Serendipity and fun as ingredients for transforming practice Gráinne Conole, Open University, UK Learning Design Conference, Vancouver Simon FraserUniversity, 21/10/09 More info, slides and references: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/ http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/ 11190_3_JLB%20PREFERRED%20External %20Image%201000px%20wide.jpg

Converging practices Modern technologies Modern learning & teaching Web 2.0 practices Location aware technologies Adaptation & customisation Second life/ immersive worlds Google it! “ Expert badges” , World of warcraft User- generated content Blogging, peer critiquing Cloud computing From individual to social Contextualised and situated Personalised learning & teaching Experiential learning & teaching Inquiry learning & teaching Peer learning & teaching Open Educational Resources Reflection Distributed cognition

Modern technologies

Modern learning & teaching

Web 2.0 practices

Location aware technologies

Adaptation & customisation

Second life/ immersive worlds

Google it!

“ Expert badges” , World of warcraft

User- generated content

Blogging, peer critiquing

Cloud computing

From individual to social

Contextualised and situated

Personalised learning & teaching

Experiential learning & teaching

Inquiry learning & teaching

Peer learning & teaching

Open Educational Resources

Reflection

Distributed cognition

The gap between promise & reality Common reactions: “ I haven’t got time ” “ My research is more important” “ What’s in it for me ?” “ Where is my reward ?” “ I don’t have the skills to do this” “ I don’t believe in this, it won’t work” Common resistance strategies: I’ll say yes (and do nothing ) Undermine the initiative Undermine the person involved Do it badly Classic mistakes : Emphasis on the technologies , not the people and processes Funding for technology developments but not use and support OER Little reuse Array of technologies Not fully exploited

Common reactions:

“ I haven’t got time ”

“ My research is more important”

“ What’s in it for me ?”

“ Where is my reward ?”

“ I don’t have the skills to do this”

“ I don’t believe in this, it won’t work”

Common resistance strategies:

I’ll say yes (and do nothing )

Undermine the initiative

Undermine the person involved

Do it badly

Classic mistakes :

Emphasis on the technologies , not the people and processes

Funding for technology developments but not use and support

Addressing the “What’s in it for me? ” The inertia dilemma – why has so little innovation spread? Too difficult, bewildering, no incentive or support, no recognition Want examples, someone to talk to, Needs to be fun, motivating and useful Web 2.0 practices: egocentric, addictive, motivational, peer support/regulation Evolving ecology of tools and practices People connected using tools: collective technical infrastructure Changing practice – new ways of interacting and communicating The problem A socio-technical “space”

The inertia dilemma – why has so little innovation spread?

Too difficult, bewildering, no incentive or support, no recognition

Want examples, someone to talk to,

Needs to be fun, motivating and useful

Web 2.0 practices: egocentric, addictive, motivational, peer support/regulation

Evolving ecology of tools and practices

People connected using tools: collective technical infrastructure

Changing practice – new ways of interacting and communicating

The problem

A socio-technical “space”

The solution? Connection… Institutional & national funding Embedding in strategy Aligning to technology trends Changing user behaviour Drivers and challenges Actual use in practice What’s in it for me? Evidence of impact Policy Teacher practice Research & development The learner’s experience

Bridging the gap Characteristics of good pedagogy Personalised Situative Social Experiential Reflective Affordances of new technologies Adaptive Contextual Networked Immersive Collective “ Open Design” Explicit Shareable Cross boundaries Collective Cummulative

Open Design: a definition/approach Aims to widen access to good ideas and designs, to share practice Design for all types of learning activity Formal course Individual learning activity Informal study group activity Blurring of boundaries Teacher – Learner Formal – informal Real – virtual Principles Open Sharable Explicit: design process explicit & sharable Designers and users Builds on open source principles Assessment Learning outcomes Tasks Aspects of design

Aims to widen access to good ideas and designs, to share practice

Design for all types of learning activity

Formal course

Individual learning activity

Informal study group activity

Blurring of boundaries

Teacher – Learner

Formal – informal

Real – virtual

Principles

Open

Sharable

Explicit: design process explicit & sharable

Designers and users

Builds on open source principles

Realising “open design” Evidence base (interviews, surveys, observation, web stats, expert panels, focus groups) Development (resources, methods, tools, session types, interventions) Trialing (within the OU, workshops & conferences, project partners) Open University Learning Design Initiative & The Olnet network

OU Learning Design Initiative Design methods: schema & patterns Tools: Visualisation & guidance Events: Cloudworks: sharing & discussing

Olnet: redefining openness

Technology enhanced… Technology-enhanced learning but what about technology-enhanced teaching? …. Or beyond Need to rethink education in a modern context What is it for, who is it for, what are the roles and how is it supported Blurring of boundaries of ‘learner’, ‘teacher’ and ‘other’ towards ‘actors’ interacting with each other in a technology-enhanced environment, where actors and their practice co-evolve with the tools

Technology-enhanced learning but what about technology-enhanced teaching? …. Or beyond

Need to rethink education in a modern context

What is it for, who is it for, what are the roles and how is it supported

Blurring of boundaries of ‘learner’, ‘teacher’ and ‘other’ towards ‘actors’ interacting with each other in a technology-enhanced environment, where actors and their practice co-evolve with the tools

New environment, new practices What would characterise this? Open Changing roles User-centric and personalised Evolving Co-operative and collaborative – users helping each other, peer critiquing, regulating, fostering communities and clusters of engagement “ Cummulatively intellligent” – harnessing the affordances of the technologies to meet specific needs, but to build and aggregate knowledge, and to distribute this in multiple ways for multiple purposes

What would characterise this?

Open

Changing roles

User-centric and personalised

Evolving

Co-operative and collaborative – users helping each other, peer critiquing, regulating, fostering communities and clusters of engagement

“ Cummulatively intellligent” – harnessing the affordances of the technologies to meet specific needs, but to build and aggregate knowledge, and to distribute this in multiple ways for multiple purposes

Open design and mediation Can we develop new innovative mediating artefacts? How can we make the design more explicit and sharable ? Designer Design Has an inherent Learning activity or OER Creates Mediating artefacts Mediating artefacts Visualisation: CompendiumLD Methods: Schema & patterns Sharing: Cloudworks User – can now repurpose

Mediating artefacts

Visualisation: CompendiumLD

Methods: Schema & patterns

Sharing: Cloudworks

Mediating artefacts Individuals use a range of mediating artefacts to achieve something – write a paper, design a learning event With new technologies there is now a greater range of MA and new ways for individuals to connect and communicate with others Taking a socio-cultural approach allows us to make sense of this because it helps articulate the MA and look at the context of use – rules, community, division of labour, as well as look over time at the evolving system as user-practice changes and co-evolves with the technologies

Individuals use a range of mediating artefacts to achieve something – write a paper, design a learning event

With new technologies there is now a greater range of MA and new ways for individuals to connect and communicate with others

Taking a socio-cultural approach allows us to make sense of this because it helps articulate the MA and look at the context of use – rules, community, division of labour, as well as look over time at the evolving system as user-practice changes and co-evolves with the technologies

Open Design: Visualising and sharing

Explicit design

Design, use, reuse Designer OER Design Creates Deposits Deposits Learner A OER Design Learner B Tutor Chooses Uses Quiz + beginners route Uses Quiz + advanced route Repurposes & deposits

Process design Prior designs & resources New designs Content: (OER repositories, etc) Designs: (Pedagogical Patterns, CompendiumLD designs) New OER & designs

Open design: Social and collective

Key concepts: Clouds Clouds: Ideas Design or case studies Tools or resources Questions or problems

Key concepts: Cloudscapes Cloudscapes: Conferences Workshops Course team Student cohort Research theme Project

Key concepts: Activity streams Clouds Cloudscapes Comments Links References Extra content

Theoretical perspectives “ Social objects” Social networking makes little sense if we leave out the objects that mediate the ties between people Engeström Design framework for sociality Enabling practice Mimicking reality Building identity Actualising self Bouman et al .

Approach Agile development: initially build in Drupal, now Codeigniter Series of phases: design decisions, development, evaluation Empirical evidence Web stats including google analytics Interviews and focus groups Cloudfests Workshops and conferences Observation and reflective diaries Critical friends group and design summits

Agile development: initially build in Drupal, now Codeigniter

Series of phases: design decisions, development, evaluation

Empirical evidence

Web stats including google analytics

Interviews and focus groups

Cloudfests

Workshops and conferences

Observation and reflective diaries

Critical friends group and design summits

Principles Open Drawing on web 2. practices Intentionally both built around “communities”/’clusters of interest” and cross-boundaries Clouds as core objects – social, cummulative, intelligent Dynamic and evolving through use alongside real events as well as virtual ones Variety of types of activities and uses but focus always on sharing, finding and discussing educational ideas and designs

Open

Drawing on web 2. practices

Intentionally both built around “communities”/’clusters of interest” and cross-boundaries

Clouds as core objects – social, cummulative, intelligent

Dynamic and evolving through use alongside real events as well as virtual ones

Variety of types of activities and uses but focus always on sharing, finding and discussing educational ideas and designs

Design decisions Cloud metaphor Seeding the site Including social features Tagging by pedagogy, tool, discipline Low barrier to entry No private content User profiles Cloud types Using: Workshops, focus groups, surveys, “cloudfests” “ What’s in it for me”? Privacy and provenance Sustainability Barriers to sharing Lack of spontaneous use Phase 1 Evaluation

Cloud metaphor

Seeding the site

Including social features

Tagging by pedagogy, tool, discipline

Low barrier to entry

No private content

User profiles

Cloud types

Using: Workshops, focus groups, surveys, “cloudfests”

“ What’s in it for me”?

Privacy and provenance

Sustainability

Barriers to sharing

Lack of spontaneous use

Phase 1

Evaluation

Design decisions Amalgamate cloud types Increase social features Foster communities - cloudscapes Follow functionality My cloudstream Usability report Lack of spontaneous use Navigation Quality control Phase 2 Evaluation

Amalgamate cloud types

Increase social features

Foster communities - cloudscapes

Follow functionality

My cloudstream

Usability report

Lack of spontaneous use

Navigation

Quality control

Phase 2

Evaluation

Design decisions Add RSS feeds Integrate streams from other web 2.0 sites Merge tag categories Improve homepage New patterns of behaviour Divided views about “open” Cognitive barrier to getting use to the tool and then using it Significant increase in use of the site as a result of tools Phase 3 Evaluation

Add RSS feeds

Integrate streams from other web 2.0 sites

Merge tag categories

Improve homepage

New patterns of behaviour

Divided views about “open”

Cognitive barrier to getting use to the tool and then using it

Significant increase in use of the site as a result of tools

Phase 3

Evaluation

Emergent patterns of use Events: conferences and workshops ALT-C conference , 8-11 th September 2009 http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1870 Discussions: Flash debates Is Twitter killing blogging? http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloud/view/2266 Eliciting expertise and open reviews Literature review of educational technologist http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1872 Aggregating resources En Rumbo Spanish course http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/776

Events: conferences and workshops

ALT-C conference , 8-11 th September 2009

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1870

Discussions: Flash debates

Is Twitter killing blogging?

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloud/view/2266

Eliciting expertise and open reviews

Literature review of educational technologist

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1872

Aggregating resources

En Rumbo Spanish course

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/776

Conclusions Motivation : helping teachers/designers make more innovative use of technologies to create better learner experiences Approach : development of a range of resources, tools, methods and events to support this Evidence-base and agile development : on-going evaluation and reflection to enhance understanding and drive future developments Reflection : How effective is this? Where to next? Is it transferable? How “open” can we really expect teachers/learners to be?

Motivation : helping teachers/designers make more innovative use of technologies to create better learner experiences

Approach : development of a range of resources, tools, methods and events to support this

Evidence-base and agile development : on-going evaluation and reflection to enhance understanding and drive future developments

Reflection : How effective is this? Where to next? Is it transferable? How “open” can we really expect teachers/learners to be?

Conclusions Motivation : helping teachers/designers make more innovative use of technologies to create better learner experiences Approach : development of a range of resources, tools, methods and events to support this Evidence-base and agile development : on-going evaluation and reflection to enhance understanding and drive future developments Reflection : How effective is this? Where to next? Is it transferable? How “open” can we really expect teachers/learners to be?

Motivation : helping teachers/designers make more innovative use of technologies to create better learner experiences

Approach : development of a range of resources, tools, methods and events to support this

Evidence-base and agile development : on-going evaluation and reflection to enhance understanding and drive future developments

Reflection : How effective is this? Where to next? Is it transferable? How “open” can we really expect teachers/learners to be?