Social Networking for Language Education and the Making Of
Transcript of Social Networking for Language Education and the Making Of
Open Languages Research ForumOpen UniversityApril 29, 2014
Social Networking for Language Education and the
Making Of
Marie-Noëlle Lamy, Open Univeristy
Katerina Zourou, Web2Learn
Outline of the talk
Part 1: What the collection offers
• many (too many?) differing approaches to SN for L2 research and teaching
• yet emergence of common themes and learning/teaching problems
Part 2: The ‘Making of '
Concluding remarks
• a common focus on the empirical
• a variety of theoretical frames
• a variety of research methodologies
• a variety of conceptions of L2 learning
• a variety of conceptions of Social Networking
Part 1 : what the collection offers
What emerged from the studies?
•two overarching themes: identity, community
•learning issues: degree and locus of control
•learning sett ing issues: porous walls; assessment
•data collection issues: porous walls (again!); observer bias; ephemerali ty
Part 1 : what the collection offers
Participant
TaskTechnology
Part 1 : what the collection offers
Networked tasks,teacher- or student-createdInterl inked technologies
Core and other participants
Redefining components
Selecting the most suitable chapters
• An “invitation-only” CfP addressed to CALL researchers with some experience in social media for language learning
Deliberate choice of a selective CfP due to the novelty of the concept/lack of empirical data to date
• Round 1 of selection based on abstracts (18 submitted)
• Round 2 based on improved abstracts (6 rejected)
Authors (or groups of) acknowledged to submit a full paper
• Round 3 based on full papers: 8 accepted papers from 11 submitted
Part 2: the Making of
Reasons for rejecting abstracts and papers
• Vague understanding of the concept of “social networking” (main reason)
• Confusion between “interaction” and “social networking”
• Digital contexts that neither had social media characteristics in themselves (Moodle, vir tual worlds, immersive games, online classrooms) nor were shown to have led to networking
• Lack of evidence-based papers (contributions on “the potential” of SN in a language learning context)
• Off-topic contributions
Part 2: the Making of
Problems with f ine-tuning concepts
Social networking easily confused with similar concepts such as:
•Telecollaboration
•Interaction from a language learning perspective
•Interaction through commonly used digital tools such as Moodle (social networking seen as a form of online communication) )
Part 2: the Making of
Social networking: disambiguating the term
3 features of social media set by Tim O’Reilly and his team (2007):
•user par ticipation (user engagement in content creation)
•openness (ability to network with anyone)
•network effects (viral capacity)
Our claim: social networking as an activity encompassing all those features
O'Reilly, T. (2007). "What is Web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software". Communications & strategies, nº 65. pp. 17-37.
Part 2: the Making of
Social networking: disambiguating the term (2)
Taking social networking in i ts most informal/less directive definit ion
Emphasis on:
•Bottom-up and user-oriented practice
•Networking in informal ways/ less directive ways than in institutional contexts
•Learning with peers but also with any user across social media
VS learning settings where interaction, tools and objectives are “prescribed” by a teacher or CALL researcher
Interest in digitally enhanced situations where formal and informal learning occur (OU students attending a language course and communicating also through FB: how social networking affects language learning)
Part 2: the Making of
Lessons learnt
1. Make a CfP as precise as possible. For CfPs containing new concepts: have some crit ical readers and engage them in a more formalized way
2. Ask potential authors to accompany the abstract with a footnote explicit ly specifying HOW they wil l address the central topic of CfP. Mention that if this is not made clear, the contribution wil l be rejected
=>frame the process before the first word is written.
Part 2: the Making of
Concluding remarks
Doing SNs research through SNs?
Publishing options?
Tools?
Crowdsourcing culture?
Marie-Noëlle:
http://fels-staff.open.ac.uk/m.n.lamy
http://lamymn.wordpress.com/lamy-publications/
Katerina:
@web2learn_eu and @languages_web2
http://web2learn.eu/