Consideration of the role of technology in helping farmers learn and in helping future industry development. Identifies individual and industry level capacities to use technology for learning.

1. Enhancing participation in
agricultural development
Directions for digital technologies
Ann Starasts
Digital Futures CRN

2. Digital Futures
Collaborative Research Network
Research theme – Widening participation in
learning in rural and regional Australia
Institute of Agriculture and
Environment
Sustainable Agribusiness Team

3. Considerations in enhancing
digital participation in
agricultural industry development
Explosion of technologies within agriculture
Increasing volumes of information and data
How well are these meeting needs of
individuals & industries?
Are industries in tune with the outcomes
they are hoping to achieve from IT
initiatives – farm & industry level
innovation?

4. Today
Technology and information
Farm business & individual needs &
expectations
Learning Theories
Adding value through technology
Social media
Capacities in digital environments
Need to align activities with goals

5. IS SOMETHING MISSING ONLINE?
Lack locally relevant
content Sulaiman et al 2012
lack quality human
intermediation Sulaiman et al
2012
Lack of tailored ICT
applications Gelb & offer 2005
Lack of user-
centred research
Challenge of finding the information ‘within
context’ Walisadeera, Wikramanayake & Ginige, 2013

6. Farm
records
Tractor
records
Precision
maps
Financial
records
Agronomist
reports
Media &
web
content
Social
media
The
Farm
Business
Do we have sufficient capacities,
processes & tools to make this
information work for farm business goals
& decisions?
Is it info
overload?

7. To what
extent are
we using
technology
as a means
to supply
information
– rather
than a tool
to help
build
knowledge?

8. The
Farm
Business
Farm
records
Tractor
records
Precision
maps
Financial
records
Agronomist
reports
Media &
web
content
Social
media
Specific
characteristics &
criteria
Soils, climate
equipment
Family needs &
commitments
Financial
situation &
commitments
Skills
Succession
plans
Experiences
Personalised
Decisions
Do we have the tools, capacities,
knowledge to maximise value from
technology?

9. The solution for individuals and for
rural industries is to identify and
develop appropriate digital capacities,
skills & tools to maximise value from
use of technology – with respect to
their needs.

10. Increasing push towards a broader
view of the potential for ICTs to
facilitate learning through human
interaction Leeuwis, 2008; Sulaiman V, Hall, Kalaivani, Dorai & Reddy, 2012
Maximising value from technologies
requires a focus on facilitation and
intermediation Klerkx & Leeuwis, 2008
Want to improve users’ ability to
communicate both within their
networks and to a wider range of
people.

11. Earlier research..
Study of farmers’ use of digital tools,
connections & information in their
learning & knowledge building
(Starasts 2014, 2005)
• Longitudinal study 16 grain /
cotton growers on-farm self-
directed learning
• Survey of Qld farmer internet users
n=126

12. Individual farmer
needs:
Finding people
New networks
Information services
Farmer expectations
from industry:
Scan the globe
Be innovative
Forward thinking
Cohesive industry
communications
Dynamic information
exchange
Industry needs:
Publish & extend
information
Individual farmer
needs:
Finding people
New networks
Intelligent
information tools
Farmer expectations
from industry:
Forums
Collaboration
Cohesive communication
Dynamic information
exchange
Communications & tools
aligned to industry goals
Find information, people
Industry needs:
Collaborate & connect
Share information
Expectations from technology
Starasts 2005
Are these correct? 2014

13. Theoretical contexts
Constructivist – learning is an active,
constructive process. The learner is
an ‘information constructor’. People
actively construct their own
subjective representations of
objective reality. New information is
linked to prior knowledge.
Mental representations are subjective.
http://www.learning-theories.com/constructivism.html

14. Situated learning &
cognition
‘situated in an authentic context’
‘problem based, people explore real life
situations to find answers, or to solve
the problems’
Each farm has a unique combination of
physical, social and financial
characteristics that defines their specific
learning context & information need Starasts 2014
Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1990; Herrington
and Oliver 1995

15. Experiential learning
Experiential learning is learning through
reflection on doing
Experiential
learning
model
Concrete
experience
Reflective
observation
Abstract
Conceptualisation
Active
experimentation
Kolb, 1984

16. Social learning
occurs through social interactions and
processes between actors within a
social network1
Networked learning
Promoting connections between
learners, educators & learning
resources2
1Lankshear & Knobel 2011; 2Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Jones & Lindstrom,
2009

17. Personalised learning
Programs/information are customised
Timely
User-centred
Additionally - learning in Ag relies on:
Familiarity, timeliness, readiness
Learners are physically & situationally
isolated
Sampson, Karagiannidis & Kinshuk 2010

18. Adding value to core
learning constructs
Personalised
learning
constructs
Social / networked learning
afforded through connections
Situated
learning
Advisory; Access to experts
Time & issue specific focus
Experiential
learning
Validate own experiences
Others’ experiences as ‘information’
Reflect on meaning of these
Constructivist
approaches
Share & validate constructs, opinions,
perceptions
Create new knowledge collaboratively

19. Individual farmers and industries will
only use technology if it generates
value1 to their current learning &
knowledge processes.
Grimaldi, Cricelli & Rogo, 2012

20. Tool Activity Focus
Facebook Collaboratively build
community knowledge
Technologies or issues
F/book
group
Share experiences Locations or topics
Webinars
Slideshare
Connect with resources &
training
Ongoing engagement
Web,
Databases
Personalising information
seeking
Intelligent searching &
information delivery
Instagram Share experiences as
images
Represent issues &
experiences
Twitter Share perceptions &
resources
Topic-based
Blogs Experiences & perceptions Topic-based
LinkedIn Find people; networks Farm/activity criteria

21. ‘in order to facilitate industry
development there needs to be a shift
from supply of information and
communications to facilitation and
empowerment of information sharing
and discourse about specific issues in
specific locations’

22. Digital futures - Widening
participation research..
To identify the digital capacities
necessary that allow technology,
individuals and communities to better
interact to facilitate future
technology-based learning in regional
Australia.

23. Individual capacities to use
technology for learning
Contribute your
narrative as
images, text, audio,
likes, links
Preparedness to
collaborate & share
with new & different
people
Manoeuvre &
contribute online
Critique & validate
new forms of
information

24. Functions for technology to
facilitate individual farmer learning
personalise Share local
experiences
Find others Collaborate

25. Industry capacities to use
technology as a facilitator of
innovation & industry development
Facilitate the
collaborative
building of new
knowledge
Commit to pursuing
value from
technology & social
media for industry
goals
Inclusive and local
approaches
Lead & facilitate
dialogue

26. Functions for technology to
facilitate agricultural industry
development & innovation
Value add to local
knowledge
Enable continuous
dialogue
Legacy of ongoing
learning
Connect & engage

27. Digital Futures (CRN)
This research is supported through
the Australian Government’s
Collaborative Research Networks
(CRN) program. ‘Digital Futures’ is the
CRN research theme for the University
of Southern Queensland.

28. Ann Starasts
University of Southern Queensland
ann.starasts@usq.edu.au
@annstarasts
@DFCRNUSQ