social networking for language education and the making of
TRANSCRIPT
Open Languages Research ForumOpen UniversityApril 29, 2014
Social Networking for Language Education and the
Making Of
Marie-Noëlle Lamy, Open Univeristy
Katerina Zourou, Web2Learn
Outline of the talk
Part 1: What the collection offers
• many (too many?) differing approaches to SN for L2 research and teaching
• yet emergence of common themes and learning/teaching problems
Part 2: The ‘Making of '
Concluding remarks
• a common focus on the empirical
• a variety of theoretical frames
• a variety of research methodologies
• a variety of conceptions of L2 learning
• a variety of conceptions of Social Networking
Part 1 : what the collection offers
What emerged from the studies?
•two overarching themes: identity, community
•learning issues: degree and locus of control
•learning sett ing issues: porous walls; assessment
•data collection issues: porous walls (again!); observer bias; ephemerali ty
Part 1 : what the collection offers
Participant
TaskTechnology
Part 1 : what the collection offers
Networked tasks,teacher- or student-createdInterl inked technologies
Core and other participants
Redefining components
Selecting the most suitable chapters
• An “invitation-only” CfP addressed to CALL researchers with some experience in social media for language learning
Deliberate choice of a selective CfP due to the novelty of the concept/lack of empirical data to date
• Round 1 of selection based on abstracts (18 submitted)
• Round 2 based on improved abstracts (6 rejected)
Authors (or groups of) acknowledged to submit a full paper
• Round 3 based on full papers: 8 accepted papers from 11 submitted
Part 2: the Making of
Reasons for rejecting abstracts and papers
• Vague understanding of the concept of “social networking” (main reason)
• Confusion between “interaction” and “social networking”
• Digital contexts that neither had social media characteristics in themselves (Moodle, vir tual worlds, immersive games, online classrooms) nor were shown to have led to networking
• Lack of evidence-based papers (contributions on “the potential” of SN in a language learning context)
• Off-topic contributions
Part 2: the Making of
Problems with f ine-tuning concepts
Social networking easily confused with similar concepts such as:
•Telecollaboration
•Interaction from a language learning perspective
•Interaction through commonly used digital tools such as Moodle (social networking seen as a form of online communication) )
Part 2: the Making of
Social networking: disambiguating the term
3 features of social media set by Tim O’Reilly and his team (2007):
•user par ticipation (user engagement in content creation)
•openness (ability to network with anyone)
•network effects (viral capacity)
Our claim: social networking as an activity encompassing all those features
O'Reilly, T. (2007). "What is Web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software". Communications & strategies, nº 65. pp. 17-37.
Part 2: the Making of
Social networking: disambiguating the term (2)
Taking social networking in i ts most informal/less directive definit ion
Emphasis on:
•Bottom-up and user-oriented practice
•Networking in informal ways/ less directive ways than in institutional contexts
•Learning with peers but also with any user across social media
VS learning settings where interaction, tools and objectives are “prescribed” by a teacher or CALL researcher
Interest in digitally enhanced situations where formal and informal learning occur (OU students attending a language course and communicating also through FB: how social networking affects language learning)
Part 2: the Making of
Lessons learnt
1. Make a CfP as precise as possible. For CfPs containing new concepts: have some crit ical readers and engage them in a more formalized way
2. Ask potential authors to accompany the abstract with a footnote explicit ly specifying HOW they wil l address the central topic of CfP. Mention that if this is not made clear, the contribution wil l be rejected
=>frame the process before the first word is written.
Part 2: the Making of
Concluding remarks
Doing SNs research through SNs?
Publishing options?
Tools?
Crowdsourcing culture?
Marie-Noëlle:
http://fels-staff.open.ac.uk/m.n.lamy
http://lamymn.wordpress.com/lamy-publications/
Katerina:
@web2learn_eu and @languages_web2
http://web2learn.eu/