Boundary-crossing in Web 2.0 Communities

8/9/2019 Boundary-crossing in Web 2.0 Communities

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IlonaBuchem

BoundarycrossinginWeb2.0LearningCommunities/OEB2009(ExtendedOverview)

1

Boundarycrossing

in

Web

2.0

Learning

Communities

IlonaBuchem

Researcher

BeuthUniversityofAppliedSciences

ResearchProjectMediencommunity2.0

D13353Berlin

[email protected]

Abstract: Web 2.0 technologies open a wide range of possibilities for the

enhancement

and

support

of

learning

but

they

also

bring

a

host

of

new

pedagogical challenges. One of the central questions is: What are the best

strategiesforbringinginformalandformallearningclosertogether.Postmodern

transformative pedagogies focus on crossing boundaries between formal

education and workrelated practices. The presentation focuses on how social

media and transformative pedagogical strategies can be applied to build and

manage learning communities, fostering distributed participation and

collaborationbeyondtraditionalboarders.

Keywords:boundarycrossing,learningcommunities,transformativelearning

Introduction

Thewaythatpeoplelearntodaycallsforneweducationalstructuresandstrategies.Driven

bydemographicandeconomicchangesthereisagrowingneedforintegratinginformal,

nonformalandformallearning.Socialmediaopenawiderangeofpossibilitiesforcreating

permeableeducationalstructureswhichenhanceinteractionbetweendifferentlearning

contexts.However,suchdeploymentofsocialmediaineducationbringsahostofnew

pedagogicalchallenges.Thekeyquestionis,whatpedagogicalstrategiescanbeappliedto

facilitatethisinteraction,createsupportive,permeableanddistributedlearning

environmentsandfacilitatetransitionsbetweendifferentcontextswithinlifelonglearning,

suchasfromeducationtoworkbasedlearningorfromschooltohighereducation.

Boundarycrossingandtransformativepedagogy

Thispresentationexploresthenotionofboudarycrossingandraisesquestionsfora

discussiononpotentialbenefitsandrisksofboundarycrossingincommunitybased

learning.Bearinginmind,thatboundariesaremultidimensional,facilitatingtransitions

betweenoccupationalandeducationalstagesisaimedattakingadvantageofdiversity.

Potentialbenefitsarethatboundarycrossingislikelytoresultineffectivecompetency

development,intensivesocialexchangeandinformationflow,moreinclusionthrough

connectionstoothersocialsystems,abetterunderstandingofthecomplexitiesofthe

industryaswellasinnovationswithintheindustry.Potentialrisksarethatboundarycrossing

canleadtocultureandroleconflictsaswellasconfusionanddisorientation(HARRIS2008,

MEZIROV,1995).

Inthissenseboundarycrossingreferstofacilitatingtransitionssuchasbetweeneducational

stagesorexperiselevels.Thepedagogicalphilosophyunderpinningthisstrategyisbasedon


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thetheoryofsituatedlearningandsocialtheoryoflearningbyLAVE/WENGER(1991,1998)

andWENGER(1998)aswellasthetheoryoftransformativeeducationbyMEZIROW(1995)

andTAYLOR

(1998).

It

can

be

described

as

asocio

transformative

appraoch

to

learning

aimingatbridginggapsbeweenformalandinformal,vocationalandacademic,individual

andcollaborativelearning.

TheresearchprojectMediencommunity2.0

TheresearchprojectMediencommunity2.0,supportedbytheGermanFederalMinistryof

EducationandResearch(BMBF)andfundingfromtheEuropeanSocialFond(ESF)aimsat

gaininginsightintotheabovequestionthroughdesigningandimplementinganexemplary

onlinelearningcommunityfortheprintingandmediaindustrysectorinGermany.The

printingandmediasectorinGermanyandworldwidehasundergonemanychangesover

time.These

changes

range

from

new

technologies

and

production

processes

(e.g.

digital

and

informationtechnologies,crossmediaproduction),throughincreasedglobalcompetition,to

transitionoftraditionaloccupations(e.g.typesetter)intonewpractices(e.g.digitalmedia

design).BycreatingapermeablelearningenvironmentusingWeb2.0technologiesand

applyingtransformativepedagogiestocrossmultipleboundarieswithineducationaland

workrelatedsettings,Mediencommunity2.0attemptstopromoteanintegrative

approachtolearningandteachinginanonlineenvironment.

Mediencommunity2.0intendstoactasamediatingplatformforallpeopleworkingand

learningintheprintingandmediaindustrysectorinGermany,enhancingworkrelatedlife

long

learning

beyond

the

borders

of

traditional

systems

of

education.

The

presentations

demonstrateshowthiscanbesupportedbyemployingboundarycrossingprinciplesand

transformativepedagogicalstrategies.

BoundarycrossinginMediencommunity2.0

Thepresentationfocusesonfacilitatingtransitionsatindividualandsociallevelsthrough

fosteringselfdirectedandselfreflectivelearningaswellasexposuretodifferent

perspectivesandexperiencesthroughdistributedinteraction,cooperationand

collaboration.Basedonpedagogicalprinciplesappliedtothedesignofadidactical

frameworkof"Mediencommunity2.0"aswellasfirstfindingsfromtheimplementationof

Web2.0enhanced,communitybasedlearningscenarios,thepresentationshowshowsocial

mediaandtransformativestrategiescanbeappliedtocrossboundariesatmultiplelevels,

mostnotablybetween:

1. Industrysectors,i.e.differentoccupationsinthepreprinting,printingandpostprinitgsubsectors.

2. Educationalsectors,i.e.vocationaltrainingwithintheGermandualsysteminGerman,highereducationandcontinuingeducation.

3. Learningmodalities,i.e.differenttypesofinformal,nonformalandformallearningoutsideandwithineducationalinstitutionsandworkplacesettings.

4. Educationalroles,i.e.bringingtogetherandchangingtraditionalperspectivesontheroles

of

learners

and

teachers.


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5. Expertiseareasandlevels,i.e.learnerswithdifferentlevelsofcompetenciesindifferentoccupationalareaswithintheindustry.

Figure1:BoundarycrossinginMediencommunity2.0

Thepresentationprovidesanumberofexpamlesofhowboudarycrossingissupportedin

Mediencommunity2.0

at

the

levels

mentioned

above.

The

examples

range

from

using

and

producingeducationalmediacastsasusergeneratedcontent,throughopencollaborationin

wikistoselforganisedonlinestudygroups. Allexamplesfocusonhowsuchlearning

scenariosfosterlearning.

ThedidacticalframeworkofMediencommunity2.0

Basedonthecomponentsofsocialparticipationasaprocessoflearningandknowing,i.e.

meaning(learningasexperience),practice(learningasdoing),community(learningas

belonging)andidentity(learningasbecoming)(WENGER,1998,pp.5),thedidactical

frameworkofMediencommunity2.0definesthreepedagogicalprinciplestobeappliedto

thedesign

of

any

community

based

learning

scenario.

These

principles

include

opportunities

foridentityformation,relationshipformationaswellasexperienceandpractice.


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Figure2:ComponentsofsocialparticipationinMediencommunity2.0

Supportingtransformationsonindividualandsociallevelsiscentraltogroupwork,whichis

thecoreofdidacticaldesignofMediencommunity2.0.Basedonthemodelof

SEMBILL/SEIFRIED(2007),thedidacticalframeworkofMediencommunity2.0integrates

thefollowingpedagogicaldimensions:learningforoneselfasindividuallearning,learning

forothers

as

work

sharing

and

social

responsibility,

learning

with

others

as

cooperation

andcollaborationingroupsandlearningwithriskasacceptanceoffailureandlearning

frommistakes.

Figure3:

Components

of

group

work

in

Mediencommunity

2.0


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ThethreetiermodellofMediencommunity2.0

ThethreetiermodellofMediencommunity2.0asapartofthedidacticalframeworkfocuses

oncategorising

and

integrating

informal,

non

formal

and

formal

learning

scenarios

at

the

conceptuallevel.Learningscenariosarecategorisedintotheinformallearningtierwithuser

generatedmediacastsandglossaries,interactivemapsandseriousgames,thenonformal

learningtierwithcooperativeandcollaborativeapplicationsofwikis,blogs,discussion

boardsandtrainercommunityandtheformallearningtierwithstructuredandquality

assuredonlinestudygroups,eportfoliosandblendedlearning.Transformativestrategies

areappliedwithinandbetweenthetiersallowingfortwowaytransitionsbetweenlearning

community,communityofpracticeandsocialnetworking(KUHLMANN/SAUTER2008).

Figure4:ThethreetiermodellofMediencommunity2.0

Thefirsttierinformationaimsatpromotingashocandondemanduseandproductionof

contentandinteractionwithotherlearners.Informallearningisthusdefinedasnoncourse

basedlearning

with

no

prescribed

learning

framework

and

no

external

specification

of

learningoutcomes.Thesecondtiercooperationischaracterizedbysemistractured,open,

cooperativeand/orcollaborativegroupwork,usinge.g.wikisorblogs.Thusnonformal

learningreferstoorganisedlearningwithspecifiedlearningoutcomes,supportedby

moderatorsortutors.Thethirdtierqualificationreferstoprescribedandorganised

learningframeworkswiththespecificationofoutcomesandawardofacreditorcertificate.

TherelaunchofMediencommunity2.0

TherelaunchofMediencommunity2.0infall/winter2009isaimedatmeetingagrowing

demandfor

flexible,

self

directed

and

work

related

learning

and

knowledge

transfer

within

theprintingandmediaindustry. ThecommunitycombinesWeb2.0technologies,suchas

wikis,blogs,socialtagging,sharingandmicroblogging,withmoretraditionalelearning,such


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aswebbasedlearning,discussionboardsandeassessment. Thecommunitysupports

sharingofinformationandcontent,exchangeofgoodpractice,specialinterestgroups,

awarenessand

emoderation

functionalities

to

enable

communication,

interaction

and

collaborationonmultiplelevels. Anumberofstrategicpartnershipswithresearch

institutions,vocationalandhighereducationaswellassectorspecificnetworksand

agencieshavebeenestablishedandcollaborativeprojectsareunderway.

References

HARRIS,R.(2008):CrossingBoundaries?AustralianLearnersExperiencesofTeachingand

LearninginBoththeHigherEducationandVocationalEducationSectors.ECER2008 Paper

#256.Center

for

Research

in

Education,

Equity

and

Work.

University

of

South

Australia.

KUHLMANN,A.M./SAUTER,W.(2008):InnovativeLernsysteme Kompetenzentwicklungmit

BlendedLearningundSocialSoftware,Heidelberg.

LAVE,J./WENGER,E.(1991):SituatedLearning.Legitimateperipheralparticipation,

Cambridge:UniversityofCambridgePress.

LAVE,J./WENGER,E.(1998):CommunitiesofPractice:Learning,Meaning,andIdentity:

CambridgeUniversityPress.

MEZIROW,

J.

(1995):

Transformation

Theory

of

Adult

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In:

In

defense

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the

lifeworld,editedbyM.R.Welton,pp.3970.NewYork:SUNYPress.

SEMBILL,D./SEIFRIED,J.(2007):SelbstorganisiertesLernenundUnterrichtsqualitt.In:

QualittvonSchuleEntwicklungenzwischenerweiterterSelbstndigkeit,definierten

BildungsstandardsundstrikterErgebniskontrolle.EinkritischesHandbuch,editedbyJ.van

Buer,J./C.Wagner,pp.401412.Frankfurta.M.

TAYLOR,E.W.(1998):Thetheoryandpracticeoftransformativelearning: criticalreview.

InformationseriesNo.374.Columbus:ERICClearinghouseonAdult,Career,andVocational

Education,CenteronEducationandTrainingforEmployment,CollegeofEducation,theOhio

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WENGER,E.(1998):CommunitiesofPractice:Learning,Meaning,andIdentity.Cambridge

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Boundary-crossing in Web 2.0 Communities

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