Implications of writing, reading, and tagging on the web for reflection support in informal learning

Glahn, C., Specht, M., & Koper, R. (2008). Implications of Writing, Reading, and Tagging on the Web for Reflection Support in Informal Learning. In P. Dillenbourg & M. Specht (Eds.), Times of Convergence: Technologies Across Learning Contexts – Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2008 (pp. 110-121). September, 16-19, 2008, Maastricht, The Netherlands: Lecture Notes in Computer Science 5192 Springer 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-87604-5.The use of tags as user generated meta-data as well as the visualisation in tag clouds has recently received a lot of attention in research and practice. This paper focuses on supporting reflection of learners by using different presentation approaches of user-generated meta-data for reflection support. Previous research has shown that implicit interest expression can be a valuable source for reflection support. Visualising implicit or “tacit” interest in tag clouds could help learners to understand the connections of their content related activities to the tags that are assigned to the content. For grounding this potential in the social practice of using tags in teams and small communities, we conducted a three month experiment. This experiment focused on the social practices of using tags explicitly and implicitly. In this paper we analyse the data of the experiment with regard to social navigation of teams and small communities, relations of implicit and explicit interest in tags, and usages of tags on different participation levels. The findings on these dimensions of the social practice of using and sharing tags in groups help to develop a better view on the requirements of providing reflection support.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

The state of research on folksonomies in the field of Library and Information Science : a Systematic Literature Review

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to provide an overview of all relevant peer-reviewed articles on folksonomies, social tagging and social bookmarking as knowledge organisation systems within the field of Library and Information Science by reviewing the current state of research on these systems of managing knowledge. Method – I use the systematic literature review method in order to systematically and transparently review and synthesise data extracted from 39 articles found through the discovery system LUBsearch in order to find out which, and to which degree different methods, theories and systems are represented, which subfields can be distinguished, how present research within these subfields is and which larger conclusions can be drawn from research conducted between 2003-2013 on folksonomies. Findings – There have been done many studies which are exploratory or reviewing literature discussions, and other frequently used methods which have been used are questionnaires or surveys, although often in conjunction with other methods. Furthermore, out of the 39 studies, 22 were quantitative, 15 were qualitative and 2 used mixed methods. I also found that there were an underwhelming number of theories being explicitly used, where merely 11 articles explicitly used theories, and only one theory was used twice. No key authors on the topic were identified, though Knowledge Organization, Information Processing & Management and Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology were recognised as key journals for research on folksonomies. There have been plenty of studies on how tags and folksonomies have effected other knowledge organisation systems, or how pre-existing have been used to create new systems. Other well represented subfields include studies on the quality or characteristics of tags or text, and studies aiming to improve folksonomies, search methods or tags. Value – I provide an overview on what has been researched and where the focus on said research has been during the last decade and present future research suggestions and identify possible dangers to be wary of which I argue will benefit folksonomies and knowledge organisation as a whole

Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions

This is the first report from research commissioned by Becta into Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. This report describes findings from an additional literature review of the then current landscape concerning learner use of Web 2.0 technologies and the implications for teachers, schools, local authorities and policy makers

Knowledge Creation and Sharing with Web 2.0 Tools for Teaching and Learning Roles in So-called University 2.0

AbstractUniversities have long been accepted as major social and cultural institutions. They have been taken those responsibilities for centuries by doing research, teaching, learning and publishing in a scholarly manner. These institutions serve developments in various organisational forms such as ‘brick and mortar (traditional campus base)’, ‘click (distance-online)’, and ‘brick and click (traditional campus base with distance-online)’ types.This study aims to search new opportunities and developments brought by Web 2.0 (Social Web) technologies into university's teaching and learning roles. These innovative communication platforms encourage people to share their thoughts and experiences to collaborate thorough the interactive Social Media. Knowledge as an organizational strategic asset is distributed and created by new way of interactions within groups. Therefore universities can use Web 2.0 services in accordance with their organisational missions and strategies

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

Review of Learning in ICT-enabled Networks and Communities

This report is part of a project launched by IPTS with DG Education and Culture to study the innovations for learning, which are emerging in the new collaborative and informal settings enabled by ICT. The report gathers and analyses evidence from learning opportunities that are emerging in ICT-enabled networks and communities. In these new virtual spaces, participation is motivated by an interest to a topic, by creative production and by search for social connection. Online networks and communities emerge both within and across organisations as well as in a completely open and bottom-up manner. Accessing, following, and contributing to the communities can lead to a range of learning outcomes. New technologies afford tools and means for people to participate in communities in a personally meaningful way. However, not all individuals are necessarily equipped with skills or knowledge to benefit from these opportunities for their lifelong learning. Major challenges relate both to the initial barriers for accessing online communities with confident and critical digital competence and skills for self-regulated learning. Finding ways to identify, assess and certify relevant learning and new skills that can be obtained and practiced in these environments is a major task. The report argues that educational institutions should find ways to connect with and learn from these new learning approaches and settings in order to bring about their own transformation for the 21st century, and to support competence building for new jobs and personal development with a learner-centred and lifelong perspective.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Information Processing for Smart Indicators

[unpublished paper]Learners need various types of information in order to monitor their progress while performing a task. Indicators help learners to organise, orientate, and navigate through complex environments by providing contextual information that is relevant for the performance of learning tasks. In this paper we discuss a service-oriented implementation of an architecture for indicators, which is applied in a co-operative learning scenario. The services of this implementation utilise learning technology specifications, which provide semantics for modelling educational scenarios. This paper implies that the given learning technology specifications are suitable for modelling learner support for non- and informal learning, but further research is required on analysing context dependent factors of learner support.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org