A teacher’s voice: Embracing change to make a difference

The challenge to understand the impact and demands of new forms of literacy for teachers with considerable expertise is intensified when making sense of multiple forms of texts. This paper examines how an experienced teacher made changes to her literacy pedagogy when faced with a class problem for which she felt unprepared. The story is told predominantly through the voice of the teacher using her reflective journal. An example of Web 2.0 technology, specifically the construction of a wiki, is planned and implemented to reflect the teacher’s changing views of literacy. The key focus is how this teacher will transition her practice to meet the new demands of literacy teaching, what critical moves are required of her in order to do this and how does she shift from the traditional role of facilitator to designer of online learning. Through such analysis it is proposed that it is possible for an experienced teacher to theorise, implement and adopt a stance that encompasses a broader view of literacy and literacy instruction

Building Collaborative Capacities in Learners: The M/cyclopedia Project Revisited

In this paper we trace the evolution of a project using a wiki-based learning environment in a tertiary education setting. The project has the pedagogical goal of building learners’ capacities to work effectively in the networked, collaborative, creative environments of the knowledge economy. The paper explores the four key characteristics of a ‘produsage’ environment and identifies four strategic capacities that need to be developed in learners to be effective ‘produsers’ (user-producers). A case study is presented of our experiences with the subject New Media Technologies, run at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. This progress report updates our observations made at the 2005 WikiSym conference

Teaching with wikis: addressing the digital divide

This paper addresses some aspects of the digital divide affecting teachers and learners in higher education. These relate to divisions arising from variable rates of technology adoption by teachers, which may be especially problematic when students’ uptake of technology is much more rapid than those who teach them, and also to divisions within the student body which teachers need to accommodate when they plan the design of learning. To address these divisions, we designed a pilot online workshop to prepare a small group of teaching staff at two Australian universities for using wikis in teaching and assessment. Participants were immersed in the experience of collaborating on a project in a wiki as learners, and then asked to reflect on this experience as teachers. We used a participatory action research approach with a view to developing a community of enquiry to investigate this experience for improving future offerings, and informing the participants’ teaching practice. This paper reports on the professional development effort, reflecting on the successes and limitations of the work, and lessons learned in relation to bridging the above aspects of the digital divide. We then comment on the potential for further development in the context of the evolution of learning technology as a research discipline

A Wikipedia Literature Review

This paper was originally designed as a literature review for a doctoral dissertation focusing on Wikipedia. This exposition gives the structure of Wikipedia and the latest trends in Wikipedia research

The free encyclopaedia that anyone can edit: the shifting values of Wikipedia editors

Wikipedia is often held up as an example of the potential of the internet to foster open, free and non-commercial collaboration. However such discourses often conflate these values without recognising how they play out in reality in a peer-production community. As Wikipedia is evolving, it is an ideal time to examine these discourses and the tensions that exist between its initial ideals and the reality of commercial activity in the encyclopaedia. Through an analysis of three failed proposals to ban paid advocacy editing in the English language Wikipedia, this paper highlights the shift in values from the early editorial community that forked encyclopaedic content over the threat of commercialisation, to one that today values the freedom that allows anyone to edit the encyclopaedia

Teaching with wikis : addressing the digital divide

This paper addresses some aspects of the digital divide affecting teachers and learners in higher education. These relate to divisions arising from variable rates of technology adoption by teachers, which may be especially problematic when students&rsquo; uptake of technology is much more rapid than those who teach them, and also to divisions within the student body which teachers need to accommodate when they plan the design of learning. To address these divisions, we designed a pilot online workshop to prepare a small group of teaching staff at two Australian universities for using wikis in teaching and assessment. Participants were immersed in the experience of collaborating on a project in a wiki as learners, and then asked to reflect on this experience as teachers. We used a participatory action research approach with a view to developing a community of enquiry to investigate this experience for improving future offerings, and informing the participants&rsquo; teaching practice. This paper reports on the professional development effort, reflecting on the successes and limitations of the work, and lessons learned in relation to bridging the above aspects of the digital divide. We then comment on the potential for further development in the context of the evolution of learning technology as a research discipline.<br /

Enhancing design learning using a digital repository

The process of design is context dependent and open-ended, and therefore does not revolve around a specific body of information or knowledge. The educational paradigm shift in the area of engineering design from teaching to coaching and the increased use of social constructivist learning ideals requires students to have access to as wide a range of information as possible. Digital resources provide an excellent opportunity for extending the range of information available to design students and to this end, as part of a joint research program with Stanford University, the University of Strathclyde has developed a groupware product called LauLima to provide students with a collaborative environment which allows them to gather, organise, store and share information. This paper describes the improvement to design learning, based on a Design Knowledge Framework, in a 3rd year product design engineering project from session 03/04 to 04/05 which has been facilitated by the implementation of this technology

Action Research : the first steps to start up a pilot experiment in heritage education

Peer-reviewedLes relacions entre els museus i les escoles canvien amb l'ús d'internet. Volem analitzar com aquestes noves relacions tenen lloc a una escala nacional. És important analitzar aquestes noves relacions possibles, que són producte de canvis socials i tecnològics, ja que permeten noves interaccions i participació, al mateix temps que demanen canvis en les formes d'organització, la gestió de recursos web i els models d'ensenyament i aprenentatge. Concretament, les xarxes d'aprenentatge poden establir una nova forma de relació entre els museus i les escoles, i els recursos educatius en línia amb contingut sobre patrimoni cultural poden oferir oportunitats d'aprenentatge i recursos de coneixement més enllà dels límits de l'ensenyament formal. Tanmateix, calen projectes experimentals per a efectuar proves i veure com aquests tipus de pràctiques d'ensenyament i aprenentatge funcionaran en un context social i cultural concret. Així, doncs, la recerca activa pot contribuir al desenvolupament d'una experiència d'aprenentatge, basat en la reflexió i l'acció. L'objectiu d'aquesta experimentació és obtenir un model de treball i millors pràctiques per a aprendre i ensenyar en xarxes d'aprenentatge formades per gestors, professors i estudiants de patrimoni en què els membres produeixin i utilitzin recursos educatius en línia amb contingut de patrimoni cultural. Els resultats d'aquest projecte empíric seran comprovats amb resultats de la primera part metodològica de la tesi doctoral per a obtenir un model que es pugui exportar a altres contextos.Las relaciones entre los museos y las escuelas cambian con el uso de internet. Queremos analizar cómo estas nuevas relaciones tienen lugar a una escala nacional. Es importante analizar estas posibles nuevas relaciones, que son producto de cambios sociales y tecnológicos, ya que permiten nuevas interacciones y participación, a la vez que requieren cambios en las formas de organización, la gestión de recursos web y los modelos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Concretamente, las redes de aprendizaje pueden establecer una nueva forma de relación entre los museos y las escuelas, y los recursos educativos en línea con contenido de patrimonio cultural pueden ofrecer oportunidades de aprendizaje y recursos de conocimiento más allá de los límites de la enseñanza formal. No obstante, existe una necesidad de proyectos experimentales para realizar pruebas para ver cómo estos tipos de prácticas de enseñanza y aprendizaje funcionarán en un contexto social y cultural concreto. Así pues, la investigación-acción puede contribuir al desarrollo de una experiencia de aprendizaje, basado en la reflexión y las acciones. El objetivo de esta experimentación es obtener un modelo de trabajo y mejores prácticas para el aprendizaje y la enseñanza en redes de aprendizaje formadas por gestores, profesores y estudiantes del patrimonio en las que los miembros produzcan y utilicen recursos en línea con contenido de patrimonio cultural. Los resultados de este proyecto de investigación empírico serán comparados con los resultados de la primera parte metodológica de la tesis doctoral para obtener un modelo que pueda ser exportado a otros contextos.The relationships between museums and schools are changing through the use of internet. We want to analyse how these new relationships occur at a national level. It is important to analyse these possible new relationships, which are the product of social and technological changes. They allow for new interactions and participation whilst requiring changes in the forms of organisation, web resource management, and teaching and learning models. Specifically, learning networks can establish a new form of relationship between museums and schools and educational online resources with cultural heritage content can offer learning opportunities and knowledge resources beyond the boundaries of formal education. However, there is a need for experimental projects to test the evidence and to see how these kinds of teaching and learning practices will work within a concrete social and cultural context. Thus, Action Research can contribute to the development of a learning experience, based on reflection and actions. The aim of this experimentation is to obtain a working model and best practices for learning and teaching in learning networks shaped by heritage managers, teachers and students where the members produce and use educational online resources with cultural heritage content. The results of this empirical research project will be compared with results from the first methodological part of the PhD thesis to obtain a model that can be exported to other contexts

21st-century scholarship and Wikipedia

Wikipedia, the world’s fifth most-used Web site, is a good illustration of the growing credibility of online resources. In his article in Ariadne earlier this year, “Wikipedia: Reflections on Use and Academic Acceptance”, Brian Whalley described the debates around accuracy and review, in the context of geology. He concluded that ‘If Wikipedia is the first port of call, as it already seems to be, for information requirement traffic, then there is a commitment to build on Open Educational Resources (OERs) of various kinds and improve their quality.’ In a similar approach to the Geological Society event that Whalley describes, Sarah Fahmy of JISC worked with Wikimedia and the British Library on a World War One (WWI) Editathon. There is a rich discourse about the way that academics relate to Wikipedia

Enhancing design learning using groupware

Project work is increasingly used to help engineering students integrate, apply and expand on knowledge gained from theoretical classes in their curriculum and expose students to 'real world' tasks [1]. To help facilitate this process, the department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde has developed a web±based groupware product called LauLima to help students store, share, structure and apply information when they are working in design teams. This paper describes a distributed design project class in which LauLima has been deployed in accordance with a Design Knowledge Framework that describes how design knowledge is generated and acquired in industry, suggesting modes of design teaching and learning. Alterations to the presentation, delivery and format of the class are discussed, and primarily relate to embedding a more rigorous form of project-based learning. The key educational changes introduced to the project were: the linking of information concepts to support the design process; a multidisciplinary team approach to coaching; and a distinction between formal and informal resource collections. The result was a marked improvement in student learning and ideation