Students aren’t prepared for web 2.0 learning, are they?

Ruth Whitfield and Neil Currant Learner Support Services

Who we are in this context?

Communicating in an Information Age Module tutor - Ruth Whitfield.Enhancing Learner Progression Project Officer – Neil Currant, www.elp.ac.uk

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Overview

• Aims of what we did

• Use of such tools

• Skills needed

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What are we going to say?

“The use of ‘web2.0’ is not as common as we are often

led to believe. The underpinning skills required for effective educational use of tools are often not developed enough. This leads to a number of observed phenomenon using such tools in education. ”

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Module aims• To use tools such as blogs, wikis, e-portfolios• To develop:

– Group working;– ICT skills.

• To enable students to:– Work with others more effectively;– Exploit technology for presenting and sharing

information within a multi-cultural society.

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Mode of assessment

Group Project30%Wiki

Blackboard

Online Group Discussion

30%Blackboard

E-portfolio/Weblog

40%PebblePad

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Myths of Use

• Blog: 12% (UK), 7.4% (US)• Most common creative use: sharing photos [28%

(all) / 46% (students).]

• Created social network profile: 17% (all) / 42%

(students) • Biggest influence of social networking for contact

with family or existing friends.Oxford Internet Survey (2007) http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oxis/USC (2007) www.digitalcenter.org

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Proposition from student data

We can’t expect students to be able to use online tools and technology for their learning without (our?) help even if they use (some of) this stuff at school and at home.

I have been a regular and proficient user of IT (systems and

hardware), but I have been astounded by the fact of how

much I didn't know about blogs and wiki's.

Its rather confusing to learn in other ways. setting up blogs is the

hardest part. it took me ages to get up and running on myspace.

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Why?

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Underpinning skills

• IT skills

• Learning skills

• Group working skills

• Personal skills

None of us have contributed to a wiki

before and its daunting but we

need to get over it.

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“Everything is now… Reflection (the act of thought on our actions, motivations, experiences, and world events) is becoming a lost art. Deriving meaning no longer happens at a pause point. Meaning is derived in real time.” George Siemans (2006, p.74)

Siemans, G. (2006) “Knowing Knowledge”, Complexive inc.

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What would support your learning?

02468

101214

chat onlinewith otherstudents.

access toonline

resources

sharelearning

experienceswith others.

support fromother

studentsonline

recordingand

reflecting onyour learningin your own

private onlinespace.

share basicinformationabout youonline in

order to getto know

otherstudentsbetter.

connect toother

studentsoutsidecourse

Combined studies

Progression to lvl 4

Reflecting

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Observed Phenomenon: wiki

• Wikis not collaborative– Individuals work on own pages– Individuals worked on different sections of pages

• Trust and editing others work• Repeat pages in wiki

– User error– Deliberate (see above)

• Cut & Paste / plagiarism

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Observed Phenomenon: other

• Offline meetings to discuss content of blogs and wikis (made extra work)

• Individual blogs (in eP) more reflective than other work seen at this level.

• Confusion / Profusion of tools

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Wikis not collaborativeContributors to wiki pages

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% pages with 1 % pages with 2 % pages with 2+

Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

Series5

NB: series 1 had 14 potential contributors, the rest were group work wikis with 4 group members.

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Trust

Please do not mind if i have changed your work on the Wiki, as i have heard that from

other groups that their members have minded.

I would be OK with this as long as someone told me first before they wanted to change something and explained the

reasons why

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Group working

• Blog was used in one group to criticise each other and carry on offline arguments.

Big problem with personality clashes…since then nobody has left a note on the blog…I

think it would have happened anyway

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Repeat pages% of pages which with either same content or same title

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

Series5

User error? Deliberate

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Cut & Paste

• Lack of attribution

• Very obvious

Please if you copy pictures or

quote things please put the website in the

bibliography using the harvard referencing.

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Offline Meetings

We appear to be making little

or no progress!!!!   I believe that face-to-face

communication may be more

successful.

May I also add that this module is about

taking the communication tools

that have been provided to us and to

use them! 

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Confusion / Profusion of tools

• Not sure which tool to use for which purpose, e.g. email should not be needed.

Don’t know if you've managed to see the messages/e-mails left … let us know if you can

by posting a message on the blog!

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To Ponder

• Level of support needed

• Skill Development

• Trust & group working• Time (given a 12 week module)

• Levelness & appropriateness of tasks

• Plagiarism

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Questions raised

• Do we (tutors) have the skills necessary to support students use of these tools for learning?

• What ‘academic’ / ‘personal’ skills do students need?

All the students at the focus group agreed that the support given by the tutor was vital to their positive experience of the

module

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Blogs & Wiki's

With blogs and wiki'sYou can air your views

And pay your dues. HopeThings don't get too sticky.

They're cropping up everywhereDown the hall and up the stairsIf you're getting really worried

Better say your prayers.In blogs & wikis;

they gotta be quickies.Yeah, it's real cool for to drool

Over mantle of opinionated foolCause with our blogs & wikisWe have the necessary tools

To be elaborate & free spirited.

Well everyone knows that they're giftedBut the emphasis has somehow shiftedIn expression that is wordy & descript

A picturesque image may say as muchBut don't worry if it's all double dutch.