OER15 at Cardiff

Last week, the OER15 conference (https://oer15.oerconf.org ) took place at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama at Cardiff. It was a fine venue for two days’ discussion of Open Educational Resources (OER), and the conference theme of ‘Mainstreaming Open Education’ (see Twitter hashtag #oer15 ).

The event began with a keynote from Cable Green, Director of Global Learning (the slides used in his presentation can be found at: http://www.slideshare.net/cgreen/keynote-oer15-wales ) . He raised some key points about current and future use of OER, and posed an important question: “What is the evidence that OER are useful?” A key source of answers comes from a Review by John Hilton of the Open Education Group. This review found that both leanrer and teacher perceptions of open resources was positive, particularly in the US where textbooks can be very expensive. However, the studies reviewed did not show that OER had any significant effect on learning. This key aspect of efficacy is very important to educators, as Cable Green mentioned, and any lack of obvious efficacy may be limiting OER uptake in HE and other educational sectors. It is likely that more research in this area is required, along with awareness-raising of the need for educators and learners to create and share high quality resources. ‘High quality’ is important, and quality assurance is an issue which needs to be addressed in appropriate ways at the points of production, usage, and curation, eg.within OER in repositories such as JORUM and XPERT.

Repositories weren’t mentioned a great deal at the conference, presumably because they are no longer the main sites for open resources. JORUM had a presence at the event, and also CADARN (http://www.cadarn.ac.uk/), a Wales-specific HE repository, though to date it has involved only certain Welsh HEIs (not UWTSD!), and requires a login (also the case for the resources held online by the Coleg Cenedlaethol Cymru). Actual resources didn’t figure very prominently, either, and those highlighted in presentations were mainly MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). My presentation bucked the trend, as I was discussing Xerte learning objects (xerte.org.uk). As I stated in my presentation (which can be viewed at : http://www.slideshare.net/cpdavies1/xerte-oer15 ) , I find that Xerte software provides the means to produce interesting, interactive, accessible ‘bites’ of learning that are highly useful within a blended provision, though it is important to ensure that they interface effectively with their host VLE. The XPERT repository has some good Xerte learning objects focussing on research methods and statistical techniques, and I have been developing others in this subject area.

An example of a page from an University of Nottingham Xerte learning object showing alternative colour options

Apps got a mention, too, and Chris Rowell’s 12 apps of Christmas CPD activity was very intriguing (http://blog.ericsilva.me/edtech/12-apps-of-christmas-via-regents-university-london/ ). The poster I exhibited at OER15 focussed on an app to assist with the assessment of science skills for learners in schools in Wales, and a presentation describing the project involved can be viewed at: http://www.slideshare.net/cpdavies1/equipping-the-mobile-teacher

The Open University (OU) received a great deal of attention, partly because they were supporting the event, but also because they have been highly active in the world of open resources. OpenLearn Cymru ( http://www.open.edu/openlearnworks/course/index.php?categoryid=27 ) is a relatively new initiative which gathers together bilingual resources about Wales, and/or useful to Welsh learners, and also has a ‘pathways’ scheme to guide learners through the resources, and to encourage them to undertake the journey from informal to formal learning.

Other parts of the world are also highly active in the field of OER as in indicated by projects such as eMundus ( http://www.emundus-project.eu ) as outlined by Terese Bird, and POERUP (poerup.referata.com ).

Lastly, the keynote by Josie Fraser highlighted OER Guidance produced for schools in Leicester which is available online (http://schools.leicester.gov.uk/ls/open-education/ ) and in booklet format. In addition to listing some OER repositories suitable for schoolteachers, this resource also provides very useful guidance about Creative Commons licenses and how to use them in the context of authoring, and also when searching for suitable resources (eg. using Flickr to search for Creative Commons images.)

Reference

Hilton, J. (2015) The Review Project. Open Education Group [online] Available at: http://openedgroup.org/review (accessed 20.4.15)

The DProf Programme at UWTSD

Last week saw the launch of the Wales Institute of Work-Based learning (WIWBL) Doctorate in Professional Practice (DProf) Programme with the first Residential session at the UWTSD Lampeter campus. This is a part-time professional doctorate programme that provides experienced individuals in senior roles with an opportunity to undertake a significant research project situated in their workplaces.

Our small first student group included students from Wales and Canada, with tutors mostly from WIWBL and one from the School of Social Justice and Inclusion.  The Founders’ Library was used for teaching and learning – a wonderful, book-lined room with comfortable leather chairs - a perfect environment for discussing research methodologies and analysing journal articles! At the end of each day, we continued our conversations in various eateries in Lampeter town, and I think it’s fair to say that we all had a thoroughly enjoyable and useful week.

We will meet up again during the next residential in May, when our current students will conclude their study of initial modules. In October, this cohort will commence new modules, but we also expect to enroll our second cohort. There is further information about the programme on the UWTSD website at http://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/courses/professional-doctorates/doctorate-in-professional-practice-dprof/ , and anyone who may be interested is welcome to contact me directly

Mentoring in the Workplace

This is a guest post by my UWTSD colleague Dr Rhianon Washington:

As human beings we are all hard-wired with a number of instinctive characteristics, which include an innate inclination to nurture.  While we usually associate this everyday form of mentoring with family and friends, it is an activity we also naturally or even unconsciously engage in at work.  Searching your memory will inevitably yield examples of automatically helping or being helped by a colleague; perhaps by showing them the ropes or listening to their ideas or issues.

In the learning context mentoring reinforces reflective practice and can facilitate understanding whilst providing pastoral support.  Bolton (2001[i]) contends that mentoring provides the very structure in which learning can occur.  An effective mentor can inspire learning and development in their mentee and encourage ownership and confidence by allowing the mentee to assume responsibility for their own learning and the achievement of self-prescribed goals (Connor and Pokora, 2007:6[ii]).  There are learning opportunities for the mentor too, through the development of transferable skills such as empathic listening and powerful questioning techniques, as well as the satisfaction of seeing their mentee thrive. 

One inspiring tenet that has stayed with me since my initiation to mentoring is:

‘I am here for you.

I believe in you.

I will not let you fail.

You have the power.’ Pascarelli (1998[iii])

 

Such a reassuring mantra epitomises the true essence of mentoring.  Little wonder that such a synergetic partnership, dependent upon trust carefully nurtured and enriched over time, can be mutually enhancing and empowering.

---

[i] Bolton, G. (2001) Reflective practice, Writing and professional development London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd

 

[ii] Connor, M. and Pokora, J. (2007) Coaching and Mentoring at Work, Developing Effective Practice New York: OUP

 

[iii] Pascarelli, J. (1998) Mentoring and Tutoring by Students, edited by S. Goodlad, , London: Kogan Page Ltd 

 

The role of collaboration for learning in work-based contexts

Collaborative scenarios such as group-work can be highly beneficial for children’s learning, so long as they are carefully planned (Black & Wiliam, 2001).  Collaboration can help adults learn, too, and this is true of workplace contexts.

In terms of learning, human beings can be thought of as a form of ‘human capital’, and individual knowledge and skills provide an important resource – examples might include plumbers and bakers as well as brain surgeons or University Professors! But the value of this ‘per capita’ capital arguably increases if aggregated into ‘social capital’ (or ‘collaborative capital’): put simply, our knowledge and skills increases when we talk to each other! This is basically social constructivism in action, and its positive impact has been evidenced in several situations, for example teachers in New York (Leana, 2011).  Extending the example of education, a

recent McKinsey and Co. report stated that:

                “Collaborative practice is the method by which a school system “hardwires” the values and beliefs implicit in its system into a form manifest in day-to-day teaching practice” (McKinsey & Co., 2010).

This implies that an organisation does not automatically adopt good ideas, beliefs, and practice: they have to be spread by means of colleagues communicating and sharing.

This view of the importance of colleagues working together is shared by Professor Michael Fullan who believes that collaboration is a key higher-order skill for the 21^st century (Fullan 2011?).

Many organisations appreciate the value of collaboration for improving learning and overall effectiveness, and encourage peer communications and support (Greer et al, 1998). Some may even encourage ‘communities of practice’ (Wenger, 1999) - groups of people who learn and develop together as an extension of their normal social interactions within or beyond their work. For such communities to be effective, there needs to be a great deal of trust and cooperation between members, and a clear focus of development and growth. Ideally, work-place organisations will share the characteristics and goals of the communities of practice within it, but that is not always the case as indicated in the table below based on West-Burnham, 2014:

 

Organisation	Community
Competition	Collaboration
Hierarchy	Network
Top down power	Shared authority
Low trust/control	High trust/consent
Focus on Career	Focus on personal growth
Efficiency/outcomes	Enhanced value
Rule bound	Value driven

 

References

·         Black & Wiliam (2001) Inside the Black Box. [online] Available at : http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf. [Accessed 12.10.14]

·         Brown, JS and Duguid, P (2013) Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation. Organisation Science. 2 (1).

·         Fullan, M. (2011) Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform. Centre for Strategic Education Seminar Series Paper No. 204. [online] Available at : http://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/Fullan-Wrong-Drivers1.pdf 

·         Greer, J.E., Mccalla, G., Collins, J.A., Kumar, V.S., and Meagher, P. (1998) Supporting Peer Help and Collaboration in Distributed Workplace Environments. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. 9, pp.159-177.

·         Leana, C.R. (2011) The missing link in school reform.Stanford Social Innovation Review. [online] Available at: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_missing_link_in_school_reform/  (accessed 2.11.14)

·         McKinsey and Company (2007). How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top. [online] Available at: http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-best-performing-schools-come-out-on-top/

·         Wenger, E. (1999) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press

·         West-Burnham (2014) Making collaboration work: from the structural to the relational. [online] Available at : http://cdn.cfbt.com/~/media/cfbtcorporate/files/resources/inspiring-leadership-2014/seminar-southern-educational-leadership-trust-making-collaboration-work.pdf. [Accessed: 6.1.15]

The Potential of Informal Learning

Children, and most other young animals, have a natural inclination to explore their world, test whether new objects can be eaten, find new spaces and possibilities, and this curiosity is important in driving learning (Day, 1982). We retain some of this tendency to explore as we get older, and most of us like the idea of travelling to new places, tasting different foods, trying out new pastimes etc. However, we don’t always associate these informal experiences with learning, and indeed many of us, after years of compulsory schooling, may deliberately shun the idea of associating ‘real life’ experiences with learning. But actually, learning which is unplanned and unconscious may be as important as the more formal learning that comes from a training course or curriculum: it got us from crawling to walking, it ensures that we don’t persist with sampling mud or caterpillars, and it allows us to communicate with one another.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-billed_quelea

Some of what we learn in this way has been referred to by Polyani (1967) as ‘tacit knowledge’: we have knowledge or abilities but may not be able articulate what they are. Rogers (2003) differentiates an awareness of tasks that have been mastered (eg. parenting), and used the term ‘Task-conscious or acquisition learning’ to describe this. However, in many cases, we are not aware of what we know: it takes a metacognitive step to become mindful of our knowledge and skills, and to register new information that we might come across. As an example, I happened to hear about a bird called a quelea on Radio 4 one morning last week, and was interested to discover that it is the most numerous bird on Earth. I later looked up further information about the bird on the web, and seeing a picture of it, and its name spelt correctly, has helped me be aware that I have learnt something about this bird. Furthermore, noting all of that here has helped to consolidate that learning (possibly shunting information from working to long-term memory). I thus added a snippet to my ‘life-long learning’!

This example of learning only took place because there was a source of information that was stimulating, and I was motivated enough to find out more (last week there was a lot on the radio about banks and politics, too, but I didn’t trouble myself to look up anything about them!).  It could be argued that a key role of education in general, and adult education in particular, is to make individuals aware of what is, or might be, stimulating, and to motivate them to find out more. This is education in its truest sense, ie. a ‘leading out’ .  Educational institutions generally translate this into programmes of accredited formal learning with detailed curricula (and fees!), but unless these maintain an appropriate level of stimulation there is a danger of a drop in motivation. This is particular danger for part-time and distance programmes. For adult learners, there may also be a lack of confidence about their ability to engage with future learning, and whether their past learning has any value.
Taking the last point first, adult and workplace learners may have learnt a great deal informally, or in a ‘task-conscious’ way, and it can be highly motivating for them to become aware of what they have already learnt, and recognising its value: this is the basis of APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning). But how do they continue to be motivated, and how do we maintain stimulation particularly for part-time and distance learners given their potential remoteness?

Part of the answer lies in continued communication and feedback, as indicated in a previous blog, and a key tenet of Gilly Salmon’s writing (Salmon, 2013). Both communication and stimulation can, to an extent, be addressed using technology: some of this may have been part of the domestic scene for some time (eg. TV and radio), and some, such as mobile phone applications, may be a lot more recent. All have the advantage that they are already part of the scenery of informal learning for many people.
Examples include Twitter, and though this can be annoyingly trivial at times, it is a constantly available means of communication. Following key individuals or organisations can provide a great deal of information, and use of hashtags allow for searching and exploration of themes. Another example is Google maps, which not only give information about roads and terrain, but also names of businesses, restaurants, train stations etc. Moving a step further, applications such as Layar  allow you to use your camera to give information about the buildings etc around you, indicating shops, pubs, bus-stops etc. If QR codes are available (eg. on museum exhibits), detailed information may 

from Morguefile.com

be readily accessed.
All these examples require an internet-enabled mobile phone (or smartphone) which may be a barrier to some, but increasingly, these tools are part of what we carry around with us, and as educators, we need to make full use of the increasing range of mobile-based tools to augment informal learning, reinforce formal learning, and help learners to become more self-reliant.

References

• Day, HI (1982) Curiosity and the interested explorer. Performance and Instruction, 21, p19-22
• Polanyi, M. (1967) The Tacit Dimension, New York: Doubleday.
• Rogers, A. (2003) What is the difference?  a new critique of adult learning and teaching, Leicester:  NIACE
• Salmon, G. (2013). E-tivities: The key to active online learning (2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge

New Resource on Professional Learning for Teachers

Last week, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) learnt that it has been successful in its bid to the Welsh Government to produce an online learning pack for ‘Professional Learning’. This will be hosted on the Welsh Government’s ‘Learning Wales’ website, and will add to a suite of existing learning packs which form key resources for the ‘Masters in Educational Practice’. This is an important masters-level component in continuous professional development for teachers in Wales, and a key part of the ‘National Model of Professional Learning’ announced by Huw Lewis, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Education and Skills, in June 2014. The Wales Institute of Work-Based Learning (WIWBL) at UWTSD will have a key role in authorship, with myself as Project Coordinator and lead author.

Key aspects of this resource will be:

·         the importance of reflecting on practice, posing questions about practice, and undertaking research activity which develops both teacher and teaching

·         the value of data and other evidence, and how it can be used to inform practice, particularly in key areas such as differentiation and personalization

·         ways in which teachers can collaborate and support each other during their careers

·         how teachers can become ‘self-sustaining practitioners’ as they embark on a professional learning journey which may take them in various directions, including leadership

My Top Tools for Distance Learning

Jane Hart, C4LPT, published her Top 100 Tools for Learning for 2014 last month

(http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/ ), which got me thinking about the tools which are most useful for distance learners. The answer, to some extent, is ‘it depends’. It depends on the nature of the course, and the nature of the learners and their access to technology. It also depends on when you reflect on your answer, because technology is changing rapidly, and so is education in general. One significant change is the shift towards mobile, and there is no doubt that internet-enabled mobile devices have a significant potential for learning, though they may also have limitations (eg. screen size, keyboard usability), and are probably not a key device for older distance learners in particular (Zhou et al, 2013). Whether or not mobile devices are used, all distance learners need access to quality information in appropriate formats, a well-structured programme of study (eg. Open University), regular feedback from their tutor(s) (as detailed by Gilly Salmon), and some form of regular contact with their peers.

 

Anyway, here’s my list of top tools:

1.       Books, in which I include all good quality print-based materials (NB: the ‘good quality’ bit is essential; there are plenty of useless books). This may sound very ‘digital immigrant’, but I have yet to find a substitute for a book in terms of ease of reading and flicking to and forth to check on concepts, links between topics, making notes etc

2.       Email: still, in my opinion, the easiest way to communicate detailed information with 1 person in an asynchronous way (and sometimes it’s better to be asynchronous)

3.       Skype: probably the easiest way to communicate with 1 person in a synchronous way (though the good old telephone does that quite well, too, especially if you’re not looking you’re best ;) )

4.       Webinar platforms (eg. Blackboard Collaborate): the easiest way to communicate, and convey detailed information, with >1 person in a synchronous way. I’m aiming to try out MS Lync soon (just happens to be available in UWTSD). Haven’t yet found a free-to-use platform that works reliably.

5.       VLE: this is a bit ‘old fogey’, too, but actually, you do need an online way of gathering videos, articles, power-points (yes, we still need those!), study planners, access to webinars etc. I am still making Xerte learning objects (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xerte/toolkits.aspx) to add to the UWTSD Moodle, though not sure what will happen to Xerte once it’s absorbed into the Apereo Foundation. I’m also very interested in sites such as www.blendspace.com which brings together resources and interactivity in the same sort of way as Xerte, and currently free to use.

6.       Audio/video feedback: again, something that might sit on a VLE, but could be made available to individual learners in other ways. This is really an extension of talking/explaining and in that sense has an edge over written feedback. There are plenty of audio/video recorders, and also screen-casting applications such as Camstudio (http://camstudio.org/ ) and Jing ( http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html ) (both free to use) that are handy of you’re trying to explain something that has numerous steps, as in a mathematical problem.

7.       ‘Open’ resources, again only if good quality. These include OER (Open Education Resources) from sites such as Jorum (http://www.jorum.ac.uk/ ) and Xpert (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xpert/)- though not sure how up-to-date these are now- and also from the OU’s OpenLearn (http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ ). I also include in this category ITunesU, and, very importantly, YouTube. Video is a powerful learning tool, and YouTube has become the main conduit for video-based information from interviews to medical procedures.

8.       Collaborative authoring tools such as Google docs, and Mindmeister (https://www.mindmeister.com) for collaborative mind-mapping. Titanpad (www.titanpad.com ) is also handy, with no login needed.

9.       Google scholar for non-institutional searching, and Delicious (https://delicious.com ) for bookmarking (and searching). There may well be better alternatives to Delicious by now (please let me know if so!), but I’m still using it, and I’d have trouble coping without it.

10.   Twitter: not essential (yet), but an increasingly handy source of information, and another way of ‘maintaining contact’.

A lot of my preferences are visible in Jane Hart’s Top 100, and also in articles by Scott Steinberg (Huffington Post, 2013) and Marsha Bermeister (2008). I suspect that my list won’t change much in the short-term, but I do expect that the way I access some of these applications may change, and the advent of the Windows 8 ‘block’ interface signposts what may be to come.

            

References

      ·         Burmeister, M (2008) Ten Top Tools for Distance Learning [online]. Available at: http://www.nova.edu/~burmeist/topten_resources.html. [Accessed 6.10.14]

·         Hart, J (2014) Top 100 Tools for Learning 2014 : Best of Breed  [online]. Available at:  http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/best-of-breed/

·         Salmon, G. (2013). E-tivities: The key to active online learning (2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge

·         Steinberg, S (2013) Distance Learning: Best Apps, Tools and Online Services. Huffington Post [online]. Available at:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-steinberg/distance-learning-best-apps-tools-and-online-services_b_3805068.html. [Accessed 6.10.14]

·         Zhou, J et al (2013) Age-related difference in the use of mobile phones. International Journal of Universal Access in the Information Society. DOI 10.1007/s10209-013-0324-1 [online]. Available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10209-013-0324-1#. [Accessed 6.10.14]