Collaboration in an online environment

1. Collaboration in an online environment Kevin Thompson Ultralab, Anglia Ruskin University

2. Society needs: • Collaboration • Technology • Initiative • Ability to find things out

3. Click link for video clip http://lazowska.cs.washington.edu/scienceforum/tsld085.htm Extract from Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) from ‘Gilda Live!’ (1980) Warner Studios.

4. Productivity v Creativity

5. Assessments

6. Pupils

7. Teachers

8. Teachers 2

9. Four “Cs” of social tools: • Communication: instant messaging, e-mail, Web conferencing, streaming video and voice tools, and other messaging solutions • Coordination: calendaring, task and project management, contact management, and related technologies • Collaboration: file and application sharing, discussion, wikis, blogs and other shared-space technologies • Community: social networking, swarmth (digital reputation, also called karma or whuffie), group decision and other explicit community supports • STOWE BOYD June 2004 • http://www.unmediated.org/archives/2004/06/stowe_on_social.php

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

12. http://www.youtube.com/http://video.google.co.uk

13. http://www.buzztracker.org

14. Collaborative Art http://artpad.art.com/gallery/ http://artpad.art.com/?iv54t2ijyg8 http://artpad.art.com/?iv54xq6q148

15. Collaborative bookmarks http://www.recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/archive.php http://www.sandaigprimary.co.uk/radio_sandaig/index.php http://www.stephenp.net/~stephenp/blog/ http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki http://www.furl.net/ or http://del.icio.us/keltickev http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=378 http://www.pandora.comhttp://www.blogmusik.net/ http://123.writeboard.com/

16. “The key to successful elearning is the use of technology for communication, dialogue and collaboration. Collaboration, it has been said, may be the single most important concept for online networked learning.” (Paul Leng, “A Learning Experience”, 23.03.06http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/analysis/2152612/learning-experience) In an online course, no one can hear you scream. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studevgt/onlinsts/disad.htm

17. Learning with Technology • We are active, not passive learners! • Learning is increasingly collaborative action research ie observing, testing, reflecting and redesigning • The best use of computers is to design and solve problems • Information Communication Technology (ICT) not Information Dissemination technology (IDT) • Asynchronous communication gives us time to reflect, and to contribute in our own time • We thrive when authoring and annotating • See also “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”-Marc Prenskyhttp://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

18. Learning with Technology • “ Teaching in cyberspace involves more than taking traditional models and transferring them to a different medium • Institutions are rushing to get in on the distance learning craze, many for the wrong reasons. • The online environment is conducive to an interactive, collaborative, facilitated approach. • ….is seeking an active approach to learning and more involvement in the learning process itself. Not content with being taught to….(s)he seeks to engage in a more collaborative learning partnership” • See “Lessons from Cyberspace Classroom” - Palloff and Pratthttp://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/01_20.pdf

19. http://www.frappr.com/ultraversity • Action Researchers as Learning Facilitators • Technical research & development • Administration, support • Majority distributed around UK working from home • Ultralab base in Chelmsford, Essex near London

20. http://www.aypwip.org/webnote/uvuclt

21. SMS …today some 3 billion to 5 billion IMs are sent every day, a large proportion of them from teenagers, One major attraction: Unlike blogs or Web sites, they're usually free. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5404762 "Ur dumped, Kevin Federline - and you are now part of a growing club of spurned lovers who have been ditched by text message,"the smh reports."A video of Britney Spears' soon-to-be ex-husband apparently getting a text message informing him that the pop princess had filed for divorce became the most viewed item on the YouTube Internet site on Thursday, with more than 1 million hits".Getting dumped by text a growing trend http://www.smartmobs.com/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3264921.stm http://www.free-hotspot.com/index.htm Most of UK's 3,000 hotspots are in pubs, and analysts estimate there will be over 70,000 across Europe by 2008.

22. This feature(SMS) has spread like wildfire among young people in Europe and Asia, with literally billions of SMS messages being sent every day around the world. Short text messages, which can be written quickly, even in your pocket (especially with predictive text), offer enormous learning opportunities.

23. Heads Together • Pilot 2002: now Over 2000 Headteacher members • Private community (trust important) • Training given • Used for consultation by HMI etc • Hotseats • LTScotland in-house software now wanted elsewhere 2005 visits • I think Heads Together is one of THE best ways to keep a head teacher in touch with education and the "big picture" • I didn't really expect something so computer-based to have such a human touch. How reassuring and heartening it has been to talk to other heads with similar challenges. • What an impact (Heads Together) has had on some of our professional lives - difficult to see how we would manage without • It's the communication and the sharing of good ideas (as well as a superb set of colleagues!) that makes 'Heads Together' simply indispensable

24. Key issues • Knowledge can come from practitioners • Learners can research & communicate • Community online can work, but must be facilitated • Widening participation is not watering down or devaluing what is learnt.

25. Contact / links • Ultraversity - www.ultraversity.net • Ultralab - www.ultralab.net • Me - Kevin@ultralab.net