In the next couple of weeks we’ll release our beta version of Learning Locker. With this product we’re going to give people an opportunity to take ownership of the data that is created by them when they interact with systems and people. Previously this data has always been locked away in an organisation’s Learning Management System, or is just lost to the ether. That perhaps wasn’t such a big deal when SCORM was the only standard in town; tracking completions and quiz scores wasn’t invading your privacy in a big way.
But two big changes have collided to change all that; xAPI (Tin Can) and the recognition of less formal learning. The amount of data we create about ourselves and our activities is shooting through the roof. Viewed an article? We’ll track that. Made a comment? We’ve got a record. Liked a post? We like that too!
In the age of Snowden and PRISM, this starts to become somewhat alarming. Not having anything to hide is a naïve argument. Taken out of context, data can be used to construe all sorts of arguments and relationships. What’s more, personal data is a very tradable commodity. When Facebook’s value is tied to its marketing revenues, and its marketing revenues are tied to the quality of the data it holds on users, then it’s not really much of a leap to realise that your data is directly equitable to a dollar value. By giving away your personal data you are literally giving away money to other people. If you value the service you get in return then there is no problem. But we shouldn’t kid ourselves into thinking that Facebook and Twitter are free.
Whilst it is important that people start to realise the value of the data they create, it is even more important that people start to take control of their digital footprint. We all need to take steps towards owning our own data instead of entrusting it to other people and for-profit organisations. I’m very far from being the first person to suggest this and various movements exist in propagate this message. But very few of these movements recognise a simple fact; owning your own data is boring. It is dull as ditchwater. Like watching paint dry.
Dave Tosh and I started thinking about the Learning Locker as a way for learners to take ownership of their learning data. This wasn’t so much powered by a fear of big brother, more from the notion that your data is valuable. Sure, you should be able to trust your data to your organization whilst you work for them but they are going to get careless when you leave. Best case scenario it gets deleted. But then, what was all that effort about? As we make increasing amounts of learning data (be it formal or informal in nature), then you should get to own it. This is your permanent record of working life and it is valuable. What’s more, the holy grail of truly personalised work and learning experiences depends on this record being accessible. Systems that you trust should be able to personalise your interactions based on your previous experiences. That’s not possible if the data isn’t yours.
So data ownership isn’t just desirable, it’s a necessary step for the personalisation of learning. That’s why we built Learning Locker. It didn’t take Dave long, a couple of weeks, to pull together a working prototype. And that’s when we realised. Owning your own data is dull. A never-ending stream of mildly interesting anecdotes and out-of-context strings. Sure you can extrapolate some nice stats and quantified-self type info (turns out I read mostly on a Tuesday, who knew?) but even this stuff isn’t interesting beyond the first few minutes. And that’s a real problem, because if owning your data isn’t a compelling and rewarding experience, it’s going to be very hard to persuade people of its necessity.
We’ve spent the last month thinking and iterating on this idea. I’m a big fan of Self-Determination Theory, so I’ve been thinking in terms of Competence, Autonomy and Relatedness. How can we let you use your data to show your improving skill? How can we do this in a framework that is open enough to provide free-choice, but scaffold so that you actually know how to begin. And how can we let you share your data, on your terms, with other people and systems?
This is what Learning Locker has evolved to become. It will be a long journey to make it a part of people’s everyday lives. But we’re really hoping we can take a small step towards making data ownership an intrinsically valuable experience.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 16th, 2013 and is filed under eLearning. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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