Professional development and networked learning

Societal development in the 21st century has had an impact on competencies needed in working life. Such development includes a continuous professional development, and a lifelong learning process where higher education institutions are an essential partner. Contemporary lifelong learning has multiple purposes such as increased employability, organisational development, global competition, and also hopefully involves the aspect of personal development. This paper aims at reporting preliminary results focused on lifelong learning and the current transformation of higher education, posing the following research question: How can a preliminary framework for lifelong learning based on networked learning experts' perceptions of the transformation of higher education be designed? Eight experts from six different global regions, known for their research and publication records in higher education, lifelong and work-integrated learning, were invited to participate in this study, which involved multiple data collection methods. Data analysis involved staged thematic analysis with multiple coders and inter-rater verification and negotiation. The preliminary findings note the current state of the analysis based on the perceptions expressed by these experts in interviews. These findings consist of the following elements: Lifelong learning, Pedagogy, and Technology. These elements are each represented by a circle that intersects with the transformation of higher education and are seen to be surrounded and impacted by three different levels: the individual, organizational and societal levels. These levels interplay with the elements of Lifelong learning, Pedagogy, and Technology as driving forces in the transformation of higher education. How these driving forces will continue to have an impact on higher education, and how higher education steps up to take on these challenges warrant further research.

In the contemporary digitalisation, the reinforcement of professional development and organisational upskilling in a business is essential. The shift to a knowledge society requires technology enhanced and work-integrated professional development aimed at developing the staff's domain-specific knowledge as well as profession-based digital competence. With this short backdrop, the aim of this paper is to describe and discuss how academia collaborated with companies and organisations in the Swedish BUFFL-project. This was a two-year collaborative project for professional development for insurance and bank company staff and a specific focus on organisational development. The project was carried out as a cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers from different departments in three universities and six companies. The overall research question to answer was: "What are the course participants' attitudes towards technology enhanced, and work-integrated professional development involving 'Bringing Your Own Data' (BOYD)?". The BYOD approach was part of a course design rule in the BUFFL-project meaning that all course modules should include at least one assignment related to the course literature, and one assignment based on the involved companies' own brought data. This study used a mixed method approach combining a descriptive statistical analysis of Likert-questions with a deductive thematic analysis. The analysed data was extracted from evaluation questionnaires for 14 course modules in the BUFFL-project. Results have been grouped into the categories of 'Technology enhancement' and 'Work-integrated learning with participant brought data'. Findings indicate that the quality of technology enhancement is critical, and that the minor technical issues in some course batches have disturbed the teaching and learning activities. However, in general participants seemed to portray a general positive attitude towards the BUFFL model for technology enhanced professional development. Finally, the concept of Bringing Your Own Data appears to have a potential to reinforce work-integrated learning.

Lifelong work-integrated learning is a key challenge in the growing knowledge society, with the Corona pandemic as a catalyst for technology enhancement. This chapter argues for the need of a post-pandemic strategy that rethinks not only the pedagogical aspect but also the technology enhanced and collaborative aspects of lifelong and work-integrated learning. The strategy that is presented in this chapter is based on the author's experience from the BUFFL initiative, a pilot project for industry development at banks and insurance companies through technology-enhanced lifelong learning. The recommendation is a strategy tailored for the target group that supports the work-integrated learning aim of academia providing useful theories for real-world tasks in the industry. Some important components in the strategy are 1) to extend pedagogy with andragogy and heutagogy, 2) the design of user-friendly hybrid environments, and 3) blended communities of practice.

Given the ongoing digital transformation in the knowledge society, research on workforce and organisational upskilling seems to be more important than ever. Such research can be done from a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) perspective acknowledging the combination of work-placed practical activities and the university tradition of theoretical studies. The use of theories from academia combined with real world problems in industry can be seen as a fruitful source of collaboration. The aim of this study was to explore and analyse how academia met the industry in the Swedish BUFFL-project. This project was a two-year pilot project on organisational development that through online educational courses arranged by the academy focused on strengthening the competencies in banking and insurance companies. In the project, a central idea was the concept of 'Bring Your Own Data' (BOYD), meaning that the involved organisations and companies were data providers in their employees' continuous education. With this short backdrop, the research question to answer was: "What are the course participants' views of an online continuous education where academia meets the industry?". Data was gathered by course evaluation questionnaires from 14 course modules in the BUFFL-project. Each questionnaire consisted of the same 30 questions and was answered by a total of 69 respondents. A descriptive statistical analysis of the Likert-questions, as well as an inductive thematic analysis of free-text comments was conducted. The thematic analysis conducted resulted in three themes which concerned the online continuous education: 'pedagogical issues in courses', technical issues in courses', and 'issues in courses concerned with the interplay between academia and the industry. Findings show that there are several pedagogical and technical challenges for adult learners with little experience of online technology enhanced learning. Moreover, it is important that academia offers an easy to access and user-friendly support model, if the meeting with the industry is to be harmonic. Finally, some course participants were a bit reluctant towards the frequent use of theoretical literature in English, and requested a stronger element of practice-based problem solving.

Since the turn of this century, much of the world has undergone tectonic socio technological change. Computers have left the isolated basements of research institutes and entered people’s homes. Network connectivity has advanced from slow and unreliable modems to high-speed broadband. Devices have evolved: from stationary desktop computers to ever-present, always-connected smartphones. These developments have been accompanied by new digital practices, and changing expectations, not least in education, where enthusiasm for digital technologies has been kindled by quite contrasting sets of values. For example, some critical pedagogues working in the traditions of Freire and Illich have understood computers as novel tools for political and social emancipation, while opportunistic managers in cash strapped universities have seen new opportunities for saving money and/or growing revenues. Irrespective of their ideological leanings, many of the early attempts at marrying technology and education had some features in common: instrumentalist understandings of human relationships with technologies, with a strong emphasis on practice and ‘what works’. It is now clear that, in many countries, managerialist approaches have provided the framing, while local constraints and exigencies have shaped operational details, in fields such as e-learning, Technology Enhanced Learning, and others waving the ‘Digital’ banner. Too many emancipatory educational movements have ignored technology, burying their heads in the sand, or have wished it away, subscribing to a new form of Luddism, even as they sense themselves moving to the margins. But this situation is not set in stone. Our postdigital reality results from a complex inter play between centers and margins. Furthermore, the concepts of centers and margins ‘have morphed into formations that we do not yet understand, and they have created (power) relationships which are still unsettled. The concepts … have not disappeared, but they have become somewhat marginal in their own right.’ (Jandrić and Hayes 2019) Social justice and emancipation are as important as ever, yet they require new theoretical reconfiguration and practices ft for our socio-technological moment. In the 1990s, networked learning (NL) emerged as a critical response to dominant discourses of the day. NL went against the grain in two main ways. First, it embarked on developing nuanced understandings of relationships between humans and technologies; understandings which reach beyond instrumentalism and various forms of determinism. Second, NL embraced the emancipatory agenda of the critical pedagogy movement and has, in various ways, politically committed to social justice (Beaty et al. 2002; Networked Learning Editorial Collective 2020). Gathered around the biennial Networked Learning Conference,1 the Research in Networked Learning book series,2 and a series of related projects and activities, the NL community has left a significant trace in educational transformations over the last few decades. Twenty years ago, founding members of the NL community offered a definition of NL which has strongly influenced the NL community’s theoretical perspectives and research approaches (Goodyear et al. 2004).3 Since then, however, the world has radically changed. With this in mind, the Networked Learning Editorial Collective (NLEC) recently published a paper entitled ‘Networked Learning: Inviting Redefinition’ (2020). In line with NL’s critical agenda, a core goal for the paper was to open up a broad discussion about the current meaning and understandings of NL and directions for its further development. The current collectively authored paper presents the responses to the NLEC’s open call. With 40 contributors coming from six continents and working across many fields of education, the paper reflects the breadth and depth of current under standings of NL. The responses have been collated, classified into main themes, and lightly edited for clarity. One of the responders, Sarah Hayes, was asked to write a conclusion. The final draft paper has undergone double open review. The reviewers, Laura Czerniewicz and Jeremy Knox, are acknowledged as authors. Our intention, in taking this approach, has been to further stimulate democratic discussion about NL and to prompt some much-needed community-building.

Introduction (Networked Learning Editorial Collective) Since the turn of this century, much of the world has undergone tectonic sociotechnological change. Computers have left the isolated basements of research institutes and entered people’s homes. Network connectivity has advanced from slow and unreliable modems to high-speed broadband. Devices have evolved: from stationary desktop computers to ever-present, always-connected smartphones. These developments have been accompanied by new digital practices, and changing expectations, not least in education, where enthusiasm for digital technologies has been kindled by quite contrasting sets of values. For example, some critical pedagogues working in the traditions of Freire and Illich have understood computers as novel tools for political and social emancipation, while opportunistic managers in cashstrapped universities have seen new opportunities for saving money and/or growing revenues. Irrespective of their ideological leanings, many of the early attempts at marrying technology and education had some features in common: instrumentalist understandings of human relationships with technologies, with a strong emphasis on practice and ‘what works’.

In our 21st century knowledge society the investment in human resources is an essential activity for almost all companies. Technology enhanced learning has opened up for new, and more flexible forms of work-integrated learning. Virtual learning environments and online conferencing tools enable a more individualized course design with the idea of anytime and anywhere. However, lessons learnt is if online learning fails in the inception phase, drop-out rates can be high and pass rates low. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the support of the inception phase of online professional development with the idea of emphasizing the CHIM steps. The four steps in this model are: 1 Creating a common virtual space, 2 Handshake, 3 Initial teacher support, 4 Mentorship. The research strategy has been the case study approach with 10 course modules in an ongoing professional development initiative as case units. Data were collected in a mix of interviews, online discussions and email analyses. Patterns and themes from the various data sources have, after an initial content analysis been compared according to the case study concept of triangulation. Furthermore, results were grouped into five categories, the four CHIM steps and a fifth miscellaneous category. Findings indicate that all the four CHIM steps are important for a successful outcome, and if some of the three first steps fail, the fourth will probably fail as well. The recommendation is that universities have to rethink the parts of the bureaucracy that are not transmedial, and cannot be carried out online without traditional face-to-face confirmation. Finally, the CHIM steps concept only involves the inception phase of online learning support and, even if the conclusion is to emphasise the importance of the initial steps, the important future work is to extend the support model to handle the sustainable long-term perspective.

In recent years, many countries have introduced programming as content in their national educational strategies. This study focussed on how teachers from various K-6 schools met regularly in learning groups to discuss their experiences integrating programming in MakerSpace settings, places equipped with various materials that can be used to construct things to enhance creativity and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The project focussed on studying the activities in an established network in a Swedish municipality (i.e. how teachers experienced the value of network meetings and how they incorporated lessons learned from other participants in the teacher learning group [TLG]). The study addressed the following research question: What are the learning experiences of teachers in K-6 schools that participate in a top-down networked professional development project that focusses on integrating computer programming into the curriculum? A narrative written method was applied to collect data from seven teachers in the network. The results indicated that teachers found it useful to participate in a top-down networked professional development project. They experienced that participating in the TLG helped them develop their professional attitudes, knowledge and practices.

People worldwide are facing global challenges that are transforming the world of work (Jakupec & Garrick, 2000). There is an urgent need to take action to reduce inequality by making high-quality healthcare available for everyone, to improve global security through enhanced forms of crisis management, to extend employment through improved schooling and to enable economic opportunity and social mobility through increased access to higher education (World Economic Forum, 2016).KeywordsNetworked professional learningInformal learningTeacher educationHigher education

The area of Learning Design research holds interesting thoughts and conceptualisations for networked professional development. This chapter identifies some tensions within the broad landscape of Learning Design and more specifically the Larnaca Declaration. Arguing that there are two distinct ideas underpinning the notion of sharing Learning Designs, the terms ‘plans for action’ versus ‘resources for reflection’ are introduced. Further different voices in the field alternating between seeing Learning Design as a means for ‘effectiveness’ versus a means for ‘reflexiveness’ are identified, and two different views of how to empower and support teachers in developing Learning Designs are suggested. Discussing contemporary challenges for networked professional development and asking whether the notions of Learning Design have a tendency to assume that researchers and teachers are designing for relatively well-known problems and contexts. Drawing on conceptualisations from Engeström, it is suggested that Learning Designs also can be viewed as ‘springboards for development’. It is concluded that design and Learning Designs should not only be thought of as predefined design ideas or as incremental exploration based on retrospective reflections on existing courses but also can conceptualise Learning Designs as dynamic, experimental opportunities for the collective design of new practices or what we term ‘springboards for development’.

During recent decades society has gone through major changes related to social and technological developments. These changes have impacted higher education. This has led to emerging networked practices that professionals and the organisations they work within need to respond to. In answer to this challenge within higher education, several efforts in professional development have arised. This chapter discusses teachers’ beliefs about such professional development interventions. Particularly, it focuses on how networked practices in higher education are supported and fostered by professional development projects. The study was based at a Swedish university and included the dissemination of teacher beliefs from three different departments that participated in two professional development projects. The data materials were collected by using semi-structured interviews from a sample of 19 teachers. The results revealed that professional development trajectories concern beliefs on both individual and collective levels. Within these levels, teachers related their professional development beliefs to both social and technological networks.

University teachers continue to strive to take up mobile and blended learning technologies in their teaching practices and universities continue to support this work through professional development courses for university teachers. At Mid Sweden University, two projects have recently been carried out with the objective to develop higher education practices supported by mobile and blended learning technologies in teaching in practice. Professional development for university teachers was expected take place using an iterative design comprising five features: participating in a competence development course, planning trials, conducting trials, evaluating teaching and participating in a pedagogical seminar. In this paper, the preliminary results of the final interviews with 12 teacher educators will be presented. The interviews were carried out to explore beliefs regarding changes in teaching practices, following the completion of teacher professional development project. The results showed that the teacher educators in this study experienced change in the use of mobile and blended learning in their teaching through dialogue, collaboration, dissemination and networked learning. Three themes were identified. The first theme was collaboration. Here, the teacher educators expressed beliefs which could be related to collaboration for learning to use mobile and blended learning technologies in their teaching, supporting conditions for networked learning. This involved working and planning new technologies in new courses together. In the second theme, sharing is caring, the teachers in the study expressed helping each other out and supporting each other in the work to learn and use new technologies in their teaching. Support through pep talks and taking on learning new technologies as a group was one example of gaining knowledge about new technologies. In the third and final theme, the teacher educators' expressed beliefs regarding dissemination as a way to share knowledge and experiences. Beliefs expressed here included learning through seeing what others were working with and exchanging knowledge. The teacher educators' in this study also expressed the need for continued learning through collaboration and dissemination, as networked learning in their community of practice. How universities continue to provide professional development to support teachers' continued work together in communities of practice through networked learning will be of importance. These efforts in professional development will provide possibilities to push forward change in teachers' use of mobile and blended learning in their teaching practices.

Teaching in higher education beyond the boundaries of face-to-face education is an evolving practice including the integration of various technologies to support collaboration between learners and teachers. From a historical perspective the integration of such technologies in this practice has afforded different time-and location-related conditions for collaboration. This development has brought new conditions for the practice of teaching in higher education. From being a practice mainly located at the university, teaching is possible to occur elsewhere; e.g., on the move, or from the home setting. It has paved the way to introduce so called blended learning practices of teaching in higher education. Such practice has been an emerging trend in the 21st century with an overall impact on the design of university courses. Applications, devices and networks that initially were used in experimental distance education have later become natural parts of mainstream education, with blended learning as a standard concept in higher education. The rich plethora of information and communication technologies applied as tools to mediate learning and support teaching have created a need for teachers' professional development. The aim of this study is to present and discuss university teachers' perceptions and beliefs about how the supplementary training should be organised. Data were gathered by semi-structured interviews at a department for Computer and System Science where all seven interviewees teach in blended synchronous educational settings. The empirical material were analysed inductively by applying a thematic analysis method. Findings show that all courses have a basic common toolbox as well as an extended specific toolbox that both are continuously changing. This can be stressful and the formal teacher professional development is far from satisfying. Teachers cope with problems by consulting the collegium, a peer group where colleagues share experiences and assist each other in problem solving. Despite the constant pressure many teachers have creative ideas for a further development of the blended synchronous learning concept. Many of the teachers in this study see the continual attempts to implement these tools and experimenting with these tools in their teaching as possibilities in their teaching as well as a source of professional development.