Transforming pedagogy using mobile Web 2.0

Blogs, wikis, podcasting, and a host of free, easy to use Web 2.0 social software provide opportunities for creating social constructivist learning environments focusing on student-centred learning and end-user content creation and sharing. Building on this foundation, mobile Web 2.0 has emerged as a viable teaching and learning tool, facilitating engaging learning environments that bridge multiple contexts. Today’s dual 3G and wifi-enabled smartphones provide a ubiquitous connection to mobile Web 2.0 social software and the ability to view, create, edit, upload, and share user generated Web 2.0 content. This article outlines how a Product Design course has moved from a traditional face-to-face, studio-based learning environment to one using mobile Web 2.0 technologies to enhance and engage students in a social constructivist learning paradigm. Keywords: m-learning; Web 2.0; pedagogy 2.0; social constructivism; product desig

A blended learning model in higher education: a comparative study of blended learning in UK and Malaysia

Blended learning, involves the combination of two fields of concern: technology and education; or two groups of people: technologists and educationists. However, current literature shows less consideration on the potential disciplinary gap in the blended learning experience, as a result there is a paucity of evidence from cross-country/institutional/disciplinary investigations. This study aimed to explore, analyse and compare the blended learning experience in higher education. The research is reflected in 3 questions: (1) What are the current blended learning experiences in the selected higher educational institutions? (2) How such experience varies in different disciplines? (3) What are the reflections on the comparative experiences in (1) and (2)? The qualitative case study with comparative methods was used to obtain in-depth findings for these research questions. I visited 4 universities in two countries and sampled 51 research participants’ voices from contrasting disciplines. With these voices, I thoroughly discussed individual case studies, followed by a cross-case and cross-discipline comparison. These findings enabled insights to be drawn on a major argument: blended learning did enable and enhance learning experiences in all case studies but disciplinary differences remain a major challenge. The analysis shows that academics from science-based disciplines have an advantage at the instrumental level of technological usage without transforming learning experience; social science-based academics, due to their disciplinary nature, have embedded technology in wider trans-technical aspects that would enhance and transform learning and teaching. In the context of blended learning, I would argue that learning has not been enhanced (1) if the technology is the sole focus; (2) if the research effort of “technology enhanced learning” does not gain ground in educational theories and (3) does not recognise the disciplinary differences. Arising out of these findings, I proposed a blended learning model that indicates the boundary of the current literature and research findings, and a blended learning definition - an educational-focused process to enhance and transform f2f learning with the blend of technology in a symbiotic relationship. It is necessary for educationists and technologists to establish such a symbiotic relationship and the inter-disciplinary integration and discourse, that may impact on the individuals’ practice beyond their own disciplinary territory

Creating music in the classroom with tablet computers: An activity system analysis of two secondary school communities.

Tablet computers are becoming inextricably linked with innovation and change in schools. Increasingly therefore, music teachers must consider how tablet computers might influence creative musical development in their own classroom. This qualitative research into two secondary school communities aims to develop understandings about what really happens when students and a music teacher-researcher compose music in partnership with a tablet computer. A sociocultural definition of creativity, theories of Activity, and the musicking argument inform a new systemic framework which guides fieldwork. This framework becomes the unit of analysis from which the research questions and a multi-case, multimodal methodology emerge. The methodology developed here honours the situated nature of those meanings which emerge in each of the two school communities. Consequently, research findings are presented as two separate case reports. Five mixed-ability pairs are purposively sampled from each community to represent the broad range of musical experience present in that setting. A Video-enhanced, participant-observation method ensures that systemic, multimodal musicking behaviours are captured as they emerge overtime. Naturalistic group interviewing at the end of the project reveals how students’ broader musical cultures, interests and experiences influence their tablet-mediated classroom behaviour. Findings develop new understandings about how tablet-mediated creative musical action champions inclusive musicking (musical experience notwithstanding) and better connects the music classroom and its institutional requirements with students’ informal music-making practices. The systems of classroom Activity which emerge also compensate for those moments when the tablet attempts to overtly determine creative behaviour or conversely, does not do enough to ensure a creative outcome. In fact, all system dimensions (e.g. student partner/teacher/student/tablet) influence tablet- mediated action by feeding the system with musical and technological knowledge, which was also pedagogically conditioned. This musical, technological and pedagogical conditioning is mashed-up, influencing action just-in-time, according to cultural, local and personal need. A new method of visual charting is developed to ‘peer inside’ these classroom-situated systems. Colour-coded charts evidence how classroom musicians make use of and synthesize different system dimensions to find, focus and fix their creative musical ideas over time. There are also implications for research, policy and practice going forward. In terms of researching digitally-mediated creativity, a new social-cultural Activity framework is presented which encourages researchers to revise their definition of creativity itself. Such a definition would emphasise the role of cultural, local and personal constraint in creative musical development. With reference to classroom practice, this research discovers that when students partner with tablet computers, their own musical interests, experiences and desires are forwarded. Even though these desires become fused with institutional requirements, students take ownership of their learning and are found rightfully proud of their creative products. This naturalistic, community-driven form of tablet- mediated creative musical development encourages policy makers and teachers to reposition the music classroom: to reconnect it with the local community it serves

Online learning design in higher education: a holistic investigation of people, processes and pedagogy

The design and provision of online learning by universities has gained traction globally as a strategic move towards flexible education maximising students’ learning opportunities. A promising approach for designing high-quality online learning is collaborative design where educators work with interdisciplinary digital learning professionals. However, to date, studies that have taken a holistic approach to examine the nature and outcomes of the design work between these key university actors in a single project are lacking. This thesis addresses this gap by investigating the decision-making processes of educators and digital learning professionals during online learning design, the factors influencing their decisions, and the rationale behind their pedagogic choices. Cultural-historical activity theory was adopted as the theoretical framework to enable a thorough investigation of educators’ and digital learning professionals’ online learning design work within their broader sociocultural context. A multiple case study was employed as the overarching methodology with data collected from seven design teams (‘cases’) across six UK-based universities involved in ongoing online learning design cycles. One-to-one interviews in two stages (before and after the design of online modules) and non-participant observation of design meetings were conducted to capture participants’ insights. Relevant documents were also analysed as secondary evidence sources. Findings revealed participants’ decisions were made through framing, sharing insider knowledge and expertise, forward-looking, and breadth-first design processes. Their decisions were influenced by four levels of interacting and interdependent factors: individual, team, community and network, and institutional. The pedagogic rationale behind participants’ decisions indicates their practice re-culturation and has been conceptualised in this research as holistic, multivoiced, and connected. Collaborative design also proved to support educators’ professional development in (co-)design, pedagogy, and learning technology. These findings contribute to a multifaceted and contemporary understanding of online learning design and highlight practical implications for educators, digital learning professionals, university leadership, industry partners, and researchers.Open Acces

The Effects of a Tiered Learning Matrix on Teachers' Perceptions, Pedagogy, and Sense of Efficacy

A teacher’s sense of efficacy is his or her willingness to implement pedagogical strategies to reach students at various levels of readiness. A professional learning (PL) series occurs over an extended period of time with a lead facilitator and a cohort of teachers to learn pedagogical strategies to better meet students’ learning needs. At the time of this study, the researcher investigated teachers’ PL needs at the research site, a suburban public high school, grades nine through 12 in Missouri. The district’s PL plan focused on project based learning and Visible Learning. The researcher investigated district PL course offerings to find any gaps in course offerings in alignment to teachers’ requested PL needs. Results of these investigations spurred the researcher to develop a PL course focused on a tiered learning matrix (TLM) to support differentiated instruction via tiered learning targets. Learning targets are also known as learning intentions and should drive teacher instruction. The PL course was presented to faculty during a school PL day. Teacher feedback during this PL course was used to refine the TLM and help develop a PL series focused on tiered instruction. The PL series occurred over a 12-week period with a cohort of nine high school teachers from various content areas. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to explore the effectiveness of a PL series focused on tiered instruction to support teaching for various levels of student readiness. The researcher was the lead facilitator of the PL session. The researcher codified and categorized qualitative data via field notes, analytic memos, participant artifacts, and transcribed PL sessions and interviews. The data analyses for this study involved inductive process to thoroughly examine the themes and deductive processes over the 12-weeks to reach saturation. The researcher examined changes in teachers’ perceptions, pedagogy, and sense of efficacy as a result of their participation in the PL series focused on tiered instruction