Harnessing the power of web-based technologies in construction education

Not proposing a shift

to online delivery

Not presenting technologies as radically new or innovative

Context…….

Tuition fees

More demanding students

Most universities have well

developed VLEs:

So what’s the problem?

We are not fully

exploiting the

potential of new

technologies

Traditional model of higher education

Dilutes the learning experience

Ephemeral

Superficial approach to learning.

Deprives students of social aspects

Forces students to learn in isolation.

A way of reducing costs

INNATE RESISTANCE TO TECHNOLOGY:

“For most of the twentieth century our educational system has been built on the assumption that teaching is necessary for learning to occur …. This model simply cannot keep up with the rapid rate of change in the twenty-first century.”

CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION

Shift away from….

OLD MODEL:

•Instructional

•Behaviourist

•Outcomes-based

•Didactic

•Focus on the individual

Towards…..

NEW MODEL

•Constructivist

•Active learning

•Student engagement

•Group work

•Enquiry-based approaches

•Collaboration

•Participation

•Reflection

Becoming part of a

Community of Practice

Are we overlooking something?

The technologies we now have

available to us fit in perfectly

with this approach to education

Citing Conole (2008):

“Arguably…. there has

never been a better

alignment of current

thinking in terms of

good pedagogy ……

with current practices in

the use of technologies”

Wikis

Discussion boards

Blogs

Social networking

Social bookmarking

Videos, images, screencasts…

Personal learning environment

“…learning should be viewed in terms of an environment – combined with the rich resources provided by the digital information network –where the context in which learning happens, the boundaries that define it, and the students, teachers, and information within it, all coexist and shape each other in a mutually reinforcing way.”

A perfect

alignment…

Digital natives?

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

• 89% had PC / laptop

• 16% had iPad or similar

• 87% had smart phone

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

• 66% did not regularly update their Facebook status

• 80% did not have a Twitter account

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

• 86% had never maintained a blog

• 73% had never, or rarely, read a blog

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

• 72% had never contributed to a wiki

• 54% had never contributed to a discussion board

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

• 53% had never used image hosting services

• 78% had never used social bookmarking services

Survey of new Undergraduate Construction Studies Students – Westminster - Sept 2011

What does this tell us?

We can’t assume

our students are

digitally literate

Face- to-face small

group working

Personal study in library

Online private study

Online discussion

boards

Mobile learning

BLENDED LEARNINGMust be properly designed

New 15 credit module for first year students taken intensively over a six week period at start of course

GROUP PROJECTCollaborative project. Students

work in groups to undertake research and create a wiki based on a recently completed building.

Use of other technologies strongly encouraged.

GROUP PRESENTATIONStudents work in groups to prepare

and deliver a brief presentation using MS PowerPoint

INDIVIDUAL E-PORTFOLIOA personal electronic portfolio prepared using Google Sites. Portfolio contains a range of

evidence to demonstrate• Information skills• Digital literacies

• IT Skills• Study skills• Reflection• Evaluation

• Personal development planning• Numeracy

• Self-management• Problem solving

informs feeds into

A suggestion…..

Establishing an online community

of construction academics

Further reading…

Image credits

Slide No. Slide No.

1 http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/cloud-computing/ 18 http://www.generalinformatics.com/overview.html

2 http://www.playgroundchildren.com/computer-futures-right-strategy-to-let-you-know-cloud-computing-technology 21 http://karmnirvan.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/how-to-buy-

a-telescope/

4 http://www.flickr.com/photos/zanzo/ 22 http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/professional-learning/get-started-web-20-and-global-learning

6 http://eandt.theiet.org/explore/students/2011/tuition-fees-intro.cfm 24 http://seo-hacker.com/web-20-link-building-branding/

7 http://www.nerditorial.com/ 33 http://3forward.com/lead-lifecycle-management/sales-and-marketing-alignment-aint-happening/

9 http://www.braintrack.com/college-and-work-news/articles/higher-education-state-funding-at-record-low-11030901

34 http://career-engagement.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/dancing-with-digital-natives-book.html

13 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/dec/15/crowded-lectures-harm-top-students 42 http://nowmediamarketing.com/internet-marketing/digital-

natives-marketing/

14 http://www.innovatrs.com/blog/innovations-mean-cloud-computing-has-reached-maturity

15 http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/effective-use-of-VLEs/intro-to-VLEs/introtovle-approaches