From Entertainment to Education: Can Social Software Engage the Reticent Writer?
5th European Association for Academic Writing Conference
30th June- 2nd July 2009Coventry University, UK
Dr Amanda Tinker and Gillian Byrne
University of Huddersfield
Reticent Writers“Writing is something that I knew I would find hard from the beginning, and I found the essays a challenge…English has never been my strong point.”
“At first I struggled to find a starting point; I kept writing something and then kept crossing it out. I did this several times…”
“I did begin to start the work for my essay, however soon became bored and unmotivated, choosing to leave that and start a more appealing project. I was only putting off completing the essay, as I dislike them so much.”
“I have been out of education of 3 years which as a result meant getting back into the swing of writing essays was difficult.”
Great expectations of ICT
Ipsos MORI on behalf of JISC (2007) Great expectations of ICT: How Higher Education institutions are measuring
up [online]. Available at: < http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/ studentexpectations.aspx> [Accessed 20th February 2009]
75%Recognised
value for enhanced learning
25%Encouraged by academicsSocial
networking tools
Outline
• Case studies of the technology• Wikis – Collaborative research & writing• Blogs – Reflective Writing
• Pedagogic issues – level of integration • Student feedback
• Concluding thoughts
Social Networking
PostgraduateMBAIBM2Marketing
PilotBridging Course
Harness
enthusiasm
Engagement Web 2.0
technologies
Ning: Student Evaluation
‘It was good and different trying
out the new technology; it broke the day up well.’ ‘It was
attracting my
attention to keep working
and not to be bored.’
Why (and which) Wiki?
PBworks (www.pbwiki.com)“As Easy as a Peanut
Butter Sandwich”!
Collaborative Writing/Resear
ch
Teamwork
StructuredMultimedia
Password
protected
Link fromVLE
Integrated
Learning ‘Need’
Module IntegrationExample Module Sessions Wiki Activity
Introduction to module and ‘Getting to know your team’
Writing individual profiles on wiki front page, team photographs and what they hope to achieve in the module; team visit to art exhibition and writing collaborative exhibition review
Team work and team building Establishing team ground rules, area for team meeting notes and actions
Time Management and Project Planning
Developing team project plan
Academic Research Space to collate collaborative research findings for team project
Harvard Referencing Collaborative creation of reference list
Oral presentations PowerPoint slides can be uploaded onto the wiki for team collaboration and editing
Reflective Writing Area on the wiki with questions to prompt reflection on teamwork project and process
Example
Art and Design
Wiki – Concluding Thoughts
“The wiki was a very useful tool to consolidate our group work “
Collaborative research, writing and referencing
Monitor team performance
Communication - email/text/facebook
Organisational skills
AppealLearning curve
Peer Learning
Integrated Learning Portfolio Module
Fabric Development
& Design
Fibre to Product
Design Contextual Studies for Textiles & Fashion
Visual Research
Academic/Company/Market Research
Essay writing
Referencing
TeamworkTechnical Research
Report writing
Oral Presentations
From ‘Bolt-on’ to Integrated
Computer-aided Design (CAD)
Capturing reflective writing and learning
Working with: Wordle.com
The Student Voice: Reflective Writing as a Transformative Learning Process“…….understand what you have actually learnt…..helped me see that I have been learning and not noticed [it].”
“…… changed how I will record my learning in the future, ….additionally my formal writing technique has improved.”
“Helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses in depth; useful in documenting my learning development which has had an impact on the way I work.”
“Interesting seeing how ideas/opinions change in space of a year. Useful - reminds me of things enjoyed/ didn’t enjoy. Can help to think up new ideas and see strengths/flaws/improvements needed. Essential to keep learning new things”
“Hard but interesting …..helped me to remember what I had done throughout the year and showed the progress and development made.”
“…..helped me realise what to change next time”
“I now understand how I have developed …..and shows my achievements……thoughtful and gives direction.”
“I’ve found that reflecting on your work allows you to see how and what you can improve and where your strengths lie. I also find it a form of self encouragement and it shows how you are gradually growing.”
“I can now see just how important the blogs will be for future reference. I do intend to use this practice in my second year of study. Even if it is not required by the syllabus next year, it has in the end been extremely helpful to look at my work along the way.”
“Originally I did find it quite tedious having to write blogs online. I saw it as a waste of time, when I could have been doing something more practical. I did not make my first entry until 10th December…but from then onwards, I made entries when I wanted to express my feelings or simply wanted to write about what I was doing to clear my head. I soon discovered that doing so did help my thinking process which reflected on my design process, the two interlinking.” “When we were first told about the blog entry requirements, I
was unsure as to why it was relevant. But as soon as I had done my first I realised how much of a help it was and how it was very useful to write a sort of diary to record our steps and thoughts…I found it extremely useful to reflect on everything and my actions as it pointed out my weaknesses and strengths. I have really learnt from this experience and it had definitely helped my development as it has made me aware of my own feelings.”
Overcoming Barriers and Discovering Value
Engaging Students Level of Technology Integration and Required Commitment
Voluntary/Supplementary
Formative Summative
Compulsory/Integrated
Bridging Course Social Network
Postgraduate Wiki
ILP Blogs
Study Skills Team Wikis
Concluding Thoughts
• No automatic transition from writing for social networking to writing for social learning.
• Clear potential but need to develop mechanisms to enable students to discover and realise this.
• Technology as space for shared and collaborative writing • Creating learning communities – making writing public
• Can we ‘bridge the gap’ and engage students?
• Integration/embedding
• Link to teaching and assessment
• Enjoying writing as a transformative discovery process
Based on qualitative research - one-to-one interviews with students conducted over two years - Jisc has built up a picture of how students are using IT to manage their social lives.
Most are confident and competent IT users, but they are too often unaware of how they could apply their skills to enhance their studies. Phipps recalls interviewing a first-year female arts undergraduate who professed absolute ignorance of e-learning or web applications. "She was updating her blog at an internet café and then started integrating photos from her Flickr site on to the blog. At the end of it she said, 'That's not technology. That's what I do.' “
Hoare, S (2007) 'Students tell universities: Get out of MySpace! Guardian 5 November [online] Available at: < http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/05/link.students> [Accessed 28 January 2009]. <
Concluding Thoughts
• No automatic transition from writing for social networking to writing for social learning.
• Clear potential but need to develop mechanisms to enable students to discover and realise this.
• Technology as space for shared and collaborative writing
• Creating learning communities – making writing public
• Can we ‘bridge the gap’ and engage students?
• Integration/embedding
• Link to teaching and assessment
• Enjoying writing as a transformative discovery process