Gemma Towle University of Northampton

What role does the learner and What role does the learner and technology have in the corporate technology have in the corporate

university?university?

Dr Gemma TowleDr Gemma TowleMr Rob HoweMr Rob Howe

The University of Northampton, UKThe University of Northampton, UK

Presentation StructurePresentation Structure

• Introduction

• Traditional and corporate concerns

• Back to basics

• Personal Education Flowcharts (PEF)

• Summary

• Questions

IntroductionIntroduction

• There is an ever increasing number of corporate universities with projections of them exceeding 3,700 by 2010 (Heller 2001).

• Whilst corporate universities may be organisationally aligned they still have to provide for the needs of the learner and their concerns can be similar to traditional institutions.

Traditional and corporate concernsTraditional and corporate concerns

• There is no one type of learner and institutions need to be flexible and provide choice (E4L 2009);(JISC 2009).

• There is an increasing and bewildering amount of technology available. Considerations of the pedagogical frameworks of technology use.

Back to basicsBack to basics

• Sometime we need to take ourselves back to basics and place ourselves within our learners shoes.

• So, this next part involves interaction from you….

• Consider: educational background, technology used before in a learning context, what technology you’d expect to use.

Back to basics: scenariosBack to basics: scenarios

Sam works for BigCorp as a sales executive. She has a degree in Psychology and has taken a few

short courses which are relevant to marketing and promotion. Due to the nature of her role she is highly mobile but still recognises the value to

continuous professional development. BigCorp has just established a Corporate University and has

encouraged Sam to undertake a course in Business and Marketing.


• Learners have expectations regarding technology, sometimes unrealistic in what they are expected to use or even have previous knowledge of. They bring with them past experiences, both negative and positive (darklight and lightbulb moments).

Back to basicsBack to basics

• What technology does/would your institution provide?

• Would you change anything? How might you implement this?

• Technology used before in a learning context changes depending on the experiences of the learner – how do institutions appreciate and build upon that?


Charlie has just developed the Business and Marketing module at BigCorp University. As an previous tutor of a similar module at another

university he has already access to vast amounts of course material which he has just located on the

BigCorp Intranet for students to access. BigCorp has a very secure network and prevents access to a

number of sites which are considered a risk such as Facebook and Twitter.

Personal Education Flowchart (PEF)Personal Education Flowchart (PEF)

• Everybody’s personal education journeys are different. As we’ve already explored from the scenarios, people bring with them to their current learning past experiences and knowledge. One way to further understand and appreciate the differences in learners to help maximise their learning potential is to look at their personal education flowchart (PEF).


International Baccalaureate

Hardware

Desktop computerLaptop computer

IT whiteboardDVDs

TV

Software

Microsoft Word, Excel, Access &

PowerPointEmail

Cambridge University Language

Project

Hanban Chinese

Learning

Hardware


CDsInteractive penMusic player

Software

Internet site

Mandarin Chinese

Hardware


CDs

Software

Internet site

Hardware


Software

Moodleemail


• What would your educational flowchart look like?


High School

Hardware

VideosDesktop computer

TV

Software

Microsoft Word

Community College(Word

processing)

Evening class(Accounting)

Hardware


Software

InternetAccounting Packages

Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Evening Class (Pottery)

Hardware

Desktop computer

Software

Microsoft Word

Hardware

TVDesktop computer

DVD

Software

MoodleEmail

Internet

SummarySummary

• Learners can come from very different backgrounds with different educational and technology experiences.

• In order to maximise learning potential and to provide the best learning development we not only need to understand and appreciate company goals but to provide a more personalised learning experience within the framework available.

Thank you for listening.Thank you for listening.

Any questions?Any questions?

Dr. Gemma Towle, Senior Research Associate.Dr. Gemma Towle, Senior Research [email protected]@northampton.ac.uk

Mr Rob Howe, Head of Learning Technology and Media DevelopmentMr Rob Howe, Head of Learning Technology and Media [email protected]@northampton.ac.uk

Department of Information Services, Department of Information Services, The University of Northampton, The University of Northampton,

Park Campus, Park Campus, Broughton Green Road, Broughton Green Road,

Northampton, Northampton, NN2 7ALNN2 7AL

United KingdomUnited Kingdom

• E4L., 2009. E4L project background. (URL: www.northampton.ac.uk/e4l), [accessed 20.04.10].

• Heller, N., 2001. Changes sees corporate universities on the rise. Heller report on educational technology markets, 12 (8).

• JISC., 2009. Learner experiences of e-learning(URL:https://mw.brookes.ac.uk/display/JISCle2/), [accessed 20.04.10]

ReferencesReferences