Collaboration in the age of personalised mass(ive) education

In the paper we explore a number of issues we believe challenge some current notions of collaboration. We explore tensions arising from the increased interest in personalised open learning, and how this challenges, but also offers new ways of conceptualising collaboration towards group-organisations that are more nomadic entanglements of shifting participation

The use of a wiki to facilitate collaborative learning in a South African physiotherapy department

The dominant form of teaching in higher education remains the lecture, even though evidence suggests that it alone is inadequate to facilitate the development of the higher order thinking skills required in clinical practice. The use of wikis may have a role to play in facilitating collaborative learning practices that are important for professional development. This descriptive survey evaluated the use of a wiki for a collaborative learning activity within small groups of undergraduate physiotherapy students in a South African university. Students participated in a wiki-based assignment and were then surveyed using open- and closed-ended questions to determine their perceptions and experiences of the process. The results indicate that although a wiki can be used to develop relevant content, there were significant challenges in its implementation. These included a poor understanding by students of how to work effectively in groups, a lack of physical and epistemological access to the internet, and the need for adequate preparation and support. Some features of the wiki were found to have an impact on the quality of the work produced, including the use of Discussion pages, peer review, and the public nature of the wiki. The conclusion is that wikis may have a role to play in collaborative groupwork, but that that students need to be adequately prepared and supported throughout the process.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Social Technologies and Informal Knowledge Sharing within and across Organizations

This doctoral dissertation is focused on both empirical and conceptual contributions relative to the roles social technologies play in informal knowledge sharing practices, both within and across organizations. Social technologies include (a) traditional social technologies (e.g., email, phone and instant messengers), (b) emerging social networking technologies commonly known as social media, such as blogs, wikis, major public social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), and (c) enterprise social networking technologies controlled by a host organization ( e.g., SocialText). The rapid uptake of social technologies, combined with growing interest in their broader social implications, raises pertinent questions about uses for knowledge sharing in organizations. The work reported in this thesis is motivated by two broad phenomena: (1) the importance of informal knowledge-sharing in organizations and (2) the rapid rise in the variety and prevalence of social technologies. The empirical basis of this research is a field study focused on the uses of social technologies by knowledge workers, specifically those in consulting firms. Building from the theoretical lenses of sociomateriality, structuration, and technological frames, the findings from this work advances our understanding of: (1) the ways social technologies are used in combination as a suite of tools, (2) the ways in which organizational norms, policies, and arrangements shape the uses of social technologies for knowledge practices, and (3) the variations in uses of social technologies by different groups of knowledge workers. The theoretical contribution of this work is to conceptualize the suite of social technologies used to support and enable knowledge workers is a more useful approach than the single-technological-tool-in-isolation approach, which is the norm in studies of computing. A second contribution of this work is to situate social technologies-in-use through incorporating complementary theoretical concepts: technology-mediated knowledge practices, social structures of organizations, and workers\u27 distinct interpretations of social technologies (technological frames). Practical implications arising from this study both inform the ways social technologies can be collectively integrated in work practices and inform the design and implementation of social technologies for accommodating different needs and preferences of knowledge workers. This research also generates insight into how organizations can craft policies that realistically regulate the use of social technologies, while empowering individual workers to optimize their knowledge sharing capacity by supporting informal engagement via social technologies

The Effects of Academically Productive Talk in Group Discourse in a Virtual Internship for Engineering

Skills associated with collaborative problem solving (CPS), especially in STEM-related disciplines, are increasingly regarded as essential for success in work and life. In the last decade, simulation-based games have emerged as rich environments for the situated learning of such skills, and are instrumental in the study of CPS because they provide rich data for detailed analysis of discourse and social interaction. One type of social interaction, Academically Productive Talk (APT), has been found to support collaborative activity, encourage knowledge integration, and promote academic gains for individuals. However, little is known about the relationship between APT and how groups develop complex STEM thinking. Additionally, despite evidence that students’ attitudes affect social interaction during collaborative activity, little is known about how collaborative social interaction may affect students’ attitudes. The primary goals of this study were to examine CPS discourse in order to: 1) investigate the relationship between the qualities and characteristics of how groups talk and what groups talk about; and 2) understand whether how groups talk effects a change in students’ attitudes. To meet these aims, this study paired conversation analysis with an innovative analytical methodology, Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA), to study groups’ endogenous use of APT and its relationship with substantive qualities of group discourse in the virtual simulation of professional practice in engineering, Nephrotex. This study presents empirical evidence that, (1) specific APT-style contributions were effective for introducing critical, domain-specific evidence into student discourse, and (2) more use of APT in group discourse resulted in better knowledge integration of human-centered design constraints (i.e., their client’s needs; their consultants’ interests) and data analysis. These findings varied in terms of how, when, and what type of, integration occurred. No evidence was found to suggest that students’ participation in groups that engage in more APT affects a positive change in their attitudes. A better understanding of the effects of APT in a simulation-based game environment can be used to inform the ongoing research and development of technologies capable of shaping and observing discourse as it occurs in virtual environments for learning, and that support students’ development of CPS skills

Blended learning in physiotherapy education: designing and evaluating a technology-integrated approach

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDBackground: Practice knowledge exists as a complex relationship between questions and answers in a context of meaning that is often intuitive and hidden from the novice practitioner. Physiotherapy education, which aims to develop patterns of thinking, reflection and reasoning as part of practice knowledge, is often based on didactic teaching methods that emphasise the learning of facts without highlighting the relationships between them. In order to improve health outcomes for patients, clinical educators must consider redesigning the curriculum to take into account the changing and complex nature of physiotherapy education. There is some evidence that a blended approach to teaching and learning may facilitate the development of graduates who are more capable of reflection, reasoning and critical thinking, and who can adapt and respond to the complex clinical environment. The purpose of this study was to develop principles that could be used to guide the design of blended learning environments that aim to develop capability in undergraduate physiotherapy students. Method: The study took place in a university physiotherapy department in the Western Cape in South Africa, among undergraduate students. Design research was used as a framework to guide the study, and included a range of research methods as part of that process. The problem was identified using a systematic review of the literature and a survey of students. The design of the blended intervention that aimed to address the problem was informed by a narrative review of theoretical frameworks, two pilot studies that evaluated different aspects of blended learning, and a Delphi study. This process led to the development of a set of design principles which were used to inform the blended intervention, which was implemented and evaluated during 2012. Results: The final results showed that students had undergone a transformation in how they thought about the process and practice of learning as part of physiotherapy education, demonstrating critical approaches towards knowledge, the profession and authority. These changes were brought about by changing teaching and learning practices that were informed by the design principles in the preliminary phases of the project. These principles emphasised the use of technology to interact, articulate understanding, build relationships, embrace complexity, encourage creativity, stimulate reflection, acknowledge emotion, enhance flexibility and immerse students in the learning space. Discussion: While clinical education is a complex undertaking with many challenges, evidence presented in this study demonstrates that the development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection can be enhanced through the intentional use of technology as part of a blended approach to teaching and learning. The design principles offer clinical educators a framework upon which to construct learning environments where the affordances of technology can be mapped to the principles, which are based on a sound pedagogical foundation. In this way, the use of technology in the learning environment is constructed around principles that are informed by theory. However, clinical educators who are considering the integration of innovative strategies in the curriculum should be aware that students may initially be reluctant to engage in self-directed learning activities, and that resistance from colleagues may obstruct the process. Conclusion: The development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection in undergraduate physiotherapy students may be enhanced through the intentional use of appropriate technology that aims to fundamentally change teaching and learning practices. Design research offers a practical approach to conducting research in clinical education, leading to the development of principles of learning that are based on theory.South Afric