Motivating Learning

Moderator:
Kevin Johnson, Education Sector Manager for Europe, CISCO

Speakers:
Concépcion Laguela, Director of the Recruitment and Training Department of Correos de Espana: "E-learning in Correos of Spain: A consolidated reality"
Karl Steffens, Professor, Education Department, University of Cologne: "Motivating learning: A view from psychology"
Luis Matos, HR Director, Portugal Telecom: "PT is becoming a Learning Organization"

The curriculum or learning contents may be excellent, the teacher or tutor may possess excellent pedagogical skills and the context of the learning process might be particularly captivating but if the motivation is not there learning will not happen. We are all surrounded by a great variety of appeals and each “learner” is unique and raises the issue of how to motivate learning.

In this session the main questions that where addressed were:

1 What are the main motivators and demotivators to learning?

Motivation is whatever drives action, both at individual and organizational level. This includes the recognition of the need to learn in order to succeed more, serious concerns of the consequences of not learning and the perception that one’s own capabilities are enough to deal with the learning challenge.

2. What are the major challenges, opportunities and considerations?

The learning environment, in all its complexity, is key to success. This includes the learners themselves, their teachers or tutors, everyone else around them, the organizational approaches to learning and the technology enablers.

3. How can ICT’s help?

Effective use of user-friendly ICT’s, in a systematic and integrated way, can improve the access to learning, the quality of certain elements of learning, the scale of benefit, as well as reduce the time and cost to achieve that benefit.


Maria de Lurdes Calisto