Abstract:

“You can lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink” – this quotation holds for training as well. All training is a question of motivation, whereby it is very important to catch and engage the potential instructor or trainee, by demonstrating the benefit of sound pedagogical delivery of new ICT enabled level specific mechanical industry production process learning solutions. This paper discus the extension of the recently developed Activity Based Training (ABT) models for just-in-time transfer of on-the-job production workflow competence and know-how to SME workplace. The ABT methodology introduces the industrial production flow as the educational framework. ABT courses implement a pedagogical sound model that utilizes an explorative and knowledge discovery learning by doing approach where theoretical training is always followed by practice. Furthermore, during the course the students produce a complete final product according to standard industrial production processes. This includes sharing of industrial production knowledge by exchanging their products several times as in a real industrial production process. Video technology is used as a catalyst for creative and lateral problem solving targeting “How to Do” and “How NOT to DO”.

The existing ABT learning process is extended by developing a flexible, open and low-cost problem based framework by introducing iSelect learning objects. The infrastructure utilizes widely available mobile, wireless multi touch pressure sensitive hand held devices (e.g. iPod Touch or iPhone), such that students may interact with the teacher through online questionnaires and voting systems. The teacher collects and visualizes the responses from class at the digital blackboard, by utilizing state of the art iSelect decision process solutions. These tools extend the (traditional) teaching and learning dynamics from vertical transmission of information and knowledge from the instructor to the students, by exploring a novel horizontal two-way learning environment where it is easy and flexible for the instructor during a lesson on a just-in-time basis to foster inquiry and problem based learning approaches. The instructor lead process includes:
• Short sequential mini-lessons
• iSelect questionnaires that exploits ICT enhanced learning assets
• Structured, critical thinking iSelect creative problem based learning activities that collect individual or group responses anonymously
• A flexible in class discussion sequence, that in some cases may end up with a new iSelect decision process
• Summary and explanation, reflecting the profile of the response from class
• The system solution is generic, whereby it may be utilized in all kind of process and product oriented instruction and training activities.

The iSelect Quality Assurance tools are based up on XML-based standards and web authoring facilities for the contents available on web pages, by providing XML-based universal notation and interface including visualization of scientific and engineering drawings and graphs. The search facilities retrieve the postulates of the instructor through a service-oriented architecture that integrates semantic web into the system for retrieval of information from the knowledge base system. The iSelect decision process solution system is open, flexible to achieve maximum interoperability, and platform independent.

This pilot research is co-financed by the European Commission and the Lifelong Learning Program.

Keywords:

video, training in enterprises, activity based training, workplace learning, wireless response systems.