PCF5:Livelihoods - Learning Development Design Workshop

Title of session
Learning Development Design Workshop

Session details

 * Date: 14 July 2008
 * Time: 14:00
 * Room: 731

Session papers

 * Mr. Joshua Underwood,Learning to Design Technology Enhanced Learning for Rural Livelihoods and Development; Programme ID, (448)

''The VeSeL project was introduced by Dan Orwa and Souleymane Camara. No other paper presentations; since this was a workshop, the group worked in 3 smaller groups and each small group discussed a livelihoods and technology support case study (which was identified impromptu by the group. The following format was provided by Mr Underwood to each group for recording their discussions:''

Small group session report:

Main aims:
 * What the group does not know about the community (from where the example is being discussed) and the context they live in.
 * How can the group find out about this/
 * How could the community participate in designing their own learning and technology to support the learning?

Key Issues that arose in the session

 * Understanding community culture and context is critical for designing learning for them
 * Research (socio-technical) is very critical to designing a community-based learning development programme
 * Data analysis is important to arrive at an effective technology support strategy to a community empowerment programme
 * Livelihoods programmes require a holistic approach and involvement of the larger community
 * Predictions on how ‘technology-based educational/empowerment tools’ will be used by communities, many a time, are very different from the real ones
 * Local communities are very creative, innovative and adventurous in the way that a technology device is used by them, as against originally conceived by the programme/learning material designer

Points for future action (Policy, recommendations, commitments etc.)

 * Not many; but Joshua closed the session by announcing a similar open workshop (on learning development design) which will be held on Friday, the 18th July, at London Knowledge Lab at the Institute of Education and invited all interested members to the same.