Exploring Motivational Aspects
for Technology-Enhanced
Informal Learning in the
Construction Sector
MATEL Workshop 2013, Paphos, Cyprus
Christine Kunzmann, Patrik Rieker,
Andreas Schmidt

http://spironto.de 2Sep 2013
Starting point
 Learning Layers:
How can we support informal learning in job areas such as the
construction sector where
 Work practice is less computerized
 The physical environment is a dominating factor and major constraint

Study
 Exploratory study with 8 interviews in the construction
sector in the southwest of Germany from various
backgrounds
 Carpenter
 systems mechanic
 electrician (Meister)
 medical technology electrician (Meister)
 kitchen specialist
 self-employed all-rounder specialized on old-houses
refurbishing
 construction engineer
 Semi-structured interviews between 22 and 57 minutes
 Analyzed using qualitative content analysis (Mayring)
http://spironto.de 3Sep 2013

Results: Use of technologies
http://spironto.de 4Sep 2013
 Majority (6 out of 8) regularly use a smartphone
 primarily for taking pictures
 also messaging, emails, calendar (free services)
 Internet search rarely used on site
 Foremen and owners at their desk
 Problems and barriers
 Lack of connectivity
 Features are not fully used (separate voice recorder!)
 Purchasing and training costs
 No sufficient reliability and anticipated dependency

Results: Use of forums
 Forums were not perceived very positive
 Problem: Time
 Search in forums is time consuming
 No guarantee to receive a response within a short time
frame
 Problem: Quality
 How to judge the reliability and quality?
 General mistrust towards the information
http://spironto.de 5Sep 2013

Competition
 Construction sector is characterized by a large number of
small and medium-sized companies
 Cross-company learning is an important perspective
 Importance of competition as a factor has been very
mixed
 From a neglectable aspect (give and take situation)
 To very prominent (particularly among the electricians)
 General
 The closer companies are, the more difficult
 Closeness: same/adjacent trade, geographical focus
http://spironto.de 6Sep 2013

Hierarchies
http://learning-layers.eu 7Sep 2013 Face to face
Face to
face/phone
Mobile phone
Mobile phone/email

Attitudes towards technology
 As expected
 Young generation very inclined to use technology, usually
owns and uses regularly a smartphone
 Older generation less familiar
 But:
 More experienced craftsmen judge the usefulness of
technology by observing the younger generation
Lack of commitment and willingness to take over responsibility
 Ubiquitous and better communication/research possibilities
are outweighed by distractive use of phones
Mobile phones disturbing face-to-face meetings
 The benefits of using the internet are undisputed and
realized
 Privacy concerns: issue that hinders adoption (NSA!)
http://learning-layers.eu 8Sep 2013

Outlook
 Cross-organization co-opetion aspects require deeper
analysis
 Scaffolding of using informal resources to overcome
barriers in larger scale networks
 Knowledge maturing indicators
 Opinion vs. Information
 The focus must be more on scaffolding the appropriation
of technology than on technology features itself
http://spironto.de 9Sep 2013

Team
 Christine Kunzmann
Pontydysgu, UK
kontakt@christine-kunzmann.de
 Patrik Rieker
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany
 Andreas P. Schmidt
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany
andreas_peter.schmidt@hs-karlsruhe.de
http://learning-layers.eu 10Sep 2013