Anoush MargaryanCaledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian

University http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/

Repositories and Communitiesat cross-purposes?

With thanks to CDLOR project team: Prof. Allison Littlejohn, Dr. Colin Milligan, Dr. Peter Douglas, Dr. David Nicol, Ms.

Sarah Currier

Global LO economy will emerge

LOs will be created and shared across boundaries

Communities will coalesce around LORs

Educational practice will be transformed

Learning will be enhanced

Vision

LO economy not achieved

Too much focus on technology

Too little focus on pedagogy

Contexts of use ignored

User needs ignored

And the reality?

1. What are the dimensions, barriers and enablers?

2. How can we support systematic identification of these issues ?

drivers,barriers & enablers

dimensions of repositories

typology of communitiesdimensions of

communities

LORs &communities

Key questions

Goals:- Compare users’ and curators’ perspectives- Surface contradictions and tensions- Identify barriers and enablers

Data collection:- Questionnaire- In-depth interviews

Data analysis:- Activity system framework

Study

An activity system of a LOR community

I nstrument: Repository

Subjects: Students in a course

Object:Product design

projects

Division of labour:Roles of teachers, teams of students, librarians, and other stakeholders

Rules:Curriculum, learning objectives, assessment framework, design brief

Community:Larger context, such as institutions, professional

bodies, industry, etc.

Outcome:Skills and knowledge in product design

Jorum www.jorum.ac.uk

Contradiction 1: Activities to be supported

J orum

-Users (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from institutions (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from J ISC projects -Intermediatories

Sharing resources across institutions and

disciplines

Designated contributors collect & submit resourcesCurators provide training & support

- Business model- IPR- Disciplinary curriculum- Use & deposit licenses

All subject disciplines in the UK HE and FE as well as J ISC (UK Government)

funded projects

Improved teaching &

learning

Activities: long-term view

Jorum curator

Contradiction 1: Activities to be supportedJ orumMoodle

Online discussion foraSubject specific software

Support staff and teachers

Populating institutional VLE with contentSourcing self-study materials for students

Support staff sources & recommends materials to the teachers

- Support and guidance (non-existent)- Rewards and recognition (non-existent)- Institutional strategies & processes (non-existent)

Institution and department

ILT community

Sourcing contentReducing marking

Activities: short-term

Jorum user

Contradiction 2: Outcomes

J orum

-Users (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from institutions (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from J ISC projects -Intermediatories

Sharing resources across institutions and

disciplines

Designated contributors collect & submit resourcesCurators provide training & support

- Business model- IPR- Disciplinary curriculum- Use & deposit licenses

All subject disciplines in the UK HE and FE as well as J ISC (UK Government)

funded projects

Improved teaching &

learning

Outcome: strategic

view

Jorum curator

Contradiction 2: OutcomeJ orumMoodle

Online discussion foraSubject specific software

Support staff and teachers

Populating institutional VLE with contentSourcing self-study materials for students

Support staff sources & recommends materials to the teachers

- Support and guidance (non-existent)- Rewards and recognition (non-existent)- Institutional strategies & processes (non-existent)

Institution and department

ILT community

Sourcing contentReducing marking

Outcome: operational view

Jorum user

Contradiction 3: Tools

J orum

-Users (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from institutions (teachers and support staff)-Contributors from J ISC projects -Intermediatories

Sharing resources across institutions and

disciplines

Designated contributors collect & submit resourcesCurators provide training & support

- Business model- IPR- Disciplinary curriculum- Use & deposit licenses

All subject disciplines in the UK HE and FE as well as J ISC (UK Government)

funded projects

Improved teaching &

learning

Jorum curator

LOR as a standalone

tool

Contradiction 3: ToolsJ orumMoodle

Online discussion foraSubject specific software

Support staff and teachers

Populating institutional VLE with contentSourcing self-study materials for students

Support staff sources & recommends materials to the teachers

- Support and guidance (non-existent)- Rewards and recognition (non-existent)- Institutional strategies & processes (non-existent)

Institution and department

ILT community

Sourcing contentReducing marking

Jorum userLOR as part of an ecology of

tools

DIDET http://www.didet.ac.uk/

Contradiction 4: Object-Outcome crossover Repository

Students and teachers in a Product Design/Engineering course

Collecting, sharing and reusing student- and teacher-created resources and other web-based materials

Industrial coaches define project briefs and give feedback;Students in teams progress product designsTutors guide and asses projectsInformation specialists provide guidance and training in resource management and maintain the repository

- Curriculum aims- Learning objectives- Learning assessment- Design brief

Single-subject discipline (Engineering) in a UK HE institutionIndustry

Learning about product design principles

DIDET curator Resource sharing to facilitate

learning

Contradiction 4: Object-Outcome crossover

DIDET user 1Laulima system

Fora and blogs within LaulimaInstitutional VLE

Instant messagingE-mail

Student

Carrying out design projects; Sharing resources; Interacting with peers; Preparing project reports

Students in teams progress designs;Industry coaches give assignments and feedbackTeachers guide & assess students;System developer supports students in using Laulima

System functionalitiesUser supportCourse requirements

Primary: Department and courseNOT repository community

Accessibility of project resources

Information management as a

key goal

Contradiction 4: Object-Outcome crossover

DIDET user 2

LaulimaWeb conferencingVLE

Researcher

Storage of and easy access to project resources (minutes of meetings, papers, presentations)

Project team members share resourcesSystem developer provides technical support

- Intrinsic rewards- Functionality, usability and ease of use of system

Primary: Research community within the

department;NOT repository

community

Information management within a distributed research project

Information management as a

key goal

Resources communities need vs resources repositories provide

“I have not been able to find much material that is directly relevant to the syllabuses we teach here”.

Lack of interoperability and integration with existing institutional systems

“It’s always a mistake to treat [repositories] as if it’s a discrete thing. It is really a part of web-based learning, so if the institution is adequately resourcing the development and the deploying of web-based resources then there is no reason why repositories shouldn’t be part of that”.

Issues (1)

Institutions’ view of legitimate work activity“I sometimes sit at my machine with the headphones on and I am listening to audio resources that have been collected for me. And people walk past the door and make remarks about what I might or might not be doing. But if I were sitting with a journal open on my desk there wouldn’t be the same comment. So I think there is still a bit of an issue about the perception of where any form of new technology fits… it’s not real academic study.”

Mismatch in rewards for research & teaching

“…It’s not considered to be equal to proper linguistic research. I mean I do fool around with technology such a lot and it takes all my time. And it doesn’t turn up in a publication…there isn’t the kind of recognition that doing something practical has academic value”

Issues (2)

Community identity: primarily discipline, department or institution

“…it is a community, but I still wouldn’t primarily identify myself in that community ahead of the disciplinary or broader institution… That community, apart from occasional contacts doesn’t really extend much into other institutions.”

Issues (2)

Alignment between repositories and user needs

Involving users in development

Alignment between vision and implementation

Implications

LOR dimensions

Purpose

Discipline

Scope

Sector

Contributor

Business model

Community dimensions

Purpose

Dialogue

Roles

Coherence

Context

Rules

Pedagogy

Issues

Cultural

Pedagogic

Organisatio-nal

Technological

Linking repositories and communities

Solutions

Cultural

Pedagogic

Organisatio-nal

Technological

Why are you setting up a learning object repository? How many communities do you serve? What is the purpose of the community that the repository will serve? Who are the key actors in the community and who, of these, will contribute to the repository? What is the pedagogic approach of the community? How coherent is the community? What are the modes of participation and communication within the community? What are the key factors in the ecology of the community? What is the business model of the repository? How do you envisage the evolution of your LOR?

Guidelines for setting up LORs

http://academy.gcal.ac.uk/cd-lor/

Structured Guidelines Recommendations Use cases and scenarios Literature review report Interviews and surveys reports

Resources