creating knowledge curators

13 November 2013

Andrew HiskensManager, Learning Services

Creating knowledge curators: teachers, networks and personal learning

Image: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/anthony-gardner/all-curators-now

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“Twenty years ago, it was a candidate for the least fashionable word in the English language…”

Anthony Gardner, Intelligent Life, The Economist

(http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/anthony-gardner/all-curators-now)

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Curation

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Collection

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Connection

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How might we help teachers and school library staff develop networks to support their own learning?

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Personal Learning Networks

• A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is an on-tap stream of information, resources, answers, discussion, contacts and support

• Enables networking of organisations, researchers, learners, teachers• Constantly update tools, resources and skills• Happens on blogs, social media, social bookmarking, email, online

learning, real life conferences & training• For professionals – ongoing PD• For learners – networks of likeminded people.

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Victorian Personal Learning Network (VicPLN)

• Originated in 23 Things and Library 2.0 concepts• Online courses for school library staff and educators• Run by SLV in collaboration with School Library Association of Victoria• VicPLN network continues beyond the course on social media• Piloted internal course for SLV staff.

Why?• Encourage development of an online personal learning network in

Victoria• Enhance skills of individuals – learn by exploring and doing• Model use of online tools, collaboration and resources for educators

and encourage them to do the same• Encourage group participation.

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Victorian Personal Learning Network (VicPLN)

Concepts: moving beyond the shiny tools•Identify user tasks and needs•Research and assess options•Choose the best solution•Workflow: arrange your information flow to suit you - subscribe, publish, record screencasts, share resources, search, back-up, collaborate, network.

Then choose your tools•Common and simple web tools•We model their use in the course•Participants learn by doing, sharing and discussing.

Examples: Feedly, blogs, Screenr, Diigo, Google tools & tips, Dropbox, wikis, Twitter.

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How do the courses work?

Structure:Four to seven units, self-pacedReal life meet-ups in computer labWeekly web conferencesMonitoring all day, multi-channel, by PLN team on rosterPLN team provides support, answers queries, comments on blog postsLow-cost: discounts for groups of six or moreScalable business model per modulePD model is sustainable, paying for staff time.

Course journal:Each participant starts their own course journalThey record and post progress and reflectionsJournal stands as a record of learning beyond the courseWeekly assignments are marked and recorded.

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Participation

Participants• Around 150 people in each course• Pilot of Research Toolkit aimed for 50 people – 150 enrolled.

Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?• 90% reported the PLN changed their professional practice, 69% said it

changed it somewhat or completely • 73% reported a sense of substantial personal progression• 93% would recommend the course to colleagues• 73% felt excited or passionate about the course• 90% reported a sense of having learned.

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(My) rationale…

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(My) rationale…

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Stephen Heppell

http://rubble.heppell.net/archive/best_learning/

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Surprise

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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Survey 2012: was it an effective learning experience?

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AITSL

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AITSL

For all of those projects, the research focused on:•how the sharing of practice occurs/the design including collaborative elements•the reach (i.e. the number and characteristics of teachers and school leaders involved)•the impact (i.e. change to teacher and school leader practice).

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Hypothesis

“That the online delivery of the Victorian Personal Learning Network course (VicPLN) through guided collaborative learning encourages sustained change in professional practice in schools and school libraries.”

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Purpose and methodology

The purpose of the case studies is to record reflections from a select group of participants who have experienced change in their professional practice as a direct result of taking part in a PLN.

The methodology •three case studies with former participants and •a comparative study across two surveys.

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The case studies

• The first participant took her experience of networked learning into her school and then out into the broader community by leading a Victorian version of Teach-meet

• the second team (a TL and Tech) built a program for students which was based on the PLN Research Toolkit and

• the third, despite limited support within her school, has taken full advantage of networks introduced to her by the course.

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Participant comments

“it was only three years ago but I was thinking WOW – the world is a different place – professionally – than it was before…”

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Participant comments

“I’m not scared by it anymore…I have the vocabulary now to ask the right questions, whereas before I did the PLN I didn’t even know what questions I should ask.”

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Emerging trends

• The way course materials are delivered provide TLs with a model of how to introduce technology to staff, effectively scaffolding their role as change agents

• Teams who complete the course together have a more positive, supported experience of learning

• The PLN changes the way teachers think about information and networks – where networks become a resource unto themselves eg. Twitter

• There is some indication of improved outcomes for students• The course engenders a sense of beginning a learning process which

will continue as technology’s one constant is change.

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What next?

• Complete and analyse the case studies • With the identification of key trends from the case studies, we plan to

add a small number of questions to the second survey (to be undertaken in the next month or so) in order to test if these characteristics of successful change are present in the broader community.

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Participant comments

“look it’s really worth everyone being encouraged to do it, because it’s cheap and it is just – it is life changing…”

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