Participatory Transformations

Learning, in its many forms, from the classroom to independent study, is being transformed by new practices emerging around Internet use. Conversation, participation and community have become watchwords for the processes of learning promised by the Internet and accomplished via technologies such as bulletin boards, wikis, blogs, social software and repositories, devices such as laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, and infrastructures of internet connection, telephone, wireless and broadband. This chapter discusses the impact of emergent, participatory trends on education. In learning and teaching participatory trends harbinge a radical transformation in who learns from whom, where, under what circumstances, and for what and whose purpose. They bring changes in where we find information, who we learn from, how learning progresses, and how we contribute to our learning and the learning of others. These trends indicate a transformation to "ubiquitous learning" ??? a continuous anytime, anywhere, anyone contribution and retrieval of learning materials and advice on and through the Internet and its technologies, niches and social spaces.not peer reviewe

Exploring user types and what users seek in an open content based educational resource

The OpenLearn site is an example of an Open Educational Resource (OER) providing units for free study and for re-use under the Creative Commons license. The primary focus of the site is content but it also offers social tools such as forums, personal journals, presence, and videoconferencing. The content can also support interactivity such as quizzes, opportunities for reflection, and interactive diagrams. This paper discusses desirable attributes for a learning environment suited to OERs and considers OpenLearn in the light of the four types of learning focus suggested by Bransford et al (2002) namely: learner, knowledge, community and assessment centred. A study of user views of OpenLearn is reviewed using cluster analysis to identify possible user types. The needs of these user types are then considered with a focus on assessment issues and possible responses suggested in the case of OpenLearn to help bring in assessment to informal learning resources

Developing a mental health eClinic to improve access to and quality of mental health care for young people: Using participatory design as research methodologies

Background: Each year, many young Australians aged between 16 and 25 years experience a mental health disorder, yet only a small proportion access services and even fewer receive timely and evidence-based treatments. Today, with ever-increasing access to the Internet and use of technology, the potential to provide all young people with access (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to the support they require to improve their mental health and well-being is promising. Objective: The aim of this study was to use participatory design (PD) as research methodologies with end users (young people aged between 16 and 25 years and youth health professionals) and our research team to develop the Mental Health eClinic (a Web-based mental health clinic) to improve timely access to, and better quality, mental health care for young people across Australia. Methods: A research and development (R&D) cycle for the codesign and build of the Mental Health eClinic included several iterative PD phases: PD workshops; translation of knowledge and ideas generated during workshops to produce mockups of webpages either as hand-drawn sketches or as wireframes (simple layout of a webpage before visual design and content is added); rapid prototyping; and one-on-one consultations with end users to assess the usability of the alpha build of the Mental Health eClinic. Results: Four PD workshops were held with 28 end users (young people n=18, youth health professionals n=10) and our research team (n=8). Each PD workshop was followed by a knowledge translation session. At the conclusion of this cycle, the alpha prototype was built, and one round of one-on-one end user consultation sessions was conducted (n=6; all new participants, young people n=4, youth health professionals n=2). The R&D cycle revealed the importance of five key components for the Mental Health eClinic: a home page with a visible triage system for those requiring urgent help; a comprehensive online physical and mental health assessment; a detailed dashboard of results; a booking and videoconferencing system to enable video visits; and the generation of a personalized well-being plan that includes links to evidence-based, and health professional–recommended, apps and etools. Conclusions: The Mental Health eClinic provides health promotion, triage protocols, screening, assessment, a video visit system, the development of personalized well-being plans, and self-directed mental health support for young people. It presents a technologically advanced and clinically efficient system that can be adapted to suit a variety of settings in which there is an opportunity to connect with young people. This will enable all young people, and especially those currently not able or willing to connect with face-to-face services, to receive best practice clinical services by breaking down traditional barriers to care and making health care more personalized, accessible, affordable, and available

Agency, Isolation, and the Coming of New Technologies: Exploring "Dependency" in Coastal Communities of Newfoundland Through Participatory Research

How does one effectively and ethically conduct research with community members who steeped in histories of economic and social dependency, so that the people themselves charge of their futures? This question is explored in a Canadian context as the authors study the potential of new technologies to bring hope to traditional coastal communities that have been devastated by the collapse of the east coast fishery. Findings highlight the tension inherent in combining traditional knowledge with contemporary "solutions" through technology, as well as the authors' own ethical participation in suggesting uses the new technology.Comment mener une recherche efficace et éthique visant la prise en charge par la communauté de son avenir quand ses membres sont imprégnés d'histoires de dépendance économique et sociale ? Cette question se pose dans un contexte canadien alors que les auteures se penchent sur le potentiel qu'ont les nouvelles technologies de faire renaître l'espoir dans les communautés côtières traditionnelles qui ont été affectées par le coup dévastateur de la débâcle des pêcheries de la Côte atlantique. Les résultats mettent au premier plan la tension qui se rattache à la rencontre entre les connaissances traditionnelles et les 'solutions' contemporaines reposant sur la technologie d'une part, les propositions des auteures quant aux façons d'employer la nouvelle technologie d'autre part

User-centered development of a Virtual Research Environment to support collaborative research events

This paper discusses the user-centred development process within the Collaborative Research Events on the Web (CREW) project, funded under the JISC Virtual Research Environments (VRE) programme. After presenting the project, its aims and the functionality of the CREW VRE, we focus on the user engagement approach, grounded in the method of co-realisation. We describe the different research settings and requirements of our three embedded user groups and the respective activities conducted so far. Finally we elaborate on the main challenges of our user engagement approach and end with the project’s next steps