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This thesis offers dialogue about the relations between learning and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The dialogue is guided by the question of how to design education to increase perceived values of learning. It pays attention to how learners approach learning availabilities in various learning settings based on learners’ perceived values of learning. The aim is to understand the perceived values of learning in order to reflect its relation to ICTs. The field of learning is understood from the perspectives of formal, non-formal and informal learning. The field of ICTs is understood from the perspectives of information, communication and technology. The perspectives of learning and ICTs are chosen as a way to understand them by ‘going back to basics’ to find an origin or a point of departure for reinterpreting and understanding them. This approach has influenced the presentation of the thesis and how it is structured so that dialogic and interpretive research opens up dialogic spaces for reflections regarding the relations between learning and ICTs. Two studies in two different education systems, formal and non-formal, are included in the thesis work. The data are collected via qualitative methods such as photo interviews and individual and group interviews in which learners’ expressions of learning are in focus. The approach of the included articles that present the two studies was to first understand learning and then relate it to the understanding, potential and use of ICTs. The results and contributions from the articles are summarised via the three perspectives of the perceived values of learning, the relations between learning and ICTs and the influences of perceived values of learning. The theoretical tools, pedagogical attitude and positioning of ICTs guide the discussions and analysis of these perspectives towards the conclusions of the thesis work. The reader of the thesis can expect a journey along a winding road, which both addresses and involves policies’ and researchers’ implications and conceptions of learning and education. A framework for the perceived values of education when perspectives of learning and ICTs are related is considered to represent the understanding of the coherent whole of the thesis work. Three main contributions of the thesis work are put forth. The first contribution is the framework for perceived values of education, or the perceived value framework (PVF). The second contribution is the understanding of perceived values of learning. The third contribution is the specific photo interviews about learning situations that is considered to be a contribution to already existing methods such as photo-eliciting (Cappello, 2005) and stimulated recall (Haglund, 2003).

Syftet med studien är att öka förståelse kring studenters uppfattningar om vad de utvecklat och lärt sig under deras utbytestermin på universitetet, för att sedan skapa kunskap och förståelse för hur användbart det de lärt sig varit ute i arbetslivet, samt att analysera vilken sorts lärande som är relevant i relation till utbytesstudier och arbetslivet. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten var livslångt och livsvitt lärande (Jackson, 2011; Jarvis, 2007) där fokus ligger på att lärande kan ske i olika miljöer och olika åldrar. Kopplat till det tas Jarvis (2004; 2007) syn på formellt, icke-formellt och informellt lärande upp. Även Säljös (2000) syn på sociokulturellt lärande nämns där fokus ligger på lärande i sociala samspel. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts som bestod av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med tidigare svenska utbytes-studenter som nu befinner sig i arbetslivet. Studien har använt sig av Braun och Clarkes (2006) tematiska analys för att presentera ett resultat på de två första frågeställningarna och för att besvara sista frågeställningen om vilken sorts lärande, används den ovannämnda teorin. Studiens resultat visar att de tidigare utbytesstudenterna upplever att de lär sig mycket under en termin utomlands i form av personlig utveckling. Utvecklingen av språk och akademiska kunskaper har varierat i omfattning vilket delvis skiljer sig från tidigare forskning. I arbetslivet upplever deltagarna att de främst haft användning av sitt ökade självförtroende i form av att anta nya utmaningar på jobbet och inte ta någon skit. De upplever även att de haft nytta av lärdomen i att acceptera alla i form av att vara bra i bemötandet och kommunikationen med människor i arbetet. Användningen av språk och akademiska kunskaper i arbetslivet har varierat. Slutligen visar studien att det informella lärandet varit mer relevant än det formella lärandet i relation till det som deltagarna upplever att det lärt sig på utbytesterminen och sedan kunnat nyttja i arbetslivet. / The purpose of this master thesis is to gain knowledge and understanding concerning what exchange students learn during their exchange studies, in which way it has been useful in their work afterwards, and to analyze which kind of learning that has been most relevant in relation to exchange studies and working life. The theoretical framework included theories of lifelong and life wide learning (Jackson, 2011; Jarvis, 2007) which focuses on learning in different environments and ages and Jarvis (2004, 2007) view on formal, non-formal and informal learning. Sociocultural learning according to Säljö (2000) is also presented with focus on social and cultural interaction. The design of the study was qualitative and consisted of ten semi-structed interviews with former exchange students that are now working. Thematic analyze was used to present results for the two first questions and the theory mentioned above was used to analyze the last question regarding which sort of learning. The findings showed that students learn a lot by going abroad in terms of personal development. Related to language and academic learning outcome results variated between the participants. The former exchange students described confidence, meeting and communicating with colleagues as useful learning outcomes from studying abroad that they can now use in working life. The usage of language and academic knowledge in work were mixed. The results also showed that informal learning has been more relevant than formal learning in relation to what exchange students have learnt and found useful in their working life.

Currently, some changes at the school environment have been caused by technological progress and among these changes, it has been highlighted the relationship between schools and the new generation of students, which generally grow surrounded by digital technologies since their birth, the so-called Digital Natives. Virtual information, available on the internet through digital devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, contributes to a way of learning beyond school, at any time and place. Therefore, it becomes relevant to grasp through students realization the technological influence on their daily lives and how technology contributes to the different ways of learning. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between virtual informal learning and formal school learning through the perception of students about the influence of digital technologies on their knowledge acquisition processes. Empirical research was carried out from the administration of a semi-structured interview to students between 14 and 18 years old from high school of four different schools of Rio de Janeiro, two of them belonged to the private school system whereas the others belonged to the public one. The data show that young people are hyper-connected to digital information and communication technologies, they are digital natives and although their daily routine is filled with virtual networks experience, they do not disqualify the school experience. Despite addressing some critical view about traditional learning methodology, school is still described by students as a scenario that brings advantages as it is able to provide direction for learning, through teacher-student relationship as support, besides its ability to set up social networks. Eventually, digital devices are used by young people not only for leisure, but also for educational purposes and that can become an enabler tool for teachers on their teaching process. / Atualmente, algumas transforma??es no cen?rio escolar v?m sendo proporcionadas pelo avan?o tecnol?gico e uma delas ? a rela??o que a escola estabelece com a nova gera??o de alunos, os quais, em geral, crescem cercados por tecnologias digitais desde o seu nascimento, os chamados Nativos Digitais. A virtualidade das informa??es acess?veis atrav?s da internet por dispositivos digitais como notebooks, tablets e smartphones concorre para uma forma de aprendizagem para al?m dos muros da escola, a qualquer momento e local. Assim, torna-se importante compreender atrav?s dos pr?prios alunos a influ?ncia que exerce a tecnologia no seu cotidiano e de que modo a tecnologia contribui para as diferentes formas de aprender. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a rela??o entre a aprendizagem informal digital e a aprendizagem formal escolar atrav?s da percep??o de alunos sobre a influ?ncia das tecnologias digitais nos seus processos de aquisi??o de conhecimento. A pesquisa emp?rica foi realizada a partir da aplica??o de um roteiro de entrevista semi-estruturado a alunos entre 14 e 18 anos do ensino m?dio de quatro escolas do Rio de Janeiro, duas da rede de ensino privada e duas da rede p?blica. Os dados obtidos revelam que os jovens est?o hiperconectados ?s tecnologias digitais de informa??o e comunica??o, s?o nativos digitais e, embora o cotidiano desses jovens seja marcado pelas experi?ncias nas redes virtuais, eles n?o desqualificam a experi?ncia escolar. Apesar de apresentarem cr?ticas ao modelo tradicional de ensino, a escola ? descrita pelos jovens como um cen?rio que traz vantagens por ser capaz de oferecer um direcionamento para aprendizagem, por apresentar na rela??o professor-aluno um suporte, al?m de se configurar como um ambiente de forma??o de la?os sociais. Por fim, os dispositivos digitais s?o utilizados pelos jovens n?o s? para o lazer, mas para fins educacionais e se apresentam como recursos de estudos individuais e coletivos, o que indica que podem se tornar potenciais ferramentas facilitadoras para o professor no processo de ensino.

Uppsatsens syfte är att belysa hur kompetensutveckling som begrepp framträder i ett företags texter och dokument. Vi avser att belysa språkets och textens makt i de sociala relationerna i en verksamhet med hjälp av en diskursanalys. Företag idag lägger stor vikt på att utforma dokument som på olika sätt ska säkerställa kvalitén på det dagliga arbetet genom att tydliggöra vad som skall göras och av vem. Dessa texter är riskabla att luta sig allt för mycket på då dessa kan vara en idealiserad verklighet av det arbete som utförs.   Vår utgångspunkt är en kvalitativ ansats med diskursanalys som metod. Denna metod utgår ifrån texter i analysarbetet och dessa behandlar alla i någon form begreppet kompetens-utveckling. Då kompetensutveckling är ett brett och komplicerat begrepp stödjer vi oss på Ellströms definition. Vi utgår från en bred bas av tidigare studier och litteratur kring ämnet för att ge bärighet till denna uppsats och det är denna bakgrund vi stödjer oss på i våra slutsatser i diskussionen.   Det vi har funnit är att i den studerade diskursen är det tre punkter av Ellströms definition som framträder och två som inte gör det. Dessa punkter som synliggörs samt som inte gör det kan vi se är uppdelade i hur lärandet sker i dessa, formellt respektive informellt. Vi har också funnit maktstrukturer i diskursen kopplat till kompetensutveckling, både riktat till deltagarna men också riktat till lärandet.   Vi strävar efter att tydliggöra kompetensutveckling som begrepp genom att koppla det till diskurs som teori i denna uppsats. / The purpose of this report is to illustrate how competence development as a term appears in a firms documents and texts. We intend to illustrate that the impact of language and written words can factor in the social relations of an activity. Firms of today put a great deal of reliance on explicit documentation to ensure the quality of daily work, as well as clarifying what should be done and by whom. Sometimes too much dependability is placed on the usage of these documents, as they could be only an idealized reality of the daily work.   Our start is a qualitative approach and as a method we use discourse analysis. This method proceeds from texts in the analysis and all of these discuss competence development as a term. When the term competence development is widely and complicated we support us upon Ellstrom´s definition. We proceed from a widely ground of former studies and literature to give trustworthiness to this report and it is this background we support us upon in our conclusions in the discussion.   What we have found is that in the studied discourse there are three sections of Ellstrom´s definition that are visible and two that are not. These sections who are visible and those who are not we can see that they are divided by in what way learning take place in them, formal respective informal. We have also found power structures in the discourse relating to competence development; both directed to the participants but also pointed to the learning.   We intend to clarify the term competence development as well as connect the discourse to the theory in this report.

This essay presents a literary study for adult students of English at English A level at Komvux (municipal adult education) and Vuxenskola (a study association for adult non-formal learning). It has its basis in the question whether reading Shakespeare in the original version is suitable for language learners as form, and is beneficial as content. The classic play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare features in the course book Read and Log on used by the English A group at Komvux in my chosen municipality. The primary aims of the study were to explore teachers’ attitude and views on teaching literature – the classics in general, and Shakespeare in particular – to adult language learners, and students’ reactions and opinions about a lesson on Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet in the original language with regards to content and usefulness.

Syftet med denna studie är att karaktärisera det arbetsorganisatoriska lärandet på företag inom tjänstesektorn ur ett genusperspektiv. Den yrkesklass som fokuseras är tjänstemän. För att besvara denna övergripande problematik studeras män och kvinnor och deras tillgång till och upplevelse av lärandet i både formella och informella former. Frågeställningarna handlar om huruvida männen och kvinnornas tillgång till lärande skiljer sig, både vad gäller utbud av formella läraktiviteter som förutsättningar för informellt lärande, samt vilka skillnader det finns mellan könen vad gäller karaktären på det arbetsorganisatoriska lärandet, huruvida det verkar vara tal om ett reproduktivt eller utvecklingsinriktat lärande. Studien bygger på en kvantitativ statistisk enkätstudie om 53 frågor som har besvarats av 73 personer från fem olika företag. Resultaten visar att männen och kvinnornas tillgång till lärande ser olika ut, både vad gäller utbud av formella läraktiviteter som förutsättningar för informellt lärande, på så sätt att männens tillgång till lärande är större; de deltar i större utsträckning i formella läraktiviteter och har bättre förutsättningar för informellt lärande. Det finns även tendenser om skillnader mellan könen vad gäller karaktären på det arbetsorganisatoriska lärandet, på så sätt att det bland kvinnorna i högre grad indikeras ett reproduktivt lärande medan det bland männen i högre grad indikeras ett utvecklingsinriktat lärande. Slutsatsen är att det finns anledning att misstänka att vårt ojämställda arbetsliv återspeglas även på det arbetsorganisatoriska lärandet.

Although there has been a substantial amount of research on the topic of teacher professional development, few studies adequately captured the types and frequency of formal and informal professional learning teachers undertake to improve as educators. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of activities middle and high school mathematics teachers engaged in to improve their abilities as educators, analyzed by the participants’ school setting, years of teaching experience, level of education, degree major, certificate type, and their school’s Title I status. Teachers from two large school districts in Florida participated. The Teachers’ Opportunity to Learn (TOTL) survey was used to collect the data. The TOTL measured the professional learning activities of teachers based on seven learning categories: (a) workshops, (b) teacher collaboration, (c) university courses, (d) conferences, (e) mentoring/coaching, (f) informal communication, and (g) individual learning activities. Teachers were solicited to participate two times; which generated 245 responses for analysis. The results of this study indicated that teachers devoted an extensive amount of time on professional development, with the majority of time spent on informal learning activities. Every participant in the study engaged in at least one professional development activity; most engaged in four or more activities. The activity with the highest amount of participation (99.2%) and greatest amount of time spent (36.62 hours per month) was individual learning activities. Other notable areas of participation were professional development programming, teacher collaboration, and informal communication. When the activities were analyzed by demographic variable, 16 comparisons were found to be statistically significant. Mentoring/coaching activities produced more significant results than any other activity in the study. Analyses also confirmed that the professional learning practices of new teachers were significantly different from their more experienced peers. The findings from this study could serve as the impetus for programmatic changes and policy reform within the education community. School districts could benefit by creating professional development programs that support teacher collaboration, informal communication, and self-directed learning. State education departments could encourage these endeavors by redirecting funding and redesigning certification systems to recognize these non-traditional individualized activities.

Cette recherche porte sur les activités autodidaxiques soutenue par les TNIC. En s’inscrivantdans le domaine du sociocognitivisme, nous nous intéressons en particulier au cas des Assistants Boursier Syriens (ABS) souhaitant apprendre le français pour faire leurs études supérieures en France. En cernant les activités et les usages des artefacts numériques dans le processus d’apprentissage, nous nous appliquerons par une étude des actions, des pratiques et des discours produits par les acteurs impliqués (apprenants et enseignants) mais aussi des interfaces des produits concernés , à comprendre en quoi l’usage d’une telle méthodologie facilite l’autodidaxie des langues étrangères et particulièrement celle du FLE. Cette étude a pour objectifs de voir comment, à travers les interactions Homme-Ordinateur, s’illustrent les usages effectifs des artefacts numériques. Afin de mieux comprendre la façon dont les usagers appréhendent les artefacts consultés, nous décrivons, au recours à la scénarisation, comment ils gèrent leur environnement d’apprentissage et construisent les trajectoires individuelles. Nous nous attachons à observer et à analyser avec les outils de l’ethnographie de la communication (observation et entretiens) les usages effectifs, les pratiques ainsi que les activités produites par les différents acteurs impliqués. Cette démarche nous permet de réaliser un corpus complexe de réponses écrites au questionnaire de pré-enquête, d’enregistrements audiovisuels de situations réelles d’autodidaxie et audio d’entretiens. Ces données nous ont permis de déterminer les conditions de construction de l’environnement de travail ainsi que les facteurs influençant les trajectoires autodidaxiques. En s’inscrivant dans une approche socio -cognitive d’autodidaxie et centrée sur le scénario, nous proposons des solutions pour améliorer la conception et la mise en place d’un environnement numérique favorisant l’autodidaxie en contexte syrien de l’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE. / This research focuses on self-study activities supported by the Digital Information and Communication Technology (DICT). By considering the field of socio-cognitivism, we are interested in the case of Syrian assistant’s fellows wishing to learn French to continue their higher education in France. In order to identify the activities and the uses of the tools of French Foreign Language (FFL) from the Digital Information and Communication Technology (DICT) in the learning process, we will apply, using the study of actions , the practices and the discourses produced by the actors involved (learners and teachers) as well as the interfaces of the products concerned to understand how the use of such methodology facilitates self-learning of foreign languages and in particularly that of the ELF. This study aims to see how, through the human-computer interaction, is show the actual uses of the digital artifacts. To better understand how they apprehend the consulted digital artifacts and construct their individual trajectories, we describe, using the screenwriting, how the involved autodidacts manage their learning environment. We observe and analyze, with the tools of ethnography of communication (observation and interviews), the uses of artifacts available online or not, the practices and activities produced by the different actors involved. This approach allows us to realize a complex corpus including written responses to the pre-survey questionnaire, audio-video records of real situations of self-education and audio interviews. These data allowed us to determine the working environment of construction conditions and the factors which influencing self-study trajectories. By entering into a socio-cognitive approach to self-education and focused on the scenario, we proposesolutions to improve the design and the implementation of a digital environment which promotes selfeducation in the Syrian context of teaching / learning of FFL.

This qualitative research study examines six participant's awareness and understanding of a Treatment Literacy (TL) programme implemented by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in the Western Cape in the period 2001 to 2009. The study investigates what attracted the participants to the TAC; what they learnt and how this was taught; the extent, if any, to which participant's experiences changed their understanding of HIV and AIDS, sexuality, treatment and other health-related practices. To analyse participants' awareness levels, understanding and experiences, I drew on Freire (1970; 1985) and Mezirow (1991; 1994) adult education literature, more specifically literature addressing the social movements and how activists learn and teach in different context (informal and non-formal) such as Newman (1995) and Foley (1999). These perspectives underpin the central argument of the thesis, namely that adult education is contextual and has impact on awareness, understanding and experiences and in this case HIV and AIDS. A primary finding of the study is how the participants in the study perceived the world as central to their learning. Learning is thus a substantially personal experience; however, the development of the individual frequently occurs within a group dynamic. Participants felt that being part of TAC and fighting for access to treatment and helping other people who are either HIV positive or affected by HIV and AIDS, helped them in turn to deal with their own challenges of being HIV positive and affected with HIV and AIDS. Being HIV positive and receiving education from TAC has given participants dignity and the necessary consciousness to obtain control of their life. Participants also reported that the TL programme boosted their confidence and raised their level of awareness and understanding of the topic.