Community supported e-learning - an exploratory study of personalized e-learning and community mentorship

During the last year, we have narrowed our research towards the discipline of "emergent" learning (not the traditional "prescribed" counterpart). We now explore the intersection between (state-of-the-art) e-learning and social media, especially focusing on how livestreaming can enhance and advance generic learning by allowing for the design of flexible and adaptive learning environments. Live streaming of video content has been around for a while. But the more recent and more complex term "interactive livestreaming broadcasting" ("livestreaming" for short) encompasses more features and more promises for learning. Livestreaming facilitates a mixture of parallel processes and provides multi-channel means of communication between participants (peers) and between participants and selected resource people (mentors; tutors). Platforms often include the ability to talk to the broadcaster, participate in chat-conversations, and voting (to influence the progress of the livestreaming session). In the field of computer gaming, livestreaming, as a platform for learning how to play and to excel one's gaming skills, has virtually exploded in recent years. The project is now studying the various livestreaming platforms, exploring how it works for the participants in the context of computer gaming and other settings. We will try to devise a model for how (the current use of) livestreaming (possibly somewhat modified) can be exploited to expand the generic toolbox for e-learning designers and users, thus contributing to the noble cause of learning. The project has also initiated a software prototype development activity, which will be followed-up by tests applied to various learning topics.

The project will uncover the state-of-the-art in e-learning by thoroughly reviewing the literature available and sorting and categorizing the findings. Special attention will be paid to the perspective of the learners, their needs and their likes, as opposed to the much-more focused perspective of the teaching organizations. Leading educationalists claim that most of the training offered, still today, whether it is classroom-based or e-based, seldom provides the personalization required by the various individual learning styles represented within a group. One size does not fit all. In recent years, two branches of thinking are gaining momentum: (a) "personalization for the learner" (in which the teacher tailors the teaching) and (b) "personalization by the learner" (in which the learner develops skills to tailor his own learning). The project will address both these approaches and try to answer research questions like: - "How can technology provide personalized learning, for everyone, independent of their socioeconomic standing and environment, in a context of collaborative and community-oriented learning processes?" - "What does the corresponding learning models(s) look like?", and - "How may this (these) model(s) interface with the education providers of the future?" The project is planned to bring forward a new conceptual model and build a prototype which will be tested in a relevant context. Hopefully, the results of the project will spark the developments of new products and services within the sponsoring organization, Go Mobile AS, and its partners. The project starts in August 2016 and lasts for four years.