Cloudworks is a social networking site developed to allow educators to share and discuss teaching ideas. It provides functionality for users to start discussions, add content, and link resources. Evaluation of user behavior on the site found that it supports collaboration and knowledge sharing among communities of educators.
Web 2.0 allows users to interact with information online through collaborative applications like blogs, wikis, and mashups that mix data from different websites. Popular examples include Gmail, Google Maps, and Flickr. Real estate companies can benefit from Web 2.0 by networking with other users, advertising properties for sale, and enhancing property searches through location-based applications. While Web 2.0 provides new opportunities, companies must consider reliability issues and costs of training employees on new technologies.
This document provides a case study of Cloudworks, a social networking site designed for educators to share learning and teaching ideas. It describes the development of Cloudworks based on educator needs, theoretical underpinnings of object-oriented sociality, and an evaluation of its use for an Open University conference. Cloudworks allows users to create "Clouds" to discuss topics, and organize them into "Cloudscapes". An analysis of a conference Cloudscape found high participation, with 47 Clouds created and over 3,000 visits, demonstrating how Cloudworks supports online communities.
CTE 680 Web 2.0 Tools to Enhance Higher EducationBrian King
A powerpoint exported from my Keynote if you want to view this in more of a slideshow like setting. It may look weird as I haven't looked at it in PowerPoint and not all of the features may have exported properly. If you have Apple Keynote and want a file of my original presentation please email brianjosephking@gmail.com.
Thank you.
This document introduces Web 2.0 and various Web 2.0 tools. It defines Web 2.0 as facilitating interactive information sharing and collaboration on the World Wide Web through communities, services, applications, social networking, videos, wikis and blogs. It then discusses key features of Web 2.0 like search, links, authoring, tags and extensions. Various Web 2.0 tools are introduced, including social bookmarking tool del.icio.us, presentation sharing tool SlideShare, wiki tool Wikispaces, photo sharing tool Picasa, document collaboration tool Google Docs, feed reader Google Reader, video platform YouTube, and presentation tool Prezi.
This document provides an overview of Web 2.0 tools and their use in education. It discusses how Web 2.0 enables socialization, collaboration, creativity, authenticity, and sharing among students. Popular Web 2.0 tools mentioned include blogs, wikis, podcasting, social bookmarking, social networks, and video sharing sites. The document also outlines how Web 2.0 tools can be used for personal reflection, seeking feedback, and limited only by one's imagination in education.
The document discusses the evolution of the internet from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Some key aspects of Web 2.0 include user-generated content through sites like Flickr and Wikipedia, folksonomies using user-generated tags to organize content, RSS feeds to receive customized content updates, and increased interactivity through technologies like AJAX and social networks. The rise of these new applications and services represents a shift to a more collaborative "read-write" web where users are actively contributing content.
I efteråret 2007 og foråret 2008 underviste jeg på ITU-kurset Social Software: Design og implementering.
Se http://mortengade.dk/2009/social-software-et-semesters-undervisning-i-en-post
Se http://social08.pbwiki.com
Web 2.0: The Potential Of RSS and Location Based Serviceslisbk
Brian Kelly, UKOLN, gave a talk on "Web 2.0: The Potential Of RSS and Location Based Services" at a meeting held at the University of Edinburgh on 4 September 2006.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/meetings/edinburgh-2006-09/
Web 2.0 allows users to interact with information online through collaborative applications like blogs, wikis, and mashups that mix data from different websites. Popular examples include Gmail, Google Maps, and Flickr. Real estate companies can benefit from Web 2.0 by networking with other users, advertising properties for sale, and enhancing property searches through location-based applications. While Web 2.0 provides new opportunities, companies must consider reliability issues and costs of training employees on new technologies.
This document provides a case study of Cloudworks, a social networking site designed for educators to share learning and teaching ideas. It describes the development of Cloudworks based on educator needs, theoretical underpinnings of object-oriented sociality, and an evaluation of its use for an Open University conference. Cloudworks allows users to create "Clouds" to discuss topics, and organize them into "Cloudscapes". An analysis of a conference Cloudscape found high participation, with 47 Clouds created and over 3,000 visits, demonstrating how Cloudworks supports online communities.
CTE 680 Web 2.0 Tools to Enhance Higher EducationBrian King
A powerpoint exported from my Keynote if you want to view this in more of a slideshow like setting. It may look weird as I haven't looked at it in PowerPoint and not all of the features may have exported properly. If you have Apple Keynote and want a file of my original presentation please email brianjosephking@gmail.com.
Thank you.
This document introduces Web 2.0 and various Web 2.0 tools. It defines Web 2.0 as facilitating interactive information sharing and collaboration on the World Wide Web through communities, services, applications, social networking, videos, wikis and blogs. It then discusses key features of Web 2.0 like search, links, authoring, tags and extensions. Various Web 2.0 tools are introduced, including social bookmarking tool del.icio.us, presentation sharing tool SlideShare, wiki tool Wikispaces, photo sharing tool Picasa, document collaboration tool Google Docs, feed reader Google Reader, video platform YouTube, and presentation tool Prezi.
This document provides an overview of Web 2.0 tools and their use in education. It discusses how Web 2.0 enables socialization, collaboration, creativity, authenticity, and sharing among students. Popular Web 2.0 tools mentioned include blogs, wikis, podcasting, social bookmarking, social networks, and video sharing sites. The document also outlines how Web 2.0 tools can be used for personal reflection, seeking feedback, and limited only by one's imagination in education.
The document discusses the evolution of the internet from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Some key aspects of Web 2.0 include user-generated content through sites like Flickr and Wikipedia, folksonomies using user-generated tags to organize content, RSS feeds to receive customized content updates, and increased interactivity through technologies like AJAX and social networks. The rise of these new applications and services represents a shift to a more collaborative "read-write" web where users are actively contributing content.
I efteråret 2007 og foråret 2008 underviste jeg på ITU-kurset Social Software: Design og implementering.
Se http://mortengade.dk/2009/social-software-et-semesters-undervisning-i-en-post
Se http://social08.pbwiki.com
Web 2.0: The Potential Of RSS and Location Based Serviceslisbk
Brian Kelly, UKOLN, gave a talk on "Web 2.0: The Potential Of RSS and Location Based Services" at a meeting held at the University of Edinburgh on 4 September 2006.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/meetings/edinburgh-2006-09/
This document provides an introduction to Web 2.0 tools that can enhance online learning. It discusses technologies like Ajax, wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and social bookmarking/tagging that allow for more dynamic and interactive content. Specific Web 2.0 tools are highlighted like Google Docs, Flickr, YouTube, and social media platforms that can engage students and encourage collaboration.
Central Bucks School District Engaging Digital Natives in the Study of Social...Jennifer Dorman
The document discusses various digital literacy skills and Web 2.0 tools that can be used in 21st century education, including blogs for student expression, podcasts for communication, and wikis for collaboration. It provides examples of how these tools can enhance learning and civic participation when used in the classroom or other educational contexts.
This PowerPoint is meant to help teach Site Supervisors and AmeriCorps*VISTA in our program the power 2.0 Media Tools can have on building sustainability and capacity in their organizations and program/projects throughout their service year.
The document discusses the unique aspects of Web 2.0 applications compared to Web 1.0. It analyzes how well modern web applications implement the original aspirations of hypertext pioneers, such as supporting search, dynamic content, collaboration and more. Web 2.0 applications fulfill many of these aspirations through features like tagging, comments, APIs and continual updates. However, their structures are not always navigable due to the "feral hypertext" that emerges from widespread collaboration.
Web 2.0: Implications For The Cultural Heritage Sectorlisbk
Brian Kelly, UKOLN gave a talk on "Web 2.0: Implications For The Cultural Heritage Sector" at a seminar on "From Bits to Blogs - Taking the IT Revolution into Museums, Libraries and Archives" organised by MLA North East and held at Teesside University, Middlesbrough on 18 October 2006.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/mla-ne-2006-10/
Exploring Web 2.0: Blogs, Wikis, Social Networking and Social sharingnathanr07
This document discusses various Web 2.0 technologies including blogs, wikis, social networks, social sharing, and more. It provides descriptions and examples of each technology. The key points are that these technologies allow anyone to easily create and share content online, engage in online conversations, and become lifelong learners. Setting up accounts on sites that offer these technologies is free and their use can be learned through exploration and experimentation.
The document discusses the concept of Web 2.0 and how it facilitates more conversational and interactive forms of teaching and learning compared to traditional top-down models. Web 2.0 involves two-way conversations between teachers/students and students/students enabled through technologies like wikis, blogs, social networking, Google Docs, and media sharing sites. These tools allow users to create, share and discuss information collaboratively in real-time.
This document discusses the use of Web 2.0 technologies in a project. Web 2.0 allowed the target audience to provide direct feedback through interactive platforms like YouTube and Facebook. These platforms were used throughout planning, creation, and gathering feedback on video content, print designs, and more. Web 2.0 helped the group efficiently share ideas, research, and existing materials despite busy schedules. The audience could also leave comments and feedback through the project's Facebook page.
Accessibility 2.0: Blended Learning For Blended Accessibilitylisbk
Brian Kelly gave a plenary talk on Accessibility 2.0: Blended Learning For Blended Accessibility at the 'Blended Learning to Splendid Learning' Technology Innovation in Higher Education Conference at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School on 9th June 2006.
The document discusses how Web 2.0 tools can change education by engaging today's digital native students and preparing them for 21st century skills. It provides examples of how social bookmarking, wikis, media sharing, and social networking tools can be used to organize content, encourage collaboration, and foster communication both in and outside the classroom. The role of building a personal learning network for teachers to stay connected is also highlighted.
Web 2.0 goes beyond blogs and includes elements like wikis, web services, folksonomies, social software, and more. It represents the socialization of the web where people interact and collaborate online. Key aspects include user innovation, social interactions and processes, and layered technologies that support sharing information and conversations on the web.
The document discusses the key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 involved one-way delivery of content from websites to passive viewers, while Web 2.0 enables two-way interaction and user-generated content through social media and networking. It also outlines some realities of doing business on the social web, including the need to have a solid online strategy and commitment to regularly interact, while also staying authentic and keeping up with constant changes online.
WEB 2.0 allows for increased collaboration and sharing of information between users. It provides a global platform for users to create their own applications and access services online that were previously only available on desktop computers. Some key aspects of WEB 2.0 include reusable services and data accessible from all connected devices, consumption and remixing of user-generated data, and rich interactive user interfaces that encourage participation. Virtual office applications within this framework allow for real-time collaboration on documents and provide online storage and access to work from any computer connected to the internet.
The document discusses social network enterprises (SNEs) and their potential benefits for companies. It analyzes several existing SNE platforms and their features, such as allowing employees to collaborate more easily, share information faster, and feel more connected as a team. However, SNEs can also present disadvantages like privacy issues and a loss of professionalism if not implemented correctly. The document concludes by suggesting ways an existing company collaboration platform called Better Business Network (BBN) could be improved by incorporating more social and real-time communication features of SNEs.
An Introduction to Web 2.0 and the Social Web".lisbk
Talk on "An Introduction to Web 2.0 and the Social Web" given at the Sharing MAde Simple workshop in Newport on 10 Sep 2008.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/events/sharing-made-simple-20080910/
Presented by Adrian Tennant March 2008 to the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota (EDC) and Florida Public Relations Association, Central West Chapter (FPRA).
The document discusses Web 2.0 and provides some realities of using social media for business. It defines Web 1.0 as a presentation and Web 2.0 as a conversation where content is dynamic, integrated across media, interactive, and user-generated. Some realities are that you need strong fundamentals first, using social media requires a commitment of time and strategy, but you don't need technical skills to participate. The social web is always changing so you must keep up with new platforms and be authentic in interactions.
The document provides an overview of various web tools that teachers can use for different classroom purposes, such as having students create timelines, mind maps, publish writing online, participate in online discussions, search and evaluate websites, and more. For each tool, a brief description is given along with a rating for how useful and easy to use it is. Many examples and URLs are provided to illustrate the different tools.
This document summarizes a presentation about Web 2.0 and what it means for business. It discusses key concepts of Web 2.0 like user participation, collective intelligence, and lightweight software. Examples are given of how these concepts are implemented on sites like Wikipedia, Flickr, and Google. The presentation also covers implications for business, including embracing a Web 2.0 mentality, using analytics, and designing applications that leverage networked resources and user contributions.
Diigo is a social bookmarking and annotation tool that allows users to bookmark web pages, highlight and annotate content, organize bookmarks into tags and lists, and share bookmarks and annotations with others. Key features include personal and collaborative research tools, social sharing features, and tools for knowledge sharing including contacts, messages, and recommendations. Diigo also has tools for teachers including a teacher console, class groups, and student account security settings.
This document discusses open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP). It defines OER as educational resources that are freely available online for anyone to use. It discusses OER at different levels of granularity and formats. The document presents a vision for OER to transform education by focusing on learner autonomy and sharing of resources. It emphasizes a shift from OER as static resources to OEP, which involve the practices of creating, using and managing OER. It proposes dimensions and a framework to characterize OEP based on analysis of case studies. The framework considers OEP strategies and policies, barriers, tools, and skills development at the macro, meso, and micro levels.
The document discusses using an "open design" approach to make better use of open educational resources (OERs) and technologies in learning design. It involves representing learning designs visually using tools like CompendiumLD to make the designs more explicit and shareable. Pedagogical patterns are also proposed as a way to structure designs and distill best practices. The approach was explored in workshops and aimed to help educators more effectively design pedagogically informed learning activities that leverage OERs and technologies.
This document provides an introduction to Web 2.0 tools that can enhance online learning. It discusses technologies like Ajax, wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and social bookmarking/tagging that allow for more dynamic and interactive content. Specific Web 2.0 tools are highlighted like Google Docs, Flickr, YouTube, and social media platforms that can engage students and encourage collaboration.
Central Bucks School District Engaging Digital Natives in the Study of Social...Jennifer Dorman
The document discusses various digital literacy skills and Web 2.0 tools that can be used in 21st century education, including blogs for student expression, podcasts for communication, and wikis for collaboration. It provides examples of how these tools can enhance learning and civic participation when used in the classroom or other educational contexts.
This PowerPoint is meant to help teach Site Supervisors and AmeriCorps*VISTA in our program the power 2.0 Media Tools can have on building sustainability and capacity in their organizations and program/projects throughout their service year.
The document discusses the unique aspects of Web 2.0 applications compared to Web 1.0. It analyzes how well modern web applications implement the original aspirations of hypertext pioneers, such as supporting search, dynamic content, collaboration and more. Web 2.0 applications fulfill many of these aspirations through features like tagging, comments, APIs and continual updates. However, their structures are not always navigable due to the "feral hypertext" that emerges from widespread collaboration.
Web 2.0: Implications For The Cultural Heritage Sectorlisbk
Brian Kelly, UKOLN gave a talk on "Web 2.0: Implications For The Cultural Heritage Sector" at a seminar on "From Bits to Blogs - Taking the IT Revolution into Museums, Libraries and Archives" organised by MLA North East and held at Teesside University, Middlesbrough on 18 October 2006.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/mla-ne-2006-10/
Exploring Web 2.0: Blogs, Wikis, Social Networking and Social sharingnathanr07
This document discusses various Web 2.0 technologies including blogs, wikis, social networks, social sharing, and more. It provides descriptions and examples of each technology. The key points are that these technologies allow anyone to easily create and share content online, engage in online conversations, and become lifelong learners. Setting up accounts on sites that offer these technologies is free and their use can be learned through exploration and experimentation.
The document discusses the concept of Web 2.0 and how it facilitates more conversational and interactive forms of teaching and learning compared to traditional top-down models. Web 2.0 involves two-way conversations between teachers/students and students/students enabled through technologies like wikis, blogs, social networking, Google Docs, and media sharing sites. These tools allow users to create, share and discuss information collaboratively in real-time.
This document discusses the use of Web 2.0 technologies in a project. Web 2.0 allowed the target audience to provide direct feedback through interactive platforms like YouTube and Facebook. These platforms were used throughout planning, creation, and gathering feedback on video content, print designs, and more. Web 2.0 helped the group efficiently share ideas, research, and existing materials despite busy schedules. The audience could also leave comments and feedback through the project's Facebook page.
Accessibility 2.0: Blended Learning For Blended Accessibilitylisbk
Brian Kelly gave a plenary talk on Accessibility 2.0: Blended Learning For Blended Accessibility at the 'Blended Learning to Splendid Learning' Technology Innovation in Higher Education Conference at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School on 9th June 2006.
The document discusses how Web 2.0 tools can change education by engaging today's digital native students and preparing them for 21st century skills. It provides examples of how social bookmarking, wikis, media sharing, and social networking tools can be used to organize content, encourage collaboration, and foster communication both in and outside the classroom. The role of building a personal learning network for teachers to stay connected is also highlighted.
Web 2.0 goes beyond blogs and includes elements like wikis, web services, folksonomies, social software, and more. It represents the socialization of the web where people interact and collaborate online. Key aspects include user innovation, social interactions and processes, and layered technologies that support sharing information and conversations on the web.
The document discusses the key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 involved one-way delivery of content from websites to passive viewers, while Web 2.0 enables two-way interaction and user-generated content through social media and networking. It also outlines some realities of doing business on the social web, including the need to have a solid online strategy and commitment to regularly interact, while also staying authentic and keeping up with constant changes online.
WEB 2.0 allows for increased collaboration and sharing of information between users. It provides a global platform for users to create their own applications and access services online that were previously only available on desktop computers. Some key aspects of WEB 2.0 include reusable services and data accessible from all connected devices, consumption and remixing of user-generated data, and rich interactive user interfaces that encourage participation. Virtual office applications within this framework allow for real-time collaboration on documents and provide online storage and access to work from any computer connected to the internet.
The document discusses social network enterprises (SNEs) and their potential benefits for companies. It analyzes several existing SNE platforms and their features, such as allowing employees to collaborate more easily, share information faster, and feel more connected as a team. However, SNEs can also present disadvantages like privacy issues and a loss of professionalism if not implemented correctly. The document concludes by suggesting ways an existing company collaboration platform called Better Business Network (BBN) could be improved by incorporating more social and real-time communication features of SNEs.
An Introduction to Web 2.0 and the Social Web".lisbk
Talk on "An Introduction to Web 2.0 and the Social Web" given at the Sharing MAde Simple workshop in Newport on 10 Sep 2008.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/events/sharing-made-simple-20080910/
Presented by Adrian Tennant March 2008 to the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota (EDC) and Florida Public Relations Association, Central West Chapter (FPRA).
The document discusses Web 2.0 and provides some realities of using social media for business. It defines Web 1.0 as a presentation and Web 2.0 as a conversation where content is dynamic, integrated across media, interactive, and user-generated. Some realities are that you need strong fundamentals first, using social media requires a commitment of time and strategy, but you don't need technical skills to participate. The social web is always changing so you must keep up with new platforms and be authentic in interactions.
The document provides an overview of various web tools that teachers can use for different classroom purposes, such as having students create timelines, mind maps, publish writing online, participate in online discussions, search and evaluate websites, and more. For each tool, a brief description is given along with a rating for how useful and easy to use it is. Many examples and URLs are provided to illustrate the different tools.
This document summarizes a presentation about Web 2.0 and what it means for business. It discusses key concepts of Web 2.0 like user participation, collective intelligence, and lightweight software. Examples are given of how these concepts are implemented on sites like Wikipedia, Flickr, and Google. The presentation also covers implications for business, including embracing a Web 2.0 mentality, using analytics, and designing applications that leverage networked resources and user contributions.
Diigo is a social bookmarking and annotation tool that allows users to bookmark web pages, highlight and annotate content, organize bookmarks into tags and lists, and share bookmarks and annotations with others. Key features include personal and collaborative research tools, social sharing features, and tools for knowledge sharing including contacts, messages, and recommendations. Diigo also has tools for teachers including a teacher console, class groups, and student account security settings.
This document discusses open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP). It defines OER as educational resources that are freely available online for anyone to use. It discusses OER at different levels of granularity and formats. The document presents a vision for OER to transform education by focusing on learner autonomy and sharing of resources. It emphasizes a shift from OER as static resources to OEP, which involve the practices of creating, using and managing OER. It proposes dimensions and a framework to characterize OEP based on analysis of case studies. The framework considers OEP strategies and policies, barriers, tools, and skills development at the macro, meso, and micro levels.
The document discusses using an "open design" approach to make better use of open educational resources (OERs) and technologies in learning design. It involves representing learning designs visually using tools like CompendiumLD to make the designs more explicit and shareable. Pedagogical patterns are also proposed as a way to structure designs and distill best practices. The approach was explored in workshops and aimed to help educators more effectively design pedagogically informed learning activities that leverage OERs and technologies.
This document discusses how emerging technologies are impacting education. It notes that technologies are becoming more ubiquitous, networked, mobile, and able to take advantage of cloud computing. Learning is shifting towards personalized, mobile, and location-aware models. Pedagogy is also changing to be more social, experiential, and contextual. Boundaries between formal and informal learning are blurring. New skills and models of education will be needed to effectively harness technology for learning.
This document outlines plans for implementing a new course business model (CBM) approach across the Open University's course-offering units (CAUs) over the next six months to a year. It involves consolidating work from prior phases, engaging champions and supporters across units, refining tools and templates for course design, and promoting the changes through workshops, CAU implementation programs, and periodic gatherings. The goal is to integrate the CBM tools and processes into regular operations and stimulate discussion around reinventing the OU course from a learning design perspective.
Cloudworks is an online platform for sharing and discussing ideas about learning and teaching. It contains "clouds" grouped into "cloudscapes" on various topics. As of 2010, it had nearly 3,000 members and over 65,000 visitors. It is a place for teachers, learners, researchers, and policymakers from around the world to collaborate in an open and relaxed environment. The document provides an overview of how to navigate Cloudworks and get involved in its conferences, workshops, discussions, and other activities.
How To Prepare For The Future Of SearchCharlene Li
The document discusses how search strategies need to shift their focus from keywords to people as social networks become more integral to search. It recommends focusing on building relationships rather than technologies, getting user data integrated across online and offline behaviors, and being prepared to engage users directly through social platforms and relinquish some control. The future of search will be driven by understanding user intent through social connections and context like location, time, and relationships.
IRR Social Media & Community 2.0 Presentation by Charlene LiCharlene Li
This document discusses open leadership and how social technology can transform leadership. It defines open leadership as having confidence and humility to share control while inspiring commitment to goals. It recommends leaders (1) align openness with strategic goals by picking one goal for social/open impact, (2) support open leadership through collaboration and optimism, and (3) embrace failure by creating protected spaces to experiment. The document is from a presentation on open leadership by Charlene Li from the Altimeter Group.
Slides for my talk for the Web Observatory Launch at IIIT-Bangalore on 17th Feb.
On a hypothesis distinguishing between two kinds of "flow" on the web -- the flow of abstractions and the flow of expressions.
Chapter 4 open, social and participatory media v2grainne
The document discusses the impact of open, social, and participatory media (Web 2.0 technologies) on education. It describes how these technologies are changing the digital landscape by enabling more user participation through social networking sites, blogs, wikis, and other tools. This has shifted the web from a place for passive content consumption to a platform for active user participation and content creation. The document reviews characteristics of these new technologies and their impact on teaching and learning practices, requiring new digital skills and raising questions about roles of teachers and learners.
This document discusses the emergence and impact of open, social, and participatory media technologies like social networking sites, blogs, and wikis. It argues that these Web 2.0 technologies are changing how users interact, communicate, participate, and learn. They require new digital literacy skills and raise questions about teaching, learning, and organizational structures in education.
This document provides a history and overview of URL (User Requirements with Lego), which is a methodology based on Lego Serious Play for eliciting user requirements for online communication applications. URL was originally developed in 2006 at the Università della Svizzera italiana laboratories NewMinE and webatelier.net. After an exploratory phase using Lego bricks to conceptualize online features, the methodology was further developed with consulting companies trivioqudrivio and Kartha. Originally called Real Time Web, it is used to facilitate collaborative workshops where stakeholders build Lego models to represent requirements and foster shared understanding of an online communication project.
This document was prepared by Lorenzo Cantoni, Marco Faré and Elisabetta Frick of Università della Svizzera italiana (University of Lugano, Switzerland) in May 2011 and it was uploaded to the webatelier.net website, which sadly no longer functions. Since the document is Open Source, I have made it freely available here.
Web Live! Developing a Web Information ServiceJesús Tramullas
The document discusses developing a successful web information service with a focus on user-centered design. It emphasizes understanding users' needs through research and testing, organizing content and navigation based on how users consume information, and iteratively evaluating and improving the user experience. Key aspects include discovery research on users and competitors, user-centered site structure and page design, usability testing of prototypes, and ongoing evaluation and refinement based on user behavior data. The goal is to provide an intuitive interface and useful services that meet users' real needs.
Improving usage and impact of digitised resourcesJisc
This document discusses improving usage and impact of digitized resources based on findings from JISC projects. Some key points include:
1) Close user engagement is important when developing resources through methods like user panels and usability testing.
2) Designs that allow serendipitous discovery and flexible uses can increase impact. Resources should be discoverable on libraries, Google, and other trusted platforms.
3) Clear identifiers, citations styles, and stable URLs help resources be used in teaching and research over the long term.
Improving usage and impact of digitised resourcesAlastair Dunning
A presentation from the JISC Programme Meeting for its Content Programme for 2011 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/digitisation/econtent11.aspx
The Future for Educational Resource Repositories in a Web 2.0 Worldlisbk
Slides for a talk on "The Future for Educational Resource Repositories in a Web 2.0 World" given by Brian Kelly, UKOLN at an Edspaces workshop held at the University of Southampton on 4 November 2009.
See http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/edspace-2009/
This document provides an overview of a 4-week online course on collaborative tools offered through PODetc. The course focuses on ISTE technology standards and covers defining a collaborative toolbox, sharing online, collaborating with data, and reflections on collaboration. It discusses tools like Google Docs, iGoogle, and case studies of schools using Google Apps. The document provides resources and examples to help participants explore collaborative tools and apply them to teaching.
This document provides an overview of a 4-week online course on collaborative tools offered through PODetc. The course focuses on ISTE technology standards and covers defining a collaborative toolbox, sharing online, collaborating with data, and reflections on collaboration. It discusses tools like Google Docs, iGoogle, and case studies of schools using Google Apps. The document provides resources and examples to help participants explore collaborative tools and apply them to teaching.
This document provides an overview of a 4-week online course on collaborative tools offered through PODetc. The course focuses on ISTE technology standards and covers defining a collaborative toolbox, sharing online, collaborating with data, and reflections on collaboration. It discusses tools like Google Docs, iGoogle, and case studies of schools using Google Apps. The document encourages participants to experiment with collaborative documents and defines key concepts like ownership for collaborative projects.
This document provides an overview of a 4-week online course on collaborative tools offered through PODetc. The course focuses on ISTE technology standards and covers defining a collaborative toolbox, sharing online, collaborating with data, and reflections on collaboration. It introduces tools like Google Docs, iGoogle, and cloud computing. Case studies are provided of different tools being used in educational settings.
This document provides an overview of a 4-week online course on collaborative tools offered through PODetc. The course focuses on ISTE technology standards and covers defining a collaborative toolbox, sharing online, collaborating with data, and reflections on collaboration. It discusses tools like Google Docs, iGoogle, and case studies of schools using Google Apps. The document provides resources and examples to help participants explore collaborative tools and apply them to teaching.
David Noble's presentations to ACTS 2010 - the edonis projectdafc1885
The document introduces a workshop about a researcher's study of the EdD and how educators are using social web tools for professional development. The study called "edonis" will track trends in educators' use of web tools over 3 years, and their impact on teaching, learning and professional development. It provides examples of how professionals in the study are using social media in their personal learning networks and for continuing professional development. The discussion questions ask how participants currently use and plan to use social media, and how these online activities relate to continuing professional development.
The document discusses various Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, social networking sites, social bookmarking sites, and how they can be used. It provides examples of how individuals can use blogs to review audio and comment on reviews, use social bookmarking sites like Delicious to share blog posts, and connect with others on social networking sites like Facebook who share similar interests. The document also summarizes Intel's Teach program which provides professional development for teachers to integrate technology and promotes skills like problem-solving. It discusses project-based learning approaches and 21st century skills like collaboration, communication, and using technology to solve complex problems.
The document discusses using information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning. It covers defining Web 2.0 and how it has changed knowledge sharing. Various e-learning tools are presented, including options for collaboration, productivity, multimedia creation, organization, and social interaction. Challenges of implementing these tools in pedagogical practices are also addressed.
This document provides an overview of social media and web 2.0 tools that can be used for educational purposes. It discusses concepts like blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, social bookmarking and media sharing services. Specific examples are given of how these tools can be used, such as having students collaborate on a wiki project or use podcasts to listen to lecture recordings. Best practices for selecting and implementing these tools in education are also covered.
Online platforms can be used to develop ICT content and applications. Some examples of online platforms are presentation tools like Prezi, cloud computing services like Google Drive, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, web page creators like Wix and Weebly, file management tools, and mapping services. Online platforms are grouped technologies that serve as a base to build other applications, processes, and technologies. They allow users to create, share, and exchange information and content.
Online platforms can be used as a base to develop ICT content and applications. They include tools for presentations, cloud computing, social media, web pages, file management, and mapping. Examples of presentation tools include Prezi and SlideShare. Cloud platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox allow remote file storage and sharing. Social media platforms allow users to connect and share information, with examples being Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Web page creators such as Weebly and Tumblr offer drag-and-drop website building. File conversion and management can be done on platforms like Zamzar and Word2PDF. Google Maps provides an online mapping function.
E Training In Broadwood Area School For Teacherscarolynb
The document introduces Web 2.0 tools and online resources that can be used to support teaching and learning. It provides examples of tools like blogs, wikis, podcasts, widgets, photo sharing sites, video hosting sites, and Google Documents that can be used to create and share content online. Instructions are given on setting up accounts on these sites and exploring their features.
Similar to Chapter 12 – case study cloudworks (20)
The document discusses the changing educational landscape with new technologies and the need for new pedagogical approaches. It advocates for more open practices in design, delivery, research, and evaluation of education. Learning design is presented as a methodology to make the design process more explicit and shareable.
The document provides an overview of learning design and discusses several key topics:
1) It outlines some paradoxes in how technologies are used in education and proposes case studies and support networks as potential solutions.
2) It examines design practices and representations in fields like chemistry and music that effectively capture key factors to enable reproduction.
3) It proposes a new learning design methodology that encourages reflective practices, promotes sharing, and shifts approaches from implicit to explicit.
The document introduces CompendiumLD, a tool for visualizing learning designs that helps articulate designs, provides focus at different levels, and enables sharing of designs. It provides an example of how to build a learning design in CompendiumLD by mapping out the activities, roles, tasks, and resources. CompendiumLD allows customizing the icon set to focus on learning designs and includes scaffolds and supports to help students through each step of the design process.
The POE strategy involves 3 steps: 1) Students predict the outcome of a demonstration, 2) They observe the actual outcome, and 3) They explain any differences between their predictions and observations. This strategy is used to uncover students' initial ideas and generate discussion. It can also motivate students to explore concepts and generate investigations. The document provides examples of how POE has been implemented using discussion forums and wikis in online science courses.
This document discusses the implications of social and participatory media for education. It notes that new technologies have created a rapidly changing environment requiring new digital literacy skills. New approaches like open practices and online communities are emerging. Key trends include mobile learning, personalized learning, and cloud computing. Social media allows for user-generated content, networking, and collective intelligence. Learner experiences are becoming more technology-immersed and personalized. While teachers have been slow to adopt new technologies, open practices around design, delivery, research, and dialogue could help adoption. The future of learning may be more distributed, personalised, collective, creative, responsive and open.
This document discusses new approaches to learning, including learning trajectories, e-pedagogies, mobile learning, inquiry-based learning, role play, learning spaces, digital literacies, the learner experience, teacher practices, open practices, MOOCs, open accreditation, open dialogue, open research, the future of learning, online communities, interactivity, and community indicators. It argues that new technologies are enabling more open, social, participatory, and connected approaches to teaching and learning.
The document discusses how social and participatory media are enabling new forms of open practices in education. It notes that today's educational context features a rapidly changing technological environment where new digital literacy skills are needed for both learners and teachers. Social and participatory media like social networking, blogging, and collaborative editing are being used to enable more open practices in areas like peer critiquing, user-generated content, and open dialogue. The document advocates for more adoption of open practices in areas like open design, open delivery, open research, and open evaluation to transform teaching practices.
This document discusses modularity in Java and OSGi, focusing on multi-bundle modules and scoping mechanisms. It describes how modules are represented in Java through classes, packages, JAR files, and classloaders. In OSGi, bundles provide modularity but larger constructs are needed. The document explores various approaches to multi-bundle modules in OSGi through metadata rewriting, composite bundles, framework hooks, and the region digraph abstraction. It proposes subsystems as a standard way to define multi-bundle modules with configurable scoping in OSGi.
Chile regresó a la democracia en 1990 luego de 17 años de dictadura militar, abriendo amplias oportunidades para el país y su gente buscar un mejor futuro a través de un gobierno electo democráticamente.
The document discusses theoretical frameworks and representations for instructional model design and learning design. It addresses problems with why instructional model design learning has not been widely adopted in real practice, including it being too technical and disconnected from the realities of teaching. It also discusses potential solutions such as providing more teacher training and support, developing design expertise, better representing teaching practice, and designing instruction with different levels of granularity and learner autonomy in mind.
The document discusses learning design methodology, which is a pedagogically informed approach to making the instructional design process more explicit and shareable through tools and visualizations, with the goal of helping educators make more informed decisions about course design and encouraging reflective practice and collaboration through communities. It outlines the foundations of learning design in activity theory and mediating artifacts and how tools have co-evolved with practices.
This document discusses open educational practices (OEP) and presents guidelines for institutions to evaluate and improve their OEP using a benchmarking framework. The framework has four dimensions - strategies and policies, barriers and success factors, tools and practices, and skills development. Institutions can self-assess across micro, meso, and macro contexts to determine their maturity level in each dimension. The guidelines provide examples and guidance to help institutions develop OEP strategies and policies and promote broader adoption of open educational resources (OER).
This document discusses how technologies can foster creativity. It defines creativity as creating something novel and valuable by transcending traditional ideas and rules. Creativity is important for dealing with today's complex world. Social and participatory media can promote creativity by enabling new forms of discourse, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. Technologies allow promoting creativity through open practices, aggregation and scale, and creative learning, teaching, research, and use of open educational resources.
This document summarizes a keynote presentation about designing learning in an open world utilizing new technologies. It discusses how social media and open educational resources provide opportunities for collaboration and sharing of resources. However, learners and teachers lack digital literacy skills to make effective use of these tools. The document outlines a vision for the future of learning leveraging new technologies. It also discusses challenges, including a lack of skills and issues integrating new tools. The presentation focuses on strategies to address these challenges through research on open educational practices and designing learning experiences that effectively combine pedagogy and technology.
The document discusses emerging trends in e-learning including the rise of social and participatory media, the co-evolution of tools and pedagogical practices, new digital literacies required of learners and teachers, and challenges in designing effective open learning experiences that leverage new technologies while grounded in solid pedagogical approaches.
This document summarizes a presentation given by Gráinne Conole about rethinking learning and teaching in a digital age. The presentation covered several topics including the changing educational context with new digital literacies needed, emerging open practices, online community and interactivity, social and participatory media, pedagogies of e-learning, digital literacies, creativity, and open practices. Conole argued that effective use of new technologies requires rethinking core learning and teaching processes in a more open, collaborative way.
This document discusses the implications of social and participatory media on education. It begins by providing an overview of these new technologies, including their ability to enable new forms of interaction, user-generated content, collective aggregation, and community formation. It then discusses how these technologies can support constructivist and socially situated pedagogies through tools that enable peer critiquing, user generated content, and reflective, dialogic and peer-based learning. However, it also notes these technologies create a digital divide and new digital literacy demands. The document examines some positive impacts, such as access and personalization, and negative impacts, such as questions around the role of educational institutions.
This document discusses open practices in education and their implications. It explores how social and participatory media like blogging, mashups, messaging, and virtual worlds can enable open practices and collaborative learning. Some benefits of open practices discussed include encouraging reflection, promoting sharing and discussion, and enabling new forms of collaboration beyond traditional boundaries. The implications for learning, teaching, research and educational institutions include opportunities for greater collaboration, but also challenges around changing cultures and evaluating open resources.
This document discusses learning design and how to design effective learning interventions. It explores some of the paradoxes in how technologies are used for learning, such as technologies not being fully exploited and little evidence of the use of free resources. It examines some of the reasons for this, including technical, pedagogical, and organizational issues. The document also looks at potential solutions, such as case studies and support networks, and emphasizes the importance of learning design as a design-based approach to course creation and support.
This document discusses promoting open educational practices through social and participatory media. It begins with providing context about the author's background and interests. It then discusses the rapidly changing technological environment and new forms of open practices and online communities that are emerging. Finally, it explores key concepts around social and participatory media, digital literacies, creativity, online communities, and interactivity and how they can support open educational practices.
1. Chapter 12 – Case study: Cloudworks<br />Introduction<br />Chapters 11 and 18 respectively discussed open, social and participatory media and associated open practices. This chapter will provide a case study of a social networking site, Cloudworks, which has been developed to provide a space for practitioners to share and discuss learning and teaching ideas. It will describe the perceived need for the site, the vision underpinning its development, its functionality and an overview of some of the patterns of user behaviour we are seeing emerging in the site. It will apply the Community Indicators Framework described in Chapter 18 to explain these patterns of behaviour. <br />Cloudworks<br />In a series of interviews and workshops with teachers, when they were asked what would make them use technologies more in their teaching, they said that they wanted i) access to examples of good practice, preferably in their subject discipline and ii) a mechanism for discussing these with others online. Social and participatory media seem, at a first glance, to be an ideal means of supporting this, but on closed scrutiny teachers are not using tools such as social networking sites, blogs, wikis, Twitter etc. extensively. Therefore we decide to develop a new social networking site, Cloudworks that would harness appropriate Web 2.0 functionality to enable teachers to share and discuss learning and teaching ideas. <br />Development of the site began in February 2008. We began by undertaking a review of Web 2.0 functionality and exploration of how practitioners we using existing tools such as facebook, Elgg, Ning, blogs, wikis and Twitter. From this we articulated a vision statement to guide the development of the site: <br />We plan to develop a website to foster the growth of an evolving set of user-contributed learning design tools, resources and examples of learning activities. We aim for the site to be used by Open University course teams who want to collaborate on aspects of the design of their courses as well as by people outside. We want to promote the community-based aspect of the site both as a place for people to showcase their designs and related work, and also as place to obtain inspiration and share advice when creating new designs. We believe that different people will want to use a variety of different tools for designing learning activities in different contexts and at different stages of the design process, and therefore that the site should not be tied to any specific tool but allow people a choice of formats for design (such as CompendiumLD maps, LAMS sequences and text-based formats) ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Conole</Author><Year>2009</Year><RecNum>263</RecNum><record><rec-number>263</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>263</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Journal Articlequot;
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Culver, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Cloudworks: Social networking for learning design</title><secondary-title>Australasian Journal of Educational Technology</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Australasian Journal of Educational Technology</full-title></periodical><volume>25</volume><number>5 %U http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/conole.html</number><dates><year>2009</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Conole & Culver, 2009).<br />The initial site was developed in Drupal, which is an open source content management platform. This was chosen so that we could develop and test the site quickly. We then seeded the site with content, derived via a series of ‘Cloudfest’ events with teachers, where we gathered example of good practice and design. In addition in these events, teachers explored the site and discussed the content. We asked them what would motivate them to use such a site and what might be the barriers to using it. They felt that there was certainly a need for such a site, but that there were potentially issues in terms of the quality of the content, as well as issues around copyright and ownership. Many felt that although they would be interested in reading the content in the site, they were less willing to contribute their own content. <br />The site was trialled between the first release in December 2008 and April 2009 via a series of conferences and workshops. This gave us a good indication of how the site might be used to support various events and learning and teaching activities. It was clear that users wanted to have spaces on the site to discuss the content, as well as the ability to add links and references. New functionality was added based on evaluation of users’ patterns of behaviour on the site and direct feedback. A major redesign was undertaken and a new look and feel for the site was launched in July 2009. <br />Cloudworks combines social and participatory functionality to enable multiple forms of communication, collaboration and cross-boundary interactions amongst different communities of users. The core object in the site is a Cloud, which can be anything to do with learning and teaching; such as a description of a learning intervention, a description of a tool or resource, a question, or a discussion point. Clouds can be grouped into Cloudscapes; a Cloud can belong to more than one Cloudscape. Clouds are a combination of social and participatory functionality. Firstly they act like a multi-user blog; anyone can start a Cloud and others can sequential add content to it. Secondly they have a space for discussion. Thirdly, users can enrich the Cloud by adding embedded content, links and references. Finally they have additional Web 2.0 functionality, such as an activity stream for the Cloud, the ability to tag, RSS feeds and Twitter-like follow and be followed options. <br />The home page includes: a list of featured Cloudscapes, a list of forthcoming events, popular Clouds and Cloudscapes and active Clouds. Navigation is possible via a number of routes; by browsing Clouds, Cloudscapes and tags, via a search option, or via activity streams for either a Cloudscape or the whole site. <br />The site has been evaluated in a number of ways. Data is collected via web stats and Google analytics. We analyse and categorise the types of activities that emerge on the site. We have gathered user feedback via numerous conferences and workshops, through interviews and an online survey. Conole and Culver provide more details on our evaluation approach ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Conole</Author><Year>2010</Year><RecNum>11</RecNum><record><rec-number>11</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>11</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Journal Articlequot;
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Culver, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The design of Cloudworks: applying social networking practice to foster the exchange of learning and teaching ideas and designs</title><secondary-title>Computers and Education</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Computers and Education</full-title></periodical><pages>679-692</pages><volume>54</volume><number>3</number><dates><year>2010</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Conole & Culver, 2010). Anyone can view content on the site, but you need to register if you want to add content or contribute to discussions. At the time of writing the site there were 3656 registered users. Table 1 provides a breakdown of some of the statistics about the site.<br />AspectEveryoneTeamNon-teamCloudscapes416126290Clouds364115752066Comments454911903359Links411418802234Extra content864208656Embeds835271564<br />Figure SEQ Figure ARABIC 1: Cloudworks statistics January 2011<br />Theoretical underpinning to the development of the site<br />Interviews and focus groups with practitioners reveal the importance of socialisation in terms of sharing practice. They indicated that they wanted a site for sharing practice to be able to discuss learning and teaching ideas and designs with others. With this in mind we reviewed the research literature of socialisation. As discussed in Chapter 15 we have adopted a socio-cultural approach ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Cole</Author><Year>1997</Year><RecNum>337</RecNum><record><rec-number>337</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>337</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Bookquot;
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Cole, M.</author><author>Engeström, Y.</author><author>Vasquez, O. A.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Mind, culture and activity: seminal papers from the laboratory of comparative human cognition</title></titles><dates><year>1997</year></dates><pub-location>Cambridge, UK</pub-location><publisher>Cambridge University Press</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite><Cite><Author>Daniels</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>114</RecNum><record><rec-number>114</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>114</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Bookquot;
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Daniels, H.</author><author>Cole, M.</author><author>Wertsch, J. V.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The Cambridge Companion to Vygotsky</title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><publisher>Cambridge University Press %@ 0521831040 %7 1</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Cole, Engeström, & Vasquez, 1997; Daniels, Cole, & Wertsch, 2007) to our design built on the notion of Mediating Artefacts ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Conole</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>221</RecNum><record><rec-number>221</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>221</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Book Sectionquot;
>5</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, G.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Capturing practice, the role of mediating artefacts in learning design</title><secondary-title>In L. Lockyer, S. Bennett, S. Agostinhi and B. Harper Handbook of learning designs and learning objects</secondary-title></titles><dates><year>2008</year></dates><publisher>IGI Global</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Conole, 2008). In particular we found Bouman et al.’s framework ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Bouman</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>132</RecNum><record><rec-number>132</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>132</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Genericquot;
>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Bouman, W.</author><author>Hoogenboom, T.</author><author>Jansen, R.</author><author>Schoondorp, M.</author><author>de Bruin, B.</author><author>Huizing, A.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The realm of sociality: notes on the design of social software</title><secondary-title>The 28th Intl Conf on Information Systems</secondary-title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Bouman, et al., 2007) for sociality helpful, along with Engeström’s concept of ‘social objects’ ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Engeström</Author><Year>2005</Year><RecNum>203</RecNum><record><rec-number>203</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>203</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Genericquot;
>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Engeström, J</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Why some social network services work and others don't — Or: the case for object-centered sociality %U http://www.zengestrom.com/blog/2005/04/why_some_social.html</title></titles><dates><year>2005</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite><Cite><Author>Engeström</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>559</RecNum><record><rec-number>559</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>559</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Blogquot;
>56</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Engeström, J</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Microblogging - tiny social objects on the future of participatory media, cited in K. Anderson, blog entry June, 2007</title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://strange.corante.com/archives/2007/06/13/nmkforum07_jyri_of_jaiku.php</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Engeström, 2005, 2007). Engeström argues that social object are key Mediating Artefacts that help to make social networks work. He builds on the work of Knorr-Cetina ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=quot;
1quot;
><Author>Knorr-Cetina</Author><Year>2001</Year><RecNum>560</RecNum><record><rec-number>560</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>560</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Book Sectionquot;
>5</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Knorr-Cetina, K.</author></authors><secondary-authors><author>Schatzki, T.</author></secondary-authors></contributors><titles><title>Objectual practice</title><secondary-title>The practice turn in contemporary theory</secondary-title></titles><dates><year>2001</year></dates><pub-location>London</pub-location><publisher>Routledge</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2001). He argues that we need to adopt an ‘object-orientated sociality’ to social networking, suggesting that:<br />The term 'social networking' makes little sense if we leave out the objects that mediate the ties between people. Think about the object as the reason why people affiliate with each specific other and not just anyone… ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Engeström</Author><Year>2005</Year><RecNum>203</RecNum><record><rec-number>203</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>203</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Genericquot;
>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Engeström, J</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Why some social network services work and others don't — Or: the case for object-centered sociality %U http://www.zengestrom.com/blog/2005/04/why_some_social.html</title></titles><dates><year>2005</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Engeström, 2005)<br />Within Cloudworks the social objects are Clouds. Within a social networking context, objects are increasingly important in terms of mediating human relationships ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Knorr-Cetina</Author><Year>2001</Year><RecNum>560</RecNum><record><rec-number>560</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>560</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Book Sectionquot;
>5</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Knorr-Cetina, K.</author></authors><secondary-authors><author>Schatzki, T.</author></secondary-authors></contributors><titles><title>Objectual practice</title><secondary-title>The practice turn in contemporary theory</secondary-title></titles><dates><year>2001</year></dates><pub-location>London</pub-location><publisher>Routledge</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Knorr-Cetina, 2001). Engeström contends that the definition of a social network as ‘a map of the relationships between people’ is inadequate. <br />The fallacy is to think that social networks are just made up of people. They're not; social networks consist of people who are connected by a shared object.<br />This is an important distinction and he argues that this can be used as a basis for understanding why some social networks are successful whilst others fail. He provides examples of successful social networking sites built around social objects – such as Flickr (photos), YouTube (videos), SlideShare (documents and presentations) and sites such as ‘Eventful’ (eventful.com), where the objects are events. He puts forward object-orientated sociality as a mechanism for helping us to identify new objects that might be used as the basis for developing new social networking services. Engeström ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=quot;
1quot;
><Author>Engeström</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>559</RecNum><record><rec-number>559</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>559</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Blogquot;
>56</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Engeström, J</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Microblogging - tiny social objects on the future of participatory media, cited in K. Anderson, blog entry June, 2007</title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://strange.corante.com/archives/2007/06/13/nmkforum07_jyri_of_jaiku.php</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2007) developed a set of principles for design. These included: ensuring that the objects in the network are shareable and social, and that the objects need to be clearly defined with tangible actions that users can perform on the objects. <br />We also used Bouman et al.’s framework of sociality in terms of supporting user engagement and long-term sustainability of the site. They draw on Wenger’s work ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Wenger</Author><Year>1998</Year><RecNum>198</RecNum><record><rec-number>198</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>198</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Bookquot;
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Wenger, E.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning and Identity. Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives</title></titles><dates><year>1998</year></dates><publisher>Cambridge University Press, Cambridge</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Wenger, 1998), arguing that sociality cannot be designed, but only designed for. Their framework provides a useful checklist for the design process. The framework is based on four design domains: enabling practice, mimicking reality, building identity and actualising self and is based a number of assumptions. Firstly, that the system needs to accommodate both the evolution of practices and the inclusion of newcomers. Secondly, that individual identity is important so there needs to be a mechanism to enable the development of identities. Thirdly they argue that people are more inclined to use software systems that resemble their daily routines, language and practices than to adopt whole new concepts, interfaces and methods, which suggests that metaphors and structures that mimic real life practices are likely to be more successful. <br />Chapter 18 looked at a range of frameworks for studying online communities and interactions and introduced a new Community Indicators Framework that we argue can be used to both design and evaluation online social networking sites like Cloudworks ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Galley</Author><Year>Forthcoming</Year><RecNum>443</RecNum><record><rec-number>443</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>443</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Journal Articlequot;
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Galley, R.</author><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Alevizou, P.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Community Indicators: A framework for building and evaluating communiyt activity on Cloudworks</title><secondary-title>Interactive Learning Environments</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Interactive Learning Environments</full-title></periodical><dates><year>Forthcoming</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Galley, Conole, & Alevizou, Forthcoming). Conole et al. have identified eight ways in which the site is being used ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Conole</Author><Year>Forthcoming</Year><RecNum>449</RecNum><record><rec-number>449</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>449</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Journal Articlequot;
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Galley, R.</author><author>Culver, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Frameworks for understanding the nature of inteactions, networking and community in a social networking site for academic practice</title><secondary-title>Internatioanal Review of Research into Online and Distance Learning</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Internatioanal Review of Research into Online and Distance Learning</full-title></periodical><dates><year>Forthcoming</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Conole, Galley, & Culver, Forthcoming): events, debates, open reviews, resource aggregation, courses, virtual reading circles, learning designs and expert elicitation/consultation. The Community Indicators Framework consists of four dimensions: participation, cohesion, identity and creative capability. <br />The participation dimension is concerned with sustained user activity over time, commitment from a core group and emerging roles and hierarchy. Each of these features is evident across the various Cloudscapes on the site. For example, Alevizou et al. undertook a detailed evaluation of the use of the site by the distributed OER community ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Alevizou</Author><Year>2010</Year><RecNum>444</RecNum><record><rec-number>444</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>444</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Reportquot;
>27</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Alevizou, G.</author><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Galley, R.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Using Cloudworks to support OER Activities, report for the HE Academy</title></titles><dates><year>2010</year></dates><pub-location>Milton Keynes</pub-location><publisher>The Open University</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Alevizou, Conole, & Galley, 2010). They found evidence of both short bursts of activity around particular events (such as conferences and workshops) and more sustained activity, for example via the various Cloudscapes set up by the Olnet initiative. For both the Olnet initiative and for the Cloudscape set up for the OU’s learning and teaching conference there appeared to be commitment fro a core group. In the former case this was members of the OU Olnet team and in the later case the conference organisers. As use of the site developed a range of roles emerged, including: leadership, facilitation, support and general participation. <br />The cohesion dimension is concerned with support and tolerance, turn taking and response and humour and playfulness. Evaluation of the dialogic exchanges on the site show lots of examples of the ways in which users mutually support each other; examples include reinforcing statements, ways of drawing people into the conversation and a lack of any aggressive behaviour. Users engage in turn taking and respond to the postings of others, as well as commenting on links and references that are added to Clouds. As is evident in other social networking sites there are lots of examples of humour and playfulness. This is mixed in with dialogic engagement around learning and teaching issues. There is a commonality of discourse across the different communities. <br />The identity dimension is concerned with group self-awareness, shared language and vocabulary and a sense of community. As Cloudscapes evolve there is a growing sense of group self-awareness, through the development of mutual interests and a sense of the Cloudscape’s focus. Share language and vocabulary are evident, and as discussed above there is a mix of humour and serious discourse. When interviewed users reported that they felt a sense of community with particular Cloudscapes of interests. This is reinforced though the following and favouriting functionalities.<br />Finally, the creative capability dimension related to igniting a sense of purpose, multiple points of views being expressed, contradicted and challenged and the creation of knowledge links and patterns. <br />Evaluation of the OU Learning and Teaching conference Cloudscape<br />As a means of describing how the site is being used in more detail, this section will summarise the range of activities and types of user behaviour patterns in one Cloudscape. As described earlier and expanded on by Conole et al. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=quot;
1quot;
><Author>Conole</Author><Year>Forthcoming</Year><RecNum>449</RecNum><record><rec-number>449</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>449</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Journal Articlequot;
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, G.</author><author>Galley, R.</author><author>Culver, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Frameworks for understanding the nature of inteactions, networking and community in a social networking site for academic practice</title><secondary-title>Internatioanal Review of Research into Online and Distance Learning</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Internatioanal Review of Research into Online and Distance Learning</full-title></periodical><dates><year>Forthcoming</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Forthcoming), an important type of activity found in Cloudworks is its use to support events. The OU Learning and Teaching conference Cloudscape was set up by Karen Cropper and Martin Weller on 2nd March 2010 (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2012). Figure 2 shows a screenshot of the conference Cloudscape. The conference programme can be viewed here http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2994. It included four keynote external speakers (Frank Rennie, Helen Milner, George Siemens and Jimmy Wales). In addition there were a number of OU presentations spread over the conference programme. <br />Figure 2: Screenshot of part of the conference Cloudscape<br />The Cloudscape was set up to support the conference, which for the first time was held totally online. In previous years the conference was held over two days at the OU with about 200 people attending. The conference in 2010 was still held over two days (20-22nd June 2010) and in addition to the Cloudscape, an Elluminate session was set up to support a series of synchronous keynotes and presentations. At the time of writing the Cloudscape has had 3235 unique visits, a considerable advance on the numbers attending the previous conferences. 239 said they were attending the conference and it had 134 followers. A number of links were included such as: Conference Information: What do I need to do? Conference Information: Using Elluminate, Conference information: Announcements, Conference information: Programme, Your Contributions (deadline 16 June), The twitter hashtag was #OUConf10 and Twitter archive. In addition to the programmed talks, an interesting feature of the space was that participants were invited to add Clouds relating to their own projects, enriching the sharing and dissemination of research work in a participatory fashion. The theme of the conference was ‘Learning in the Open World’, explored through four aspects (learning, content, access and teaching). Participants could view all the Clouds in the Cloudscape or filter via the following tabs: Open Learning, Open Teaching, Open Content and Open Access). A final tab filtered on participants’ contributions.<br />The structure and design of such spaces is important. Firstly, it needed to be very clear; i.e. the space needed to be easy for participants to navigate around. Secondly, it needed to mirror the synchronous nature of the conference and provide a complementary space to the Elluminate sessions. <br />In addition to qualitative analysis of the Cloudscape we also gathered quantitative data. Table 1 summarises this. These figures are indeed impressive and demonstrate that the Cloudscape was high active, with a significant degree of participation from those attending the conference. It demonstrates how Cloudworks can act as a shared community space for those with a common interest, as well as a space both for discussion and reflection and related resource aggregation. <br />Table 1: Statistic for the Cloudscape<br />FeatureNumberNumber of Clouds47Number of comments 172Number of embeds60Number of items of extra content36Number of links92Number of followers134Number of attendees239Number of distinct people commenting54Numbers of views of Cloudscapes3235Number of people logged in and viewing Cloudscape Clouds486Number of distinct IP addresses4784<br />It was interesting to see the way in which the site was used in conjunction with Elluminate. During the sessions participants contributed to the live chat in Elluminate commenting on the talk and adding relevant references. Many of the talks were live blogged and then posted in the relevant space on Cloudworks. Martin provided an overarching facilitation role during the conference. In addition the Cloudscape was facilitated for a week after the conference. Martin and Karen enlisted a number of OU people to help live blog the conference, for example the first day of the conference was live blogged and put up as a Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/4022). It included a summary of the presentations and one link to related content. A number of the Clouds included discussion posts, for example the Open Access Cloud had four comments, an embedded Slideshare presentation and four links to related material. There were also contributions to the participants’ Clouds. For example, the Cloud on ‘Integrating multimedia into assessment’ (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2631) attracted nine comments, an embedded YouTube video and 1 link. The ability for participants to include their own contributions definitely enriched the nature of the conference, and helped make them feel inclusive. An impressive 51 additions were added (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2978). <br />It was evident that there were a number of distinct roles adopted: leadership, facilitation, presentation, live blogging, resource aggregation and participation were all evident. These are all nice examples of the participation dimension in the Community Indicators Framework described in Chapter 18. Indeed having some form of semi-formal structure and facilitation was an important aspect of ensuring that the conference was a success. The cohesion dimension was evident in a number of respects. Firstly, as the conference occurred synchronously, participants needed to set aside time to view the presentations and contribute to the discussions in both Cloudworks and Elluminate. The discussion spaces enabled them to reflect on the presentations and related Clouds and respond to the postings of others. Participants had a shared send of identity and a sense of common purpose, namely an interest in exploring learning and teaching issues through the lens of openness. Finally the creative capability dimension represented itself in a number of ways. Firstly, there is evident of multiple points of view being discussed in participant’s postings, Secondly, participation in the conference resulted in an updating some of the latest research in the field and hence was a form of professional practice. <br />Many of the comments were reflective in nature, for example this posting on the ‘Open Content to Open Thinking’ Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3947):<br />I guess the good & bad thing you face is that people aren't really used to categorising their thoughts in this way. So the good part is that Cohere encourages people to reflect on their own argument and to become clearer when constructing it. This is surely what education should be doing. The 'bad' part is that there is an additional barrier for people to overcome in using it - so you have the new technology element (even if it is easy to use) and also the new mental processes to develop. The pay-off may be worthwhile but it'll be interesting to see if this double hit at the start is too much for many. And that is interesting for all of us in ed tech as it has implications not just for Cohere but also for whether we can use the social web to go beyond just sharing 'stuff'.<br />A Cloud was set up to enable participants to reflect and comment on their experience of the conference (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2992). The comments posted indicated that on the whole participants found the conference a valuable experience. Below are some examples of the comments left which demonstrate this. For example participants valued the ability to be able to ‘attend’ the conference from anywhere and indeed there were participants from around the world:<br />An inspirational first day, particularly the #gsiemens session. I 'attended' from my sofa here in Bath using Elluminate and had no technical glitches at all - pretty amazing for 6 solid hours online. The 'fully open' nature of the conference was in itself an innovation and set a significant example to the sector.<br />They linked the interoperability of the conference and the way in which the live bloggers were able to capture the essence of the different presentations and quickly post them up:<br />I too thought that the conference went really well today and the cross-channel interoperability and live-blogging were great too.<br />The combination of Elluminate and Cloudworks worked well, although there were some suggestions for how the link between them could be improved:<br />I like the synchronous chat on Eluminate, and it's a great tool for both presenters and participants to engage in meaningful discussions. The only shame is that very interesting chat stays within Eluminate; is there a way for inviting participants to engage in such discussions in Cloudworks? I tried to paste discussion in Cloudworks, but worry about ethical considerations. I guess, on the other hand, that Doug's very efficient live-blogging captures most audience interaction/discussions :)<br />This quote also illustrates the supported nature of the discourse that the participants used. Cross referencing to others and using a positive tone to express their thoughts. <br />One participant blogged his reflections of the conference. His post includes some insightful and reflective thoughts on the ideas generated from the conference in particular on the changing nature of learning and teaching. Members of the conference team then responded to the points he made in his blog post. <br />There were however some criticism of the conference; particularly around some technical glitches in using Elluminate and also the following comment: <br />Possibly deep thinking was represented in some (many?) of the conference contributions via clouds, etc., but they 'did not rise to the top' (the expression of someone in a pre-conference interview, I think). There is a serious issue with allowing open contribution -- a danger of a tyranny of structurelessness.<br />Using Cloudworks to support learning<br />As an alternative example of how Cloudworks has been used to support learning, this section will describe the way in which students on the OU’s MAODE H800 module used the space. In the course content, the students were invited to take part in a number of activities in Cloudworks. As a result three Cloudscapes were set up: a general one, entitled H800 (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1442), one relating to a specific course activity (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2057) and one to support the H800 flash debates (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1937). The H800 Cloudscape had 491 unique visits; given that there were only about 130 students on the module this suggests that the site is being viewed by others as well. Indeed this was evident in some of the postings on the Cloudscape from those outside the course. The Cloudscape consisted of 11 Clouds. One supported the H800 Cloudquest challenge that the students were required to do as part of the module’s activities (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2699). This activity aimed to help familarise students with the site, but getting them to explore the site to answer a set of questions. It resulted in 21 postings and 2 links. I moderated the space and responded to the comments the students left. <br />The students enjoyed the Cloudquest and found it useful:<br />I enjoyed the cloudquest. There is so much, just glad it is alphabetically categorised. Will be suggesting it to my trainee teachers, especially those who may not have a VLE within their organisation to use. I must explore this site some more to see how it can be used effectively.<br />He went on to say, in a later post, that he could see how the site might be used to support educators, cross referencing comments he made in a closed, module Elluminate session:<br />That is precisely the point I made in an Elluminate tutorial with my study group yesterday. I see it as a site that would support educators, reducing the need for google searches, teacher.net searches, etc. I already found several items that will be useful not only for me but also for my trainee teachers.<br />This quote also shows how the students can see the value of the site to support their professional practice. The following quote also illustrates that the students found it a useful activity, but also indicates some concerns in terms of how to best use the site. <br />I've just arrived at Cloudworks and have learnt a lot about using it from this challenge. In fact, I'd recommend students on H800 complete the challenge first before they attempt Activity 4 (which brings us here). I was unclear about what I actually had to do for the activitiy and this isn't a good frame of mind to be in when exploring a new application! When I was more familiar with Cloudworks (via the challenge), focusing on what I was meant to do for Activity 4 was better - but that may say more about me than the activitiy!<br />The following quotes shows that the students can see that the site is a massive and useful resource for learning and teaching:<br />As someone else said, there is just so much! - it makes me feel like my head is an exploding cloud - but I know it's going to be a really useful resource for up to date info.<br />As a newcomer to education as a student I have been completely overwhelmed by the availability of resources and the use of technology in a creative way to give access to expertise and experience. Great site and great idea.<br />Hi, all I'm also impressed by the range and potential of Cloudworks, and can think of numerous occassions when it would have been useful to me! And will be in the future I'm sure.<br />I echo many of the sentiments shared by my H800 colleagues. I think cloudworks is a great Social Information Network (SIN) and Community of Practice (COP) tool as it focuses specifically on teaching and learning, thereby having the relevance that is needed to sustain social networks and COPs.<br />Flash debates were identified as a new form of activity on the site in September 2009 with the ‘Is Twitter killing blogging’ Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2266). A specific Cloudscape was set up for the H800 students (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1937) and they were invited to contribute Clouds on topics they were interested in discussing with their fellow students. There were 418 unique visits to the Cloudscape and a total of 11 Clouds were added, including some Clouds that had been created prior to the running of the module (for example the ‘Has Twitter already peaked?’ Cloud http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3374), which the students found and wanted to continue discussion. This is a nice example of boundary crossing between different communities within the site. The topics the students were interested in included: the pros and cons of Elluminate and Flashmeeting, the end of certification, comparison of the nature of discussion in closed spaces (like forums) with discussions in open spaces (like Cloudworks), distance learning problems with teaching Physics and how to reach a tipping point with a new technology.<br />Table 2: Statistics on the H800 flash debate Cloudscape<br />FeatureNumberNumber of Clouds11Number of comments 123Number of embeds2Number of items of extra content3Number of links32Number of followers10Number of attendees0Number of distinct people commenting59Numbers of views of Cloudscapes418Number of people logged in and viewing Cloudscape Clouds144Number of distinct IP addresses1390<br />As Table 2 shows the patterns of activity in this Cloudscape are different to those found on the conference Cloudscape described in the last section. Not surprisingly, given the focus of the Cloudscape, there are proportionately more comments than links or embeds. There are no attendees as this is not an event cloud and as the distinct IP addresses show, a lot more people than are on the course are viewing the space.<br />Whereas the first two Cloudscapes for H800 described were set up by me, the third (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2057) was set up by one of the students, in relation to one of the activities they were asked to complete on the module. The Cloudscape has 218 views and it has nine Clouds, most of which relate to students discussing the implementation of technology in different subject disciplines: namely Social Work, Nursing, and Statistics. The statistics Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3222) was particularly popular with 208 views, 12 comments and 4 links. Rather than posting discussion posts, the students posted links to relevant resources for teaching statistics. So the Cloud is more of an example of a collective resource aggregator than a discussion Cloud. <br />The ‘Using Cloudworks on the H800 course’ (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2700) was set up to elicit feedback from the students on their experience of using Cloudworks and their perceived value of the site. Views were mixed. Some students found the site rather overwhelming:<br />I'm finding this all a bit mind-blowing. My hide-bound ideas are probably tripping me up as I'm wondering how it's possible to keep track of everything. Surely chaos results!<br />I agree about chaos. I feel I've been thrown into a vortex and am just spinning around. No doubt familiarity will resolve this.<br />Responding to this, another student evidently could see the pros and cons of open verses closed spaces:<br />Urusula you raise a very valid point about keeping in touch with all the different online spaces. Our H800 group discussion forums are established spaces where debate can occur without having to work in this new cloudworks space. Some people may feel 'safer' in this more restricted environment. Where I do see an advantage is as in the L140 En Rumbo Spanish cloudscape where participants are sharing resources and developing a community of participants beyond the confined life of an OU course.<br />A former H800 student described how the site had become an important part of her everyday academic practice:<br />As a former student enrolled in H807 and H809 courses, I can understand your early feelings here in Cloudworks. No doubt that moving from a defined group in a VLE to a network of practitioners in Cloudworks requires some time and adaptability. I agree with John that familiarity helps to overcome the initial feeling of 'chaos'. I also think Julie (my ex classmate :-)! ) is right when she underlines the value of Cloudworks 'beyond the confined life of an OU course'.<br />Actually for me this environment has become an integral part of my professional life as an elearning practitioner: even, 'living here' sometimes I succeeded to better understand some concepts that I had previously studied in the formal courses.<br />I think a change of attitude could also help: I moved from an objective-driven approach, that fits to a planned and outcome-based course to a serendipitous approach, more rewarding in a social network environment.<br />Another student recommended persevering, arguing that getting to grips with new technologies takes time, but is worth the investment in the end:<br />John, I found I became more comfortable with the new environment Cloudworks presents the more I “poked” around it so agree that familiarity should resolve this.<br />Other types of activities in Cloudworks<br />Finally, this section will point to some examples of the other six types of activities in Cloudworks, namely: debates, open reviews, resource aggregation, virtual reading circles, learning designs and expert elicitation/consultation. The ‘Reviewing the use(s) of Web 2.0 in higher education’ Cloudscape (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1895) is a good example of how the site is being used to support open research reviews. The creator of the Cloud posted her research questions as Clouds and then added appropriate links and references. The Cloudscape had 1477 and six people favourited it. The Cloudscape has 27 Clouds associated with it, including five specifically related to the review’s research questions. The Cloud ‘Why has general Web 2.0 practice not translated well/extensively into an HE context? elicited 16 comments. These were very rich, insightful comments on the issues with lack of uptake, the following quotes give an illustration of the depth of the discussion: <br />I think that one of the critical factors is how comfortable staff feel using Web2.0 type tools for their own research/ personal interests.<br />For generations, those with a teaching role have encouraged students to read - and have themselves read for pleasure as well as for work. Most will have also written - both for work and socially.<br />However, it's much harder to get the enthusiasm & ability to add inside knowledge (e.g. when we're discussing reading text books - we often compare the different ways you tackle a text book - and a murder novel)<br />If we, as staff, don't have that ease with WEb2.0 tools, then it's going to be really hard to get students enthusiastic.<br />Another respondent agreed with this and added:<br />I think there are two separate angles - the extent to which Web 2.0 has translated into teaching and the extent to which it has translated in to the practice of educators in HE. As Emma says, the former depends on the latter.<br />I'm not convinced that folk in HE used Web 2.0 sites any less than in most other professions though. You need a critical mass of people you know professionally to also be using them for them to be useful and you need to spend a reasonable amount of time in front of a computer or smartphone which will rule out a certain proportion of academics. <br />Finally, someone wondered what the role of institutions should be in addressing this lack of uptake:<br />I wonder how many HE institutes actively promote and support the experimental use of web 2.0 and other technologies by academics?<br />ELSIG is a vibrant community of researchers interested in exploring learners’ experiences of using technology. It has been using a ning site for a number of years to support the group’s activities, but recently set up a space in Cloudworks to support a virtual reading circle (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2047). They found the functionality of Cloudworks to be able to both discuss Clouds and add links and references particularly suitable for this kind of activity. The Cloudscape 20 Clouds, pointing to various research resources, including both papers and presentations. Each Cloud could then be discussed by the group and relevant links and resources added. The Cloudscape had 343 views and 2 people favourited it. <br />Cloudsworks was also used by members of the University of Exeter, to carry out a Delphi method study, which was concerned with the role of educational technologists to support learner experiences (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1872). The Cloudscape has 1324 views and contained 11 Clouds. Nine of these were the research questions associated with the study. In addition to the Cloudscape, the questions were also sent to the ALT mailing list (a list for learner technologists in the UK). It was interesting to note how the nature of the discussions in the two spaces differed, demonstrating the influence the affordances ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Gibson</Author><Year>1979</Year><RecNum>24</RecNum><record><rec-number>24</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=quot;
ENquot;
db-id=quot;
2wap2tes5rfwtleve0mx9wpuw5xvvxape25zquot;
>24</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=quot;
Bookquot;
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>J J Gibson </author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The ecological approach to visual perception</title></titles><dates><year>1979</year></dates><pub-location>Hillsdale, New Jersey</pub-location><publisher>Lawrence Erlbaum Associated</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Gibson, 1979) of different technologies have on patterns of user behaviour. <br />The ‘VLE is dead’ debate Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2162) arose from a session held at the ALT-C 2009 conference. The tension between institutional Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and more open technologies has been a hot topic for debate for a number of years across the blogosphere. Rather than acting as a discussion space, this Cloud acted more as a resource aggregator point to relevant links and blogs on the topic. It had 2173 views and 3 people favourited it. The actual session was live blogged into the Cloud, but what was more interesting was the way the Cloud then evolved into an extensive resource of links on the topic. A total of 50 links and 2 references were added over a short period of time. Interestingly one contributor in particular was very active in terms of adding links. <br />The final type of activity evident in Cloudworks is its use to share and discuss learning and teaching designs. As part of the OULDI we have run a range of learning design workshop, using Cloudworks as a space for participants to share and discuss the activities they engage with during the workshops. One example of this is a workshop run at Brunel University (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1912). There were 659 views of the Cloudscape and two people favourited it. It consisted of 26 Clouds. These included Clouds associated with the workshop activities. Other Clouds included the participants outputs. In particular they used the learning design conceptual views described in Chapter 5 to represent the courses they were developing. For example this Cloud (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2639) shows three of the views one team produced, namely: the course map view, the pedagogy profile and the task swimlane. Participants uploaded their views to a shared space on Flckr and then embedded them into the Cloud. Others were then invited to add comments and to compare the views generated across the groups. <br />Conclusion<br />This chapter has described a new social networking site, Cloudworks, which has been designed as a space for learners and teachers to share and discuss learning ideas. It has provided a description of the vision behind the development of the site and its functionality. A detailed description of the Cloudscape set up to support the OU’s Learning and Teaching conferences was provided which provided a nice illustration of the types of user behaviour, interaction and community engagement we are seeing in the site. As this Cloudscape illustrates Cloudworks appears to be acting as a unique back channel, discussion space and resource aggregator to complement conference activities. <br />References<br /> ADDIN EN.REFLIST Alevizou, G., Conole, G., & Galley, R. (2010). Using Cloudworks to support OER Activities, report for the HE Academy. Milton Keynes: The Open University.<br />Bouman, W., Hoogenboom, T., Jansen, R., Schoondorp, M., de Bruin, B., & Huizing, A. (2007). The realm of sociality: notes on the design of social software, The 28th Intl Conf on Information Systems.<br />Cole, M., Engeström, Y., & Vasquez, O. A. (1997). Mind, culture and activity: seminal papers from the laboratory of comparative human cognition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.<br />Conole, G. (2008). Capturing practice, the role of mediating artefacts in learning design In L. Lockyer, S. Bennett, S. Agostinhi and B. Harper Handbook of learning designs and learning objects: IGI Global.<br />Conole, G., & Culver, J. (2009). Cloudworks: Social networking for learning design. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(5 %U http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/conole.html).<br />Conole, G., & Culver, J. (2010). The design of Cloudworks: applying social networking practice to foster the exchange of learning and teaching ideas and designs. Computers and Education, 54(3), 679-692.<br />Conole, G., Galley, R., & Culver, J. (Forthcoming). Frameworks for understanding the nature of inteactions, networking and community in a social networking site for academic practice. Internatioanal Review of Research into Online and Distance Learning.<br />Daniels, H., Cole, M., & Wertsch, J. V. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Vygotsky: Cambridge University Press %@ 0521831040 %7 1.<br />Engeström, J. (2005). Why some social network services work and others don't — Or: the case for object-centered sociality %U http://www.zengestrom.com/blog/2005/04/why_some_social.html.<br />Engeström, J. (2007). Microblogging - tiny social objects on the future of participatory media, cited in K. Anderson, blog entry June, 2007. http://strange.corante.com/archives/2007/06/13/nmkforum07_jyri_of_jaiku.php<br />Galley, R., Conole, G., & Alevizou, P. (Forthcoming). Community Indicators: A framework for building and evaluating communiyt activity on Cloudworks. Interactive Learning Environments.<br />Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associated.<br />Knorr-Cetina, K. (2001). Objectual practice. In T. Schatzki (Ed.), The practice turn in contemporary theory. London: Routledge.<br />Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning and Identity. Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.<br />