Conole research practice
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Transcript of Conole research practice
Sharing: from research to practice
Gráinne Conole, Leicester University11th June 2012, UNISA
Examples
• Technology paradoxes• E-learning research at Leicester• Case studies– A framework for technological intervention– From OER to Open Educational Practices– Learning design– Using the VLE as a Trojan horse
Technology paradoxes
4
•Technologies not extensively used (Molenda)
•Lack of uptake of OER (McAndrew et al.)
•Little use beyond early adopters (Rogers)
•Despite rhetoric and funding little evidence of transformation (Cuban, Ehlers)
Pandora’s box
Teacher practices: paradoxes
Current status
• Beyond Distance Research Alliance (BDRA)– Research focus
• Curriculum Design and Development unit (CDDU)– Institutional support for DL programmes
Future directions• Merge BDRA and CDDU• Rename the Institute of Learning
Innovation– Shaping Policy, Supporting Practice, Enabling
Innovation in learning
• Focus on research, policy and practice• Media zoo to be renamed the Learning
Innovations Lab
Mission and vision
• Mission– To research and apply learning innovations to inform
policy and shape practice
• Vision– To enable creativity, quality and innovation in learning
and teaching to enhance the learner experience
Structure
MSc in Learning Innovation
Technology-Enhanced Learning
Learning Design
Research Design and Methods
Case Studies of Innovation
Dissertation
Policy
Blackboard rollout
OER/iTunes
Learning spaces
Cloud computingLearner practice
Use of technologies Diversity/culture
Teacher practice
Design practice
Use of technologies
Research
OERLearning design
Web 2.0
Virtual worlds
Learner experience
Horizon scanning
Framework for technological intervention
Research Practice Policy Teaching Consultancy External
Learning design
JISC OULDI project
Roll out of learning design
Horizon scanning and other activities to feed
into relevant
committees (LTMG,
DLAG, VLE
project board, etc.)
Tailored workshops, PGCert, Masters in Learning Innovatio
n, PhD programm
e
Carpe Dieme
workshops
Participation in
international
conferences and
workshops,
publishing in journals
and books, invited
keynotes, active use of social media (blogs,
wikis, fb, Twitter,
etc.)
Openness EU-funded POERUP
OER and iTunes
OER workshop
s
Embedding VLE audit VLE auditUse of
technologies
Innovation Second Life
Flagship initiatives
Innovative case
studies
Digital literacy/cre
ativityiCreatNet Feed into
practiceWorkshop
s
Learner and
teacher experience
Seek new projects
Focus groups
The VLE as a Trojan horse
• VLE as a safe nursery slope• Shift from content to
activities• Promote reflection and
collaboration• Mobile VLE• Integration with cloud
computing
Blackboard audit
• Data– Online survey (260 returns)– Departmental visits
• Key findings– Used as content repository and
administration– Pockets of innovation– More support needed on
effective design strategies– Tension between teaching and
research– Usability issue
Blackboard+ at Leicester
BB plus Google+Maths video-lets
Prof-casts
History conundrum Voicethread
Embedding -VLE relaunch• Upgrade to 9.1 by Sept 2012• VLE project board established• Four themes: technology,
communication, staff development and pedagogy
• VLE audit via survey and interviews– Current usage of the VLE– Gaps in provision (across institution and functionally)– What kind of support do staff want– Use of other tools and VLEs
Conferences• Purpose: presentation & feedback• Network, network, network!• Potential collaborators & bid partners• Put in a symposium of experts• Expert validation workshops• Put papers/presentations online• Follow up contacts afterwards: email,
fb, Twitter, blogs, etc.• Work up into a research paper• Work the hashtag• Live blog or follow conference-related
blogs
A personal example
Networking• Build links with
international colleagues•Get on national-level
committees• Invite key researchers in
your field to be involved in a joint research activity• Invite people to give
seminars at your institution• Build connections online
via Twitter, facebook, etc. • Participate in online events• Leave comments on blogs
Publishing•Write books - edited or single authored (post drafts)•Become an editor for a special issue of an online
journal• Keep publication list up to date in your research
repository• Set up a writing group or workshop (real/virtual)•Co-write with lots of different people (using a wiki)•Disseminate publications via Tweet, fb etc • Post up drafts for comment on blogs etc• See Twitter, blogs, journals, books as complementary
GO OPEN!!!!
Final thoughts• Participatory and social media enable new forms of
communication and collaboration• Communities in these spaces are complex and
distributed• Learners and teachers need to develop new digital
literacy skills to harness their potential•We need to rethink how we design, support and assess
learning•Open, participatory and social media can provide
mechanisms for us to share and discuss teaching and research ideas in new ways•We are seeing a blurring of boundaries:
teachers/learners, teaching/research, real/virtual spaces, formal/informal modes of communication and publication
Activity
• What strategies do you adopt at UNISA to promote the use of technologies?
• How effective are they?• What are the challenges?
http://www.slideshare.net/GrainneConole/conole-workshop-jtelssConole, G. (forthcoming), Designing for learning in an open world, New York: Springer
Chapters available on [email protected]