hypermedia ethnography (on a shoestring!): a new methodology for qualitative research in languages...
DESCRIPTION
The poster for my presentation at EuroCALL 2009 in Gandia, Spain portraying my use of hypermedia ethnography as methodology for classroom-based research.Please note that the poster had a digital photoframe and iPod with a speaker attached to complement the written text.TRANSCRIPT
Hypermedia Ethnography A new methodology for qualitative research in languages learning and teaching
Penelope Coutas EdD Candidate Murdoch University Perth, Western Australia [email protected]
www.exploringthehyper.net
Classroom Observations Interviews
Documents Misc.
Methods
Links Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT). (2008). IDEAS – Action research (AR). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from http://celt.ust.hk/ideas/ar/intro.htm.
Coffey, A., Atkinson, P., & Holbrook, B. (1996). Qualitative data analysis: Technologies and representations. Sociological Research Online, 1(1).
Coffey, A., Renold, E., Dicks, B., Soyinka, B., & Mason, B. (2006). Hypermedia ethnography in educational settings: possibilities and challenges. Ethnography and Education, 1(1), 15-30.
Dicks, B., Mason, B., Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (2005). Qualitative research and hypermedia: Ethnography for the digital age. London: Sage Publications.
Howard, A. (1988). Hypermedia and the future of ethnography. Cultural Anthropology, 3(3), 304-315.
Johnson, L. F., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009) 2009 horizon report. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium.
Weinberger, D. (2007). Everything is miscellaneous. New York: Times Books.
Wesch, M. (2007). The machine is us/ing us (final version). Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://mediatedcultures.net/mediatedculture.htm.
Zhao, Y. (Ed.). (2005). Research in technology and second language learning: Developments and directions. Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.
Issues and questions raised o How can the iPhone and other tools be
used for data collection? (Should they?) o Ways of looking o Ways of seeing
o Does blogging aid or restrict the research process?
o Transparency of research o Field notes and feedback
o How is data best stored and accessed online?
o The potential of open source CMS, mobile access and cloud computing
o Development of ICT skills as a researcher
o Do participants engage more fully in the research process when they have anytime anywhere access to their data?
o Member checking o Creation of a folksonomy
o What are the important ethical issues that arise, and how might they be addressed?
o Confidentiality and anonymity o Informed consent o Images of minors o Data security o Wider audience o Dynamic nature o Potential for data re-use
Context Research aims and questions
To explore teacher and learner perceptions of the impact of ICTs for learning and teaching Languages
o How and why do teachers and learners use ICT for Languages learning in the ICT-enhanced school?
o What, according to teachers and learners, supports and/or hinders effective use of ICTs for Languages learning, and why?
o What have teachers and students found to be effective uses of ICTs to facilitate Languages learning, and why?
o What recommendations can be made to support effective use of ICTs for learning and teaching Languages based on this experience?
To explore hypermedia ethnography as a methodology for educational research
o What are the benefits and limitations of hypermedia ethnography as a methodology for educational research?
o What supports and/or hinders effective use of hypermedia ethnography for educational research?
Methodology Hypermedia ethnography takes observation, communication and collaboration into digital and virtual spaces and, in so doing, allows for multimodal investigations (Dicks et al., 2005). Reporting
Hypertexts are non-linear. Research findings can be accessed in a myriad of ways and forms through hypermedia, and potentially be “mashed up” by the reader themselves.
Audio Visual
Focus Group Interviews
Press play to hear participants’ voices “
“”
...multimodal research is not simply a mosaic, which adds together various separate forms of modes of data (including visual data). The contemporary technological environment potentially widens the opportunities for multimedia (re)presentation of data and for the emergence of new multi-semiotic forms of analysis and argument – enabling the innovative inclusion of film and video, still images, documentary materials, sound clips, online and other digital data alongside textual representations (Coffey et al., 2006, p. 19).
In this research, the use of audio-visual methods complemented and extended the ethnography. Photos, audio recordings, video footage, computer screen shots, scanned work samples and other “documents” formed rich data for analysis and (re)presentation.
Images from the online ethnography Exploring the Hype(r) of Languages Learning and Teaching
Track 1: Brie, ICT Coordinator, Morragangga SHS. “I come in the back way”. Brie is in charge of the school’s computer network and is frustrated by only ever being greeted by problems.
Track 2: Emma, Italian teacher, Maxwell SHS. “’Cause I’ve got variety!” Emma is enthusiastic about the potential of ICTs for differentiation.
Track 3: Students, Maxwell SHS. “It’s not what we do”. The students have access to technology, but that doesn’t mean they use it.
Track 4: Anna, Italian teacher, Maxwell SHS, “You want to know what’s going on”. Anna does not want to look foolish in class.
Track 5: Alice, Indonesian teacher, Morragangga SHS. “The network is down”. This is a common occurrence at Alice’s school.
Analysis
Hypermedia ethnography is a valuable and effective methodology for qualitative research in CALL that allows for richness, transparency and flexibility in both process and product. (This is also the problem).
The Action Reflection Cycle. Adapted from CELT (2008).
e.g. Creation of a folksonomy
When all data are digital, there are new opportunities in analysis.