Competency-based approach: blending performance with learning innovation

Training / mai 11, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/monica/

Competency-based Training of Trainers is a strategy that aims at recognizing and certifying pedagogical competences, being innovation the main transversal competence.

In the last decades, the competency-based approach spread worldwide with the purpose of being the conjunction between the educational offer and the labour demand. There are several systems – related to their cultural and economic environment – and they all have their comprehensive set of practices and tools for competences’ recognition and certification as well as for learning design and implementation. The common denominator is the collection of evidence that can prove the capacity of the practitioners of performing according to quality standards in different contexts.

A competence is a fusion of values, psychomotor skills and knowledge that leads to valuable and effective performance in different environments.

When designing education and training for competency acquisition and certification, the performance is disaggregated into a series of competence units, which are again decomposed into competence elements, being each of them made by values, skills and knowledge and related to a specific evidence or assessable proof or product.

ITCILO supporting trainers in a continuously changing workplace

Several Programmes have been designed and implemented in a competency-based manner at the Centre. Among those, there is the Competency Based ToT, which has the vision of blending the competency-based approach with learning innovation. More info here.

Competency Based ToT supports trainers in the development of up- to-date pedagogical competences, with a special focus on creativity. In fact, the demand for ability to generate (good) ideas and readiness to be flexible and adaptable is not a trend or a future forecast but is already happening. People are daily requested to be innovative, creative and ready for continuous learning and change.

But is training designed to support them? Are trainers able to support human resources to develop their capacity of being innovators?

Most people consider themselves as not creative. However, we can all be, if immersed in a culture of creativity and training is there to create this environment, open and conducive for innovation.

Trainers are the first ones who are pushed to learn how to be innovative in order to create inspiring environments. Learning technologies and methodologies, learning innovation in general, can do so much, for trainers first and then of course for their trainees. A Competency-based ToT strategy has the rigorousness and the flexibility to help trainers to move forward and acquire those competences there are needed in a continuously changing world.

No matter what is the content ones trains on, trainers need to be ready to help their participants to become able to face unpredictable changes and a competency-based ToT can be seen as the channel toward such a capacity.

Photo Credits: Jacopo Maino/www.treevision.it

Save the Date: Join us in Turin for Learn4Dev

News / avril 27, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/a-messutiitcilo-org/

Learn4dev is an international network of development organisations from different backgrounds. We work together to provide better learning opportunities for our staff and partners. The network is not formalised nor has its own staff or secretariat. It exists thanks to the commitment of its members to contribute to more efficient international cooperation. It thereby benefits from its informal and thus flexible structure. The evolution of the learn4dev network took place against the background of global paradigm shifts. From the Rome Declaration on Harmonisation (2003) over the Millennium Goals (2000), the Busan agreement (2012) and today’s Sustainable Development Goals (2015), the network has always positioned itself within the evolutions and changes in the global development agenda.

JOIN THE ANNUAL MEETING

The 2018 annual meeting in Turin will focus on ‘Potential Futures of Learning for Development’. All of the members of the Learn4Dev network are in continuous learning mode as we need to adapt and innovate in a global environment of continuous change. The challenges that we currently face cannot be solved by solutions that may have worked in the past. The 2018 Annual Meeting will serve as an opportunity not only to strengthen connection within the network but also as the main floor to create potential learning futures scenarios with new partners and stakeholders.

NOTE: Participation to the Annual Meeting is FREE.

ARE YOU A DEVELOPMENT WORKER? NOT YET A MEMBER?

If you are not part of the Learn4Dev Network but you are interested in attending the Annual Meeting in Turin as “Guest”, you are more than welcome. If you need more information, please do get in touch with t.wambeke@itcilo.org.

GET AN INSIGHT FROM 2017 ANNUAL MEETING IN BRUXELLES

Why learning analytics for capacity development?

e-Learning, Innovation, News / avril 20, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/a-messutiitcilo-org/

Capacity development is a founding principle of the ILO’s Development Cooperation Strategy to secure better decent work outcomes through improved services to constituents. However, how can we increase the effectiveness of capacity building programmes for costituents and players in the world of work?

Learning Analytics is the measurement, collection and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.

There are several reasons why training organizations would wish to invest in learning analytics:

Predict learners’ performance
Provide learners with a personalized eLearning experience
Increase learners’ retention rates
Measure engagement and teaching success
Improve instructional and delivery strategies of eLearning courses and programmes

With these factors in mind, the ITCILO developed a dedicated Online Programme in Innovative Learning Interventions where professionals with a capacity-building function explore the use of latest technology and innovation for translating the sustainable development goals into achievable actions, including the potential of Trusted Learning Analytics.

The main objective for Learning Analytics is to unveil so far hidden information in educational data to gain new insights and prepare them for different educational stakeholders (learners, trainers and managers). This new kind of information can support individual learning, enhance facilitation and teaching quality, as well as improve organizational knowledge management processes and system administration.

This course aims to contextualize Learning Analytics and its most important dimensions. It will demonstrate why Learning Analytics have the power to be a real game changer for educational research by enhancing e-learning experiences and creating more effective e-learning environments by helping to predict learners’ performance, providing learners with a personalized learning experience. Increased retention rates and boosting cost efficiency. It also will touch on the ethical and privacy side of Learning Analytics that needs to be discussed within potential target organizations to guarantee adoption and uptake of Learning Analytics from stakeholders.

If you are a trainer, information technology (IT) specialist, decision maker in education and training institutions or instructional designer and you are already experimenting with Learning Analytics within your organization, feel free to get in touch and share with us your experience (delta@itcilo.org)

The future of learning is out there. Call for stories.

Innovation, News / avril 5, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/wambeke/

The first edition of the ‘Future of Learning’ magazine has been launched earlier this year. It contains a selection of 12 stories that reflect interesting institutional learning practices incorporating signals from the future, from micro-learning to macro-learning, from real gamification simulations towards virtual augmented immersive learning experiences and much more. If you would like to receive a physical copy of this you just have to submit the form below and add your own future of learning story. We are currently capturing best, good and interesting practices from all over the world in order to get inspired. Join us on this future of learning journey.

[contact-form to=’m.scabini@itcilo.org’ subject=’Future of Learning Magazine’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Contribute your own future of learning story’ type=’textarea’/][contact-field label=’Physical address (to send the magazine)’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

From Global to Local: using Massive Open Online Courses for content creation

e-Learning, News / mars 23, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/a-messutiitcilo-org/

As part of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Humanitarian Essentials, jointly organised by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and ITCILO from 16 October to 12 November 2017, participants were asked to submit a case study exercise. This assignment had as objective to internalise the learning contents of the MOOC and combine them with the professional experience and interests of the participants.

MOOC learners were asked to draft a case study on how they have applied or would apply humanitarian principles in their current or future working context. This exercise allowed them to better understand the key challenges and dilemmas related to the application of humanitarian principles, by reflecting on them in specific crisis situations and emergencies.

“How you or your organization applied the humanitarian principles, and what are your lessons learned?”

In total, 66 case studies were submitted. A peer review was applied to score the case studies against a number of criteria, including “demonstrated understanding of the principles and their main challenges and dilemmas, demonstrated learning, and reader-friendliness”. This review resulted in a top-30, of which the tutor of the MOOC selected fifteen case studies which are now available through an online publication: “Humanitarian Learning in Practice”.

From “access to information in Greece” to “first emergency response in the Balkans” or “principles to humanitarian actions in Somalia”, the published case studies refer to either ongoing developments in the humanitarian sector or offer interesting insights in what can be learned from responding to current crises.

The fifteen authors come from different backgrounds and offer various understandings. All together, these case studies provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges of applying humanitarian principles in the field, and we hope that their work is an inspiration for others who like to reflect and learn.

Gender equality helps us reach our full potential

Innovation, News, Uncategorised / mars 8, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/wambeke/

Women team members of the DELTA/MDP unit.

Today, March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day, recognizing women for their achievements without regards to divisions. Adopted by the United Nations in 1975, it commemorates the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century. In 2018 Turin, as men represent 61.8% of the workforce globally according to the World Employment and Social Outlook, the DELTA/MDP, where women have the lion’s share representing a whopping 72% of all staff, recognizes and observes on a daily basis that equal opportunities is not just a matter of justice, but of quality.

A predominantly female staff is not at all perceived as a disadvantage to male counterparts. Rather to the opposite, our male colleagues testify that the different opinions and work styles of their female colleagues challenge them in their work, keeping the creativity alive.

In the words of the DELTA/MDP head of department:

“Diversity is the key to our work in Learning Innovation and the gender factor in our team contributes substantially to that and with this I do not only mean in terms of (gender) balance. The perception of detail, the deep sense of empathy and the capacity to move beyond the rational … are only some of the characteristics that bring a higher degree of self-awareness in myself.” – Tom Wambeke

Others joined him by stating there would not be a different they’d wish to be part of. “I couldn’t imagine it any other way.” – says Luca Fiore, graphic designer. Each individual, with her capacities, embodies the motor of success.

The women in our team are professional, precise in all they do, team players, have an irreproachable work ethic, strong leadership, great organizational skills, and sense of social cohesion. Some of women’s implications can be seen when Alessia Messuti is leading the Innovative Diploma Programme, or when Mirella Scabini is voluntarily taking of her time to present ITC-ILO’s work to visiting students. The truth is that without them, we would be missing on 50% of our potential.

Still, there remains a lot of work to do. Women’s rights to equal work conditions and opportunities are not respected worldwide or in all organizations. Bias, stereotypes and gender-blind workplace rules still unconsciously produce discrimination, with important human and economic costs.

If you wish to understand how good your organization is doing on gender equality, take the ILO participatory gender audit. Gender balanced organizations are more successful. Become an agent of change yourself: invest in women’s potential.

Front Cover Photo: Jacopo Maino

The idea of this article came from Luca Putteman, and was co-authored by Carl Verrier Silva.

Become a Social Changemaker

Innovation, News, Training / mars 5, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/wambeke/

The ITCILO is organizing its first course on Communication for Development

From 12 to 15 June 2018, the ITCILO will invite development practitioners, policymakers, creatives and academics for 4 interactive face-to-face training days on communication for development. Through interactive sessions, inspiring talks and a creative lab setting, participants will learn how to adopt design thinking and visual storytelling to their work.

Built around three approaches, the course will provide participants with the skills to create more and lasting impact when working on communication initiatives, reaching from health promotion to labour rights advocacy. The course is not limited to one specific area; it gives the tools to better understand and reach any type of audience, worldwide.

If you are looking for new ways for people to engage with your cause, or you feel your organization needs a different mindset to tackle old problems, join us in Turin to learn those methods. Human-centered design experts and talented creatives will help you to visualize and refine your message, while you’ll discover digital and low-tech solutions on the way.

Get more updated information on the course in the upcoming weeks, on our website and social media.

Join us on this unique, global learning experience in the heart of the United Nations!

Learning and Technology Innovation for Capacity Development

e-Learning, Innovation, News / février 23, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/a-messutiitcilo-org/

Technology transforming learning

Once thought of as just a part of ‘resources‘in the learning experience, we‘ve come to see how technology can be so much more than that. It can play a key role in all elements of the training and learning environment. Technology can shape, and reshape, who is the learner and who is the trainer. It can open up knowledge and content that otherwise would be less accessible, for example through access to open educational resources.

The benefits of engagement, interactivity and collaboration are all enabled and enhanced with technology. They are of course possible without it, you can still engage and motivate, personalise learning and facilitate collaboration, without any technology at all. However, at scale, technology greatly increases training institutions’ capacity for these outcomes.

Reinventing learning environments for the world of work

Learning technologies, knowledge-sharing platforms, communities of practice, mobile applications are more and more used in the world of work. However, the right expertise and the methodological know-how to design and implement technology enhanced learning are not always available. To this purpose, the ITCILO, in collaboration with the Open University of the Netherlands and Goethe University Frankfurt, developed a dedicated Online Programme in Innovative Learning Interventions. Professionals with a capacity-building function can explore the use of latest technology and innovation and see how they contribute to the impact of the projects they are currently launching.

By innovation, we mean new or improved technological products and processes, which can influence how individuals and organizations invest in achieving their objectives. Concepts such as Open Online Education, Learning Analytics, Mobile and Seamless Learning, New Immersive and Augmented Learning Experiences are examples of how integrated technology processes can make capacity development more impactful by rooting solutions in empathy with end-users and enhancing access to educational opportunities.

The opportunity

The Online Diploma Programme on Innovative Learning Interventions aims at fostering the potential of:

the improved measurement, compilation and reporting of data about individuals for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning experiences through Trusted Learning Analytics;
learning and working across multiple contexts through social and content interactions using personal devices which enable the creation of Mobile and Seamless Learning experiences;
eliminating barriers to entry educational opportunities and broadening access to capacity development through Open Online Education paths;
augmented and immersive reality experiences which lead to transformative ways for creating engagement and interactions between individuals and environments, though New Learning Experiences.

More info:

http://www.itcilo.org/en/areas-of-expertise/learning-methodologies-and-technologies/diploma-programme

Graphic Design in Development

News, Training / février 15, 2018par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/wambeke/

A case for sustainability, universality and true human needs.

Design for world peace

Back in 1945, a Yale architecture graduate called Donald McLaughin designed one of the world’s most recognizable symbols: the United Nations emblem. But at that time he wasn’t fully aware of the impact his design would have. When the delegates from 50 Allied nations gathered that spring in San Francisco, the conference required brochures, placards and, of course, badges. Mr. Mc Laughlin, then chief of the graphics presentation branch of the Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the C.I.A., originally designed a 2.7 cm round lapel pin. The emblem of the continents and olive branches was also stamped in gold on the United Nations Charter, and a year and half later it was adopted, with modifications, as the official seal and emblem of the United Nations.

To this day, few symbols are so widely recognised and universally understood as the UN emblem. It’s a demonstration of the power of graphic design in its ability to unite people through graphic images and rendering complex ideas into one visual symbol. Over the last several years we’ve seen the most influential development agencies fully embracing the role of graphic design including The World Bank, Unicef and many others.

Design must be meaningful

There is a strong cultural dimension to graphic design that is affected by traditions, language, diversity, gender, beliefs and value systems. Graphic designers within UN agencies carry the responsibility to embody these dimensions in their designs. Experience turned them into experts designing in all six official 400+ national languages, but also in integrating complex ideas such as impartiality, dignity and tolerance. They have the duty and power to represent the underrepresented and to promote inclusiveness through their ideas.

Making it look pretty is not enough. Design must be meaningful where ‘meaningful’ replaces rather void concepts such as ‘beautiful, ‘ugly’, ‘cool’, ‘cute’, or ‘nice’. Designers need to put end-users’ needs ahead of their own taste and love of aesthetics. Or as Victor Papanek put it back in 1971’: “design must become an innovative, highly creative, cross- disciplinary tool responsive to the true needs of men.”

Design is inherent to all cultures and the next generation of graphic designers needs to be aware of their ability to emphasise on deeper cultural meanings. Design can impact the world and therefore designers should cultivate their capacity in strengthening mutual understanding amongst people and nations.

From ITCILO’s Future of Learning Magazine

In-house capacity and training

The ILO Turin Centre has its own inhouse graphic design unit. Multimedia Design and Production (MDP) provides
graphic design solutions for courses, training materials, conferences and publications. For many years MDP has also designed the publications of other UN agencies including UNHCR, OHCHR and the World Bank.

This year for the first time, the Center will organize a course on how to design communication solutions for development purposes. As a discipline, Communication for Development embraces a broad range of functions and practices which centre around dialogue, participation and the sharing of knowledge and information, all with a view to creating empowerment and sustainable social change. From a human centred approach, this on-site training course will explore the possibilities of contemporary and traditional communication tools in addressing development
challenges and maximizing the impact of initiatives.

The Communication for Development (C4D) Course will be organised in Turin, from 5 to 8 June 2018. All information and applications on the course’s web page.

Work 4 Human Development: New Microlearning Prototype

Innovation, News / juin 6, 2017par https://blog.itcilo.org/fr/author/wambeke/

In the last few months we have been very busy working on an innovation project adopting micro-learning methodology.

The microlearning prototype, “A Crash Course on Work for Human Development” rethinks and broadens the concept of work that goes beyond simply jobs or employment. It aims to explain the fundamentals of the role of work in society, and the importance of decent work in promoting human development and sustainable development. This microlearning pilot is aimed to be accessible for all, which also include professionals in the UN family and ILO’s social partners, meaning governments, workers and employers of member countries.

The prototype can be found here (Best to open on a mobile device):

Have Your Say!

Our aim is to improve and create a sustainable learning solution that not only educates and inspires, but also that is applicable to your everyday life.

In order for us to better meet your training and learning needs, we invite you to take part in providing feedback on our microlearning prototype based on its design, content, and user-experience in the survey below. The information gathered from this survey will be used to improve the next iteration of the prototype.

Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFZLC3V

Please provide your feedback by the end of Tuesday, June 13, 2017. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns at delta@itcilo.org.

For further information, we invite you to view our Prototyping Using Design Thinking Report *link: https://technologyatwork.itcilo.org/new-report-release-the-centre-prototypes-microlearning-using-design-thinking/* blog post.