Tools for Learning – Page 3

Share, Learn and Innovate

Innovation, Tools for Learning / November 2, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

OHCHR initiated in collaboration with ITC-ILO a coordinated knowledge management approach with the goal of making OHCHR work more effective in the fulfillment of its mandate. Based on a KM needs assessment and a review of KM approaches and practices of UN agencies ITC-ILO developed a knowledge sharing toolkit which includes methods and techniques to enhance knowledge sharing within OHCHR and through OHCHR activities. The entire project was called Share, Learn and Innovate and focused on the following objectives:

Improve understanding of knowledge management and knowledge sharing concepts and their relevance to OHCHR work;

Enhance participants’ expertise and capacity to use knowledge sharing tools and approaches in their work;

Strengthen a knowledge sharing culture within OHCHR; and

Validate the OHCHR Knowledge Sharing Toolkit and promote the use of the toolkit within their sections/field presences.

Feel free to have a look at the final version of the on-line toolkit ! Click HERE

Is your thinking pragmatic and systematic?

Innovation, Tools for Learning / August 1, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Nowadays, development organizations are increasingly compelled to show that their programmes produce meaningful and lasting changes for their beneficiaries.

However, such “impacts” depend on many factors, such as behavioural change by those concerned or the relationships among them. This makes assessing development impacts problematic; yet many organizations strive to measure results that go far beyond the objectives of their programmes.

Outcome Mapping[1] offers not only a methodology[2] for monitoring and evaluation but also planning systems that enable organizations to document, learn from, and report on their achievements. It is designed to help with understanding an organization’s results, while recognizing that contributions by other players are essential to achieving the sustainable, large-scale improvements in human and ecological well-being toward which the organization is working. These contributions are planned and assessed in terms of their influence on the partners with whom the organization is working to effect change. In essence, development is accomplished by, and for, people. This is the central concept of Outcome Mapping.

Enhancing learning for Effectiveness

Tools for Learning / June 13, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

“Enhancing Learning for Effectiveness” is Train4Dev’s new methodological guide on design, implementation and evaluation of Joint Learning Event. It was presented in Brussels during the last annual meeting of the network and is the result of a truly collaborative process. The assignment was coordinated by the Turin Centre and we could count on the strong commitment of the team that brought this guide into existence: the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, GIZ, UNDP, UNSSC, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAO, CEF, and Lux-Development.

The wealth of knowledge, experience and tools embedded within the Train4Dev network, was pulled together or emerged from the hidden corners of complex institutional structures. It took time and patience and endless efforts to ensure that the guide would meet the required quality standards and suit the need for strengthening the learning methodologies, as identified by the network. The aim is to contribute to the shift of Joint learning events from traditional top-down training to purposeful participatory learning events where participants share as well as acquire knowledge, compare and enhance their practices, and rely on process facilitators, not only on subject matter experts. Only after this guide will have been used by a large group of training managers and trainers will we know whether this demanding objective will be achieved.

It is hoped that this small brick in the wall of joint learning for development will contribute to the noble mandate of the network to “add value as facilitators of joint learning, in areas of high priority for aid and development effectiveness”.

Download the guide !

Robin Poppe

Gamestorming. Do you want to be more innovative?

Innovation, Tools for Learning, Training / May 12, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Practical and inspiring guides with innovative and participatory learning and knowledge sharing methods are always interesting to read. “Gamestorming, a playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and change“, written by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo is a good illustrative example. The entire instructional cycle of a meaningful learning or working event is documented in a very visual and pragmatical way. It moves beyond the usual participatory methodologies such as ‘fishbowl‘, ‘world cafe‘ and ‘open space‘ and introduces you to a variety of new techniques from ‘bodystorming’ until ‘spectrum mapping’. The book is also structured along the cyclical nature of an event from opening until closing and shows you the different creative processes that occur during an event (diverging, emerging and converging). For facilitators and trainers it is handy because the methods are written in a way that you can apply them immediately on-the-job. The book has a virtual extension on http://www.gogamestorm.com/. Any other must reads in this area of participatory learning and knowledge sharing?

social network analysis

Tools for Learning / March 7, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Knowledge is located in social networks, therefore it is important to better understand them. Social networks are nodes of individuals, groups, organisations or related systems which are connected by types of interdependency. Social network analysis is an instrument to map these connections and visualizes formal and informal connections and knowledge flows between people, groups and organisations.

Collaborative writing. The world of wiki’s.

e-Learning, Tools for Learning / January 31, 2011by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Writing together in team on an article, a publication, a project or a toolkit, it more and more happens in the wiki way. If wiki still sounds chinese for you have first a look at wiki’s in plain English. Almost ten years ago the wiki way of building collaboratively knowledge started to grow slowly with Wikipedia as it’s most successful example. Now more and more organisations rely on wiki’s to support the collaborative writing process. Avoiding endless e-mail-conversations with word-documents that lost track of versions, the wiki-approach allows groups easily to work together in one document just by clicking the edit-button and start the writing process.

L&T Podcast #1: ‘New methods of knowledge sharing?’

e-Learning, Tools for Learning / December 15, 2010by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Throughout the creation of The Compass, a toolkit for the enhanced design of learning activities, it was frequently noted that contemporary methodologies starkly resemble the traditional practices of many Indigenous Peoples. In order to further explore this paradigm, Karen Moir interviewed Marc Steinlin on the matter.

Marc is the Founder and Director of Ingenious Peoples’ Knowledge (IPK) and has extensive experience working with Indigenous Peoples in the past. In this podcast, a variety of methodologies are discussed within the context of modern learning trends.

Podcasting can be used in a variety of circumstances to enhance learning activities. This example was produced with a simple Skype recording plug-in in combination with easy to use open source editing software (Audacity).

The Compass will be launched in January 2011. The launch of the on-line tool will be announced at this blog and a hard-copy will be accessible for staff from Learning Resources and Information.

Listen here to the podcast with Marc Steinlin

Karen Moir

Building toolkits about learning, training and knowledge sharing.

e-Learning, Innovation, Tools for Learning / November 17, 2010by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

DELTA is currently in the final phase of the orientation toolkit, called Compass dealing with innovative learning methodologies and technologies embedded in the entire learning management cycle. One of the outputs of this toolkit is a set of instructional sheets on how to use participatory learning methods and techniques in your own context as a trainer.

The need of knowing how to use participatory learning, training and knowledge sharing methods and tools is currently present in a lot of organisations and institutions. It is one of the practical questions that we are currently capturing during the inter-agency UN knowledge fair, held now in Turin.

The experience and expertise we have used for the COMPASS we want to re-use to develop tailormade toolkits adapted to the context of other organisations/institutions. Feel free to contact us if you have knowledge sharing toolkit plans in your future agenda.

Off-line E-learning?

e-Learning, Tools for Learning / November 4, 2010by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

Looking at the Internet Penetration Rates internet is becoming more accessible worldwide. However some regions do still face access issues (connectivity, infrastructure, …). An argument institutions use to put e-learning initiatives on hold. Much wiser is to walk on parallel tracks and provide alternative off-line strategies until internet access can be guaranteed. This blogpost is an invitation to join our list of off-line initiatives, useful in bandwidth poor contexts.

100 facilitation tips?

Tools for Learning, Training, Uncategorised / September 6, 2010by https://blog.itcilo.org/author/wambeke/

We are moving from managing trainer focused events where experts transfer their knowledge to participants, to facilitating participants’ learning processes by supporting them develop the most adequate responses to their needs and those of their organization. This implies a radical shift in the trainer’s abilities. What counts is not to effectively transfer a predetermined message, but to help individuals with diverse needs and expectations to achieve their learning goals. In group training this is even more complex as the challenge increases with the number of participants in the group.

During the last year and taking advantage of several events and workshops, a list of tips for facilitators has been collaboratively established. The number of 92 tips has been reached, the objective is to reach 100 quickly.

Download the tips here. Will you suggest any missing idea?

Robin Poppe

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