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Learning Light
Second Floor, Gladstone Building,
1 St James Row, Sheffield, S1 2EU
Tel +44 (0)114 223 2442; Web www.learninglight.com


19th October 2010

The Guardian features Learning Light's e-learning programme for e-waste workers in Nigeria

The Guardian newspaper has featured an e-learning programme developed by Learning Light which is helping people in Nigeria to recycle electrical and electronic waste safely.


An article by Louise Tickle, published in the Education Guardian on 12th October (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/electronic-waste-recycling), explained that people in developing countries who make a living scavenging the dumps of electronic equipment thrown away by the first world face daily hazards most of us never consider. Recycling our waste electrical items is a dirty job, and those who do it are among the poorest and least educated in the world.

Some of simple processes used to recycle this waste release carcinogenic chemicals. The crude break-up of electrical items can cause heavy metals such as lead and mercury to leak into the soil and the water table - where they are taken up by plants, ingested by animals and, eventually, accumulate in humans.

Even when electronic equipment is certified as safe for re-use and exported legally, the thousands of manual workers who dismantle it are still unlikely to have had any training in how to handle it safely.

This challenge has been taken up by Professor Oladele Osibanjo, director of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre For Training and Technology Transfer for the African Region. In looking for suitable flexible and accessible learning materials, Osibanjo, based in Lagos, Nigeria, is using e-learning materials created by Learning Light, in combination with face-to-face workshops led by Dr Margaret Bates from Northampton University's Centre for Sustainable Wastes Management.

Learning Light, a company limited by guarantee which focuses on promoting the use of e- learning and learning technologies, initially developed these learning materials for use among prisoners in the UK - allowing them to learn a skill and gain a nationally recognised qualification and thus reduce the chance of their re-offending.

Covering various aspects of waste recycling operations, the Learning Light e-learning programmes deal with disassembling electrical equipment - from sewing machines to LCD televisions - in the most environmentally-friendly way and concentrate on the requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive).

Those who complete these e-learning programmes have the knowledge and skills to disassemble electrical equipment - such as old personal computers - and break down this equipment into its constituent parts. These parts can then be recycled and, depending on the costs of copper, plastic and so on, can produce an income for the ‘disassembler'.

Delivered in discrete online units which require no reading or writing by the learners, Learning Light's teaching units are loaded onto a computer or, where broadband services are available, accessed online. The progammes use strong visual and oral prompts that translate easily from a UK context to a Nigerian classroom.

In the UK, the Learning Light course leads to an NVQ. In Nigeria, the course is being developed to lead to a formal Nigerian qualification for people who might never even have finished school.

End

Notes for Editors

About The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive)

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) was introduced in January 2007. The Directive aims to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to encourage everyone to reuse, recycle and recover it. The Directive also aims to improve the environmental performance of businesses that manufacture, supply, use, recycle and recover electrical and electronic equipment.

Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. Some 1.8m tonnes of this waste are generated every year. The WEEE Regulations aim to reduce the amount of this waste going to landfill and improve recovery and recycling rates.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations apply to electrical and electronic equipment with a voltage of up to 1000 volts for alternating current or up to 1500 volts for direct current and cover: large household appliances; small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control equipment, and automatic dispensers.

About Learning Light Ltd

Sheffield-based Learning Light is a centre of excellence in the use of e-learning and learning technologies in the workplace. Its knowledge base contains over 400 papers offering insights and advice on how to use e-learning & learning technologies.

Learning Light, which operates www.e-learningcentre.co.uk one of the leading resources on e-learning in the UK, works closely with the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield and has undertaken a Systematic Literature Review of the available papers on the effective use of e-learning in conjunction with the University of Sheffield.

Learning Light occupies a unique space in the e-learning and learning technology sector networking with:

  • Suppliers of e-learning and learning technologies to support the growth of the sector

  • Buyers seeking out learning technology solutions to improve the effectiveness of their business or organisation

  • Leading organisations worldwide who provide it with market knowledge from around the globe

It:

  • Provides unbiased and impartial advice to both suppliers and buyers

  • Hosts events and workshops that provide the platforms to impart and gain knowledge by encouraging collaboration and sharing of best practice

  • Acts as a conduit between suppliers and buyers to forge successful business partnerships

  • Provides market intelligence and benchmarking information gained from its many contacts and networking partners

  • Provides access to research materials from leading learning technology professionals

Further information from:

David Patterson/ Gill Broadhead, Learning Light, +44 (0)114 223 2442
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405

www.learninglight.com

 

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