This document discusses contextualizing learning resources for community learning. It addresses topics like context modeling, metadata for community content, learner modeling, and community content design principles. It advocates that context is key and community content should be locally relevant and created using tools and skills training. Learning is interest-driven and animateurs help develop learners within a community development model by providing timely interventions and goal articulation.

1. JISC HE Academy
Issues to address in
contextualising
#learning resources;
some heuristics
@fredgarnett 2006
Community Learning - Becta

2. JISC HE Academy
TOPICS
Background
Context Modelling
Metadata for Community Content
Learner Modelling
Community Content Design Principles
Context; an Ecology of Resources
Context Tools; ELTI & Scenarios
Issues (who owns learning)

3. JISC HE Academy
Background
University teaching 1979 – 1981
FE Teaching 1982 – 2000
Social Impact of IT 1984-2000
eLearning Resource Development 1997-2001
Community Content Development 2002-2004
Metadata for Andragogy;
Socially Inclusive Learning for the Knowledge Democracy

4. JISC HE Academy
Context Modelling CALL Initiative;
UK online centres
Community Grids for Information
NOF-DIGI Resources – EnrichUK
Socially Inclusive Learning providing; “Additionality
& Progression”
How do (those) people learn?
LTRI Grounded Theory – “Lifecycles” Model

5. JISC HE Academy
Metadata for Community Content Project
1. Best Practice in Community Learning
2. How People Learn in UK online Centres
1. Andragogic, Follow interests
2. Learning Community, “Lifecycles”
3. Animateurs, Timely Interventions
3. Learning Context - Lifecycles model of “supported
development”

6. JISC RSC Northwest
Learner Modelling (see handout)
“Goal-seeking” motivated learners
Animateurs as “Trusted Intermediaries” provide
“timely interventions”
Animateur build learning communities & mentors
Learners respond to social needs
Animateurs suggests resources (from links page)

7. JISC HE Academy
Learner Modelling (see handout)
“Goal-seeking” motivated learners
Animateurs as “Trusted Intermediaries” provide “timely
interventions”
Animateur build learning communities & mentors
Learners respond to local needs build centre “lifecycle”
Infomediaries develop learning resources (from toolkits)
for “second-tier” hosting resources (VLE’s?)

8. JISC HE Academy
Community Development Model of Learning
Attractor Stage;
Open, welcoming Locations, Learners follow interests
Self-supporting “learning community”
Engagement Stage;
Timely Interventions, Goal Articulation, Discussion
Counselling and Courses
Needs “Trusted Intermediaries”

9. JISC HE Academy
Digital Divide Content Debate
From Access to Content
Online Content for Underserved Americans
Contentbank.org, CGfL’s, Cybrarian
Conclusions;
Local Content for Local People
Tools and Skills Approach
Content Creation Toolkits and Training
“Context is King”

10. JISC HE Academy
Summary
Socially-inclusive Community Learning is interest-driven
Learner-modelling needs to adapt to learning context
Animateurs use interest information to develop learners;
Community Development Model of Learning
Community Content is about Context, Tools & Skills
Content-creation toolkits; hosted, andragogic, adaptable
Interoperability & Standards must account for Andragogy,
Accessibility, Inclusive socially & digitally

11. JISC HE Academy
Design Principles (Content Creation Toolkits)
1. Process-based (Andragogic)
2. Interest-driven learning
3. Learner-model defined (webquests)
4. Templates developed mapped to Learner model
5. Content contextualised by animateurs
6. Learners use resources, with peer support
7. Animateur review resources with info-mediaries

12. JISC HE Academy
Context & Issues
Broaden out debate looking at an HE approach
Context; an Ecology of Resources
Categories of resources that form a Learning Context
Content; the Stuff to be learnt
Process; the ways Stuff can be learnt
Location; places in which learning takes place
Organising Activities; a set of dynamic activities such as;

13. JISC HE Academy
Organising Activities; The representation and communication of the
teacher/expert/more able peer's situation definition
The representation and communication of each learner's situation definition
A means of making the situation definition representation accessible to the
learner, other people and devices within and beyond a single location
A means to identify and represent the range of qualities and quantities of
assistance that can be made available to the learner
The provision of mechanisms through which individuals can communicate and
negotiate
Assistance to support participants to collaborate in their formulation of a
shared situation definition (scaffolding)
A mechanism to ensure that assistance is targeted to the learner's needs
The provision and allocation of resources to accomplish tasks

14. Context: an Ecology of Resources
CONTE NT - THE STUFF TO BE LEARNT
KNOWLEDG E –
a) Intellectual/scientific/formal –Abstract and
of ten very decontextualised
b) Tacit knowledge – more obvious in craft
contexts, usually contextualized which can
lead to restrictions within a limited contextual
sphere.
b) Meta - Knowledge
CURRICULUM –
a way of structuring the knowledge to form a
subset of knowledge organized in a particular
sort of way to mee t an purpose - to formaliz e
the learning.
More applicable to scientific knowledge than
tacit knowledge.
Can b e used to ensure comparisons
PROCE SS - WAYS THAT STUFF CAN BE LEARNT
TOOL S / MEDIATIONAL MEANS – ways for
learners to mak e contact and connect with
knowledge and/or perform skills.
a) physical tools e.g. a paintbrush
b) semiotic/psychological tools e.g. language
Comput ing technolog y can be physical and
involve commu nication through languag e.
PEOPLE who know more about X or how to
do X than the learner.
Can buil d relationships between resources to
animate them for the learner.
Vast range of interaction possibilities
PLACES IN WHICH LEARNING CAN TAKE PLACE
LOCA TION –
physical environment/location and its
compone nts such as desks and ta bles or
trees and shrubs.
ORGAN ISATION/ADMINISTRATION OF
THE LOCATION –
May include t ime as well as space
constraints e.g. lesson length.
Technology affords possibilities for
circumventing organization.

15. JISC HE Academy
Context Modelling
Use the ELTI Tools to review institutional readiness
Use the “Key institutional factors” to personalise review
Develop Scenarios future modelling use scenarios
Use Matrix tool as a heuristic?
Incorporate Context-Modelling in to Organisational Reviews
(Public Value issues add Networked approaches?)

16. JISC HE Academy
Issues (who owns learning?)
1. What definition of e-learning (Learner-centric?)
2. Context Modelling; ELTI, Ecology of Resources (Static
and Dynamic Elements, User Scenarios
3. Learner Modelling; Pedagogic, Andragogic, Heutagogic
4. Resource Design; Lesson Plans, Learning Objects,
Learning Pathways or Objective-matched Template design?
5. Staff Development; Best contextualising resource, skills?
? Is Contextualising provided by LAMS “Saved Learning
Paths and “Saved Learning Paths”?

17. Learners and Pedagogy
A = Zone of Available
Assistance
B = Zone of
Proximal
Adjustment
ZPD
learner
more
able
partner

18. JISC HE Academy
Links
Community Content Design Issues and Resources
http://www.contentbank.org/homepage.asp
http://www.contentbank.org/addition_tools.asp
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ltri/research/informal.htm
http://neukol.org.uk/comchall/ - online pub quiz (community challenge)
http://www.enrichuk.net/ (see Showcase and Multikulti)
www.learners.org.uk
Community Centre Development Principles
www.bctpartners.com/resources/CTCs_as_Catalysts.pdf
Context Resources
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=project_elti
http://jime.open.ac.uk/2005/22/luckin-2005-22-03.html
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/elearning/strategy.php
http://www.elearningeuropa.info/extras/new_learning_env.pdf
www.liv.ac.uk/ccr/2005_conf/subject_areas/education_complexity/full_papers/VargaAtkinsFullPaperweb2.doc