-Network Awareness Tool -

Learning Analytics in the workplace:

Detecting and Analyzing Informal

Workplace Learning

Bieke Schreurs, Maarten de Laat

Our research context: Informal workplace learning

• Tacit knowledge• Hidden, spontaneous, aimed at solving work

related problems• Important driver for professional development• Hard to manage and reward its value• Our research mostly takes place in face-to-face

and in work practicesThe problem of “under the radar” informal learning poses an

interesting challenge for the field of Learning Analytics, namely finding ways to capture and analyze traces of (social) informal learning in every day life and work networks.

Our research Context:Practice-based research

‘Practice-based research is conducted in the real-world context, with real problems, and in collaboration with

practitioners, and therefore it is much more likely to lead to effective application and real change’

(Ros & Vermeulen, 2010, Hargreaves, 1996; Van den Akker et al, 2006).

Network Awareness Tool

Network Awareness Tool: Creating a social learning browserA web2.0 Tool that, informed by social network analysis,

aims to detect and raise awareness about informal networked learning activities within organizations

A user generated tool to gather real time networked data on learning topics that can be updated by the participants when needed

Contribute to the understanding of informal workplace learning in contemporary face-to-face and virtual environments

Provide instant and understandable feedback to the usersInteractive and Dynamic dataGain insight into the dimensions of informal networks in

organizations

Theoretical Background: Networked Learning

‘’Networked Learning is a form of informal learning situated in practice, where people rely strongly on their social contacts for assistance and development’’

Theoretical Background: Social Network Theory

Understanding the network structure can reveal important evidence on the information flow and shared knowledge within an organisation

The structural dimension of a network can be investigated by using Social Network Analysis.

Theoretical Background: Social Capital

Social Capital Theory provides a lens to look more closely at the relational resources embedded in social ties and how actors interact to gain access to these resources

Theoretical Background: Communities of Practice

The social learning dimension from a collective perspective

referring to the development of a shared identity within a network of people and the collective development of a particular domain. A shared identity represents a collective intention, mostly related to a certain practice.

What data we collect

• Participant demographics• Learning topics• Ego networks around topics• Quality of the Ego network• Strength of the tie: frequency, quality• Content of the interactions

http://portal.rdmc.ou.nl/nib

NAT - connecting levels:Dealing with multiple levels at once

3 Main perspectives:

1. Theme’s – tag clouds – based on ‘sets’ defined by content – organizational level

2. Theme networks – visualization of the relation within a ‘set’ – ‘group’ level

3. Ego-networks – individual network relations per person and the sets

NAT - connecting levels:How to translate it to Learing Analytics?

Individual level:• Are their ways to combine individual learning analytics data of

participants in a virtual environment to add information to the individual level of a person’s social learning activities?

Tie level:• Are there existing solutions to analyse the quality of a relation,

based on frequency and the quality of the interaction based on semantic analysis? (f.e. length of discussions in a forum, levels of discussion topics).

Network level:• Are there existing solutions to analyse social learning activities

based on semantic analysis?

Community level:• Can we use tagging or rating systems to investigate the

presence of a “shared language”, “shared identity”, or “common ground”?

Conclusion

Research tool in development

Social (Learning) Browser

Instant feedback of the development of social structures and themes

(Informal) Learning as a process of value creation

Detect multiple (isolated) networks in the organization and connect ideas and stimulate participants to think of solutions to support their own professional development in certain domains.

Needed interventions can be discussed, based on the results of the multi method approach

Future Plans

• Combining on and off-line • Plugin in Learning Analytics dashboard (f.e.

Sociallearn – UKOU)• Dynamic development of social structures & themes

– time slider –• Improving social browsing by semantic analysis• Analyzing user activity logs

Questions?

Thanks for your attention!