Collaborative pedagogy and digital scholarship: a case study of 'Media Culture 2020'

This paper presents an educational case study of ‘Media Culture 2020’, an EU Erasmus Intensive Programme that utilised a range social media platforms and computer software to create open, virtual spaces where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe and was designed to develop new pedagogical frameworks to encourage collaborative approaches to teaching and learning in the arts. The main objective of the project was to break down classroom and campus walls by creating digital learning environments that facilitated new forms of production, transmission and representation of knowledge. Media Culture 2020 was designed to pilot a novel mode of ‘blended learning’, demonstrating a number of ways in which ‘Web 2.0’ networked technologies might be adopted by academics to encourage open and collaborative modes of practice. The project utilised a number of social media platforms (including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Google Hangout, Google Docs and Blogger) to enhance the learning experiences of a diverse set of students from different cultural and international contexts. In doing so, Media Culture 2020 enabled participants with a diverse range skills and cultural experiences to develop new working practices that respond to the convergence of digital media and art, as well as the internationalisation of media production and business, through the use of open, interactive software

Digital learning environments and collaborative pedagogy: Media Culture 2020

This paper presents an educational case study of Media Culture 2020, an EU Erasmus Intensive Programme (EU ERASMUS project number 2012-1-FI1-ERA10-09673) that utilised a range of social media platforms and interactive computer software to create open, virtual learning environments where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe: the University of Vic (Spain), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Liepaja University (Latvia), the University of Lincoln (United Kingdom) and HKU Hilversum (Netherlands) – and was designed to develop new pedagogical frameworks that might encourage collaborative approaches to teaching and learning. This paper will focus primarily on the implementation of a number of digital tools during the pre-workshop phase, in addition to highlighting the key educational aspects of the project

Collaborative and participatory learning

co_LAB is the Collaboration Laboratory, an interdisciplinary research network initiated by colleagues from the University of Lincoln School of Film and Media, to explore new approaches to teaching and learning through the use of networked digital tools, and through the transferral of knowledge, skillsets and teaching styles. The aim is to develop interdisciplinary and collaborative methods for innovation and social entrepreneurship, resulting in a variety of institutional and community impacts. In addition to undertaking a variety of practice-based research projects across the University and local community, co_LAB has developed a substantial European network of partner universities, departments and practitioners. This network has resulted in collaboration on externally-funded projects and international strategic alliances to enable the sharing of pedagogical practice, and to enhance student mobility. The co_LAB team is currently half-way through OnCreate - a 3-year EU Erasmus funded project featuring a European consortium of 10 universities. The co_LAB model is designed to break down classroom walls and departmental divisions by encouraging community-based learning and sharing between students and colleagues from different academic disciplines. This model is underpinned by the principles of the University of Lincoln's Student-as-Producer concept. The model employs a blend of structured activities and discovery-based learning methods, with much of the workshops left open for students to develop concepts, lead sessions, present ideas and receive feedback from lecturers and other participants

The collaborative research network: developing interdisciplinary student partnerships

An overview of the collaborative research undertaken by academics from the Lincoln School of Film and Media, and the formation of the co_LAB Research Network. co_LAB was designed to explore and develop new approaches to collaborative teaching and learning through the use of networked digital tools, and through the transferral of knowledge, skillsets and teaching styles. This talk outlines how the values of Student as Producer have recently been implemented by co_LAB, both at an institutional/curriculum level, and through a number of EU Erasmus funded projects in partnership with universities from across Europe

co_LAB - Project 1

co_LAB is an interdisciplinary, educational project which houses intensive teaching programmes, the first of which took place between 12-16 May, 2014. co_LAB was designed to explore and develop new approaches to collaborative teaching and learning through the use of networked digital tools, and through the transferral of knowledge, skillsets and teaching styles. co_LAB aims to overcome the traditional barriers between individual course specialisms by bringing together students and colleagues from across academic disciplines to collaborate on transmedia design projects. co_LAB team: Martyn Thayne, James Field, Graham Cooper, Rob Coley, Richard Vickers, Adam Verity, Clive McCarthy (special thanks to Louise Lawlor, Mike Downing, Mark Aldridge, John Murray, Chris Heydra (The Hague University of Applied Sciences

OnCreate and the virtual teammate: an analysis of online creative processes and remote collaboration

This paper explores research undertaken by a consortium of 10 universities from across Europe as part of an EU Erasmus Strategic Partnership project called OnCreate. Recent research and experiences prove the importance of the design and implementation of online courses that are learner-centred, include collaboration and integrate rich use of media in authentic environments. The OnCreate project explores the specific challenges of creative processes in such environments. The first research phase comprises a comparative qualitative analysis of collaboration practices in design-related study programmes at the ten participating universities. A key outcome of this research was in identifying the shortcomings of the hierarchical role models of established Learning Management Systems (such as Moodle or Blackboard) and the tendency towards evolving 'mash-up' environments to support creative online collaboration

Power of the multitude: using social media for collaborative research

Emerging from an analysis of what Andreas Wittel (2001) has termed ‘networked sociality’, this paper explores a number of ways in which online social networking platforms can be utilised by academics, and suggests the key features of these digital technologies must be seen as important educational, sociological and informational tools. This article contends that digital platforms are increasingly designed to harness the power of the user-base, with Hardt and Negri’s concept of ‘the multitude’ being introduced to further analyse collaborative action in contemporary networked societies. Through the detailed analysis of social bookmarking services like Delicious, I argue that the current technological environment may enable the efficient dissemination of ideas amongst vast communities of researchers, who together can contribute and create new ways of thinking, teaching and learning

co_LAB Heritage Hack

In the run-up to the HeritageDot Conference, the co_LAB team facilitated a 3-day intensive 'Heritage Hack' workshop in association with the Centre for Creativity and Culture, Lincoln Conservation Lab, MACE and the International Bomber Command Centre. The aim of the workshop was to bring together staff and students from across the University to explore the impact of digitisation on the heritage sector. Using a 'design thinking' approach in response the specific challenges facing digital archivists at the IBCC, the participants worked collaboratively to develop a number of proof-of-concept prototypes for a data visualisation / digital archive navigation tool. In this talk, Martyn discussed the Heritage Hack project in the context of student engagement, addressing how students from diverse disciplines worked in partnership with the IBCC and were situated in the real-world contexts of research

Developing digital literacies through blended learning and co-innovation

Recent research has highlighted the importance of supporting student’s capacities to learn deeply in technology-rich domains and to prepare them for living, learning and working in a digital society. Whilst university initiatives are often in place to support the development of learners’ ICT skills, these initiatives are seldom followed through in the learning experience in any meaningful way, or integrated with the development of other capabilities critical to higher education learning. In 2014, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) published the ‘Developing Digital Literacies Programme’ to encourage UK institutions to embed the development of digital literacies within the curriculum. The study found that alongside support for ICT proficiency, educators must develop strategies for embedding the following 21st century skills and competencies: information, data and media literacies; career and identity management; digital learning and self-development; communication, collaboration and participation; co-creation, innovation and scholarship. The current paper uses the ‘Developing Digital Literacies’ framework to analyse practice-based pedagogical research undertaken by co_LAB, the Collaboration Laboratory Research Network (University of Lincoln, UK). co_LAB was initiated to experiment with novel approaches to collaborative teaching and learning, which typically involves working with mixed disciplinary groups of students, utilising discovery-based learning methods to address issues pertinent to digital culture. The aim of this paper is to discuss the teaching and learning methods employed by co_LAB to support digital literacies, presenting an experimental ‘toolkit’ for other educators to embed or adapt within their own teaching practices

Media Culture 2020: an exploration of collaborative learning

This paper addresses issues of best practice and methods of ‘blended learning’ piloted throughout 2013 during the EU Erasmus Intensive Programme ‘Media Culture 2020’. The interdisciplinary project, which featured five universities from across Europe, was designed to develop new collaborative approaches to teaching and learning. The international partnership was comprised of staff and students from University of Vic (Spain), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Liepaja University (Latvia), the University of Lincoln (United Kingdom) and HKU Hilversum (Netherlands). The project featured two, two-week workshops, alongside the implementation of a number of collaborative, networked technologies. A range of social media platforms and computer software were utilised to create open, virtual spaces where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together