Teaching Staff Factor

Yesterday, I was discussing with two of my colleagues who were trying out a blog system for their classroom teaching this semester. We were discussing about the survey results which we retrieved from the VLE. An interesting point that I highlighted to them was the possibility of their teaching styles or methods were influencing student perception on blogging as a learning tool. This was quite evident from the simple comparison we made of the feedback gathered from the three groups of students who were taught by my three colleagues. Incidentally, the general pattern was that one was very strict in facilitation, another one gave the students a free hand and in between another who had a mixture of guided activities and the freedom to blog away from the recommended scope recommended. We talked how this could be a vital factor in explaining the patterns of feedback we received from the survey.

Collaboration without administration

As I ponder over many of the new collaborative tools being touted for use to promote learning, I just wonder how many of these tools would really make it to the mainstream of lecturers' teaching practice.

To me, most of the people whom I have met would consider monitoring and assessing, (which they must do), student activities online as something of an extra to their current workload which they would rather not participate in if given a choice or if there are no overt recognition financially and socially.

Add to the fact that the goal of education has switch its focus on the masses rather than the elite few, it is incomprehensible how any of them would be able to promote collaborative learning and yet at the same time, manage the overwhelming task to assess the work generated and its quality.

Methods and emerging practice

I use this image to help me to understand how my methods in collecting data are actually helping me to document and describe the emerging practices of my collaboration with the academic staff.

Some Wishes for My Tools

• I would love to see my Google Bookmarks being shared just like Google Reader.
• I would love to see my PowerPoint being able to create interactive animations and exported to Flash files.
• I would love to see more Open Source applications for video editing.
• I love to see the web browser change to an interface similar to Adobe Lightroom.
• I would love to see all citations downloadable to Zotero.
• I would like to see a face lift for Zotero.
• I would like to see Blackboard supporting blogs and wikis.
• I would like to see history class being learned through games like Civilization.
• I would love to see Google Docs supporting presentation files like PowerPoint
• I would like to use Picasa to edit my RAW files
  

I will continue to add more to this list from time to time.

Actions, Interactions and Practice

I use this image to help me to understand that I often interpret and reflect over what has occurred during my interactions with the academic staff before deciding on an action which I would propose to the same staff. This action would then start an interaction between me and the academic staff where in the course of the interactions, we would both interpret the situation, try to understand each other, make sense of the discourse and reflect and draw on previous encounters and knowledge that we have learned as resources to make a mutual decision and perhaps set the next course of joint action. These joint decisions and actions would provide further resources for me to reflect on when I am no longer interacting with my collaborators. These interactions would also form the practice that we participate in and reify.

JISC - Learner Experiences of e-Learning

Learner Experiences of e-Learning: "The Learner Experience of e-Learning (LEX)

About this project

The learner experience of e-learning (LEX) project aims to put learner voices at the centre of the research study. The study is part of the pedagogy strand of the elearning programme and builds on a recently completed scoping study and literature review."

Online Book - The Experience of Learning

The Experience of Learning: "The Experience of Learning was first published in 1984, and a revised and expanded second edition appeared in 1997. Both editions were published under the imprint of Scottish Academic Press. However, the book is currently out of print and no longer available from the publishers. This is particularly unfortunate since interest in the ground-breaking content of The Experience of Learning remains bouyant, and it continues to be regularly cited by researchers, teachers and others concerned with the pedagogy of higher education.

The editors have therefore decided that the best course of action would be to make the book's contents widely and freely available on the World Wide Web, for as long as it continues to attract a readership. The present Internet version was produced in 2005. Any of the chapters may be downloaded free of charge as PDF files by clicking on the chapter titles below. They may also be photocopied or reproduced for non-profit educational purposes, provided that the source is explicitly and openly acknowledged and no amendments are made to the text. Formal copyright remains with the editors and contributors, who continue to assert their moral rights. Since the PDF versions of the book's chapters retain their pagination, these can continue to be referred to in any future citations. "

Academia - Stephen Bostock

UMIST Teaching with Technology programme (EFFECTS)Project Portfolio, Stephen Bostock
This is the document proposing the project, with links to the evidence provided.
Outcome 1 Conducted a review of CIT in learning showing an understanding of the underlying educational processesEvidence of having conducted a review of appropriate technologies and their applications and demonstrated an awareness of their use in a range of learning situations.

Project - EFFECTS!

This is a web site for learning and teaching professionals, and for developers working to promote innovation and best practice in education.

It is not a list of links. Instead you will find a wealth of practical materials for download, designed to help you

Organization - NILTA

AoC NILTA’s vision is simple yet ambitious. We aim to facilitate the active participation of all staff throughout the lifelong learning sector in the development, use and exploitation of ILT through the exchange of ideas and expertise, sharing of best practice, facilitation of partnership and access to information, advice and support.

Institute - Oxford Internet Institute

Welcome to the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) -- one of the world's first truly multi-disciplinary Internet institutes based in a major university. Devoted to the study of the societal implications of the Internet, the OII seeks to shape research, policy and practice in the UK, Europe and around the world.

Organization - UNESCO

UNESCO is contributing to the implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action by a variety of activities that operationalize UNESCO's concept of “Knowledge Societies”.

P o I n t e r

P o I n t e r: "

Welcome to the home page for the PoInter project. The project is concerned with investigating the appropriateness of patterns as a means of communicating information about how people interact with each other through and around technology. Ultimately, this is with a view to informing the design process for computer systems to support the work and activities that the people are engaged in, which is an on-going theme for our research here at Lancaster.

In these pages, you will find background to the project, links to work on patterns elsewhere, publications and reports available on-line, and candidate patterns arising out of our work."

The Pedagogical Patterns Project

The Pedagogical Patterns Project

Patterns are designed to capture best practice in a specific domain. Pedagogical patterns try to capture expert knowledge of the practice of teaching and learning. The intent is to capture the essence of the practice in a compact form that can be easily communicated to those who need the knowledge. Presenting this information in a coherent and accessible form can mean the difference between every new instructor needing to relearn what is known by senior faculty and easy transference of knowledge of teaching within the community.

In essence a pattern solves a problem. This problem should be one that recurs in different contexts. In teaching we have many problems such as motivating students, choosing and sequencing materials, evaluating students, and the like.

These problems do recur and in slightly different form each time. Each time a problem pops up there are considerations that must be taken into account that influence our choice of solution. These forces push us toward or away from any given solution to a problem. A pattern is supposed to present a problem and a solution. The problem together with the forces must apply to make that solution beneficial to the problem.

Project - The E-LEN project

The E-LEN project:

"The outcomes should interest those who are seeking guidance and feasible solutions to advance the effectiveness of e-learning. In the E-LEN project e-learning is the systematic use of networked multimedia computer technologies to empower learners, improve learning, connect learners to people and resources supportive of their needs, and to integrate learning with performance and individual with organisational goal. "

Publications - The Higher Education Academy in Business, Management and Accountancy

Publications | The Higher Education Academy in Business, Management and Accountancy:

"These collections of BEST papers, guides, newsletters and our journal share experiences, reflections and good practice in teaching."

Academia- Punya Mishra

Punya Mishra:

"Design as pedagogy:
Developing teacher knowledge for technology integration"

Project - UCL Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching

UCL Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching: "The development of an accreditation framework for learning technologists

Overview
Steering group
Phases of work
Project reports
Overview

This project involved the development and piloting of an accreditation framework aimed at learning technologists. The work was undertaken for the Association for Learning Technology, through funding from JISC. (For further information, see the invitation to tender, available from the list of ALT documents.) The project is now complete.

The project involved a consortium of researchers, consisting of:

* Julia Duggleby, The Sheffield College
* Aileen Earle, Collaboranda
* Richard Francis, Oxford Brookes University
* Gwyneth Hughes, UEL
* David Jennings, DJ Alchemi Ltd
* David Kay, FDLearning
* Martin Oliver, UCL
* Rhona Sharpe, Oxford Brookes University"

Online Magazine - Exchange - Issue 6

Exchange - Issue 6: "Issue 6

Published in May 2004, the sixth issue of Exchange focuses on
'e-Learning'. Kathy Wiles, Director of the Centre for Academic Development at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne is the guest editor for this edition. image - front cover issue 6

'Wherever you are with e-learning, we hope you will find something here to inspire you, answer your questions, or even to disagree with, says Kathy. Most of all, the message that comes across from this issue of Exchange is that
e-learning is learning - and that means something to all of us.'
"

Book - Faculty development by design

Faculty development by design: "Faculty development by design:
Integrating technology in higher education
Page Updated: August 16, 2004

Editors:
Punya Mishra
Matthew Koehler
Yong Zhao "