organisations that critically evaluate and revise their corporate strategies to support innovative pedagogies. They will have to ensure an infrastructure in which social computing tools are accessible to all learners and teachers, create an atmosphere of support for Learning 2.0 and encourage teachers and learners to grasp the opportunities offered by social computing. They will have to allow for different assessment and grading procedures, foster and integrate new teaching and learning models and embrace the opportunities offered for transversal and peer learning among their staff.
Social computing promotes pedagogical innovation by supporting teaching and learning processes that promote collaboration and personalisation. Social computing tools allow learners to mix and match, creating personalised learning strategies, adapted to their particular preferences, interests and needs. Learning 2.0 approaches support different sensory channels for learning and more engaging learning environments; they also support the implementation of collaborative projects which enable learners to tap the tacit knowledge of their peers and develop their own ideas in a creative and supportive environment; and they allow learners to connect with societal players outside the boundaries of formal education, enriching learning experiences and better preparing learners for life in a globalised world.
As a consequence of the power of social computing in supporting collaboration and personalisation, learning becomes a process in which motivation, participation and reflection are fostered. Individual learners are empowered to develop self-directed learning skills, which help them to better develop and realise their personal potential. Networking and collaboration give rise to new interaction patterns between and among students and teachers, changing the roles of participants in the learning process. Teachers become designers, coordinators, moderators,
mediators and mentors, rather than instructors or lecturers, while students not only have to assume the role of (peer) teachers, supporting each other in their learning endeavours, but also jointly create both the learning content and context, developing their own rules and strategies for cooperation and content production. The openness and embeddedness of social computing in the wider societal context allows students to seize new learning opportunities, and transcend the boundaries of institutional education to connect learning back to its original societal and scientific context.
While the opportunities social computing offers in innovating learning and teaching practices are considerable, the deployment of Learning 2.0 faces a number of challenges relating to both the pedagogical and organisational aspects of education, and to the domain of technological requirements. Access to Learning 2.0 can be constrained by a lack of access to technological resources (computers or broadband connection) or by a lack of digital skills and competence, both on the learners’ and the educators’ side. Established practices in E&T institutions may also constitute a critical obstacle to adoption and appropriation of new educational practices, thus inhibiting innovation. Furthermore, a lack of funding, staffing or competence building, together with the inability to fit new practices into the existing institutional framework, might hamper the take up of Learning 2.0. Learners’ digital competences must be developed and their skill needs adequately addressed. E&T institutions need to supply a framework in which Learning 2.0 can thrive.
Teachers play a critical and pivotal role in facilitating change by advocating innovative learning practices and mediating between the different actors involved in the learning process. They must improve and constantly update their own digital skills and those of their learners, and, at the same time, ensure an accessible, safe, accommodating and functioning learning environment. They will also have to develop their
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pedagogical skills to implement more collaborative and learner-centred learning strategies. Learning 2.0 will only be successful if teachers are actively supported in upgrading their skills and experimenting with new tools and roles.
10.2. Inclusion
In addition to supporting innovation in formal E&T, social computing approaches display a huge potential for promoting equity and inclusion by (re-)engaging people at risk of exclusion from the knowledge-based society in learning opportunities that are meaningful to them. The evidence collected from the eight inclusion initiatives studied in-depth indicates that social computing strategies can improve access to learning and employment opportunities, promote the active educational and social engagement of participants, and increase participants’ skills and competence levels. Accessibility and availability of learning opportunities for the hard to reach can be effectively increased, and motivation and engagement in learning can be significantly raised by using social computing approaches. There is strong evidence to suggest that Learning 2.0 tools have the capacity to foster the development of skills, in particular, basic and advanced digital competences as well as personal and social skills, which open up labour market opportunities. While more research is needed to endorse these findings, the potential of social computing for facilitating inclusion seems to be substantial. However, it should be born in mind that Learning 2.0 strategies may increase existing barriers to the use of ICT if no precautionary measures are employed.
10.3. Contribution to E&T Policies
These findings on social computing approaches to support innovation and inclusion in formal E&T entail specific opportunities and challenges for the four strategic objectives of European Education and Training policies in the years to 2020 (European Commission, 2008g):Enhancing innovation and creativity: Social computing opens up new opportunities for the construction, access, distribution and re-elaboration of knowledge, thus promoting innovation in E&T. Furthermore, it supports more engaging and playful approaches, provides new formats for creative expression, and encourages learners to experiment with different, innovative ways of articulating their thoughts and ideas. The Learning 2.0 landscape itself is also shaped by experimentation, collaboration and empowerment, allowing learners and teachers to discover new ways of actively and creatively developing their individual competences.
Improving the quality and efficiency of provision and outcomes: Learning 2.0 approaches enable E&T organisations to offer more personalised learning opportunities that are tailored to their learners’ individual needs and preferences, and thus improve quality and efficiency. The variety of tools available, together with their power in implementing novel learning strategies, addressing different channels and involving learners more actively in constructing their own learning process, allows more effective learning strategies to be implemented. Furthermore, there is evidence that Learning 2.0 strategies can raise individual performance and achievement and actively foster the development of transversal skills, nurturing abilities for flexibly developing skills in a lifelong learning continuum.
Making lifelong learning and learner mobility a reality: Social computing can actively support lifelong learning by offering accessible, flexible and versatile learning environments that complement and supplement initial training. They allow learners to learn whatever, wherever, whenever and however they want; and provide them with attractive and engaging learning opportunities that can be fitted to their individual needs. The networking potential of social computing, together with its power in overcoming time and space barriers, also supports interaction and collaboration among and between learners