Learning Light
Second Floor, Gladstone Building,
1 St James Row, Sheffield, S1 2EU
Tel +44 (0)114 223 2442; Web www.learninglight.com
21st September 2010
Learning Light-led EU project to reach marginalised learners
sparks interest from New Zealand
ENABLE, the Leonardo project led by Learning Light, which aims to
bring e-learning to marginalised learners, is making such impressive
progress that it is attracting interest from outside Europe.
Learning Light, a company focusing on promoting the use of
e-learning and learning technologies and which is leading an EU-wide
consortium of organisations developing effective ways to use
e-learning to reach and engage 'marginalised' learners, has received
an enquiry from McGirr Associates, New Zealand's leading producer of
e-learning for 'hard to reach' learners.
A few months ago, Learning Light's operations director, David
Patterson, was a keynote speaker at the International Association
for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International
'Conference e-Learning 2010', held in Freiburg, Germany. He spoke
on: 'E-learning: Regeneration, Research and Innovation' and, among
other things, gave an update on the progress in the 'ENABLE'
project.
This 24 month, 300,000 euro project, funded by the EU under the
Leonardo Transfer of Innovation scheme, involves Learning Light, The
Workshop Sheffield (TWS) and the learning development consultancy,
The MRS (all based in Yorkshire), along with partner organisations
in Italy, Greece, Romania and Poland. The first phase of the project
- recently completed - involved research in these four countries as
well as the UK.
David Patterson, Learning Light's operations director, revealed:
"Learning Light is co-ordinating the pan-European project to enable
'marginalised' learners to develop their knowledge and skills via
e-learning. This is exactly the audience which McGirr Associates is
also targeting in New Zealand - and Mandy McGirr, of McGirr
Associates in New Zealand, contacted us as a result of my keynote
address at the IADIS conference
"In the UK, we studied the Somali community living here. In Poland,
we studied women who were returning to work and we looked at other
groups in Italy, Greece and Romania.
"We've developed two e-learning applications and we're now rolling
out this initiative across Europe, using the experience and
expertise we've built up to identify and contact people who find it
difficult to undertake formal learning," he added. "The aim is then
to engage these people in learning through more flexible learning
delivery methods and technologies, including e-learning."
"Mandy McGirr is interested not only in the research and results of
the Leonardo project but also in the range of e-learning materials
that Learning Light has developed covering various aspects of waste
recycling operations," said Patterson. "Having piloted these
successfully in the UK, we've seen them put to use most effectively
in Nigeria recently - among workers who, for a number of reasons,
are unlikely to attend formal face-to-face training courses."
These e-learning programmes deal with disassembling electrical
equipment in the most environmentally-friendly way, following the
requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Directive (WEEE Directive). They aim to reduce the amount of this
waste going to landfill and improve recovery and recycling rates -
thus helping the environment.
Patterson continued: "Many people make their living from looking for
precious metal components for recycling within this e-waste, burning
the waste to get to them and this releases carcinogenic substances.
They are literally killing themselves to get to the 'usable' bits
from the e-waste."
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:
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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:
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Provides unbiased and impartial advice to both suppliers and
buyers
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Hosts events and workshops that provide the platforms to impart
and gain knowledge by encouraging collaboration and sharing of
best practice
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Acts as a conduit between suppliers and buyers to forge
successful business partnerships
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Provides market intelligence and benchmarking information gained
from its many contacts and networking partners
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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