012,3'3%4%,5# 6,#7%8#9:; · self1directed#learning •in#some#cases,#students#‘took#...

"We used it the way we wanted to": Research on Learner Self-‐Engagement in Web 2.0 Par=cipatory Environments

Erin Knight

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nswlearnscope/2053289691/

Monday, September 27, 2010



About Us

Erin KnightResearch DirectorCenter for Next Generation Teaching and LearningSchool of Information, UC Berkeley

Nathan GandomiPrograms DirectorCenter for Next Generation Teaching and LearningSchool of Information, UC Berkeley


Background





Par=cipatory Media?

• Social media, Web 2.0, “pMedia”• Tools that foster par@cipa@on

online• Blogs, wikis, forums, chat, social

bookmarking, social networking

• Key Principles: -‐ network effects -‐ low barrier to entry -‐ rich user experiences-‐ openness

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exlibris/2221270885/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/30465871@N05/2934751640/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30465871@N05/2934751640/

pMedia for Educa=on?

Challenges:• Ins@tu@ons are struggling with

budget cuts, low student engagement, and increasing demand

Opportuni@es:• increased student engagement,

collabora@ve learning, social construc@on of knowledge, ownership of learning


pMedia for Educa=on

• Learners learn more when they can socially construct their understanding.

• Student-‐centered learning environments can facilitate deeper learning than teacher-‐centered approaches.

• Par@cipatory media can be used to foster student-‐centered and socially constructed learning.

Key Assump@ons:


Exis=ng Literature• Emerging, inconclusive

• Tool-‐focused, typically a single-‐tool

• ALempts to prove “effec=veness” or profess “The Right Way” to use the tool

• Contextually bound, oQen not generalizable

• OQen ignores social complexi=es / affec=ve components http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/3312116875/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/3312116875/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/3312116875/

Research: Blogs (+)• effec=ve interac=ve knowledge-‐exchange tools

• support unique voices

• empower learners to assert their ideas and opinions

• encouraging to think cri7cally

• foster reflec7on, facilitate deeper connec7on

• richer understanding due to hyperlinks, contextual informa=on and revisi=ng concepts

(Herring et al., 2004; Oravec, 2002; Ferdig & Trammel, 2004, Koschmann at al., 1996)Monday, September 27, 2010

Research: Blogs (-‐)

• benefits not same for all users

• open nature can in7midate learners and discourage use

• must be kept ac=ve and maintained

• require a high level of learner and instructor mo7va7on to par=cipate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lady-madonna/147066705/

(Saeed et al., 2008; Tri-‐Dang et al., 2009; Mason & Rennie, 2008)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lady-madonna/147066705/

Other Tools

Chat

Forums

Wikis

Social Bookmarking


Summary

• Research is not broadly conclusive

• Too tool-‐focused

• Learning environments are nuanced!

• Need to step back, get broader understandings of use, percep=ons, mo=va=ons, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatboyke/2668411239/




Our Research





Our Research

• Observe usage across many tools, across courses

• Explore the complexi=es and nuances within each learning environment

• Discover trends or paLerns across courses

• Understand student and instructor percep=ons, expecta=ons and mo=va=ons

• Inform future research


Our Research Avoids• Claiming effec=veness

• Implying that different types or levels of use are necessarily beLer

• Assuming that paLerns of use in these environments are applicable to different environments


Social Media Classroom • “SMC”

• Open source course site solu=on built around embedded social media tools

• Originally developed by Howard Rheingold, adapted by I School

• Early adop=on = unique opportunity to observe usage across courses and interview instructors and students


Methods

• Observa=on of usage paLerns in 4 courses using the SMC (8 instructors, 150 students)

• Pre/Post surveys on expecta=ons and perspec=ves (79/73 Pre/Post responses)

• Student interviews

• Faculty interviews

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Discussion of Findings





pMedia for Educa=on



• Par=cipatory media can be used to foster thestudent-‐centered and socially constructed learning.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS:


pMedia for Educa=on



• Par=cipatory media can be used to foster thestudent-‐centered and socially constructed learning.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS:

?

?

?


No “one-‐tool-‐fits-‐all”• Each course used the SMC

differently

• Usage was focused around one tool and that tool differed across courses

• Instructors used the tools differently

• Differences in use across students within a course

• Many different types of influence

Course Tool Used

Course 1 Blog

Course 2 Wiki

Course 3 Blog

Course 4 Forums


Instructor Influence

• Direc7ves -‐ instruc=ons, modeling

• Par7cipa7on -‐ instructor posts or comments

• Grading -‐ grading usage on the site

“I commented on posts. I made blog posts. That's important

because it let’s them know that I read them and you have to be

credible.”

ASSIGNMENT #1:1. Find a news story2. Blog about it and tag it3. Add the link as a Social Bookmark and tag it


Other Influences

• Course ALributes

• Social Norms

• Student Familiarity or Preference

• Interplay between!!

“It’s a different style of reading...At some point I have

to be like, I cannot spend anymore time on this class. ”

“I felt like the concepts were more difficult to grasp in Course 1 and

lent themselves more to discussions and stories

on the blog.”

“Since no one was using it, I didn't use it. You don't want to waste your time

writing something that no one is going to look at.”

“Blogging is something I do anyway so it’s just a natural form for me to

kick around ideas.”


Self-‐Directed Learning

• In some cases, students ‘took over’ tool

• Used it to self-‐direct learning

• Extremely valuable observa=on to explore further

“Once it became a habit, no grading incentives

were needed.”

“Since it wasn't clear about how we needed to

use it or if it was graded, we used it the

way that we wanted to.”

“I think the more that I would go in there and read the posts and try to put in

my own two cents, the more I liked it and the more

I wanted to use it. ”


Learning Ac=vi=es

• Much of exis=ng literature is tool-‐focused

• Align certain learning ac=vi=es with certain tools

• We saw each tool used for wide range of learning ac=vi=es

• No “one-‐use-‐fits-‐each-‐tool”

• Convergence of tools OR evidence of student’s adap=ng tool to their needs


Student Resistance• Students reacted differently to student-‐centered openness

• Some complained that they were stressed about knowing what was ‘worth’ or ‘accurate’

• Others felt they were gemng cheated

• Woods (1994): shock, denial, strong emo=on, resistance and withdrawal, struggle and explora=on, return of confidence and integra=on and success

• Woods (1994): Students can experience the stages at different rates and magnitudes

• All reported value by the endWoods, D.R. (1994). Problem-‐based learning: How to gain the most from PBL. Waterdown, Ontario: Donald R. Woods.


Challenges / Takeaways• Students struggled with work-‐load

balance

• Instructors faced many social, pedagogical and technical challenges

• Were able to overcome social and pedagogical, but technical was a show stopper

• Instructors said that they would use the system again, but with adapta=ons

“Some call it ‘fun' and it’s like, no it’s actually work. Staying

on top of what people are posting, commenting and finding your own stuff is actually a lot of work.”

I haven’t used it much because I hate passwords,

and I forget them and cannot access the site.

I would devote 15 minutes of each lecture to talk about the blog. That says: I did read this

stuff, I’m going to give you credit for figuring out a good thing, and I’ll give you some

air time.


Conclusions and Next Steps





Preliminary Conclusions

• Learner-‐centered approach is important to most, but an adjustment for many

• Learning environments are nuanced social systems

• Ac=vi=es and adop=on vary among courses

• Many factors can influence use

• In some cases, learners can use the tool(s) to self-‐direct learning

• Tools can support many different learning ac=vi=es

.”“


Preliminary Recommenda=ons• Lead with the learning ac=vity or goal first, then apply technology

• Provide “self-‐service” pMedia in courses where collabora=ve ac=vi=es may or may not be scaffolded

-‐ Always on-‐ Easy to access from other online course materials-‐ No=fica=ons with RSS or other feeds for quick aLen=on

• Scaffold use of pMedia outside of courses to provide models and set expecta=ons for use within courses

-‐ Include in orienta=on, intro courses, other required ac=vi=es-‐ Structure learning cohorts-‐ Teach pMedia “rules of engagement” and leadership skills

• Facilitate community-‐building-‐ Require iden=ty (name and avatar, not anonymous)-‐ Allow commen=ng-‐ Con=nue par=cipa=on aQer and across courses


Implica=ons, Future Research

• Observe more courses, conduct interviews with more students and instructors, broaden survey results

• Map learning ac=vi=es to learners’ tool choices

• Analyze interplay and weigh=ng of varying influences on use

• Illuminate mo=va=ons and factors behind self-‐directed learning

• Inves=gate social issues (privacy, iden=ty, ongoing rela=onships, etc.)

• Observe use of other par=cipatory tools (video, mind maps, etc.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdm/54246114/




Thank You!

• Center for Next Genera7on Teaching and Learning:hLp://ngtl.ischool.berkeley.edu

• [email protected]


http://ngtl.ischool.berkeley.edu/

http://ngtl.ischool.berkeley.edu/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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