Saturday 12 April 2008
VIC Meeting in Kosice..
Sunday 6 April 2008
The next VIC meeting will be taking place in Kosice, Slovakia - 10th – 11th April 2008
The main item of the meeting will be the continued development of the content and the implementation of the training programme. Some of the considerations that the VIC partners will be 'taking on board' are found below.
The VirIncCreate project offers several innovative approaches, these can be summerised as content innovation, technical and delivery innovation and training innovation.
- content – the training and support material for the virtual incubator will be totally relevant to the creative industries, not only addressing the pedagogical issues mentioned above, but will be presented in a manner that will be condusive to and engage with those coming from a creative, artistic and design background. This virtual learning environment will be designed to be not only user friendly but culturally and esthetically appropriate to these highly visually aware learners.
- technical and delivery – the products of this project will be developed using the latest ‘cutting-edge’ technology. (The partners have access to software developers that are producing very innovative approaches to educational software and delivery methods.) Also the technologies used in this project will not only be used for the delivery of the training and business support products but will be integrated into the whole management of the project. Therefore the partners, the trainers, those being trained and those quality assuring and assessing the project and its training products will be using the technology that is fundamental to the VirIncCreate project. For example the web platform using php will be used not only for the communications among the partners and associates but the same technologies will be used for the training and to hold the support material. Integrated into the project will be the use of e-bulletins, web conferencing and significantly the use of PDAs and mobile phone interfaces to deliver the VirIncCreate platform.
- training – Pedagogical approaches for a training program is very essential and important for the whole process. This is depending on the target group and other factors such as the educational/training institutions, financial aspects, trainers etc. In our project and in order to have better results there will be a combination of innovative training methods. Both types could be ideal for our learning cohort. Learners can educated from a trainer, but also can be more stimulated and willing to learn by employing either of the “new” approaches listed below. Original approaches to training will be based around:
Action learning. In an action learning set learners are able to share their learning in a supportive environment. An action learning set can be with peers from the partnership or a mixed set where they will work with peers from different businesses and regions. These learning methodologies can be established via an actual learning environment, eg workshop, seminar room etc. or via the VirIncCreate platform.
Experiential learning/activity learning or 'learning by doing'Learners will be involved in an active exploration of experience related to their creative discipline. Experience is used to test out ideas and assumptions rather than to obtain practice passively. Practice can be very important but it is greatly enhanced by reflection with assessment a key factor to measuring success. Strategies will be in place for learners to selectively reflect on their experience in a critical way rather than take experience for granted and assume that the experience on its own is sufficient. By learning as they conduct their work they will be committed to the process of exploring and learning. Trainers have an important role in devising appropriate experiences and facilitating reflection.
The nature of the activities will be carefully designed by the trainer and the experience may need to be carefully reviewedand analysed afterwards for learning to take place. A crucial feature of experiential learning is the structure devised by the trainer within which learning takes place.
The challenge within the project is to devise training around these approaches within the limited time and scope of a Pilot Project. However, it is felt that a sufficient contribution to pedagogical approaches to a training programme can be undertaken and suitably assessed to make it worthwhile. It is far better to work in an innovative way, encouraging and supporting engagement in learning than depend upon the traditional methodologies that have been proven not to succeed within business training in the creative industries.