Networked learning in higher education: Practitioners’ perspectives

There is a growing use of a variety of communications media to provide networked learning in higher education. The practitioners in the field vary from experienced educators who have many years’ experience to early adopters who have begun to use networked technology for teaching and learning recently. Using interviews informed by a phenomenographic approach, this paper investigates the varieties of experience of practitioners of networked learning. It reports initial findings that represent an early stage of analysis. The findings point towards a common philosophy held by current practitioners of networked learning but a lack of ‘rules of thumb’. Practitioners expressed ideas close to a new paradigm in education but were cautious about specific design outcomes meeting expectations. This finding raises questions about design and whether networked learning is yet stable enough a field to provide guidance on best practice. The paper also reflects on criticisms of the phenomenographic method, in particular its reliance on interview data, and offers some possible ways of dealing with the criticisms

Networked learning environments

This chapter introduces the idea of networked learning environments and argues that these environments provide the totality of surrounding conditions for learning in digital networks. It provides illustrative vignettes of the ways that students appropriate networked environments for learning. The chapter then examines the notion of networked learning environments in relation to the idea of infrastructure and infrastructures for learning and sets out some issues arising from this perspective. The chapter suggests that students and teachers selectively constitute their own contexts and that design can only have an indirect effect on learning. The chapter goes on to argue that design needs to be located at the meso level of the institution and that a solution to the problem of indirect design lies in refocusing design at the meso level and on the design of infrastructures for learning

Using pattern languages to mediate theory–praxis conversations in design for networked learning

Educational design for networked learning is becoming more complex but also more inclusive, with teachers and learners playing more active roles in the design of tasks and of the learning environment. This paper connects emerging research on the use of design patterns and pattern languages with a conception of educational design as a conversation between theory and praxis. We illustrate the argument by drawing on recent empirical research and literature reviews from the field of networked learning

The STIN in the Tale: A Socio-technical Interaction Perspective on Networked Learning

In this paper, we go beyond what have been described as 'mechanistic' accounts of e-learning to explore the complexity of relationships between people and technology as encountered in cases of networked learning. We introduce from the social informatics literature the concept of sociotechnical interaction networks which focus on the interplay between participants, technology, learning artefacts and practices. We apply this concept to case material drawn from transnational trade union education to identify and to analyse three aspects of networked learning: the local sociotechnical networks of learners; the construction of an overarching, global sociotechnical network for learning; and the evolution of such networks over time. Finally we identify issues for further research highlighted by these models

Learning from networked examples

Many machine learning algorithms are based on the assumption that training examples are drawn independently. However, this assumption does not hold anymore when learning from a networked sample because two or more training examples may share some common objects, and hence share the features of these shared objects. We show that the classic approach of ignoring this problem potentially can have a harmful effect on the accuracy of statistics, and then consider alternatives. One of these is to only use independent examples, discarding other information. However, this is clearly suboptimal. We analyze sample error bounds in this networked setting, providing significantly improved results. An important component of our approach is formed by efficient sample weighting schemes, which leads to novel concentration inequalities

E-learning for Networked Living

Networked Living is a Level 1 course in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offered by the UK Open University. The first two presentation of the course, in 2005 and 2006, attracted over 3000 students between them. Networked Living introduces students to ICT concepts and issues in a range of contexts. The course adopts a blended learning approach, using printed texts, web resources, DVD and computer conferencing. All the above media are used where appropriate to support students' learning. About 60% of the material is print-based – teaching texts, together with selected third-party articles. About 20% is web-based – using a comprehensive course web site, but also requiring students to find and use third-party sites. The remaining 20% is based on offline computer resources (e.g. spreadsheets) and collaborative activities using computer conferencing. The course web site contains short animations, quizzes and several interactive activities where students contribute information and commentaries, and can then see the collated contributions of other students. The DVD contains longer animations, simulations and software. Computer conferencing is used for tutor-group and whole-cohort conferences, and for online tutorials, with both asynchronous and synchronous discussion. The course web site provides a new, shareable 'online journal' facility, where students can record their work for the course. This paper discusses the various e-learning elements of Networked Living, based on the first two presentations of the course. The paper considers how e-learning can be combined with printed resources to create a successful blended learning experience for students

ImpaCT2: learning at home and school: case studies

Strand 3 explored the nature of teaching and learning involving ICT in various settings, with a focus on the views of pupils, teachers, and parents. Working in 15 of the 60 schools selected for Strands 1 and 2, this project focused on: learning and teaching environments; learning and teaching styles; and the impact of networked technologies on the perceptions of teachers, managers, pupils and parents. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 8 - 16 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of ICT

Do technologies have politics? The new paradigm and pedagogy in networked learning

This paper explores the relationships between the technologies deployed in networked and e-Learning and the pedagogies and politics associated with them. Networked learning and the related move to e-Learning are coincident with the globalisation, commodification and massification of Higher Education. It examines the hard and soft forms of technological determinism (TD) found in the current advocacy of technological futures for Higher Education. Hard TD claims that new technologies bring about changes in the pedagogy found in networked learning and that these changes have a socially equalising or democratic effect. Soft TD claims that these changes are not the inevitable outcomes of technology but goes on to suggest that successful use of the technology rests upon exactly the same changes. These changes have been characterised as a ‘new paradigm’ in education