Writing as tribal practice : revisiting online collaborative writing

Many teachers encourage sharing ideas and knowledge through collaborative group writing to build self-confidence in developing writers. However, some students do not appear to gain a sense of belonging in the collaborative experience. This evolving study explores online collaborative writing with the purpose of creating a \u27third author\u27 - the group (tribal) voice. One aim is to reclaim writing as a conscious collaborative act where meaning is attained only at the end of the thought-sharing process. Therefore, the process of writing is seen as more important than the product. A further aim is to observe how intensive writing collaboration will affect both the writers and the writing during the process. A group of language teachers from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the USA meet every two weeks in cyberspace for a two-hour intensive writing session. The group has met for the past three months. Different discourses appear to be fusing into a metamorphosed new hybrid author - the tribal group voice. These early findings suggest that such practices may assist learners who experience difficulty entering or contributing to collaborative writing or group-work tasks. Additionally, online group work may benefit, as no physical human contact exists to gain a sense of \u27group\u27.<br /

The right to own : internationalization of perspectives of plagiarism and the internet

Cultural diversity in tertiary classrooms is integral to the current university scene. Teachers must incorporate different methods of delivery andassessment to cater for an increasingly international student population. This paper explores the notion of plagiarism from two perspectives: the lawand English as a Second Language (ESL) writing theory.<br /

Building equitable literate futures : home and school computer-mediated literacy practices and disadvantage

This paper examines the complex connections between literacy practices, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and disadvantage. It reports the findings of a year-long study which investigated the ways in which four families use ICTs to engage with formal and informal literacy learning in home and school settings. The research set out to explore what it is about computer-mediated literacy practices at home and at school in disadvantaged communities that make a difference in school success. The findings demonstrate that the \u27socialisation\u27 of the technology - its appropriation into existing family norms, values and lifestyles - varied from family to family. Having access to ICTs at home was not sufficient for the young people and their families to overcome the so-called \u27digital divide\u27. Clearly, we are seeing shifts in the meaning of \u27disadvantage\u27 in a globalised world mediated by the use of new technologies. New definitions of disadvantage that take account not only of access to the new technologies but also include calibrated understandings of what constitutes the access are required. The article concludes that old inequalities have not disappeared, but are playing out in new ways in the context of the networked society.<br /

In search of the ethical university

Information societies and global knowledge economy policies have brought about unprecedented levels of organisational and cultural change in universities worldwide. Critics argue that the reconfiguration of universities as engines of economic growth has dealt critical blows to ethical principles and conduct in institutions now driven by corporate interest, competitive individualism, and the intensification of audit and surveillance regimes

Minding the P\u27s for implementing online education : purpose, peadagogy, and practicalities

Online education has a presence in most Australian universities, and its uptake has been broadly understood as being driven by external imperatives associated with intensive competition within the global knowledge economy. However, the implementation of online education does not take place uniformly, and tensions can arise as a consequence of the considerable variation in approaches taken by institutions, faculties, departments and individual educators. In this paper, we analyse interview data from five Australian universities to consider how senior administrators, teacher educators and educational designers interpret the drivers of and barriers to online education. Our findings indicate that there are considerable tensions between the economic considerations driving online delivery, the pedagogical approaches embraced by many teaching academics, and the practicalities associated with financial and human resource costs, technological supports and succession planning. We argue that minding the ‘P’s of purpose, pedagogy and practicalities can be a valuable and productive way forward for addressing ongoing issues of quality and sustainability in online education

Neoliberalising learning : generating alternate futures consciousness

Both educators and education policies have long claimed a role in preparing students for &lsquo;the future&rsquo;. This has been referred to as the rhetoric of futures in education, as the notion of a future is assumed, abstract and not articulated (Bateman 2010). Recent research indicates that teachers give little attention to futures thinking in interpreting and enacting curriculum documents. Only when their &lsquo;futures consciousness&rsquo; was increased were they able to generate explicit alternate futures scenarios and make connections with learners (Bateman 2012). In light of international education policy agendas pressing countries to adopt economic competitiveness in national curriculum policies, the &lsquo;future&rsquo; vision looks narrow and constrained. We argue that current educational reforms in Australia provide little scope to address the concept of multiple futures,&nbsp;which are significant in enabling citizens to shape and contribute in personal, local and global contexts