Engagement in socio constructivist online learning to support personalisation and borderless education

Increasingly, higher education is tasked with designing online courses that fulfil the twin purposes of scalability and personalisation. In response to market pressures, a traditionally taught masters at a UK university undertook its first online module. Influenced by existing evidence around creating a positive online learning environment through pertinent course structure and pedagogy, the new online module followed socio-constructivist principles and was then evaluated through a mixed method research study. By dividing the teaching team between ‘academic experts’ and ‘pedagogic coordinators’ students drew on the expertise of active researchers through their published work, a podcast and an asynchronous discussion forum. Students’ reflections on iterative fortnightly research themes were moderated in a second discussion forum by the pedagogic coordinators but was highly influenced by the strength of the peer support and review that was designed into the course. Recommendations are offered on how the personalisation and borderless provision of a socio constructivist design can be implemented in an online format

The Art of Knowledge Exchange: A Results-Focused Planning Guide for Development Practitioners

Designing and implementing knowledge exchange initiatives can be a big undertaking. This guide takes the guesswork out of the process by breaking it down into simple steps and providing tools to help you play a more effective role as knowledge connector and learning facilitator

Accelerating progress in the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal testing through better knowledge sharing

In the context of the European Commission's Communication published in response to the European Citizens' Initiative "Stop Vivisection", Action 1 aimed to conduct an assessment of current technologies, information sources and networks from all relevant sectors with potential impact on the advancement of the refinement, reduction and replacement of animals used for scientific purposes (the "Three Rs"). The main objective of this study is to map knowledge sources relevant to the Three Rs, to examine how knowledge is being shared, and to identify possible gaps and opportunities to enhance knowledge sharing. An inventory of knowledge sources (KS) potentially relevant to the Three Rs used in the area of life sciences has been compiled which should be viewed as a snapshot of the current status of knowledge sources available (the supply), and as a starting point for further analysis of knowledge sharing strategies. A public survey was also conducted to complement this study (supply versus demand), and to inform on how to proceed effectively with any knowledge management strategy. The survey has revealed that many involved in this area consider that whilst access to relevant knowledge sources is adequate, there is a need for better coordination of the sources, as well as for the communication of information. Opportunities for face-to-face exchanges are highly valued and there is a firm call for more developments in education and training at professional, university and secondary school levels.JRC.F.3-Chemicals Safety and Alternative Method

Future-focused learning via online anchored discussion, connecting learners with digital artefacts, other learners, and teachers

This paper discusses a learning issue of diverging online communications when more convergent, targeted, artefact-specific discussions are required. It contributes to whether anchoring annotations to specific components of digital artefacts helps build conversations useful to learning. While aligning interaction to artefact has been previously noted for its benefits, here it presents in the context of a tool to help achieve this - a new media annotation tool, 'MAT'. Learner analysis, peer discussion and teacher feedback are promoted within this tool, together anchored to an artefact of learning focus in carefully designed cycles of learning. The paper discusses various educational design features of MAT that enable learning by online artefact-centred discussion, including learner use of these features. It draws from a recent case study on video annotation for critical reflection and evaluation of physical education teaching practice. MAT has been evaluated in this context, but requires wider integration and evaluation to determine usefulness for promotion in a range of other academic practices

Exploring the moral compass: denunciations in a Facebook carpool group

With the advent of the internet and social media, car and vanpooling have become easily available alternatives to public transport in many parts of the world. This paper draws on publicly available data from a Facebook car and vanpooling group used by Slovenian cross-border commuters to make their journeys to and from Austria more economically sustainable. It examines public displays of moral indignation following allegations of malpractice by relatively new members whose whole purpose in joining the group was to earn a living from driving vans across borders. Vanpool users collaboratively denounce van service providers for transgressing some of the social responsibilities that ought to bind members of the group together and for their lack of accountability. The accusations which entail exaggerations, complaints, insults and threats, among other hostile verbal attacks, convey moral indignation and are similarly resisted and challenged by the drivers. They offer a window into conflicting behavioural expectations at a time of socioeconomic change and transition. The alleged lack of service van providers’ accountability which, in turn, informs the van users’ displays of moral indignation is indicative of the moral relativism that emerges as a result of the relocalisation and transforming nature of a contemporary global practice at a time when changes in social life are underway. The primacy of the economic return that vanpooling provides van service providers and cross-commuters with is oriented to by the former as outstripping typical social responsibilities related to the provision of the regulated services, and by the latter, as morally unjustifiable despite acknowledging its economic value

A History of Participation in Museums and Archives

Traversing disciplines, A History of Participation in Museums and Archives provides a framework for understanding how participatory modes in natural, cultural, and scientific heritage institutions intersect with practices in citizen science and citizen humanities. Drawing on perspectives in cultural history, science and technology studies, and media and communication theory, the book explores how museums and archives make science and cultural heritage relevant to people’s everyday lives, while soliciting their assistance and participation in research and citizen projects. More specifically, the book critically examines how different forms of engagement are constructed, how concepts of democratization are framed and enacted, and how epistemic practices in science and the humanities are transformed through socio-technological infrastructures. Tracking these central themes across disciplines and research from Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States, the book simultaneously considers their relevance for museum and heritage studies. A History of Participation in Museums and Archives should be essential reading for a broad academic audience, including scholars and students in museum and heritage studies, digital humanities, and the public communication of science and technology. It should also be of great interest to museum professionals working to foster public engagement through collaboration with networks and local community groups

Social impact retrieval: measuring author influence on information retrieval

The increased presence of technologies collectively referred to as Web 2.0 mean the entire process of new media production and dissemination has moved away from an authorcentric approach. Casual web users and browsers are increasingly able to play a more active role in the information creation process. This means that the traditional ways in which information sources may be validated and scored must adapt accordingly. In this thesis we propose a new way in which to look at a user's contributions to the network in which they are present, using these interactions to provide a measure of authority and centrality to the user. This measure is then used to attribute an query-independent interest score to each of the contributions the author makes, enabling us to provide other users with relevant information which has been of greatest interest to a community of like-minded users. This is done through the development of two algorithms; AuthorRank and MessageRank. We present two real-world user experiments which focussed around multimedia annotation and browsing systems that we built; these systems were novel in themselves, bringing together video and text browsing, as well as free-text annotation. Using these systems as examples of real-world applications for our approaches, we then look at a larger-scale experiment based on the author and citation networks of a ten year period of the ACM SIGIR conference on information retrieval between 1997-2007. We use the citation context of SIGIR publications as a proxy for annotations, constructing large social networks between authors. Against these networks we show the effectiveness of incorporating user generated content, or annotations, to improve information retrieval

How does a Gamification Design Influence Students’ Interaction in an Online Course?

This study created and examined a gamification design that aimed at improving students’ interaction in a graduate level online course. By using a design-based research approach, the study investigated the application of principles from Self-Determination Theory in the gamification design and its influence on students’ interaction in discussion forums in terms of quantity, interaction dynamic, and interaction quality. The gamification design included a positive feedback system, contextualized in a narrative environment that was based on the original course project design. Participants were 49 students enrolled in the online course in three versions of the course, which were the non-gamification version of the course in the 2016 summer semester (NGC), the prototype gamification version of the course in the 2016 summer semester (PGC), and the revised gamification version of the course in the 2016 summer semester (RGC). Students’ interaction data in the academic discussion forums were compared with each other. Students’ gamification performance data were presented and compared between the PGC and the RGC. Moreover, eight students from the RGC participated in semi-structured interviews and shared their experiences and perspectives about the revised gamification design. The results showed that students in the gamified courses posted more messages per week. When students were the facilitators for the week, they were more actively involved in the online discussion. The student facilitators in the gamified courses were more active compared to the student facilitators in the non-gamified course. Second, students’ interaction was more evenly distributed among students in the gamified courses. On average, students in the gamified courses received comments from more peers than students in the non-gamified course. The class level density scores were higher with smaller centralization scores in the gamified courses. Finally, the RGC discussion transcripts presented more knowledge building features on a weekly basis in comparison with the PGC and the NGC, while overall the online discussion in the three versions of the course fell into the lower phases in the knowledge building conceptual model. Students’ gamification performance was about the same in the two gamified courses. Nonetheless, the design adjustments made between the two design cycles and during the second cycle improved students’ participation in several gamification activities. Furthermore, students’ interaction was more stable during the six weeks in the RGC due to the design adjustments. The semi-structured interviews further revealed the RGC interviewees’ experiences in the course. The positive feedback system satisfied students’ competence needs. Nonetheless, to what degree their competence needs were satisfied depended on their experiences and understanding of gamification. In pursuit of competence needs, some interviewees’ autonomy needs were undermined. The peer evaluation, dynamic academic discussion, and the authentic course project satisfied students’ relatedness needs. But additional emotional support from peers was barely sufficient. The study provided an example of gamification design in online courses to improve students’ interactions in discussion forums. The results suggested a positive feedback system could be added in the course design to improve students’ performance of the targeted learning activities. The selection of learning activities, the design and development of the gamification elements, and the gamification algorithm should take both the subject matter and students’ characteristics into consideration. A narrative environment can help align the feedback system with the course context and students’ actions should result in development of the narrative

Professional Development in a Digital Age: Issues and Challenges for Standards−Based Reform

This paper discusses possible roles for online technologies in professional development begins by describing characteristics of professional development approaches that enable teachers to engage in standards−based teaching. Electronic technologies offer two leverage points that bridge time and place constraints imposed by onsite professional development: (1) ubiquitous access to resources that support student and teacher learning; (2) expanded opportunities for teachers' learning communities through electronic conferencing systems, whose common features, designs, and uses are described. Finally, challenges and potential solutions for making effective use of electronic technologies for professional development are described.This paper discusses possible roles for online technologies in professional development begins by describing characteristics of professional development approaches that enable teachers to engage in standards−based teaching. Electronic technologies offer two leverage points that bridge time and place constraints imposed by onsite professional development: (1) ubiquitous access to resources that support student and teacher learning; (2) expanded opportunities for teachers' learning communities through electronic conferencing systems, whose common features, designs, and uses are described. Finally, challenges and potential solutions for making effective use of electronic technologies for professional development are described