Derrin Kent

When presenting at a JISC RSC event on the topic of our TDM Networks of Trust, today, I was asked the question as to whether or not the Networks of Trust concept will work in view of the fact that people refuse to share their stuff.

TDM are currently hosting three Networks of Trust:
1. The Black Country Training Group
2. The Staffordshire Providers’ Association
3. The Devon & Cornwall Training Provider Network

I came up with my usual arguments… i.e.
- Training providers do not sell content…
Rather, they sell:
- Access to their staff’s expertise
- Accreditation and qualifications and….
- The structured packaging and effective delivery of the best learning content the provider is able to lay their hands on

In view of this third selling point, it seems to me to stand to reason that a provider will understand that they are wisest to apply the logic of economies of scale to COLLABORATIVELY develop their VLE content.

Here’s the logic:

VLE learning content is more like an idea than it is like a biscuit.

If ten of us stand in a circle and throw a biscuit into the middle… each of us can still only take away on biscuit.

BUT… if ten of us stand in the middle and throw in an idea, none of us lose our idea and each of us can potentially take away another nine ideas!! We all walk away winners if we share.

Soooo…. will the Networks of Trust work?? It is my view that they SHOULD DO…. I am not naiively dismissing the need for a cultural change, rather I am calling for people to support us in our efforts to make people ralise that sharing is mutually beneficial.

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We had Web2.0 and now I think it is time for us to be talking about WBL2.0

I believe that Work-Based Learning in the future will be increasingly delivered to people in their Workplaces by means of digital internet video, audio and text-based media via which:

• learners can get “just-in-time” SOCIAL support from Assessors and trainers ref: their everyday practical jobs and tasks
• mentors can get similar “just-in-time” support

Face-to-Face interventions with our learners will never go away (God Forbid!!!)  BUT……   I predict that successful WBL providers will be those who:

• offer a flexible 24/7 accessible WBL experience online and then complement this new type of central WBL provision with a programme of face-to-face interventions

…rather than those who…

• continue trying to offer f2f assessor visits and in-house training events while offering e-learning only as a bit of “fluff” around the edges.

Slowly, slowly, catchy-pony….

This recent article from the BBC has cheered me up:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7910110.stm