Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering has developed and evaluated a new form of continuing vocational training. This project was conducted in cooperation with leading IT enterprises and well-known education institutes. In contrast to other initiatives for structuring the continuing IT-training system, the methodological-didactical transformation of the concept was co-developed during the institute’s reorganisation. In the following article, the formal background, as well as the didactical and technological concept, are illustrated. If the concept is put into action as expected it will constitute a decisive turning point in the vocational training system in Germany and will thus be an example for a European initiative.

This paper looks at the increased use of e-learning in university education. Acknowledging the origins of the term in business and industry settings, it outlines features of e-learning in university contexts. It suggests some directions for research on the use of e-learning in university education, particularly arguing for research endeavour focused on issues specific to what is novel in e-learning, but building on findings from educational research in earlier more limited technological environments.

This paper reviews practical experiences in digitalizing competence development in a large corporation. Many practical experiments have shown that building learning portals and purchasing off-the-shelf courses are easier tasks than creating demand and understanding new ways of learning at the grassroots level of an organization. Digital competence development should be seen as a strategic approach rather than as a new operational tool. It is a change process that requires successful showcases, careful plans and strategic steps in the right direction. Blended learning models, which support informal learning at the workplace, should replace older classroom-based learning paradigms. Only in this way can corporations bring their learning into the knowledge-intensive era.

The use of electronic mail in learning is discussed, with the emphasis on the results of recent experience gained in Lithuania over the last several years. The public competition using electronic mail and about electronic mail was chosen as an attractive and self-motivating feature. The e-mail competitions take place since 1999 one time per year. In order to make competition more attractive, the participants are invited to play a role of experts, replying to e-mail letters from imaginary novice users of e-mail. The topics of questions were concerned with proper usage of e-mail software and letter writing culture and style. The number of participants varied in the range 73–174. About one half of them were school students. It was observed that the general level of knowledge of participants is raising up from year to year and school students are capable to compete with other participants.

In this paper we outline a method for systematically addressing needs assessment (QUALISEM-PEOPLE), alongside a case study of its use within a medium sized, German company. The method was designed in order to provide guidance in analysing skill and role competences, particularly when e-learning systems are being considered for training purposes. The method proved to be successful within the company and helped to profile actual and target qualification needs, as well as employee preferences. In addition, there were also a number of overall lessons that could be learnt from the case study. These mainly relate to the need to integrate needs assessment within the broader context of Human Resource Management (HRM) systems, as well as the importance of employee participation within the process. We end the paper with a discussion of possible extensions to our work as well as outstanding challenges within the area

Cultural approaches to technology enablement must include type of content and type of medium with type of culture. Refining beyond shared interpretations of content by culture we need to examine cognitive mechanisms that may underpin the cultural modes of assimilation of e-learning and enlivening knowledge management. The paper compares western and Asian ( Malaysian) contexts for learning. Design implications are alluded to.

Dutch universities of professional education are working with institutions in the field to develop programmes that are intended students to develop into starting professionals. The implementation of these new programmes means adopting a new methodology and this assumes that the teacher learns. This paper will show by means of a case description how a teacher, supported by ICT, can realise a personal learning process in such as way as to effectively guide and supervise an analogous learning process for the student. In this case the teacher and the student are central. The professional field provides the tools for practising this competence management.

In this paper, a Virtual Office is defined as one in which working and learning methods are enabled by information technology facilities, systems and services. Work in a Virtual Office is based on HyperPoint networks. A HyperPoint can be an information system, the Internet, a human being, another HyperPoint Network or generally a point that contains knowledge. In the future, most work will be done in such knowledge intensive HyperPoint Networks. HyperPoints contain tacit as well as explicit knowledge. The strength of a HyperPoint Network depends on how well it can utilise tacit knowledge. The authors also present an idea of multi-sensitive knowledge base. The results of virtual office research and earlier research are being put into practice in a regional case — Loimaa eWork.

We introduce some present day environmental characteristics affecting modern business organizations. We then argue why these characteristics should be taken into account when designing business-learning environments. The main message of the paper is that we need better learning environments that authentically describe the present day business environment, for example the process nature of business operations and the time aspect of decision-making.

This paper reviews a successful digital competence development solution that was used to implement a business system in a large international organization. The following questions are examined: What makes a successful digital competence development case? What issues should digital competence developers consider? What aspects should management stress in corporate-wide business system implementation with digital solutions? The pedagogical requisites from the developers’ viewpoint and return on investment from management’s viewpoint are illustrated. The findings show that return on investment in digital competence development solutions can be reached if development meets business triggers. The findings indicate that if the solution is well designed, it is used creatively in several contexts.