A LEARNING-CENTERED FRAMEWORK FOR MULTI-PARTY TECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH PROJECTS

Introduction:
Currently we live in an information society where the use of technologies is omnipresent. The use of technologies impact on work and study and, therefore, it is important to maximize technology fit, i.e. perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and subjective norms of various users. At the same time, the use of technologies increases the need for continuous learning since new technologies emerge and old technologies are updated continuously. Hence, life-long and life-wide learning are practices that are performed and renewed in various daily situations throughout our lives. In this presentation, we introduce a multi-party research project where learning and relearning are taken into consideration both in the purpose and procedures of the project. The project focuses on the well-being and learning of elderly people in the context of their use of technology. In this research we study the collaborative learning and work of various stakeholders (research organizations, public sector, companies, NGOs, private people) in a context of organizational learning.

Method:
The multi-party technology-related research project is currently carried out following the principles of action research to evaluate continuously the project work. In this presentation we propose the results from the first data collection session including a questionnaire (N = 11, 92 %) and informal discussions. Data collection was implemented to evaluate the experiences from implementation of multi-party research project from the viewpoint of organisational stakeholders. The questions included e.g. the evaluation of collaborative learning and developmental work, work distribution and support at work. The multiple-choice results from the questionnaire were analysed quantitatively and open questions and discussion themes qualitatively.

Results:
The results suggest that the multi-party technology-related research project succeeded to support collaborative learning and development work (91 %) and work distribution (90 %). Collaboration between the stakeholders provided opportunities for informal learning in the forms of e.g. informal discussions and observations in other stakeholders´ environments. The critical notion concerned applying Internet-based communication environments (Moodle, AC, Video Conference etc.) to allow access to meetings in multiple locations. However, regular face-to-face meetings were seen as important in building support and trust between the stakeholders.

Discussion:
This research demonstrated how multi-party research project shapes collaboration and, consequently, influence in the learning processes of all stakeholders from the beginning of the collaboration. Besides formal learning, informal learning was emphasized in this framework. Informal learning was a result of a shared knowledge and knowhow that call for being sensitive in recognizing critical incidents of each stakeholder regardless of their background. Sensitiveness and throwing ourselves into informal learning may initiate spin-offs and form the basis for the upcoming RDI projects.