Community Dimensions of Learning Object Repositories

Community Dimensions of Learning Object Repositories Anoush Margaryan and Allison Littlejohn International Centre for Research on Learning University of Dundee, Scotland UK

Extending reputation Context • CDLOR project funded by Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), UK • Led by University of Dundee (Prof. Allison Littlejohn) • Partners University of Strathclyde and Intrallect Ltd. • Eight Associate Partners with LO repositories as testbeds • A number of collaborative partners in UK and internationally

Extending reputation Learning Object Repositories • Learning object (LO) – granulardigital resource developed to meet a learning objective • From digital assets and information resources to learning activities and learning designs • Learning object repositories (LORs) to facilitate storage, sharing and reuse of LOs Littlejohn, A. (2003) (Ed.). Reusing online resources: A sustainable approach to e-learning. London: Kogan Page.

Extending reputation A Learning Object Economy? Technological factors Educational factors Organisational factors Socio-cultural factors Collis (1995) Promise of the learning object economy not achieved Technical and IPR issues being addressed Socio-cultural and educational issues most difficult to address

Scenario 4 Communities Groups of people informally bound by: • mutual engagement and participation in a shared task • negotiated interaction with accountability, and • shared repertoire of tools, processes, and concepts. Wenger (1998) Scenario 3

Scenario 4 Communities around LORs 1. Research-oriented scientific communities 2. Learning-oriented class-support communities 3. Work-oriented, communities of practice 4. Hobby-oriented communities of interest/ fantasy Seufert, Moisseeva & Steinbeck (2001)

Extending reputation TASK • What communities can utilise LORs and what resources might they share? 2. What learning resources would you want to share and reuse?

Extending reputation Key questions 1. What communities coalesce and are being supported by LORs? 2. What are the barriers and enablers to uptake and embedding of LO repositories within such communities? 3. Are there issues & solutions particular to some communities?

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 1. What communities are being supported by LORs? Dimensions: Geographic range – national, international, institutional Educational sector – FE, HE, school Disciplinary Contributors – teachers, students Purpose of sharing – characteristics of resources shared, e.g. sound files, lecture notes, learning designs

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 2. What are the issues for communities? Technological • Technology of the objects themselves (e.g. metatagging) • Technology related to the repository in which the objects are collected (database technology, LCM) • Technology for services related to the use of repositories (e.g. search, browse, download, and preview tools) • Technology to support the sharing/interoperability of LOs between systems and repositories

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 2. What are the issues for communities? Educational: • Diversity in approaches to learning (teacher-centred vs. learner- centred) • Discipline-specific models of learning • Standardised vs. non-standardised curriculum (HE and professional bodies) • Motivation to share and reuse LOs • Support in integration of LOs and tools to facilitate such integration

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 2. What are the issues for communities? Organisational and information management: • Incentives and rewards (e.g. payment, peer review, recommendation) • Organisational structures (how is reuse and sharing supported – centrally vs. devolved) • Roles and responsibilities (institutional stewardship models for managing digital content & activities) • Information management - Digital rights management - Workflows (procedures) • Quality assurance of resources (peer review, recommendation, selection of a particular resource by teachers to be archived)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 2. What are the issues for communities? Socio-cultural: Types of cultures (national, institutional, discipline-specific) Cultural models and expectations in terms of learning and sharing Size of the community and spatial location of members Community ground rules Roles and relationships Reconciliation of multiple agendas and the rhythm of the community Whether the community is open or closed

TASK Scenario 4 Scenario 3 What socio-cultural problems might users experience in sharing and reusing digital learning resources?

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 3. Are there solutions particular to communities? Issues depend on the characteristics of learning communities that form around LORs JORUM WM-Share project Stor Curam (social work) IVIMeds (Medicine) Aberdeen University University of Ireland Galway UHI Millennium Institute Edinburgh University The Spoken Word LAMS community DIDET (student contributors)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 3. Are there solutions particular to communities? Dimensions: Educational sector Subject discipline Geographic range Purpose of sharing Contributor JORUM WM-Share project Stor Curam (social work) IVIMeds (Medicine) Aberdeen University University of Ireland Galway UHI Millennium Institute Edinburgh University The Spoken Word LAMS community DIDET (student contributors)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: IVIMeds www.ivimeds.org Community:teachers and learners of medicine in 26 countries Dimensions: Discipline= medicine Geographic = international Repository: diagrams and animated sequences, commentaries, clinical illustrations, virtual patients. IVIMeds @ Dundee University (Harden, 2005)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: IVIMeds www.ivimeds.org Community? Subject focused community that shares and integrates resources within a range of learning approaches Issues Cohesion of the community Mapping curriculum at an international level IVIMeds @ Dundee University (Harden, 2005)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: JORUM www.jorum.ac.uk Community:Higher Education academics across the UK Dimensions: Geographic = national Repository: wide range of resource types across all subject disciplines

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: JORUM www.jorum.ac.uk Community? Loose community focused around sharing resources produced by funded initiatives Issues Connecting with academics in institutions Conditions of use/IPR

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: www.lamsfoundation.org Community: users of LAMS sharing Learning Designs Dimensions: Geographic = inter/national Purpose = learning designs Repository: collection ofLearning Design sequences created by teachers. LAMS @ Macquarie University (Dalziel, 2005)

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation Issues for communities: www.lamsfoundation.org Community? Community focusing around an LMS system sharing ideas in Teaching and Learning Practice Issues Communicating good practice Versioning LAMS @ Macquarie University (Dalziel, 2005)

Scenario 4 Issues for communities: dmem1.ds.strath.ac.uk/didet Community: Product design students Repository: Students given group project tasks.Resources sourced by learners and uploaded to shared workspace. Students construct concept maps to justify product design Dimensions: Geographic= classroom Contributors=students+lect Discipline = engineering Scenario 3

Scenario 4 Issues for communities: DIDET Community? Tightly knit, classroom based learning community engaged in shared tasks with agreed interaction Scenario 3 Issues Information literacy skills Archiving ‘informal’ resources dmem1.ds.strath.ac.uk/didet/

3. Are there solutions particular to communities? Active: Peer to peer exchange Group sharing Passive: Downloading

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 3. Are there solutions particular to communities? Dimensions: Educational sector Subject discipline Geographic range Purpose of sharing Contributor Technological issues Educational issues Organisational issues Socio-cultural issues

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 3. Are there solutions particular to communities?

2. What sorts of resources will you share? Extending reputation 3. Are there solutions particular to communities? Educational sector Different cultures and approaches to reuse Subject discipline Preference for different resource types and learning approaches Geographic range Cohesion of communities Purpose of sharing Communication of usefulness of resources Contributor User control of environments and literacy skills www.ic-learning.dundee.ac.uk/projects/CD-LOR/

4. Challenge for the future: socio-cultural Design of reps should be more closely bound to the needs of learning communities and/or CoP. One way forward is to support users in having control of their learning environment Give learners the flexibility to users to manage their own resources

4. Challenge for the future: educational LORs should be flexible enough and future-proofed to support a range of teaching and learning practices For example they may support learners in using ‘informal learning’ skills within formal settings

4. Challenge for the future: technical Implementation of LORs will involve integration of a range of systems This will require support from multi-skilled teams Individuals in these teams will provide educational design, technical, subject specialist and literacy support

4. Challenge for the future: organisational Requires implementation of strategies that focus on incentives, rewards and support Bring about transformational change involving all sectors of the organisation Institutional strategies should take account of emotions associated with change

Community Dimensions of Learning Object Repositories