From boot camp to holiday camp? Some issues around openness, Web 2.0 and learning Andrew Ravenscroft Learning Technology Research Institute (LTRI) London Metropolitan University Patrick McAndrew The Institute of Educational Technology (IET) The Open University

OpenLearn is a ‘work-bench’, an experiment, that can help us to understand revolutionary changes in digital literacy (Open source, Web 2.0 etc.)

OpenLearn is a ‘work-bench’, an experiment, that can help us to understand revolutionary changes in digital literacy

(Open source, Web 2.0 etc.)

Who are the users and why? … we can’t really know though we can anticipate different profiles informal, formal…or is this distinction no longer important?

… we can’t really know though we can anticipate different profiles

informal, formal…or is this distinction no longer important?

Impact of radical publishing? … media no longer contains fixed social relations (author/broadcaster, reader/consumer) it creates them and they are different and fluid (the ‘Web 2.0 world’) … democratic and collaborative media creation, sharing and consumption

… media no longer contains fixed social relations (author/broadcaster, reader/consumer) it creates them and they are different and fluid (the ‘Web 2.0 world’)

… democratic and collaborative media creation, sharing and consumption

Is all content and media provisional? What counts as closure? Who designs the interaction? (designer or user)

Is all content and media provisional?

What counts as closure?

Who designs the interaction? (designer or user)

Increasingly we are not ‘on’ the web, or ‘in’ the web, we are part of the web “ here comes everyone” (Imagine, BBC)

Increasingly we are not ‘on’ the web, or ‘in’ the web, we are part of the web

“ here comes everyone” (Imagine, BBC)

Are we designing content and interactions or ‘experiences’? With such bewildering opportunities for interaction and experience how do learners decide what they do?

Are we designing content and interactions or ‘experiences’?

With such bewildering opportunities for interaction and experience how do learners decide what they do?

From interest to learning?! How to convert huge-scale social and media-rich interaction for interest to large-scale media-rich interaction for learning?!! … re-conceptualise learning to emphasise digital practices rather than media form and representation … the most important thing about content and tools is what you can do with them that is relevant to you

How to convert huge-scale social and media-rich interaction for interest to large-scale media-rich interaction for learning?!!

… re-conceptualise learning to emphasise digital practices rather than media form and representation

… the most important thing about content and tools is what you can do with them that is relevant to you

… resonates with old ideas ‘ I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. (Confucius, 551 – 479 BC) … give learning practices, or ‘active doing’, back to the learners through exploiting their developing digital literacies

‘ I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

(Confucius, 551 – 479 BC)

… give learning practices, or ‘active doing’, back to the learners through exploiting their developing digital literacies

Practices involve identities and social relations etc., ‘humanness” Open learning practices  Ambient pedagogies and learning designs - Digital Dialogue Games - Learn2getha – a ‘pedagogical web 2.0 ’ Aesthetics of interaction – as increasingly people will do what they like doing rather than what they are told to do

Practices involve identities and social relations etc., ‘humanness”

Open learning practices 

Ambient pedagogies and learning designs

- Digital Dialogue Games

- Learn2getha – a ‘pedagogical web 2.0 ’

Aesthetics of interaction – as increasingly people will do what they like doing rather than what they are told to do

Formal education - Sticks and carrots Assignment deadlines Examinations Tutors who call Qualifications Progression Peer approval

Assignment deadlines

Examinations

Tutors who call

Qualifications

Progression

Peer approval

Open education - What sticks and carrots? Assignment deadlines Examinations Tutors who call Qualifications Progression Peer approval X ?

Assignment deadlines

Examinations

Tutors who call

Qualifications

Progression

Peer approval

Reasons for study (data from initial study of OpenLearn registered users March 2007)

Courses users want

What users like “ Ability to try OU course units before registering for the course.” “ To upgrade skills … and to meet the requirements for the jobs” http:// tagcrowds.com (Thanks to Gill Clough for pointer!) “ I like the idea of learning for pleasure as opposed to learning to achieve targets.” “ Free learning that you can dip into at your leisure.”

OpenLearn “Boot Camp” Results 1 - 10 of about 11,800 from openlearn.open.ac.uk for work

OpenLearn “Holiday camp” “ I live in New Zealand and wonder if there are many kiwis registered. If so it would be nice to know. :-)” “ I would like to meet any student that are on similar courses as me. :-)” It is just for fun. Your answers are not assessed, so don't worry about getting things wrong. Results 1 - 10 of about 214 from openlearn.open.ac.uk for fun.

A few curves to think about…

Towards learning clubs How can we support learning for fun? Chance to do something straight away Keep track of plans and activities Personal information and shared information What other people do and it works Reward what you do Tools and community to help this happen

How can we support learning for fun?

Chance to do something straight away

Keep track of plans and activities

Personal information and shared information

What other people do and it works

Reward what you do

Tools and community to help this happen

OpenLearn tools FlashMeeting: weekly get togethers Compendium: shared paths MSG: Who is online now - and shares your interest Social tools and new tools

FlashMeeting: weekly get togethers

Compendium: shared paths

MSG: Who is online now - and shares your interest

Social tools and new tools

Ambient learning designs Exemplars: Digital Dialogue Games (the Interloc tool) Highly structured dialogue practice Learn2getha consortium Configurable pedagogical interface to open technologies

Exemplars:

Digital Dialogue Games (the Interloc tool)

Highly structured dialogue practice

Learn2getha consortium

Configurable pedagogical interface to open technologies

User selected content (Web 2.0) Feedback on performance Replay on mobile phones Extreme Sports example

Key interface:

Is it all about degree of scaffolding? ‘ hard’ scaffolding (e.g. Dialogue Games) or ‘soft’ scaffolding (typical open technologies) to suits users purposes Isn’t openness a configurable dimension? (not part of a dichotomy)

‘ hard’ scaffolding (e.g. Dialogue Games) or ‘soft’ scaffolding (typical open technologies) to suits users purposes

Isn’t openness a configurable dimension? (not part of a dichotomy)

More info… [email_address] homepages.unl.ac.uk/~ravensca / Research theme: Learning interaction and dialogue design www.unl.ac.uk/ltri/research/interaction.htm Digital Dialogue Games www.interloc.org [email_address] iet.open.ac.uk/pp/p.mcandrew / Research theme: Computers and learning creet.open.ac.uk/groups/calrg / OpenLearn www.open.ac.uk/openlearn

More info…

[email_address]

homepages.unl.ac.uk/~ravensca /

Research theme:

Learning interaction and dialogue design

www.unl.ac.uk/ltri/research/interaction.htm

Digital Dialogue Games

www.interloc.org

[email_address]

iet.open.ac.uk/pp/p.mcandrew /

Research theme:

Computers and learning

creet.open.ac.uk/groups/calrg /

OpenLearn

www.open.ac.uk/openlearn

Overall comments

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