The newly validated Masters in Learning with Technology at University of Bolton, Institute for Educational Cybernetics – recognised globally through its long-running Centre for Educational Technology and Interoperability Standards (CETIS) are recruiting for new students (researchers).

When I lead the Ultraversity project at Anglia Ruskin University and in particular the development of the highly successful BA, Learning, Technology and Research, it was always our intention to validate a Masters level programme using the same approaches (work-focussed learning, online community, action-inquiry, patchwork-text assessment, etc.). However, politics got in the way of that particular development so it is with great satisfaction that this is now achieved as a part of the idibl framework.

Researchers will join the IEC community of 20 plus technologists, programmers and pedagogy specialists. It is this in-depth experience and community that students will be joining to help them through their studies.

This may be the course for you if:
* you want to design your own Masters
* you need to combine study with work
* you value learning with experts
* you prefer assessment by portfolio

The course is designed for students who are working full-time and want to study using an inquiry-based approach. This programme can complete in 15 months.

This works by researchers identifying opportunities or issues in the workplace and constructing inquiries around them, that require the taking of an action to improve the situation.

This course is delivered and supported entirely online and will suit people working in schools, colleges, FE, HE, as well as companies, charities, etc. where the role of the researcher is to develop the use of learning technologies in their organisation.

Anyone interested in studying with the IEC can email me at s.j.powell@bolton.ac.uk or stephenp.powell@gmail.com

This the idibl-framework-academic-proposal-revised.doc behind programmes using the IDIBL framework.

In Salzburg for a couple of very enjoyable days. Of particular interest me was the discussion around the presentation by Sebastien Fielder and Terje Väljataga in their paper “Competence advancement supported by social media”.

Two aspects in particular:

1. The discussion around the meaning of the word competence – always a thorny one as it carries so much baggage and means quite different things for different people, cultures and contexts. As pointed out by Sebastien and Väljataga’s paper:

“In general what used to be emphasized was the role of well trained, standardized, and largely
automated procedural skills and of factual knowledge for successful problem solving and coping.”

however a contemporary explanation might be…

“A competent actor is thus understood as an individual who has acquired factual knowledge and a set of procedural skills in a certain area, but in addition also holds orientations, values and attitudes for coping with open-ended and complex problem situations”

2. The discussion around the terms ‘self-organised vs self-directed learning’. This has puzzled me for a while and two explanations seem plausible to me. The first is that self-directed is a subset of self-organised. The second, explained by Sebastien, is that self-directed is most usefully applied to formal learning where there is pre-determined end point whereas self-organised is best used in non-formal contexts.

Below: self-organised eating for eight month old Lily :^)

In Salzburg for a couple of very enjoyable days. Of particular interest me was the discussion around the presentation by Sebastien Fielder and Terje Väljataga in their paper “Competence advancement supported by social media”.

Two aspects in particular:

1. The discussion around the meaning of the word competence – always a thorny one as it carries so much baggage and means quite different things for different people, cultures and contexts. As pointed out by Sebastien and Väljataga’s paper:

“In general what used to be emphasized was the role of well trained, standardized, and largely
automated procedural skills and of factual knowledge for successful problem solving and coping.”

however a contemporary explanation might be…

“A competent actor is thus understood as an individual who has acquired factual knowledge and a set of procedural skills in a certain area, but in addition also holds orientations, values and attitudes for coping with open-ended and complex problem situations”

2. The discussion around the terms ‘self-organised vs self-directed learning’. This has puzzled me for a while and two explanations seem plausible to me. The first is that self-directed is a subset of self-organised. The second, explained by Sebastien, is that self-directed is most usefully applied to formal learning where there is pre-determined end point whereas self-organised is best used in non-formal contexts.

Below: self-organised eating for eight month old Lily :^)