Mobilizing learning: mobile Web 2.0 scenarios in tertiary education

Based upon three years of mobile learning (mlearning) projects, a major implementation project has been developed for integrating the use of mobile web 2.0 tools across a variety of departments and courses in a tertiary education environment. A participatory action research methodology guides and informs the project. The project is based upon an explicit social constuctivist pedagogy, focusing on student collaboration, and the sharing and critique of student-generated content using freely available web 2.0 services. These include blogs, social networks, location aware (geotagged) image and video sharing, instant messaging, microblogging etc… Students and lecturers are provided with either an appropriate smartphone and/or a 3G capable netbook to use as their own for the duration of the project. Keys to the projects success are the level of pedagogical and technical support, and the level of integration of the tools into the courses – including assessment and lecturer modelling of the use of the tools. The projects are supported by an intentional community of practice model, with the researcher taking on the role of the “technology steward”. The paper outlines three different scenarios illustrating how this course integration is being achieved, establishing a transferable model of mobile web 2.0 integration and implementation. The goal is to facilitate a student-centred, collaborative, flexible, context-bridging learning environment that empowers students as content producers and learning context generators, guided by lecturers who effectively model th

Community tracking in a cMOOC and nomadic learner behavior identification on a connectivist rhizomatic learning network

This article contributes to the literature on connectivism, connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and rhizomatic learning by examining participant interactions, community formation and nomadic learner behavior in a particular cMOOC, #rhizo15, facilitated for 6 weeks by Dave Cormier. It further focuses on what we can learn by observing Twitter interactions particularly. As an explanatory mixed research design, Social Network Analysis and content analysis were employed for the purposes of the research. SNA is used at the macro, meso and micro levels, and content analysis of one week of the MOOC was conducted using the Community of Inquiry framework. The macro level analysis demonstrates that communities in a rhizomatic connectivist networks have chaotic relationships with other communities in different dimensions (clarified by use of hashtags of concurrent, past and future events). A key finding at the meso level was that as #rhizo15 progressed and number of active participants decreased, interaction increased in overall network. The micro level analysis further reveals that, though completely online, the nature of open online ecosystems are very convenient to facilitate the formation of community. The content analysis of week 3 tweets demonstrated that cognitive presence was the most frequently observed, while teaching presence (teaching behaviors of both facilitator and participants) was the lowest. This research recognizes the limitations of looking only at Twitter when #rhizo15 conversations occurred over multiple platforms frequented by overlapping but not identical groups of people. However, it provides a valuable partial perspective at the macro meso and micro levels that contribute to our understanding of community-building in cMOOCs

A Review of the "Digital Turn" in the New Literacy Studies

Digital communication has transformed literacy practices and assumed great importance in the functioning of workplace, recreational, and community contexts. This article reviews a decade of empirical work of the New Literacy Studies, identifying the shift toward research of digital literacy applications. The article engages with the central theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic challenges in the tradition of New Literacy Studies, while highlighting the distinctive trends in the digital strand. It identifies common patterns across new literacy practices through cross-comparisons of ethnographic research in digital media environments. It examines ways in which this research is taking into account power and pedagogy in normative contexts of literacy learning using the new media. Recommendations are given to strengthen the links between New Literacy Studies research and literacy curriculum, assessment, and accountability in the 21st century

To what extent do university students in Saudi Arabia find a social media tool (Twitter) useful in their respective learning environments?

This research examines and evaluates students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of social media (Twitter) in their learning environment. The investigation was conducted in a university located in Saudi Arabia. Twitter was integrated into the learning environment to precisely examine the potential of social media in education. The study attempts to address the research topic from several aspects: examining the challenges that students face during the integration, evaluating and discovering possible pitfalls associated with social media and education, evaluating the positive capacity of Twitter in learning and as a pedagogical tool, and investigating students’ educational engagement through the social media platform. A mixed-methods approach was conducted for data collection, including quantitative (online questionnaires) and qualitative (face-to-face interviews) methods. The obtained data were analysed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics analysis, including exploratory factor analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and qualitatively through thematic analysis. The analysis of students’ perspectives revealed that they had positive Twitter experiences, and they expressed that utilising Twitter can facilitate and improve their educational activities, including knowledge sharing, communication, interaction and collaboration, questioning, and finding answers. The analysis also revealed that they believed that Twitter is a supportive tool that ‘often’ increases students’ engagement in educational activities, such as being involved in discussions and asking questions. In relation to some of the students’ preferences, it was revealed that there were few concerns related to privacy. In addition, interviews revealed there was a small amount of non-academic interaction via Twitter as well as difficulties in accessing the platform, including the internet services. The study highlights the process of integrating Twitter in learning, as this could increase its positive impact; the process includes the provision of a general induction, an explanation of the purpose, and how students might achieve their goal. The study is important as it provides an overall picture of the use of social media in higher education. It also assists in the development of integrating social media, particularly Twitter, in general academic practice or in the learning environment

Twittermania: Understanding How Social Media Technologies Impact Engagement and Academic Performance of a New Generation of Learners

Twitter, a popular micro-blogging service, is increasingly evolving from being a mere chatting platform to a tool that is instrumental in affecting a desired learning and social change among individuals and organizations. Although using Twitter for learning while socializing represents a significant departure from its intended initial function, information systems (IS) researchers should further explore the impact and implications of social media technologies such as Twitter in the educational context. We draws on engagement theory and social impact theory to assess how social media technologies tools can support learning and improve students’ academic outcomes. We present an experiment in which we compared Twitter and a traditional discussion board to academically engage students over a 14-week period. The results show that actively using both Twitter and traditional discussion boards for engagement is related to student performance in the course. Social network analysis suggests that, by using Twitter, the students possibly created shared mental models that led them to engage with the class more, and therefore, better their performance

Worker Use Of Social Media For Informal Learning In A Corporate Environment

In the global workplace, workers must quickly adapt to changing information and productivity demands. Workers must filter information, avoid overload and find out what they need to know. How can use of social media technologies benefit the knowledge worker and the corporate workplace? This study presents a closer look at the use, perceptions, and reflections of active social media users within the corporate environment. The purpose of this study was to examine, through worker voice, factors in worker use of social media that lead to successful informal learning outcomes in the corporate environment. This qualitative research used a phenomenological methodology. The criterion-based sample consisted of 13 knowledge workers within a Fortune 500 global manufacturing company. Data collection methods included a survey, two interviews and logging of social media use. Social media studied included applications available to workers within the company and included Yammer; SharePoint blogs, MySites, forums, wikis, and team sites; and Microsoft OneNote when used collaboratively. Findings were based on a synthesis of the textures (verbatim statements) and structures (contextual descriptions) of participant experiences that led to the emergence of themes. Data analysis indicated that characteristics, roles, and the workplace environment are factors that mediate use of social media for informal learning in the corporate workplace. Worker characteristics such as strong technology skills, self-direction, leadership, and caring about learning effectively contributed to successful social media use. Job roles and social media roles also mediated use, providing differing incentives for participation. Job roles that included social media use and approved digital coaching tended to enable participation. Among participants with job roles that did not require social media use, there were other incentives (e.g., socializing, recognition, building influence). However, lack of time to participate was more often a limiting factor in these cases. Environmental factors such as colleague and management attitudes of non value, lack of leadership participation and guidance, lack of tool awareness and effectiveness, lack of time, company use policies, online noise and other factors were perceived as constraints to social media use (particularly Yammer use) for informal learning within the company. Data analysis also indicated that the main theme or essence of participants\u27 lived experiences concerned connection with others and what those connections provided, whether it was interactions, effective learning support, better teamwork, or searchable knowledge. Additional findings indicated these participants perceived value and meaning in communicating with others globally, learning efficiently and effectively on the job, and collaborating with others through the social media tools which then provided resources for others. Participants expressed both disappointment at the current state and hope for a larger, growing learning community as workers with more technological skills joined the company over time. Opportunities to log and reflect on their social media use led to more awareness about effectively using social media. Theories on self-directed learning (Knowles, 1975), social constructivism (Richey, Klein, & Tracey, 2011), the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978), and the Ecology of Meanings communication model (Campos, 2007) provided a framework that supported these findings. Most workplace social media studies have not focused on learning, but rather on motivation and communications using different methodologies and sample selection criteria. This study confirms much of the current research on social technology use within the corporate environment and extends findings to provide a more focused study about informal learning based on worker voice. This research is intended to inform instructional designers, learning professionals, learning leaders, corporate learning and technology decision makers, and those with interests in enhancing learning within corporate environments. Additional research is needed to further guide strategies and creation of learning environments that contribute to informal learning

A RESEARCH IN INNOVATION IN THE SECONDARY EDUCATION: MAKING USE OF VIRTUAL RESOURCES TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

The present paper describes the research carried out in the subject of the The University Master's Degree for Secondary Education, Vocational Training and Language Teaching at the University Jaume I (Castellón, Spain): Teaching Innovation and Introduction to Educational Research’ in the specialty of Language and Literature and Language Teaching. 125 students were involved in this subject. As part of the subject´s assessment, our students were asked to work in groups in order to write a research proposal divided into two main parts: (i) theoretical background (definition of innovative teaching, main trends and authors and some examples of innovative projects), (ii) students define the innovative tool/resource they have chosen (e.g. blog, Kahoot, podcasts, digital books, Mahara, Fakebook, etc.) and design a didactic unit using this virtual tool. In this paper, we analyse the virtual resources chosen by our students and reflect their feelings and opinions about the implementation of these new innovative materials in a real secondary school classroom. Result show that these innovative tools can help secondary school teachers to enrich and improve the teaching/learning method by supporting the traditional method but, by no means, substituting it; however not all our students think about the possibility of implementing them.  Article visualizations