making it rich and personal: the personal path to institutional learning environments
DESCRIPTION
Dr Su White looks at how the world is changing and universities must respond to students’ needs and expectations in agile and effective ways. Learners enter university with an inevitable diversity of technological familiarity and a mix of naïve and sophisticated approaches to using technology as a part of their learning. The University of Southampton has designed and is implementing a holistic learning environment radically different from the VLEs which have gained widespread use since the late 1990s. Starting from the concept of rich learning environment it became “more than a system, it’s a mindset”. Social software, open data, co-creation and co-evolution are some of its hallmarks. Dr Su White proposes a framework for a digital cognitive apprenticeship to meet the combined challenges of ‘living and learning in a digital age’. This presentation examines the roots of personal learning environments and considers the interplay of organisational ambitions and requirements needed to support personal learning in a university context.TRANSCRIPT
Making it rich and personal:the personal path to institutional learning
environments
Su WhiteWeb and Internet Science Research Group
ECS, University of Southampton
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The world is changing?
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
stories
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Pythagoras … a mythical past?
Ooh, no women…. #ALD11!
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Napier’s bonesDevices to overcome limited literacy
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The library at Alexandria
Papyrus scrolls, and a reading room
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The Nurnberg FunnelLets pour the knowledge in…Ho Ho
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The Analytic Engine When computers were humanAnd later, in the early 20th century mostly women
PS. Its Ada #ALD11
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Early CAL?
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The old problem of change
“There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old system, and merely lukewarm defenders in those who should gain by the new one”
Niccolo Machiavelli 1513
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The world has been changing
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/online_communities_small.png
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
The Web
Web 2.0
Linked Data
1997
1990
2000
2010
Semantics
knowledge exists independently of the learner,
and is ‘transferred’
to the student by the teacher.
A teacher-centered
modelepitomized
by the lecture.
teacherdirected
(Instructivist?)
The learner
constructs new knowledge
through a process of
analyzing new information
and comparing it to previous knowledge.
Studentresponsible for their
own learning
Studentcentred
Constructivist?
Social Constructivism
Vicarious Learning
Communities of practice
Connectivism
Informal Learning
A vague track of more recent views
Web 1.0 (mid 1990s)
+ Teacher
Html static web pages
ftp http
But what model of learning
does this assume?
Enter the VLEVirtual Learning Environment
VLEs replicated (a perception of) traditional teaching
by enabling ‘content delivery’ on-line
But why VLEs?
• Historical artefact
– Most teachers did not do
(or even understand) html or FTP
– Many teachers and students did not
do email
(or other communication tools)
– Information literacy was not high
– Some teachers were reluctant to
allow their online work to be widely
seen• Or were constrained by licences which
controlled the distribution of resources
why VLEs? (2)
VLEs are ultimately supportable
In summary:
VLEs = toolkitVLEs enable teachers to:
• create and distribute • files, email and announcements• run chats and forums
…all in a safe controlled environment
The Read/Write Web and the (Social) Network – early 2000’s
O’Reilly 2005, 2007
Some failures of VLEsVLEs• embody outdated (static) views of teaching as “push”
– put the teacher and knowledge/content at the centre rather than the student/process or the network
• are fundamentally closed
– lock you in
• Do not incorporate any understanding of network learning
– do not integrate with the tools and environments students or lecturers use
• Do not enable or support learners to take responsibility for their own learning, tools or digital literacy
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
With apologies….Adapted from image used by tbl, originally from the economist I think
We want to climb over the walls…
23
CC Leigh Blackall
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
Where the future lies…The data.gov model…
• Exposed data, good enough (“raw data now”)
• If possible using standards (like XCRI or RDFa…)
• Be a semantic squirrel
• Use the social web– Crowd sourcing– Shared development– Social communities
‘let computers do the tedious stuff’
http://semantic-squirrel.org/
“The people
who will do cool stuff with your data…
will not be you”
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
ADMINISTRATION
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
Common data-> exposed -> shared ->RDF
RESEARCH
Reportanalysing
research returns
Disseminate
share and reuse findings
Attract funding
Integrate knowledge capital
Facilitate inter-disciplinary initiatives
Remove/reduce overheads
(e.g. time to publication)
Reportanalysing
retention and progression
Student recruitment
Admission tariffs and course requirements
Publish module specifications
Publish
accreditation data
Dynamic data exchange between departments
Expose and share public and private capital across departments and institutions….(to)
enable workflows and collaboration
Towards a digital academy?
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
We want to climb over walls
With apologies….Adapted from image used by tbl, originally from the economist I think
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
We want to work with our learners
Su White, University of Southampton @suukii
semantics
VLE wild
feeds
forums
hashtags
people networks
memeslinks
lazy web
tools
discovery
Wikis
collaboration
co-creation
cognitive surplus
practicals
memes
bookmarkstasks
practice
socialblended
semantics
A (wine based) learning journey
ChangesUnderstanding Learning
In formalising our understanding of learning in a digital world there is increasing recognition of informal learning
Digital LiteraciesStuff!
Call that learning?
Increasing (digital) literacies
is given the stuff • via the network
finds stuff • on the network• from the network (of people)
Is part of the network• Contributes stuff• Creates an ontology
The learner
Digital literacies Are a part of literacies in a digital world
Essential skillset for the thought leaders and decision makers of tomorrow• Master use and shape
– new business models– emerging practices -> leading changeTo influence people in a digital world
What is a PLE?
Facilities to personalise the desktop?
A personal toolkit
Learners choose They are responsible for:
• the tools they use• who they interact with• the content they view• sense making
✗
Organisationally we want/have to:• Provide for and support living and learning
• Ensure students find all things “Southampton” at one place (or with one search engine)
• Accommodate people who do not wish to be seen world-wide
• Preserve and curate educational resources• protect some teaching materials
(e.g. privacy, legal constraints)• Meet legal responsibilities
(e.g. accessibility)
The /Institutional PLE (iPLE)
Educationally : A virtual guide in the learning journey
– Supporting learners (and teachers) and providing scaffolding
– Introducing tools (and their affordances)An infrastructure for student assessment• traditional assessment• online portfolios, blogs, artefacts• assessing use of online tools
– the World Wide Web is not always the right place
An intranet to host data and discussions
Some might suggest that an Institutional PLE is by definition an Oxymoron
Oxymoron”“union of two apparent contraries” e.g. ‘Extremely Average’ ‘Military Intelligence’
Our rationale for creating an iPLE: there are features we want or things we must provide
Technically we want to be agile with our technology provision - to meet, match and exceed student expectations
control the availability of services and information and perhaps the Cloud is not reliable enoughdevelop services incrementally and use modern methods so we can manage costs through choice
^
Southampton
Towards an eLearning 2.0 provisioning strategy for universities, Oskar Casquero ([email protected]) University of the Basque Country, PLE conference 2010
Why are we doing this?
Improve student experience Students expect to be able to be able to do things on-line, and find all the information they need on-line
Improve staff experience The current systems are limiting, hard to use and inflexible.
Make our graduates more employable
Skilled to comfortably and competently participate, work and collaborate in globally distributed organisations
Introduce efficiencies Standardising administrative processes associated with education
Scale up our numbers at little extra cost
by supporting/enabling other educational paradigms• Remotely supported learning• Blended learning• Distance learning
Alleviate our teaching space problem
One possible solution:Explore alternative educational interactions
38
E-Assignment
EdShare
Blackboard (or other VLE?)
Question Mark Perception
HR Records
Lecture Capture and Replay
Fees Payment/records
Room BookingsTimetable
Student Records
On-line Journals
Open Educational Resources
E-Books
Library Catalogue
Podcasting
The SRN
Student Handbook
Module selection Course Announcements
Uni/SUSU announcements
External RSS Feeds
Podcasts
On-line forms
Programme/Module Catalogue
WIFI STORAGE
COLLABORATIONSPACE
INTRANET
EXTRANET
EmailForums
Presence
Video Conferencing
Chat
PROFILES
CLASSROOMS
PUBLICWORKSTATIONS
INTERNALSOFTWARE
TurnItIn
Live@Edu
GoogleDocs
Delicious
Internal RSS Feeds
Communication tools
InternalServices
Institutional data
Infrastructure Cloud services
Push
Resources
DropBox
Search
SEARCH
Organizational View:A Rich Learning Environment
The digital cognitive apprenticeshipSituated and authentic learning with a community of scholars
in a digital world
Some applications we are leading on
• Let me – personalise my personal timetable– select my module options (fully informed)– book an un-used classroom near me for a SEG group meeting
• Tell me – what bus I need to leave home to get to my next lecture in time
• Remind me – of the name of my tutee who is standing in front of me now, and
let me know their current progress.
• Create a workflow – to allow submission of papers and
redistribute anonymously for peer review
Bringing it all together
SLE
CollaborationResources
Learning Activities
Communication
My Space
PublicProfiles
User generatedOn-line forms
Mobility
DIGITAL LITERACIES
Thank you
Any questions?
Su WhiteWeb and Internet Science
ECSThe University of Southampton, UK
www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~saw@suukii
Discussion Points
• Do you buy the idea that the VLE (as manifested by BB etc.) is past its time?
• Given the increasingly importance of Digital Literacies
• What can and what cannot be personal in an iPLE? Maybe we need to account for institutional variation or disciplinary differences?
are there other ways of doing something about it other than including “authentic” use of technology in the curriculum?
refs• Casquero, Oskar, Portillo, Javier; Ovelar, Ramón; Benito, Manuel and Romo, Jesús. iPLE Network: an integrated eLearning 2.0
architecture from a university's perspective. (2010) Interactive Learning Environments, Volume 18, Issue 3 September 2010, pages 293 – 308
• Fournier, Helena & Kop, Rita. (2010) Researching the design and development of a Personal Learning Environment, Proceedings of the 2010 PLE Conference, CitiLab: Barcelona http://pleconference.citilab.eu
• O'Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software
http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html
• O'Reilly, T. (2007). What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software,
Communications & Strategies, 1(1),17-37
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1008839
• Santos C & Pedro L, (2009). SAPO Campus: a social media platform for Higher Education, paper presented to Open and Social Learning: The VI International Seminar of the UNESCO Chair in e-learning, UOC: Barcelona
• White S. (2009) Rich Learning Environments, University of Southampton
http://shirleyknot.blogspot.com/2009/12/rich-learning-environments.html
• White, Su & Davis, Hugh C. (2011). Making it rich and personal: crafting an institutional personal learning environment, International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, In Press. http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/22030/
• White, Su & Davis, Hugh C. (2011) Rich and personal revisited: translating ambitions for an institutional personal learning environment into a reality. In: The Second International PLE Conference: PLE_SOU, July 11-13th 2011, Southampton, UK. http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/22140/
• Southampton’s SLE Project http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/research/projects/749