside course), including network peers outside of the course. While low SRL were active in forums, yet less focused.
Goal setting was different for low SRL and high SRL.
Milligan, littlejohn, hood, learning in MOOCs, a comparison study, proceedings of the European Stakeholder Summit on experiences and est practices I and around MOOCs (EMOOCs2016).


Integrate to innovate: we must integrate informal and formal (Tynjala, 2008). Delphi study on MOOCQ – MOOC quality. Quality based on the learner experience, is a unique experience, and a huge challenge in terms of quality measures. (eg. Semantic analysis, how people discuss what they are learning, Helen Crump). From a government perspective the quality post-MOOC is important in terms of return on investment towards society (employment, life quality…). The way quality is measured is also a Power measurement, as quality perception is related to power dynamics.