Kai Pata homepage

I am an Estonian researcher in educational technology, adult education and informal education. I have science education and teaching background in secondary education and higher education. Contact me kpata@tlu.ee.

My experience in the field started at 1994 as a virtual teacher in learning environment Miksike what we developed with collegues. The best part was winning the Stockholm Challenge award in 2000 in the field of Education. The environment is still one of the most actively used learning environments in Estonia. From 2000-2007 I worked at research positions at the University of Tartu, Science Didactics Department doing various science-related studies. During Tartu times I did my MSc study about decision-making role-play in chatroom and PhD study about scaffolding patterns in chat systems at the University of Turku. From 2006-2021 my job was a senior researcher /associated professor of educational technology in Tallinn University, Center for Educational Technology. From 2006-2008 I was actively involved in iCamp project of IST 6th framework. We developed and tested empirically a framework of teaching self-directing, collaborating and networking competences in cross-institutional social software settings. The final deliverable provides the teaching model. From 2009-2012 I lead the pedagogical ideas of IST project IntelLEO – Intelligent Learning Organization. We tested collaboration and objectives’ harmonization in the a hybrid organization model consisting of universities an enterprises such as Volkswagen. Next I was involved in the IST 7th Framework Learning Layers project, with the networked scaffolding topic in informal workplace learning in SMEs and networks. Our partners were German building industry BAU ABC and British nurses network. The interesting final results are practices with technologies that suit for informal workplace learning. My experiences in adult education were deepened in Horizons 2020 EduMap project where we explored in many European countries how to bring undermined young people back to adult education. I designed approaches how to improve access to adult education using social media approaches that work. We also explored how AI could be used for predicting good learning paths for learners who have fallen out of education. I have led several Erasmus+ projects for Higher education teaching and innovation DesignIT, Winnovators and participated in many such as INOS about open science.

Currently I am employed as an associated professor of adult and informal learning in Tallinn University, School of Education.

I teach research methodology, learning sciences, value-based dresign, educational technology, adult education theory and policies. I have been the curtaor of the Educational Technology master curriculum and new Open Soceity Technologies master curriculum in Tallinn University, School of Digital Technologies. Formerly I was a head of Digital learning ecosystems research group. Currently I am the head of Lifelong learning and informal learning research group in the School of Education, tallinn University.

I am working with smart and sustainable learning ecosystems that incorporate socio-technical systems. My interests are related with educational usage of new spaces in the web, and in the world enriched with virtual dimensions. I am passionate about the sustainable life in the communities. I think about achieving capacity building and sustainability in communities as hybrid ecosystems that bind formal and informal education opportunities. I am designing and exploring organizational learning in transformations as a systemic approach . My thinking is driven by capacity building, distributed cognition, values in design, semiotic aspects , affordances and activity theory, hybrid ecology, intersubjectivity formation.

Some of my publications are here.

In my personal life, I am a single mother of three great sons and a little girl. Some of my poems. I love to be in the nature and work in my garden.