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Bridging the gap between policy & practice: a reflective review & looking forward to the future

Gráinne Conole, Open University, UKVI Congresso Nazionale della SIe-L: E-learning, creatività ed innovazioneSalerno University, 17/09/09

More info, slides and references:http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2295

+Outline

Scrutinising the e-learning history line lessons from the past a glimpse into the future

Emergent themes and challenges

A framework for making policy work

Illustrative case studies

Reflections and questions for the future

+Key focus

Is there a gap between e-learning policy and actual practice? How can we bridge the gap?

Does e-learning policy adequate reflect current technological advances If not how can we ensure it does?

+Scrutinising the e-learning timeline Context

Globalisation, networked society, changing societal norms, ICT advances

UK: Dearing review of ICT TLTP projects, CTI, HE Academy, JISC

US: Fragmented policy, driven by individuals and commercial imperative

Education/Industry partnerships, spin offs, Open Educational Movement

Impact

Local culture vs global hegemony, changing roles & structures, commercial vs. government supported, dissemination and impact evaluation

Policy Practice

DriversWidening participation, personalization, lifelong learning, quality assurance, developing the work force, commercial imperative

Conole, (2007) in Andrews & Haythornwaite

+ A glimpse into the future

12 3

bac+

Inspire by Pea &Wallis, 2008

We can now interactat a distance, accessing complex & useful resources in ways unimaginable in early eras

What’s the next stage of the co-evolution?

Phases of development Tool-user co-evolution

Internet

Mobile devices

TV

Radio

Smart tools

Phone

+Converging practices

Modern technologies Modern pedagogy Web 2.0 practices

Location aware technologies

Adaptation & customisation

Second life/immersive worlds

Google it!

“Expert badges”, World of warcraft

User-generated content

Blogging, peer critiquing

Cloud computing

From individual to social

Contextualised and situated learning

Personalised learning

Experiential learning

Inquiry learning

Peer learning

Open Educational Resources

Reflection

Distributed cognition

+Loosely coupled tools

Integrated IT systems

Personalised tools

Institutional tools

Student controlled

Institutional controlled

Tensions & implications

The VLE/LMS is dead debatehttp://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloud/view/2162

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Policy

Teacher practice

Research & development

The learner’s experience

A framework for making policy work

+Avoiding failures of the past

Common reactions: “I haven’t got time” “My research is more important” “What’s in it for me?” “Where is my reward?” “I don’t have the skills to do this” “I don’t believe in this, it won’t work”

Common resistance strategies: I’ll say yes (and do nothing) Undermine the initiative Undermine the person involved

Classic mistake: Emphasis on the technologies, not the people and processes Funding for technology developments but not use and support

Great policy initiatives often fail – why?

+Cloudworks: Harnessing web 2.0

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Clouds: Learning & teaching ideasDesign or case studiesTools or resourcesQuestions or problems

Cloudscapes:ConferencesWorkshopsCourse teamStudent cohortResearch themeProject

Key concepts

+User profile

+Activity stream

+Features Dynamic list of clouds + new comments

Comments on clouds + cloudscapes

Can “follow” people + cloudscapes

RSS feeds of cloudscapes + people

Embedding: pictures, video, presentations

Twitter feeds for people +cloudscapes

Email alerts

Activity streams

+Emergent patterns of use

Events: conferences and workshops ALT-C conference, 8-11th September 2009 http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1870

Discussions: Flash debates Is Twitter killing blogging? http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloud/view/2266

Eliciting expertise Literature review of educational technologist http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/1872

Aggregating resources En Rumbo Spanish course http://cloudworks.ac.uk/index.php/cloudscape/view/776

Olnet: redefining openness

+A definition

The open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes

(UNESCO 2002)

+A broader definition of OER

Learning resources

Courseware, content modules, learning objects, learner support & assessment tools, online learning communities

Resources to support teachers

Tools for teachers and support materials to enable them to create, adapt and use OER; training materials for teachers

Resources to assure the quality of education and educational practices (UNESCO 2004)

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“Open Design”

Characteristics of good pedagogy

Affordances of new technologies

Bridging the gap

PersonalisedSituativeSocialExperientialReflective

AdaptiveContextualNetworkedImmersiveCollective

+ A mediating layer

Designer DesignHas an inherent

OERCreates

Mediating artifacts

Mediating artifacts1.Design visualisation tools - CompendiumLD2.Design methods3.Pedagogical patterns4.Cloudworks

Can we develop new innovative mediating artifacts?How can we make the design more explicit and sharable?

User – can now repurpose

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Policy

Research & development

Teacher practice

The learner’s experience

Mapping the case studiesInstitutional & national fundingEmbedding in strategyAligning to technology trends

Changing user behaviourDrivers and challenges

Actual use in practiceWhat’s in it for me?

Evidence of impact

+Questions and reflections

What is the relationship between Government rhetoric and actual practice?

How can technologies support new forms of pedagogy?

What is the relationship between technologies, physical and virtual spaces and pedagogy?

How do we take account of a digital divide that is ever narrower but deeper?

What new digital literacy skills will learners and teachers need ?

E-learning innovation will require a radical rethinking of the curriculum,

E-learning challenges existing norms about assessment

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Bridging the gap between policy & practice: a reflective review & looking forward to the future

Gráinne Conole, Open University, UKVI Congresso Nazionale della SIe-L: E-learning, creatività ed innovazioneSalerno University, 17/09/09

More info, slides and references:http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2295