This document summarizes the Bring Your Own Devices for Learning (#BYOD4L) open online course from January and July 2014. It was facilitated by a team of 12 volunteers from 9 institutions and was designed to help educators develop skills using smart devices for teaching and learning. Participants could learn autonomously or collaboratively around topics of connecting, communicating, curating, collaborating and creating. The course encouraged experimentation, discovery, and connection through a global community using social media within a open learning ecology.

1. Explorations into Collaborative Online Learning:
Participants and Facilitators' Voices and Their Open Learning Ecology
Sue Beckingham and Chrissi Nerantzi
Learning Ecology
'process(es) created in a particular
context for a particular purpose
that provides opportunities,
relationships and resources for
learning, development and
achievement.'
Jackson 2013
FISh
Focus, Investigate, Share
Nerantzi & Uhlin 2012
5Cs model
connect
communicate
curate
collaborate
create
Nerantzi and Beckingham 2014
An Open Learning Ecology
Chris
Rowell
Chrissi
Nerantzi
Panos
Vlachopoulos
Ellie
Livemore
Sue
Beckingham
Kathryn
Jensen
Alex
Spiers
David
Hopkins
Andrew
Middleton
David
Walker
Neil
Withnell
Ola
Aiyegbayo
For more information visit http://byod4learning.wordpress.com/ and follow @melsiguk and #BYOD4L
12 volunteer
facilitators
from 9 institutions
Bring Your Own Devices For Learning #BYOD4L
International participants
http://answergarden.ch/

2. BYOD4Learning is a truly open course, or an ‘open magical box’ for students and teachers in Higher
Education who would like to develop their understanding, knowledge and skills linked to using smart devices
for learning and teaching and use these more effectively, inclusively and creatively. It was offered for the first
time in January 2014 as a registration-free and bite-size course over 5 consecutive days led by a team of
volunteer facilitators from within and beyond the UK.
The aim of the course was to put the participant in the driving seat and present exciting opportunities to learn
autonomously and collaboratively based on authentic contextualised learning and development needs and
aspirations. At the same it encouraged support from peers and an open culture of sharing within an emerging
learning ecology.
Within BYOD4Learning, learning was fully accessible via smart devices and was a lived and immersive
experience. Active experimentation and discovery learning was encouraged and supported through peers,
facilitators and the wider community. Participants were able to connect, share experiences and learn with
others from the wider community located in many different parts of the world using social media over
distributed learning ecologies. The topics and activities provided a scaffold for learning and introduce
participants to progressively more complex uses in bite-size learning chunks that trigger interest,
engagement and help them to make connections to people, ideas and reflect on their own practice.
Collaborative Open Online Learning (COOL) Focus – Investigate – Share (FISh), a simplified version loosely
based on Problem-Based Learning was the underpinning pedagogical design of this course. Topics are
introduced via short multimedia scenarios and present both teacher and student perspectives. Participants
used these individually or collaborative as a basis for their enquiry and to develop their knowledge,
understanding and skills linked to specific topics: connecting, communicating, curating, collaborating, and
creating through which they also had the opportunity to reflect on their current practices and identify
opportunities for change and innovation.
Our poster reflects upon the first iteration of this innovative learning experience. It should be noted that the
course carries a Creative Commons licence, an explicit encouragement for others to reuse, repurpose and
adapt for specific needs and learning situations. The course will run in its current format 14-18 July 2014. For
more information visit http://byod4learning.wordpress.com/ and follow @melsiguk and #BYOD4L
Explorations into Collaborative Online Learning:
Participants and facilitators' voices and their open learning ecology
Sue Beckingham and Chrissi Nerantzi
Bring Your Own Devices for Learning #BYOD4L
http://byod4learning.wordpress.com/
Sue Beckingham
@suebecks
Sheffield Hallam
Chrissi Nerantzi
@chrissinerantzi
Manchester Met
#SHULT14