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 dropboxgrainne.conole@le.ac.uk