"We used it the way we wanted to": Research on Learner Self-Engagement in Web 2.0 Participatory Environments
"We used it the way we wanted to": Research on Learner Self-Engagement in Web 2.0 Participatory Environments
Deborah Everhart & Erin KnightDeborah Everhart & Erin Knight
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/
About Us
Dr. Deborah EverhartAdjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown UniversityChief Architect, Blackboard Inc.Research Associate, Blackboard Institute
Erin KnightResearch DirectorCenter for Next Generation Teaching and LearningSchool of Information, UC Berkeley
BackgroundBackground
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/
Participatory Media?• Social media, Web 2.0, “pMedia”• Tools that foster participation
online• Blogs, wikis, forums, chat, social
bookmarking, social networking
• Key Principles: - network effects - low barrier to entry - rich user experiences- openness
http://www.flickr.com/photos/exlibris/2221270885/
Old School Ed. Perspectives
• Piaget: Constructivism (1920s)
• Vygotsky: Social Constructivism, Zone of Proximal Development (1920s)
• Papert: Constructivism and computers (1970s)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035821186@N01/2645006348/
More Recent Research
• Distance education
• Human motivation
• Learning sciences
• Brain-based research
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91499534@N00/466547709/
pMedia for Education
• Learners learn more when they can socially construct their understanding.
• Student-centered learning environments can facilitate deeper learning than teacher-centered approaches.
• Participatory media can be used to foster student-centered and socially constructed learning.
Key Assumptions:
http://lowery.tamu.edu/Teaming/Morgan1/sld023.htm
Existing Literature
• Emerging, inconclusive
• Tool-focused, typically a single-tool
• Attempts to prove “effectiveness” or profess “The Right Way” to use the tool
• Contextually bound, often not generalizable
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/3312116875/
Research: Blogs (+)• effective interactive knowledge-exchange tools
• support unique voices
• empower learners to assert their ideas and opinions
• encouraging to think critically
• foster reflection, facilitate deeper connection
• richer understanding due to hyperlinks, contextual information and revisiting concepts
(Herring et al., 2004; Oravec, 2002; Ferdig & Trammel, 2004, Koschmann at al., 1996)
Research: Blogs (-)• benefits not same for all
users
• open nature can intimidate learners and discourage use
• must be kept active and maintained
• require a high level of learner and instructor motivation to participate
(Saeed et al., 2008; Raymond Tri-Dang Firpo et al., 2009; Mason & Rennie, 2008)
Other Tools
Chat
Forums
Wikis
Social Bookmarking
Summary
• Research is not broadly conclusive
• Too tool-focused
• Learning environments are nuanced!
• Need to step back, get broader understandings of use, perceptions, motivations, etc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatboyke/2668411239/
Our ResearchOur Research
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/
Our Research• Observe usage across many tools,
across courses
• Explore the complexities and nuances within each learning environment
• Discover trends or patterns across courses
• Understand student and instructor perceptions, expectations and motivations
• Inform future researchhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/11445550@N00/986296861/
Our Research Avoids• Claiming effectiveness
• Implying that different types or levels of use are necessarily better
• Assuming that patterns of use in these environments are applicable to different environments
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11445550@N00/986296813/
Social Media Classroom • “SMC”
• Open source course site solution built around embedded social media tools
• Originally developed by Howard Rheingold, adapted by I School
• Early adoption = unique opportunity to observe usage across courses and interview instructors and students
Howard’s Course• Developed the SMC to support his
own course on digital media
• Taught the course 9 times now
• Claims he finally has “gotten it right”, although continues to innovate
• Tells students upfront that usage is required
• Also tells them the type of use expected in each tool
Screenshot from Howard’s Course
Reality Check• Most instructors are not
Howard
• Many are using technology or social media for the first time
• Most cannot take as many risks
• Most do not have the time to do trial-and-error
• Not all course content has such as direct tie to the tools
Adapted from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/intenteffect/4263014185/
Back to Our Research• Instructors were first time users of these tools
• All early adopters of the SMC in the 2009-2010 school year
• It is important to understand these newer, ‘messier’, perhaps more common environments
Methods
• Observation of usage patterns in 4 courses using the SMC (8 instructors, 150 students)
• Pre/Post surveys on expectations and perspectives (79/73 Pre/Post responses)
• Student interviews
• Faculty interviews
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smiling_da_vinci/14785644/
Discussion of FindingsDiscussion of Findings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/
pMedia for Education
• Learners learn more when they can socially construct their understanding.
• Student-centered learning environments can facilitate deeper learning than teacher-centered approaches.
• Participatory media can be used to foster thestudent-centered and socially constructed learning.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS:
?
?
?
http://lowery.tamu.edu/Teaming/Morgan1/sld023.htm
No “one-tool-fits-all”• Each course used the SMC
differently
• Usage was focused around one tool and that tool differed across courses
• Instructors used the tools differently
• Differences in use across students within a course
• Many different types of influence
Course Tool Used
Course 1 Blog
Course 2 Wiki
Course 3 Blog
Course 4 Forums
Instructor Influence• Directives - instructions,
modeling
• Participation - instructor posts or comments
• Grading - grading usage on the site
“I commented on posts. I made blog posts. That's important
because it let’s them know that I read them and you have to be
credible.”
“I commented on posts. I made blog posts. That's important
because it let’s them know that I read them and you have to be
credible.”
ASSIGNMENT #1:
1. Find a news story
2. Blog about it and tag it
3. Add the link as a Social
Bookmark and tag it
Other Influences
• Course Attributes
• Social Norms
• Student Familiarity or Preference
• Interplay between!!
“It’s a different style of reading...At some point I have
to be like, I cannot spend anymore time on this class. ”
“I felt like the concepts were more difficult to grasp in Course 1 and
lent themselves more to discussions and stories
on the blog.”
“Since no one was using it, I didn't use it. You don't want to waste your time
writing something that no one is going to look at.”
“Blogging is something I do anyway so it’s just a natural form for me to
kick around ideas.”
Self-Directed Learning
• In some cases, students ‘took over’ tool
• Used it to self-direct learning
• Extremely valuable observation to explore further
“Once it became a habit, no grading incentives
were needed.”
“Since it wasn't clear about how we needed
to use it or if it was graded, we used it the way that we wanted
to.”
“I think the more that I would go in there and read the posts and try to put in
my own two cents, the more I liked it and the
more I wanted to use it. ”
Learning Activities
• Much of existing literature is tool-focused
• Align certain learning activities with certain tools
• We saw each tool used for wide range of learning activities
• No “one-use-fits-each-tool”
• Convergence of tools OR evidence of student’s adapting tool to their needs
Learning Activity Focus
• Call for switch of focus
• Start with underlying goal or objective, then apply technology
• Multiple tools could do the job
• Easier for instructors to approach, integrate, evaluate
Challenges / Takeaways• Students struggled with work-load
balance
• Instructors faced many social, pedagogical and technical challenges
• Were able to overcome social and pedagogical, but technical was a show stopper
• Instructors said that they would use the system again, but with adaptations
“Some call it ‘fun' and it’s like, no it’s actually work.
Staying on top of what people are posting, commenting and
finding your own stuff is actually a lot of work.”
I haven’t used it much because I hate passwords,
and I forget them and cannot access the site.
I would devote 15 minutes of each lecture to talk about the
blog. That says: I did read this stuff, I’m going to give you credit for figuring out a good thing, and I’ll give you
some air time.
Conclusions and Next StepsConclusions and Next Steps
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/
Preliminary Conclusions
• Learner-centered approach is important to most, but an adjustment for many
• Learning environments are nuanced social systems
• Activities and adoption vary among courses
• Many factors can influence use
• In some cases, learners can use the tool(s) to self-direct learning
• Tools can support many different learning activities
.”“
Preliminary Recommendations
• Lead with the learning activity or goal first, then apply technology• Provide “self-service” pMedia in courses where collaborative activities may or
may not be scaffolded- Always on- Easy to access from other online course materials- Notifications with RSS or other feeds for quick attention
• Scaffold use of pMedia outside of courses to provide models and set expectations for use within courses
- Include in orientation, intro courses, other required activities- Structure learning cohorts- Teach pMedia “rules of engagement” and leadership skills
• Facilitate community-building- Require identity (name and avatar, not anonymous)- Allow commenting- Continue participation after and across courses
Implications, Future Research• Observe more courses, conduct interviews with more
students and instructors, broaden survey results
• Map learning activities to learners’ tool choices
• Analyze interplay and weighting of varying influences on use
• Illuminate motivations and factors behind self-directed learning
• Investigate social issues (privacy, identity, ongoing relationships, etc.)
• Observe use of other participatory tools (video, mind maps, etc.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdm/54246114/
Thank You!• Center for Next Generation Teaching and Learning:http://ngtl.ischool.berkeley.edu
• Blackboard Institute: http://blackboardinstitute.com/
• Contribute to the next phase of research: http://ngtl.ischool.berkeley.edu/learner-engagement
• [email protected]@blackboard.com
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