 Editorial
| | | PALETTE First ReviewReviews are organised each year by European Commission to assess, regulate and valorise projects such as PALETTE. This evaluation activity is very important to enable the European Commission to measure the quality of the project and the level of achievement of its objectives in relation with the work plan. A review is also useful for European Commission and projects partners to revise this work plan taking into account the experiences and results. These are the most visible added value of such stressful activities!
But they are perhaps more interesting effects of such review ...
Assuming that they are added values for all the participants – project officer, reviewers and projects partners- , let us develop our own viewpoint as project partners and coordinator.
The preparation of the review has been the opportunity to use the formative feedback of the project provided by our internal evaluator work team: i.e. adapt the work package structure to better represent the place and roles of the teams in which PALETTE partners collaborate with CoPs to develop the PALETTE services and scenarios. It has also been the occasion for all the Workpackage Leaders (Steering Committee) to exchange and elaborate together the presentation of the results and experiences of the first year as well as to precise the next work plan.
The review itself has been useful to explicit clearly the main actual focus of the project: the PALETTE vision of CoPs, our participatory design methodology, our approach of interoperability, the main refinement of the information, knowledge management and collaboration PALETTE services through a better understanding of the CoPs’ needs and their collaboration. The opportunity has also been given to reflect on our dissemination, training and management activities and strategies.
Furthermore, the discussions with the reviewers and project officer led us to find paths to address better main concerns such as: the integration between the different services offered and the dissemination plan including an open source strategy.
Eventually, our enthusiasm for the project has also been shared by the reviewers! The value of participatory design has been particularly underlined. The project will continue with high level expectations. A hard work will continue with more enthusiasm and trust.
Bernadette Charlier, Deputy Coordinator |
News | | | Palette 2nd Plenary MeetingThe second Palette Plenary Meeting has been held on June 25 in Lausanne.
This meeting aimed to define a concrete roadmap on the development of the PALETTE services dedicated to CoPs: wich services are/will be available and when, how will they interoperate to support scenarios of use, how will they be evaluated, what are the requested associated training and dissemination activities, etc. Many return of experience were shared among the partners, especially about the services and tools for the CoPs. 
The Plenary Meeting was followed by a workshops session:
Considering theconcept of practice in learning through CoPs
The keynote talk of the workshops focused on the concept of practice within the PALETTE project. It argued that the ideas we have about learning through practice in CoPs can be understood as a type of informal learning. A learning group can be understood as an activity system or a community of practice. It could be in a working environment, a family, a student group, a club, political association or even an informal 'gang'. What is important is that much of the learning at work is done through practice. Practice produces, accesses and uses different types of knowledge resources which may be scientific or propositional, knowledge about habits and routines (often informal), knowledge of particular discourses, knowledge about protocols, systems and procedures (often reified knowledge), knowledge about how information circulates through an organisation or workplace (face to face, email, memos etc). Although learning is often informal, it is not always, and not only. Finally there are different contexts for learning: sometimes immediate, but could be validated (a course), sometimes project but often organic. The talk ended by asking the following questions:
* Can practice be a basis for developing learning and knowledge resources for a CoP?
* What types of theory do we need to understand learning in a CoP?
* Does Palette assume that not all knowledge resources can be produced by a CoP?
* Do we need to understand ‘practice clusters’ before we can design resources for learning?
* Is there a paradox between the situated nature of learning (according to Wenger) and externally derived resources for learning?
* Is this where participatory design comes in? (data from the palette formative evaluation raises interesting distinctions between participation, consultation, collaboration and ‘taking into account).
Presentation to CoP members of the first version of the PALETTE scenario for their CoP, Paris, March 29, 2007On the occasion of the ePrep Development Committee Meeting which was held in Paris on March 29, 2007, two PALETTE researchers have presented to twelve ePrep CoP members the first version of the PALETTE scenario for their CoP. Four PALETTE tools are invoked in the scenario (e-Logbook, SweetWiki, Amaya and LimSee3), in response to the identified needs of the CoP. Two tools are already used by some CoP members in their specific activities: SweetWiki for the "Wikiprepas" project and Amaya for the "ePrep francophone platform" project. The discussions, on the PALETTE forum, dedicated to the ePrep CoP about the tools and the scenarios of use, involving the CoP members and the PALETTE researchers, help CoP members in their use of the PALETTE tools and help PALETTE researchers as well to develop even more suited tools and scenarios. |
Training | | |
Several internal trainings occurred during the previous months - The first one, in March 2007 in Liège, was dedicated to the “CoPs mediators” and aimed at making them participate in the development and assessment of scenarios presenting situations and uses of PALETTE services.
- A training for CoP members on June 2, 2007, in Paris, to “play” a scenario of use with PALETTE tools (e-Logbook, SweetWiki, Amaya and LimSee3). Detailed information available online (in French).
An internal training session for CoPs' mediators and validators will be organised in Liège in beginning of October. This seminar is related to a users centered approach of the following PALETTE services/tools: Sweetwiki, Amaya and Limsee3. It will not only deal with functionalities but mainly users' testimonies about these products. All the training resources produced within PALETTE will be available online through a dedicated learning management system. A direct access to this platform will be provided by the end of the summer. |
CoPs | | | ePrepePrep is a non-profit French association founded in 2001. Its mission is to promote and coordinate actions, in France and abroad, for the development of " Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles " (CPGE - a first higher education cycle preparing students for the competitive entrance exams to the French " Grandes Ecoles ") through the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Read more... Did@cTICThe community of practice Did@cTIC has developed within the diploma did@cTIC, a diploma of continuous training in Higher Education and Educational Technology, offered by the "Centre de Didactique Universitaire" of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. The training is based on an analysis of needs and is attended by Faculty members. Read more... Launch of the Community of Practice of entrepreneurs coaches in EM LYON (from Liliane Esnault - EM LYON)The first meeting of the workgroup gathering several people involved in the accompaniment of projects in entrepreneurship within the Centre for Entrepreneurship of EM LYON was held in May 9th in Lyon.
The objective of this workgroup is to launch a Community of Practice, with the idea of first reifying the practice of accompaniment of projects in entrepreneurship in the framework of different training programs delivered to entrepreneurs in EM LYON. The process of accompaniment seems to be a key success factor for the projects of creation of a company for the participants to the training programs. The workgroup and the subsequent CoP will try to understand why and how it could be still improved. A "side" objective is also to give to the participants-entrepreneurs a flavour or what Communities of Practice are worthy of, and possibly foster the development of CoPs in the domain of entrepreneurship.
Naima Cherchem, a young researcher belonging to the Research Centre in Entrepreneurship of EM LYON and a new member of PALETTE will be the mediator of this CoP. |
Events | | |
EC-TEL'07, Greece, 17-20 September 2007 The second European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning Creating new learning experiences on a global scale - http://www.ectel07.org Second ePrep thematic Workshop, Lyon, November 6 &7, 2007 On the theme "The ePrep CoP: which tools for which needs?", the second ePrep thematic Workshop will be held at INSA Lyon, on November 6 & 7, 2007. The ePrep CoP members and the PALETTE researchers are invited to attend this workshop: the first ones to present the results of their projects (The development of the ePrep CoP, Wikiprepas, The ePrep francophone platform, International cooperation between establishments), the second ones to moderate interactive parallel sessions involving the PALETTE tools invoked in the PALETTE scenario for the ePrep CoP (e-Logbook, SweetWiki, Amaya, LimSee3). The ePrep website will be regularly updated to provide detailed information on the event (programme, registration form, venue, accommodation...) - http://www.eprep.org/thematic_workshops.htm ABCDay 4, Belgium, 25 May 2007Le projet PALETTE et le design participatif . Communication in ABCDay 4, Journée des Chercheurs belges en Education, Gembloux, 25 May 2007. Denis, B. & Vandeput, E. (2007). |
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