Turning Web 2.0 Social Software into Versatile Collaborative Learning Solutions

In the framework of the European Integrated Project PALETTE, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is developing the eLogbook Web 2.0 social software. The purpose of eLogbook is to support tacit and explicit knowledge management in communities of practice. It can be customized by the users to serve as an asset management system, as a task management system or as a discussion platform. In this paper, the innovative Computer- Human Interaction features of eLogbook are introduced and its deployment scenario to support collaborative laboratory activities in engineering education is described. The main idea is to sustain interaction for learning purpose within self-organized teams that integrate students, teaching assistants, as well as laboratory equipment and instrumentation on a seamless leve

Developing Interoperable Collaboration Services to Sustain Activities of Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice (CoPs) have attracted the interest of professionals and researchers as successful environments for enhancing, developing and improving practices through collaboration between their members. More and more, CoPs are choosing virtual environments and services to support their activities. However, recent research has underlined the lack of adequate scaffolding in terms of technical support and appropriate use of technology for communication and collaboration. The paper argues in favour of a collaborative design methodology for the development of services based on new technologies, open-source or open-source minded . Producing interoperable, evolutionary, flexible and truly collaborative services appears of major interest to sustain activities of distributed CoPs. The paper uses as a case study the description of collaboratively designed services addressing the needs of distributed CoPs within the European Project PALETTE. The example of PALETTE shows that in complex project situations, collaborative design sustained by Actor-Network Theory is a helpful framework to reach the goals of the project

DETERMINACIÓN DE LAS REDES SOCIALES EN EL CONTEXTO DEL CAMBIO SOCIAL, LA TECNOLOGÍA Y LA EDUCACIÓN SEGÚN LAS OPINIONES DE LOS ADMINISTRADORES ESCOLARES

Esta pesquisa foi realizada de acordo com o formulário de entrevista semiestruturada desenvolvido pelos diretores da escola e pesquisadores que trabalham nos distritos de Nicósia e Kyrenia no ano letivo de 2018/19. No âmbito da pesquisa, a dimensão da mudança social e o efeito da tecnologia nesse processo foram discutidos. A relação entre mudança social e tecnologia foi discutida no contexto da educação e, em seguida, foram expressas as situações que foram realizadas pela interação de três conceitos. Além disso, enfatizou-se que desenvolvimentos positivos podem ser experimentados se beneficiando do potencial das redes sociais no triângulo das mudanças sociais, tecnologia e educação, e que o mesmo potencial pode ser prejudicial se alguns casos forem ignorados.This research was carried out according to the semi-structured interview form developed by the school principals and researchers working in the Nicosia and Kyrenia districts in 2018/19 academic year. Within the scope of the research, the dimension of social change and the effect of technology on this process have been discussed. The relationship between the social change and the technology was argued in the context of education and then the situations which were realized by the interaction of three concepts were expressed. Moreover, it has been emphasized that positive developments can be experienced by benefiting from the potential of social networks in social change, technology and education triangle, and that the same potential may be damaging if some cases are ignored.Esta investigación se realizó de acuerdo con el formulario de entrevista semiestructurada desarrollado por los directores de las escuelas y los investigadores que trabajan en los distritos de Nicosia y Kyrenia en el año académico 2018/19. Dentro del alcance de la investigación, se ha discutido la dimensión del cambio social y el efecto de la tecnología en este proceso. La relación entre el cambio social y la tecnología se discutió en el contexto de la educación y luego se expresaron las situaciones que se realizaron por la interacción de tres conceptos. Además, se ha enfatizado que se pueden experimentar desarrollos positivos al beneficiarse del potencial de las redes sociales en el cambio social, la tecnología y el triángulo educativo, y que el mismo potencial puede ser perjudicial si se ignoran algunos casos

Social Networking Sites Usage and Students' Attitudes Towards Social Behaviors and Academic Adjustment in Northern Nigerian Universities

The present study examines the extent to which social networking sites (SNSs) usage, students’ social behaviors (SSB) and students’ academic adjustment (SAA) among university students in Northern Nigeria. It investigated relationship among the SNS usage SSB, and SAA. The variance in the extent of SNSs usage in relation to gender, age, faculty, ethnicity, socioeconomic background and religion was also investigated. The moderating effect of attitude towards SNS usage was examined. Four hundred participants were sampled and they completed the questionnaires. In addition, 24 volunteered participants from six universities were interviewed at six level focus groups on the constructs related to SNSs usage SSB and SAA. This study employed a mixed-method model as interviews and questionnaires were employed. The data were qualitatively and quantitatively collected, sorted, analyzed and reported separately at significantly equal weight. The thematic qualitative analyses and the quantitative descriptive results suggested that the extent of SNSs usage, the SSB and SAA is high among the university students in northern Nigeria. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) also revealed that there were no significant differences in the extent of SNSs usage in terms of age, faculty, socio economic background and the level of study. However, significant differences exist among ethnicity and religion. The independent sample t-tests revealed no gender differences in the extent of SNSs usage. Similarly the present findings show significantly positive inter-relationships among the SNSs usage, SSB and SAA. The findings also found attitude to be a strong predictor and moderator of the relationship between the SNSs and both the students’ social behaviors and students’ academic adjustment

A Social Media Platform in Higher Education

This paper reports on the successful use of Graasp, a social media platform, by university students for their collaborative work. Graasp features a number of innovations, such as administrator-free creation of collaborative spaces, context-aware recommendation and privacy management. In the context of a EU-funded project involving large test beds, we have been able to extend this platform with lightweight tools (widgets) aimed for learning and competence development and to validate its usefulness in a collaborative learning context

Tackling Engineering Education Research Challenges: Web 2.0 Social Software for Personal Learning

This paper focuses on Engineering Education Research on Technology Enhanced Learning carried out at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), and on its current focus on personal and collaborative learning. After some thoughts on the distinctive nature of Engineering Education Research, the interplay between engineering education practice and professional engineering practice is analyzed. In particular, it is demonstrated how the actual engineering practice of the faculty members influenced the acceptance and the success of new learning approaches and solutions. Finally, the impact on the current Web 2.0 paradigm is discussed and illustrated with the example of project-based collaborative learning activities supported by innovative social software that can be considered as a Personal Learning Environment. A vision of how to shape and exploit personal learning environments to tackle engineering education research challenges is also presented; this deals especially with the importance of user-driven recommendation mechanisms relying of proper trust models

Personal Learning Environments in a Global Higher Engineering Education Web 2.0 Realm

This paper presents investigations on formal and informal requirements for personal learning environments taking into account students’ personal and social learning practices. The potential of global Web 2.0 educational service bundles and informal learning communities, as well as their recommendation by educators are addressed. A scenario showing how these new paradigms can be integrated in engineering education as a way to bring together personal and social learning practices is drawn

Social constructivism and collaborative learning in social networks: the case of an online masters programme in adult learning

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL)This study investigates how students in an online Masters Programme in Adult Learning, although geographically dispersed used SNs to develop a supportive environment that enables collaborative learning to support and deepen their learning. Web 2.0 social software provided the tools for various forms of communication and information sharing amongst student within the social networks. This study shows how the use of Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, podcasts, blogs, chat rooms, social networking sites and email have the potential to expand the learning environment, increase participation and enrich the learning experience. Rapid technological developments transform our world into a global society which is ever changing and interconnected. The SNs as a learning environment in this technological driven global society is complex and not clearly defined; therefore it was not easy for me to understand the nature of the SNs as learning environment. The social nature of this study has therefore urged me to use social constructivism as a conceptual framework to gain insights into how students have used the social networks to develop a supportive environment that enables collaborative learning to support and deepen their learning. The utilisation of social constructivism as theoretical lens has helped to broaden my perceptions of the SNs as learning environment, to deepen my understanding of how learning occurs in the SNs and to comprehend learner behaviour within this pedagogical space. Social constructivists view learning as a social process in which people make sense of their world by interacting with other people (Doolittle & Camp, 1999). Social constructivists belief in the social nature of knowledge, and the belief that knowledge is the result of social interaction and language usage, and, thus, is a shared, rather than an individual, experience (Prawat & Floden, 1994). Furthermore, they believe that this social interaction always occurs within a socio-cultural context, resulting in knowledge that is bound to a specific time and place (Vygotsky, 1978)