social software
Articole
Pe drumul către mediile de învăţare personale : şapte aspecte fundamentale
04 Iulie 2008
Practicile de învăţare şi de predare nu sunt predeterminate: ele depind întotdeauna de instrumentele şi de sistemele utilizate. Dezvoltarea şi succesul în creştere al aplicaţiilor de software social, printre care blog-urile, wiki-urile şi ceea ce numim „medii de învăţare personale” (MIP) modifică, facilitează şi repun în discuţie învăţarea pe Internet.
Mediile de învăţare personale, mai ales în opoziţie cu sistemele tradiţionale de gestionare a învăţării (SGI), au un succes deosebit şi sunt pe punctul de a modifica paradigma învăţării şi a predării. Acest articol încearcă, pe de o parte, să pună bazele unei mai bune înţelegeri a conceptelor care stau la baza celor două abordări şi, pe de altă parte, insistă pe consecinţele şi pe dificultăţile prezentate de MIP şi de utilizarea lor crescândă în învăţare.
Am identificat şapte aspecte pentru care aceste schimbări sunt mai evidente sau care ni se par mai importante. Pe scurt, învăţarea în cadrul MIP aduce schimbări în ceea ce priveşte: (1) rolul elevului ca şi creator activ şi auto-organizat al conţinutului, (2) personalizarea datorată sprijinului şi datelor din partea membrilor comunităţii, (3) conţinutul învăţării constituie un „bazar” nelimitat, (4) rolul crucial al participării sociale, (5) proprietatea datelor elevului, (6) semnificaţia învăţării auto-organizate pentru cultura instituţiilor şi a organismelor pedagogice şi (7) aspectele tehnologice ale utilizării instrumentelor soft-ului social şi a grupării de surse multiple.
Numărul mare de instrumente care facilitează colaborarea pe Internet indică în mod clar faptul că mediile de învăţare personale şi soft-ul social nu sunt doar un „foc de paie”, ci duc la o nouă concepţie asupra învăţării şi la o dezvoltare durabilă a competenţelor. Cu toate acestea, dezvoltarea şi elaborarea demersurilor şi a ideilor existente legate de MIP trebuie aprofundate. Graţie discuţiilor despre evoluţiile legate de trecerea de la SGI tradiţionale la MIP şi despre dificultăţile pe care le prezintă această evoluţie, acest articol poate servi ca bază a deciziilor elevilor, profesorilor şi a instituţiilor de învăţământ în favoarea (sau împotriva) conceptului tehnologic al MIP, la un nivel general şi ţinând cont de implicaţiile pedagogice ale acestui concept.
Am identificat şapte aspecte pentru care aceste schimbări sunt mai evidente sau care ni se par mai importante. Pe scurt, învăţarea în cadrul MIP aduce schimbări în ceea ce priveşte: (1) rolul elevului ca şi creator activ şi auto-organizat al conţinutului, (2) personalizarea datorată sprijinului şi datelor din partea membrilor comunităţii, (3) conţinutul învăţării constituie un „bazar” nelimitat, (4) rolul crucial al participării sociale, (5) proprietatea datelor elevului, (6) semnificaţia învăţării auto-organizate pentru cultura instituţiilor şi a organismelor pedagogice şi (7) aspectele tehnologice ale utilizării instrumentelor soft-ului social şi a grupării de surse multiple.
Numărul mare de instrumente care facilitează colaborarea pe Internet indică în mod clar faptul că mediile de învăţare personale şi soft-ul social nu sunt doar un „foc de paie”, ci duc la o nouă concepţie asupra învăţării şi la o dezvoltare durabilă a competenţelor. Cu toate acestea, dezvoltarea şi elaborarea demersurilor şi a ideilor existente legate de MIP trebuie aprofundate. Graţie discuţiilor despre evoluţiile legate de trecerea de la SGI tradiţionale la MIP şi despre dificultăţile pe care le prezintă această evoluţie, acest articol poate servi ca bază a deciziilor elevilor, profesorilor şi a instituţiilor de învăţământ în favoarea (sau împotriva) conceptului tehnologic al MIP, la un nivel general şi ţinând cont de implicaţiile pedagogice ale acestui concept.
Articole
Social Software and the Establishment of Virtual Communities of Practice in the Tourism Sector
26 Septembrie 2007
The concept of Communities of Practice can be seen as a central model that supports informal learning processes especially in workplace surroundings. Based on the assumption that Social Software tools and models are well suited to support collaboration within virtual networks, this paper aims to present and analyse the experiences made in the process of establishing Virtual Communities of Practice in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the tourism sector in Europe (involving the application of Social Software tools).
SMEs can be seen as the backbone of regional prosperity and employment in Europe and their employees’ professional development is often seen as a precondition to achieve innovations and to compete with other companies. However, small enterprises are often not able to address their employees’ learning needs by developing or financing formal learning initiatives individually. Recent ideas on ICT-based learning include a blend of learning and working, resulting in the concept of learning at the workplace. These kinds of informal learning processes in organisations are aimed at learning around concrete problems.
Empirical research carried out in the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci project Work&Learn Together (WLT) shows that Social Software can indeed facilitate and support communication processes within Communities of Practice. However, these tools are often rather to be seen as an additional channel of communication. The idea of establishing purely Virtual Communities of Practice in the tourism sector actually proved to be quite difficult. The feeling of competition in the sector was found to be much stronger than the actual need to learn collaboratively.
Nevertheless several fields in which Virtual Communities of Practice could be established to support existing structures of communication and learning as well as meet learners' needs were detected in the tourism sector. One central motivation for the implementation of Virtual Communities of Practice – especially in SMEs – is the fact that there is a need for tools which allow learning during working hours and at the workplace. Thus the attendance of formal training sessions, which often involve impractical traveling to training centres for employees in rural areas, can be avoided.
Empirical research carried out in the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci project Work&Learn Together (WLT) shows that Social Software can indeed facilitate and support communication processes within Communities of Practice. However, these tools are often rather to be seen as an additional channel of communication. The idea of establishing purely Virtual Communities of Practice in the tourism sector actually proved to be quite difficult. The feeling of competition in the sector was found to be much stronger than the actual need to learn collaboratively.
Nevertheless several fields in which Virtual Communities of Practice could be established to support existing structures of communication and learning as well as meet learners' needs were detected in the tourism sector. One central motivation for the implementation of Virtual Communities of Practice – especially in SMEs – is the fact that there is a need for tools which allow learning during working hours and at the workplace. Thus the attendance of formal training sessions, which often involve impractical traveling to training centres for employees in rural areas, can be avoided.
Articole
Personal Learning Environments - the future of eLearning?
15 Ianuarie 2007
This paper explores some of the ideas behind the Personal Learning Environment and considers why PLEs might be useful or indeed central to learning in the future. This is not so much a technical question as an educational one, although changing technologies are key drivers in educational change.
The paper starts by looking at the changing face of education and goes on to consider the different ways in which the so-called ‘net generation’ is using technology for learning.
It goes on to consider some of the pressures for change in the present education systems. The idea of a Personal Learning Environment recognises that learning is ongoing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning. It also recognises the role of the individual in organising his or her own learning. Moreover, the pressures for a PLE are based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts and situations and will not be provided by a single learning provider. Linked to this is an increasing recognition of the importance of informal learning.
The paper also looks at changing technology, especially the emergence of ubiquitous computing and the development of social software.
The paper believes that we are coming to realise that we cannot simply reproduce previous forms of learning, the classroom or the university, embodied in software. Instead, we have to look at the new opportunities for learning afforded by emerging technologies.
Social software offers the opportunity to narrow the divide between producers and consumers. Consumers themselves become producers, through creating and sharing. One implication is the potential for a new ecology of ‘open’ content, books, learning materials and multimedia, through learners themselves becoming producers of learning materials.
Social software has already led to the widespread adoption of portfolios for learners, bringing together learning from different contexts and sources of learning and providing an ongoing record of lifelong learning, capable of expression in different forms.
The paper considers how Personal Learning Environments might be developed through the aggregation of different services.
The final section provides examples of practices that show how PLEs may be used in the future.
It goes on to consider some of the pressures for change in the present education systems. The idea of a Personal Learning Environment recognises that learning is ongoing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning. It also recognises the role of the individual in organising his or her own learning. Moreover, the pressures for a PLE are based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts and situations and will not be provided by a single learning provider. Linked to this is an increasing recognition of the importance of informal learning.
The paper also looks at changing technology, especially the emergence of ubiquitous computing and the development of social software.
The paper believes that we are coming to realise that we cannot simply reproduce previous forms of learning, the classroom or the university, embodied in software. Instead, we have to look at the new opportunities for learning afforded by emerging technologies.
Social software offers the opportunity to narrow the divide between producers and consumers. Consumers themselves become producers, through creating and sharing. One implication is the potential for a new ecology of ‘open’ content, books, learning materials and multimedia, through learners themselves becoming producers of learning materials.
Social software has already led to the widespread adoption of portfolios for learners, bringing together learning from different contexts and sources of learning and providing an ongoing record of lifelong learning, capable of expression in different forms.
The paper considers how Personal Learning Environments might be developed through the aggregation of different services.
The final section provides examples of practices that show how PLEs may be used in the future.