The Twitter/Diigo Experiment has given me the opportunity to assess the value of implementing web-based tools in a formal and structured way. The trial has also necessitated a vast range of personal learning. Having never undertaken a research project before, elements of this project have been both challenging and rewarding.
Even though much time was spent carefully planning and preparing for the trial, it was difficult to anticipate how participants would respond and how the activities would progress. I needed to reflect on the activities as they were happening, and make changes where necessary. I now realise that this is linked to Schon’s model of “reflection in action”.
I would have liked to have worked through this process with the full involvement of the academic programme team and with more student participation. This would have increased the validity and reliability of the study. It would be interesting to re-run the trial in the context of a live module, during academic term time.
I now realise that my position within the team limits my ability to influence organisational change. However, I have demonstrated the potential of the tools and will continue to enthuse about the technologies.
Working though the processes involved in action research methodology has been a new and particularly useful area of learning that will be beneficial to my professional practice. I now have the insight and confidence to transpose this methodology onto other projects to examine current practice, test ideas and introduce new initiatives.
Monday 29 August 2011
Friday 19 August 2011
Tools and Models Explored In Relation To The Trial
Apart from the main micro-blogging and social bookmarking tools, Twitter and Diigo implemented in this trial, additional web-based tools and third party applications were explored and applied throughout the process of undertaking this research and were also used for presenting related information.
Web-based drawing tool Cacoo was used to create Rich Pictures to illustrate CATWOE considerations and scope out initial ideas and modifications relating to the Appreciative Inquiry of the project. A Cacoo diagram of key stakeholders in the project was mapped out in a stakeholder analysis. A SWOT analysis for the pilot was also considered and presented using Cacoo. Time-line diagrams and outline plans were visualised using Cacoo.
The presentation tool Slideshare was used to transform word documents and PDFs into a format that could be uploaded to the blog.
Online survey tool SurveyGizmo was used for pre and post pilot questionnaires.
Widgets utilised on the Masters Action Research blog were, “Best content in Diigo” for the Creative Technologies Diigo group and a Twitter widget to display recent Tweets on the blog site. A Diigo tag cloud for the Creative Technologies Diigo group was also added to the blog, presenting a visual representation of key words used as tags by the participating group when book marking to Diigo.
These widgets provided visualisations of research activity and provided access to additional content.
The model of synchronous learning activities was explored through a live Twitter chat session. Here, a number of third party applications were recommended and utilised. Tweetdeck, Twitterfall and Tweetchat were explored and implemented as methods of engaging in a live chat event.
Web based data collecting tools, the Archivist, Mention Map, Twitter Counter were explored as ways of collecting statistical information. Twapperkeeper was used to archive the live chat. Tweetdoc was used to present the stream of live chat posts, through Slideshare, in a visually engaging way on the blog.
Over the four weeks of the trial activities, pre-existing technical advice, resources and instructional material was distributed to the participants to prepare the group for their involvement in tasks. These resources also helped to raise awareness of social bookmarking, use of Twitter in education and ideas behind networked learning and collaboration. These resources were sourced from existing media found on YouTube, Slideshare and Vimeo. Media used as instructional resources are listed here.
How to open a new Twitter account (4.24 mins)
All about Diigo (3.37mins)
How to set up Diigolet
David Cormier’s video on Community as Curriculum
Guidelines on Twitter chats
Demonstration on how to set up Tweetdeck
Web-based drawing tool Cacoo was used to create Rich Pictures to illustrate CATWOE considerations and scope out initial ideas and modifications relating to the Appreciative Inquiry of the project. A Cacoo diagram of key stakeholders in the project was mapped out in a stakeholder analysis. A SWOT analysis for the pilot was also considered and presented using Cacoo. Time-line diagrams and outline plans were visualised using Cacoo.
The presentation tool Slideshare was used to transform word documents and PDFs into a format that could be uploaded to the blog.
Online survey tool SurveyGizmo was used for pre and post pilot questionnaires.
Widgets utilised on the Masters Action Research blog were, “Best content in Diigo” for the Creative Technologies Diigo group and a Twitter widget to display recent Tweets on the blog site. A Diigo tag cloud for the Creative Technologies Diigo group was also added to the blog, presenting a visual representation of key words used as tags by the participating group when book marking to Diigo.
These widgets provided visualisations of research activity and provided access to additional content.
The model of synchronous learning activities was explored through a live Twitter chat session. Here, a number of third party applications were recommended and utilised. Tweetdeck, Twitterfall and Tweetchat were explored and implemented as methods of engaging in a live chat event.
Web based data collecting tools, the Archivist, Mention Map, Twitter Counter were explored as ways of collecting statistical information. Twapperkeeper was used to archive the live chat. Tweetdoc was used to present the stream of live chat posts, through Slideshare, in a visually engaging way on the blog.
Over the four weeks of the trial activities, pre-existing technical advice, resources and instructional material was distributed to the participants to prepare the group for their involvement in tasks. These resources also helped to raise awareness of social bookmarking, use of Twitter in education and ideas behind networked learning and collaboration. These resources were sourced from existing media found on YouTube, Slideshare and Vimeo. Media used as instructional resources are listed here.
How to open a new Twitter account (4.24 mins)
All about Diigo (3.37mins)
How to set up Diigolet
David Cormier’s video on Community as Curriculum
Guidelines on Twitter chats
Demonstration on how to set up Tweetdeck
Interim Assessment – Twitter/Diigo Experiment
A programme of activities was designed as a trial exercise to test the potential of micro-blogging and social bookmarking to enhance collaborative learning on the Masters course. Reports are available for week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4 of the trial.
Data was collected from feedback presented on pre/post pilot questionnaires, researchers observations and statistical information on levels of participation.
9 of 56 students signed up to the trial. The majority of responses came from pre-enrolled students. The Programme Leader was invited to take part in order to develop an awareness of the potential of the tools. Students and academics gave initial positive responses to the trial, however levels of participation were disappointing.
Overambitious plans in addition to low levels of interest and participation prompted frequent redefining and reconstruction of research plans and activities, resulting in a scaled down version of the project.
Collaboration with academic colleagues proved difficult, as did encouraging student participation. Running the trial during term-time may have increased levels of interest and participation. However, researching issues affecting participation was fascinating. Feedback indicated that the main factors affecting participation were, “other priorities” and “lack of participation of others”.
Exploring action research as a methodology has been a new and inspiring experience. Action research has proven a useful way of testing new ideas, and developing professional practice.
Initial findings suggest that it may be beneficial to test the integration of Twitter and possibly Diigo in a live Masters module. A Summer School of live Twitter chat sessions may be recommended. Feedback has also suggested considering Google+ and Facebook as alternative tools.
Data was collected from feedback presented on pre/post pilot questionnaires, researchers observations and statistical information on levels of participation.
9 of 56 students signed up to the trial. The majority of responses came from pre-enrolled students. The Programme Leader was invited to take part in order to develop an awareness of the potential of the tools. Students and academics gave initial positive responses to the trial, however levels of participation were disappointing.
Overambitious plans in addition to low levels of interest and participation prompted frequent redefining and reconstruction of research plans and activities, resulting in a scaled down version of the project.
Collaboration with academic colleagues proved difficult, as did encouraging student participation. Running the trial during term-time may have increased levels of interest and participation. However, researching issues affecting participation was fascinating. Feedback indicated that the main factors affecting participation were, “other priorities” and “lack of participation of others”.
Exploring action research as a methodology has been a new and inspiring experience. Action research has proven a useful way of testing new ideas, and developing professional practice.
Initial findings suggest that it may be beneficial to test the integration of Twitter and possibly Diigo in a live Masters module. A Summer School of live Twitter chat sessions may be recommended. Feedback has also suggested considering Google+ and Facebook as alternative tools.
Saturday 13 August 2011
Trial - Week 4 Report – Live Twitter Chat on Thursday 11th August 2011
Session Title:
Part 1 - Collaboration and “Community and Curriculum”
Part 2 – Evaluation and feedback
@IOCT_DMUMasters moderated the session.
Session Summary:
The Masters Twittter/Diigo experiment’s live chat session was an exploratory activity to test the potential of Twitter live chat to amplify the enhancement of collaborative learning on the MA/MSc in Creative Technologies. Twitter live chat was also tested as a method of collecting instant student feedback and evaluation.
The chat was attended by a group of pre-enrolled students, an alumni student and Masters programme staff. 8 contributors participated in answering direct questions and engaging in some discussion. 129 tweets were posted and participants were based across the locations of Bulgaria, Singapore, Nottingham and Leicester. None of the participants had taken part in a live Twitter chat before. The chat maintained a vibrant and positive tone throughout.
Pre-chat preparation for the participants involved setting up a third party Twitter application, Tweetdeck, Tweetchat or Twitterfall and watching David Cormier’s video on “Community as Curriculum”. Participants were asked to consider the theme of collaboration and were given the option of preparing tweets on the theme.
The live chat session began as tweets were posted to confirm attendance.
After the participants had posted their introductory tweets, the moderator posted a series of questions with the aim of providing an opportunity for students to reflect on ideas presented in the video and to tease out thoughts on the topic of collaboration in general.
It was quickly agreed that David Cormier’s engaging presentation made the concepts of collaborative and networked learning, clear and understandable.
One twitterer posted @tweeter5 I love the way it is presented as it gives a friendly “way in” to the topic. Technology needs a friendly face #ioctx
As the questions moved on, the group were asked to make a group definition of collaboration. Tweets included:
@tweeter3 #ioctx sharing of information
@Tweeter1 #ioctx Understanding together
@Tweeter6 expanding your ideas & knowledge by other people input!? #ioctx
@Tweeter2 #ioctx learning and working together. Finding ways to understand each other better.
@Tweeter5 in collaboration you don't have to do things the same time but people can have an 'ambient awareness' of what's going on #ioctx
@Tweeter7 Q2 #ioctx Collaborative learning – “joint intellectual effort by students and teachers together” (Smith and MacGregor, 1992)
In thinking about the different role of a teacher in the “old” school, “new” school and “networked school”, participants agreed that the teacher role transforms throughout the various schools, shifting from teacher-led to shared learning through to everyone in a network, building knowledge together.
The group identified key skills needed for successful collaboration. Openness, and a positive aptitude for experimenting, exploration and curiosity were the skills that dominated the call for key skills required. Understanding was also one of the most frequently mentioned skills. Other skills identified as being important to participants were; an awareness of others and a willingness to take part, confidence in own abilities/ideas, the ability to compromise and listen. Resourcefulness, patience and responsibility were also identified as key skills in successful collaboration as were persistence, sensitivity and flexibility.
In gathering opinion on the benefits and challenges of collaboration,
the group identified the main beneficial outcomes of collaboration as being:
Increased innovation, “broadened horizons”, considered multiple perspectives, new ideas created, unexpected and alternative results achieved, own practice challenged, knowledge widened and increased networking, complex problems solved.
The issue of the time-consuming nature of working with others was identified as the main challenge of collaboration. Other challenges highlighted by participants made reference to conflicting ideas, resistance to change, lack of confidence and the challenge of establishing common language and common goals.
Part 2 - Feedback and evaluations
In providing feedback on the live Twitter chat the participants viewed the session as being useful and enjoyable.
@Tweeter2 #ioctx The live chat is a great (and a bit challenging) way of sharing information
@Tweeter3 #ioctx infact we get to know each other here even before our 1st hand shake!! :D
@Tweeter1 #ioctx It’s like a tiny speed collaboration :P
When asked to state their preferred tool of the experiment as a whole, a clear expression of both the benefits and drawbacks of each tool (Twitter and Diigo) was indicated.
Feedback gathered through the live chat on the Twitter/Diigo experiment in general suggested that participants had enjoyed using the tools and also enjoyed the social elements of the activities.
@Twitter1 #ioctx yes, lets do it again and please invite me!
Notable Web Links Highlighted During the Session:
David Cormier’s video on “Community as Curriculum”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4LrB-jFEgM
Points of Reference:
Smith and MacGregor, 1992, What is Collaborative Learning learningcommons.evergreen.edu/pdf/collab.pdf
Part 1 - Collaboration and “Community and Curriculum”
Part 2 – Evaluation and feedback
@IOCT_DMUMasters moderated the session.
Session Summary:
The Masters Twittter/Diigo experiment’s live chat session was an exploratory activity to test the potential of Twitter live chat to amplify the enhancement of collaborative learning on the MA/MSc in Creative Technologies. Twitter live chat was also tested as a method of collecting instant student feedback and evaluation.
The chat was attended by a group of pre-enrolled students, an alumni student and Masters programme staff. 8 contributors participated in answering direct questions and engaging in some discussion. 129 tweets were posted and participants were based across the locations of Bulgaria, Singapore, Nottingham and Leicester. None of the participants had taken part in a live Twitter chat before. The chat maintained a vibrant and positive tone throughout.
Pre-chat preparation for the participants involved setting up a third party Twitter application, Tweetdeck, Tweetchat or Twitterfall and watching David Cormier’s video on “Community as Curriculum”. Participants were asked to consider the theme of collaboration and were given the option of preparing tweets on the theme.
The live chat session began as tweets were posted to confirm attendance.
After the participants had posted their introductory tweets, the moderator posted a series of questions with the aim of providing an opportunity for students to reflect on ideas presented in the video and to tease out thoughts on the topic of collaboration in general.
It was quickly agreed that David Cormier’s engaging presentation made the concepts of collaborative and networked learning, clear and understandable.
One twitterer posted @tweeter5 I love the way it is presented as it gives a friendly “way in” to the topic. Technology needs a friendly face #ioctx
As the questions moved on, the group were asked to make a group definition of collaboration. Tweets included:
@tweeter3 #ioctx sharing of information
@Tweeter1 #ioctx Understanding together
@Tweeter6 expanding your ideas & knowledge by other people input!? #ioctx
@Tweeter2 #ioctx learning and working together. Finding ways to understand each other better.
@Tweeter5 in collaboration you don't have to do things the same time but people can have an 'ambient awareness' of what's going on #ioctx
@Tweeter7 Q2 #ioctx Collaborative learning – “joint intellectual effort by students and teachers together” (Smith and MacGregor, 1992)
In thinking about the different role of a teacher in the “old” school, “new” school and “networked school”, participants agreed that the teacher role transforms throughout the various schools, shifting from teacher-led to shared learning through to everyone in a network, building knowledge together.
The group identified key skills needed for successful collaboration. Openness, and a positive aptitude for experimenting, exploration and curiosity were the skills that dominated the call for key skills required. Understanding was also one of the most frequently mentioned skills. Other skills identified as being important to participants were; an awareness of others and a willingness to take part, confidence in own abilities/ideas, the ability to compromise and listen. Resourcefulness, patience and responsibility were also identified as key skills in successful collaboration as were persistence, sensitivity and flexibility.
In gathering opinion on the benefits and challenges of collaboration,
the group identified the main beneficial outcomes of collaboration as being:
Increased innovation, “broadened horizons”, considered multiple perspectives, new ideas created, unexpected and alternative results achieved, own practice challenged, knowledge widened and increased networking, complex problems solved.
The issue of the time-consuming nature of working with others was identified as the main challenge of collaboration. Other challenges highlighted by participants made reference to conflicting ideas, resistance to change, lack of confidence and the challenge of establishing common language and common goals.
Part 2 - Feedback and evaluations
In providing feedback on the live Twitter chat the participants viewed the session as being useful and enjoyable.
@Tweeter2 #ioctx The live chat is a great (and a bit challenging) way of sharing information
@Tweeter3 #ioctx infact we get to know each other here even before our 1st hand shake!! :D
@Tweeter1 #ioctx It’s like a tiny speed collaboration :P
When asked to state their preferred tool of the experiment as a whole, a clear expression of both the benefits and drawbacks of each tool (Twitter and Diigo) was indicated.
Feedback gathered through the live chat on the Twitter/Diigo experiment in general suggested that participants had enjoyed using the tools and also enjoyed the social elements of the activities.
@Twitter1 #ioctx yes, lets do it again and please invite me!
Notable Web Links Highlighted During the Session:
David Cormier’s video on “Community as Curriculum”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4LrB-jFEgM
Points of Reference:
Smith and MacGregor, 1992, What is Collaborative Learning learningcommons.evergreen.edu/pdf/collab.pdf
Sunday 7 August 2011
The Trial - Week Three Report - Inter-session Activities
The penultimate week’s trial activities have focused on testing micro-blogging service Twitter as a tool for supporting inter-session activities. Inter-session activities and discussions assist learners to stay focused and reflect whilst applying new knowledge and also encourage students to continue in dialogue with each other outside class (Bozarth 2010). Some examples of intersession activities include, post session discussions, posting news and events, sharing information and resources, completing tasks, and reflecting on learning.
To ensure that the activities were relevant to the trial participants, tasks were simulated to encourage the group to reflect, share knowledge and further skills in using Diigo and Twitter. In a live Masters programme module, integrating inter-session tasks would involve careful consideration and alignment to the defined module learning outcomes (Dunlap and Lowenthal 2009). For trial purposes a series of short activities were designed to resemble inter-session instructional material. Participants were asked to express their experience of using the tools encountered on the trial so far, to install a third party Twitter application as a preparation task for a forthcoming activity and to research and share with others an unexplored feature of social bookmarking and micro-blogging tools. Participants were also asked to reply to a request about their attendance at a live event next week.
Below is an example of exchange between two participants reflecting on their experiences of using Twitter.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx What I don’t really like about Twitter is the limitation of symbols. I often find it hard to express an opinion. (Tweeter2)
@Tweeter2 @IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx Agreed. They should be a little more flexible. It’s like the old sms days here as it is now!Argh! (Tweeter1)
Levels of participation dropped between weeks two and three of the trial, leaving a core group of four active contributors to week three’s tasks. I joined in the activities using my own personal Twitter account in order to increase critical mass, model responses and act a contributor in the trial community. Reasons for non-participation may have been due to week three falling in the main holiday period. Explanation for this drop in contributions will be established through the post trial questionnaire.
Literature searches this week have explored methods of using assessment rubrics and educational frameworks, models and approaches to encourage online discussions and collaborations. This has proved an interesting area of research, highlighting Grice’s (1975) Cooperative Principle, Pelz’s (2004) discussion rubrics, Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice in Education, Salmon’s (2002) Five-stage Framework, the Stages of Collaboration (Palloff and Pratt, 2005), the Phases of Engagement (Conrad and Donaldson, 2004), Connectivist metrics (Downes, 2009 and Baxi, 2009) and Blogging rubric (Fisher, 2010 and Cofino, 2010).
These references can be found on Diigo - see my recent book marks http://www.diigo.com/user/lmcnicoll
Consideration will be given to how these methods and approaches can be applied to the Maters programme if the tools are integrated into specific modules beyond the trial.
The final week of the trial, next week, will test the potential of integrating live Twitter chats into module content as a way of enhancing collaborative learning. The live chat session will also be tested to establish the effectiveness of Twitter chats to act as a forum for collecting feedback and evaluation material.
To ensure that the activities were relevant to the trial participants, tasks were simulated to encourage the group to reflect, share knowledge and further skills in using Diigo and Twitter. In a live Masters programme module, integrating inter-session tasks would involve careful consideration and alignment to the defined module learning outcomes (Dunlap and Lowenthal 2009). For trial purposes a series of short activities were designed to resemble inter-session instructional material. Participants were asked to express their experience of using the tools encountered on the trial so far, to install a third party Twitter application as a preparation task for a forthcoming activity and to research and share with others an unexplored feature of social bookmarking and micro-blogging tools. Participants were also asked to reply to a request about their attendance at a live event next week.
Below is an example of exchange between two participants reflecting on their experiences of using Twitter.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx What I don’t really like about Twitter is the limitation of symbols. I often find it hard to express an opinion. (Tweeter2)
@Tweeter2 @IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx Agreed. They should be a little more flexible. It’s like the old sms days here as it is now!Argh! (Tweeter1)
Levels of participation dropped between weeks two and three of the trial, leaving a core group of four active contributors to week three’s tasks. I joined in the activities using my own personal Twitter account in order to increase critical mass, model responses and act a contributor in the trial community. Reasons for non-participation may have been due to week three falling in the main holiday period. Explanation for this drop in contributions will be established through the post trial questionnaire.
Literature searches this week have explored methods of using assessment rubrics and educational frameworks, models and approaches to encourage online discussions and collaborations. This has proved an interesting area of research, highlighting Grice’s (1975) Cooperative Principle, Pelz’s (2004) discussion rubrics, Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice in Education, Salmon’s (2002) Five-stage Framework, the Stages of Collaboration (Palloff and Pratt, 2005), the Phases of Engagement (Conrad and Donaldson, 2004), Connectivist metrics (Downes, 2009 and Baxi, 2009) and Blogging rubric (Fisher, 2010 and Cofino, 2010).
These references can be found on Diigo - see my recent book marks http://www.diigo.com/user/lmcnicoll
Consideration will be given to how these methods and approaches can be applied to the Maters programme if the tools are integrated into specific modules beyond the trial.
The final week of the trial, next week, will test the potential of integrating live Twitter chats into module content as a way of enhancing collaborative learning. The live chat session will also be tested to establish the effectiveness of Twitter chats to act as a forum for collecting feedback and evaluation material.
Saturday 30 July 2011
The Trial – Week Two Report - Introductions/interactions
The initial weeks of the trial have focused on testing the use of micro-blogging and social bookmarking as tools to facilitate student introductions and prior assessment and to encourage dialogue and interaction between students in relation to their work and ideas.
Students were asked to use Twitter to introduce themselves, to offer three key words that represent creative technologies and to state the biggest challenge they face in relation to their work/learning in the area of creative technologies. 6 out of 10 members of the group responded offering diverse and insightful information.
The main trial activity in week two has involved participants contributing to the Creative Technologies Diigo group. Participants were invited to bookmark websites featuring their own work along with projects that they have been involved in. Members of the group were also invited to bookmark websites that illustrated their own interests in the area of creative technologies.
31 items have been bookmarked in the Creative Technologies group, bringing together the creative work and interests of IOCT Masters students, across cohorts and disciplines. These contributions have been made by 5 of 10 participants. The group was asked to comment on each others content in the Diigo group resulting in a reasonable rate of response and good levels of positive engagement, with 6 of 10 participants posting comments.
Reflecting on feedback, linking levels of motivation to having enough time to participate in activities, additional planned tasks were discarded to allow more time for bookmarking and engagement through Diigo. This proved to be a beneficial amendment.
This is the tag cloud at week two of social bookmarking in the Creative Technologies Diigo group.
Best content in the Diigo Creative Technologies group now features as a list of links and RSS feed in the right hand column on this blog. To access or join the group go to http://groups.diigo.com/group/creative-technologies
Reflecting on participant feedback linking levels of participation with the relevance of the activity, plans were revised and an impromptu Twitter activity was set to explore the unique opportunity of networking between alumni students and students about to embark on the Masters course. Participants we asked to share course information and experiences, ask questions to students who have already undertaken the course and to offer supportive advice and encouragement to new students. 3 of 10 participants took part in this activity. The potential of this forum can been realised from the tweets posted
by tweeter1.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx Choose modules outside your comfort zone! It’s hard but it’s worth it.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx You do this course for yourself more than anybody else. Don’t think that you “should” take module X when you want Y.
Setting up a private group on Twitter using a tool available from www.grouptweet.com may have helped individuals to feel more comfortable and open to asking and answering course related questions. Opinion on this will be collected through the post pilot questionnaire.
Activities scheduled for next week look at the potential of the tools to facilitate intersession learning.
Students were asked to use Twitter to introduce themselves, to offer three key words that represent creative technologies and to state the biggest challenge they face in relation to their work/learning in the area of creative technologies. 6 out of 10 members of the group responded offering diverse and insightful information.
The main trial activity in week two has involved participants contributing to the Creative Technologies Diigo group. Participants were invited to bookmark websites featuring their own work along with projects that they have been involved in. Members of the group were also invited to bookmark websites that illustrated their own interests in the area of creative technologies.
31 items have been bookmarked in the Creative Technologies group, bringing together the creative work and interests of IOCT Masters students, across cohorts and disciplines. These contributions have been made by 5 of 10 participants. The group was asked to comment on each others content in the Diigo group resulting in a reasonable rate of response and good levels of positive engagement, with 6 of 10 participants posting comments.
Reflecting on feedback, linking levels of motivation to having enough time to participate in activities, additional planned tasks were discarded to allow more time for bookmarking and engagement through Diigo. This proved to be a beneficial amendment.
This is the tag cloud at week two of social bookmarking in the Creative Technologies Diigo group.
Best content in the Diigo Creative Technologies group now features as a list of links and RSS feed in the right hand column on this blog. To access or join the group go to http://groups.diigo.com/group/creative-technologies
Reflecting on participant feedback linking levels of participation with the relevance of the activity, plans were revised and an impromptu Twitter activity was set to explore the unique opportunity of networking between alumni students and students about to embark on the Masters course. Participants we asked to share course information and experiences, ask questions to students who have already undertaken the course and to offer supportive advice and encouragement to new students. 3 of 10 participants took part in this activity. The potential of this forum can been realised from the tweets posted
by tweeter1.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx Choose modules outside your comfort zone! It’s hard but it’s worth it.
@IOCT_DMUMasters #ioctx You do this course for yourself more than anybody else. Don’t think that you “should” take module X when you want Y.
Setting up a private group on Twitter using a tool available from www.grouptweet.com may have helped individuals to feel more comfortable and open to asking and answering course related questions. Opinion on this will be collected through the post pilot questionnaire.
Activities scheduled for next week look at the potential of the tools to facilitate intersession learning.
Sunday 24 July 2011
The Trial – Preparations and Week 1 Report
Over the four weeks of the trial, these blog posts will report on the progress of the pilot study, indicating processes undertaken, participant feedback, lessons learned and recommendations.
The trial, testing the potential of micro-blogging and social bookmarking tools Twitter and Diigo to enhance collaborative learning on the MA/MSc in Creative Technologies, has made a positive start with reasonable levels of participation.
During the preparation stages, a four-week scheme of Twitter and Diigo activities was designed outlining weekly aims, researcher activity, participant activity, task assessment and tool evaluation methods. The four-week trial will test the tools for their potential to assess prior knowledge, to encourage dialogue and debate between students, to provide intersession support/learning and to collect feedback and evaluations. See the scheme of activities on Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/lmcnicoll/learning-activities-plan-twitter-and-diigo
Preparations for the trial started with a literature search, highlighting case studies and examples of using micro-blogging and social bookmarking in educational settings. The literature has helped to refine the purpose of the enquiry and has provided a background and rationale for this study.
Invitation emails were distributed to 56 students from Masters cohorts, starting from 2007 through to students due to join the Masters programme in September 2011. With invitation take up rate reaching 20%, it was decided that the pilot would go ahead as a small-scale test.
A good return rate of completed initial questionnaires indicated a majority view that implementing tools on the Masters programme would have a beneficial effect on sharing information and networking. Barriers to participation were identified as lack of time and lack of experience in using the tools. A small number of participants commented that Google + would have been their preferred tool.
A small percentage of the participants have highlighted technical issues with Diigo not being compatible with dated browsers and with the Diigo site being periodically unavailable.
The following data sets will be collected for the pilot study:
• A short questionnaire to establish current opinion of IOCT information sharing methods and assess attitudes towards using Twitter and Diigo tools.
• Researchers log of observations of participation and engagement
• Statistical information through TwapperKeeper, The Archivist and Twitter Counter
• Feedback from participants via Twitter, email or blog post comments.
• Post pilot questionnaire to evaluate the pilot and provide feedback
Using principles of triangulation, data will be analysed in relation to researcher observations and feedback from participants.
Over the preparation period and the initial week of the trial several questions have developed as areas to un-pick and explore further. Collaboration is difficult – why? Attitudes to using Twitter and Diigo range from positive and upbeat to distinctively cynical. Why is this? Keeping track of asynchronous communications posted in the Twitter stream is time consuming and posts can easily be missed. How would this affect assessed Twitter activities? What issues would this raise for module leaders with large class numbers?
The trial may have benefited from being piloted as part of a Masters programme module, as this would have increased the relevance of the activities. Activities could have been set against module content and module assessment criteria.
Participation from academic collaborators would have been more likely if the pilot could have been arranged to take place during term time. Take up in participation generally, may have increased if the trial was not taking place over the main holiday period.
The trial, testing the potential of micro-blogging and social bookmarking tools Twitter and Diigo to enhance collaborative learning on the MA/MSc in Creative Technologies, has made a positive start with reasonable levels of participation.
During the preparation stages, a four-week scheme of Twitter and Diigo activities was designed outlining weekly aims, researcher activity, participant activity, task assessment and tool evaluation methods. The four-week trial will test the tools for their potential to assess prior knowledge, to encourage dialogue and debate between students, to provide intersession support/learning and to collect feedback and evaluations. See the scheme of activities on Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/lmcnicoll/learning-activities-plan-twitter-and-diigo
Preparations for the trial started with a literature search, highlighting case studies and examples of using micro-blogging and social bookmarking in educational settings. The literature has helped to refine the purpose of the enquiry and has provided a background and rationale for this study.
Invitation emails were distributed to 56 students from Masters cohorts, starting from 2007 through to students due to join the Masters programme in September 2011. With invitation take up rate reaching 20%, it was decided that the pilot would go ahead as a small-scale test.
A good return rate of completed initial questionnaires indicated a majority view that implementing tools on the Masters programme would have a beneficial effect on sharing information and networking. Barriers to participation were identified as lack of time and lack of experience in using the tools. A small number of participants commented that Google + would have been their preferred tool.
A small percentage of the participants have highlighted technical issues with Diigo not being compatible with dated browsers and with the Diigo site being periodically unavailable.
The following data sets will be collected for the pilot study:
• A short questionnaire to establish current opinion of IOCT information sharing methods and assess attitudes towards using Twitter and Diigo tools.
• Researchers log of observations of participation and engagement
• Statistical information through TwapperKeeper, The Archivist and Twitter Counter
• Feedback from participants via Twitter, email or blog post comments.
• Post pilot questionnaire to evaluate the pilot and provide feedback
Using principles of triangulation, data will be analysed in relation to researcher observations and feedback from participants.
Over the preparation period and the initial week of the trial several questions have developed as areas to un-pick and explore further. Collaboration is difficult – why? Attitudes to using Twitter and Diigo range from positive and upbeat to distinctively cynical. Why is this? Keeping track of asynchronous communications posted in the Twitter stream is time consuming and posts can easily be missed. How would this affect assessed Twitter activities? What issues would this raise for module leaders with large class numbers?
The trial may have benefited from being piloted as part of a Masters programme module, as this would have increased the relevance of the activities. Activities could have been set against module content and module assessment criteria.
Participation from academic collaborators would have been more likely if the pilot could have been arranged to take place during term time. Take up in participation generally, may have increased if the trial was not taking place over the main holiday period.
Tuesday 12 July 2011
Statement on Ethics
The Masters action research project is being undertaken to explore how opportunities for collaborative learning between Masters students and staff can be enhanced, by using Diigo and Twitter to share knowledge, information and learning resources.
This project will investigate using the social bookmarking tool Diigo to facilitate and encourage the co-creation of Creative Technologies content and knowledge in order to develop a collaborative and transdisciplinary research resource that will enhance collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students.
In addition, the project will seek to experiment with the use of Twitter to encourage collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students. A schedule of Twitter activities (synchronous and asynchronous) will be devised and implemented for existing students, alumni students and a pre-enrolled cohort of students.
Anonymity
It is important that you are aware that your participation in these activities involves the use of social media tools and that your contributions will therefore, be in the public domain. You will therefore be identifiable by your user name throughout the activities of this project. However, I will not use any names or contact details in the final project report.
Confidentiality
I will not disclose any information gathered from questionnaires and interviews to third parties, unless permission has been granted to do so. Any data collected will only be used for the research purposes of this project.
Your Right To Comment
Every effort will be made to keep you informed on the progress of this research project. If at any stage you wish to comment on the emerging results or the final report, you may do so. I agree to listen to your comments and make changes if appropriate.
You are encouraged to post your comments on the project blog. By contributing comments to the project blog you are also giving your permission for these comments to be used as part of my research findings. However, all contributions and comments will be anonymised within the final research report. This blog is in the public domain and could be viewed by people outside the research collaborators group. If you would rather make comments and give feedback privately, please email me on lmcnicoll@dmu.ac.uk.
Data Protection
I will comply with the Data Protection Act1998 in relation to the storage of personal emails and other personal or sensitive details that I may have access to as part of this research and/or as part of my role in the workplace environment.
In line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to see any written records associated with you involvement in the research, including the final report. You have the right to request that any record or relevant section be destroyed or deleted.
The Final Report
The final report will inform the Programme Enhancement Plan recommendations for integrating web-based tools into the Masters programme to create increased intersession learning, increased opportunities for collaborative learning and support, improved access to cross discipline information and resources and a developed programme communication system for learning support and peer group exchange.
This project will investigate using the social bookmarking tool Diigo to facilitate and encourage the co-creation of Creative Technologies content and knowledge in order to develop a collaborative and transdisciplinary research resource that will enhance collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students.
In addition, the project will seek to experiment with the use of Twitter to encourage collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students. A schedule of Twitter activities (synchronous and asynchronous) will be devised and implemented for existing students, alumni students and a pre-enrolled cohort of students.
Anonymity
It is important that you are aware that your participation in these activities involves the use of social media tools and that your contributions will therefore, be in the public domain. You will therefore be identifiable by your user name throughout the activities of this project. However, I will not use any names or contact details in the final project report.
Confidentiality
I will not disclose any information gathered from questionnaires and interviews to third parties, unless permission has been granted to do so. Any data collected will only be used for the research purposes of this project.
Your Right To Comment
Every effort will be made to keep you informed on the progress of this research project. If at any stage you wish to comment on the emerging results or the final report, you may do so. I agree to listen to your comments and make changes if appropriate.
You are encouraged to post your comments on the project blog. By contributing comments to the project blog you are also giving your permission for these comments to be used as part of my research findings. However, all contributions and comments will be anonymised within the final research report. This blog is in the public domain and could be viewed by people outside the research collaborators group. If you would rather make comments and give feedback privately, please email me on lmcnicoll@dmu.ac.uk.
Data Protection
I will comply with the Data Protection Act1998 in relation to the storage of personal emails and other personal or sensitive details that I may have access to as part of this research and/or as part of my role in the workplace environment.
In line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to see any written records associated with you involvement in the research, including the final report. You have the right to request that any record or relevant section be destroyed or deleted.
The Final Report
The final report will inform the Programme Enhancement Plan recommendations for integrating web-based tools into the Masters programme to create increased intersession learning, increased opportunities for collaborative learning and support, improved access to cross discipline information and resources and a developed programme communication system for learning support and peer group exchange.
Friday 8 July 2011
Data Collection Methods – Twitter
One of the technological risk factors identified for this pilot project is the possibility of failing to successfully archive themed Twitter conversations, live Twitter chats, and general Twitter engagement and development for @IOCT_DMUMaster.
In seeking to address this issue and minimise the risk of losing critical data, I have investigated and set up free statistical and analytical tools suitable for quantitative and qualitative data for the pilot project: -
Archivist offers a way to save and analyse tweets using visualisations and graphic representations of captured data. Data includes numbers of tweets, top users, ratio of tweets vs re-tweets and top words.
Mention Map displays an interactive visualisation of any Twitter account network, highlighting which people the account holder interacts with the most and details hash tagged conversations.
Twitter Counter is a service that will send weekly email updates and shows graphic quantitative representations of numbers of followers, numbers of people following and number of tweets for @IOCT_DMUMasters
I would have liked to have used TweetSheep to provides information about followers analysing words found in their profiles, however I was unable to access their website.
TweetStats proved unsuccessful in providing information on the Masters account because of a vast number of users requesting information.
After researching various methods and tools, it seems that TwapperKeeper although complicated to set up, will be the most useful tool to freely record tweets from live Twitter chats. I will run a preliminary live chat to test TwapperKeeper.
In seeking to address this issue and minimise the risk of losing critical data, I have investigated and set up free statistical and analytical tools suitable for quantitative and qualitative data for the pilot project: -
Archivist offers a way to save and analyse tweets using visualisations and graphic representations of captured data. Data includes numbers of tweets, top users, ratio of tweets vs re-tweets and top words.
Mention Map displays an interactive visualisation of any Twitter account network, highlighting which people the account holder interacts with the most and details hash tagged conversations.
Twitter Counter is a service that will send weekly email updates and shows graphic quantitative representations of numbers of followers, numbers of people following and number of tweets for @IOCT_DMUMasters
I would have liked to have used TweetSheep to provides information about followers analysing words found in their profiles, however I was unable to access their website.
TweetStats proved unsuccessful in providing information on the Masters account because of a vast number of users requesting information.
After researching various methods and tools, it seems that TwapperKeeper although complicated to set up, will be the most useful tool to freely record tweets from live Twitter chats. I will run a preliminary live chat to test TwapperKeeper.
Saturday 2 July 2011
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Assessing Resistance and Risk for the Pilot Study
A minimal risk of resistance in attitude towards participation and change has been predicted. In terms of proving a commitment to the notion of the project, the stakeholder group share an interest in experimenting with learning and creative technologies and tools. The anticipated potential risks include: students and key staff taking holidays over the pilot period; students preoccupied with final projects and assessments; stability issues of cloud computing increases the risk of data being lost or service terminated; difficulty or failure in archiving Twitter conversations; difficultly arranging convenient times for participation due to global time differences; using open and creative platforms may create risk of misuse, leaving the course open to defamation and criticism; biased views may be presented; contributions may be dominated from a one single discipline or member; low levels of participation due to users lack of awareness of tools and need for guidance/support; as a non subject specialist, I may source and distribute non relevant or low level information.
Representative participation in the proposed trial of Twitter and Diigo activities is vital to the success of the project. In an attempt to address some of these risks I have planned the following itinerary of measures: providing guidelines and screen-cast tutorials for tools used; timing of synchronous Twitter chat sessions will be carefully planned; advice on archiving Tweets will be sourced; establish holiday dates for key stakeholders before the trail; design activities to be concise, manageable and relevant; participation and collaboration will be encouraged via this blog and direct email contact; all comments submitted will be moderated; I will seek recommendations for RSS feeds from specialists.
Working collaboratively is an important aspect of action research and a valued ideology of the Institute. The project will adopt an involving and building approach to working with stakeholders. All views and ideas contributed will be acknowledged and valued. Direct and indirect feedback offered by collaborators will help to review, inform and influence the pilot study, exploratory activities and the summative report
The Masters Programme Leader will help to direct student/staff groups through the pilot activities to encourage maximum engagement and transdisciplinary representation.
Stakeholder Analysis
SWOT Analysis on Tools to be Implemented
Representative participation in the proposed trial of Twitter and Diigo activities is vital to the success of the project. In an attempt to address some of these risks I have planned the following itinerary of measures: providing guidelines and screen-cast tutorials for tools used; timing of synchronous Twitter chat sessions will be carefully planned; advice on archiving Tweets will be sourced; establish holiday dates for key stakeholders before the trail; design activities to be concise, manageable and relevant; participation and collaboration will be encouraged via this blog and direct email contact; all comments submitted will be moderated; I will seek recommendations for RSS feeds from specialists.
Working collaboratively is an important aspect of action research and a valued ideology of the Institute. The project will adopt an involving and building approach to working with stakeholders. All views and ideas contributed will be acknowledged and valued. Direct and indirect feedback offered by collaborators will help to review, inform and influence the pilot study, exploratory activities and the summative report
The Masters Programme Leader will help to direct student/staff groups through the pilot activities to encourage maximum engagement and transdisciplinary representation.
Stakeholder Analysis
SWOT Analysis on Tools to be Implemented
Redefining the Research Question
The project outline shown in the previous post is a development of an earlier idea. After reflecting on a discussion with my tutor about the initial project proposal, I realised that the outline that I had previously produced had not entirely captured my research interests. I wanted to convey more of a focus on learning in relation to the Masters course and to clarify my interests in wider context. Reading around the topic was a useful way to help refine my ideas and map out more meaningful research questions. The literature I looked at covered broad themes of collaborative learning, social learning, and connectivism along with case study examples of using social media tools as a learning technology. I also looked at literature on the process of action research, which I found both insightful and inspirational. A literature review will be included in the final report.
These articles and studies have helped to strengthen the focus of my inquiry and informed the refined project question. The main research question/hypothesis that I will be testing is:
How can opportunities for collaborative learning between Masters students/staff be enhanced, by using Diigo and Twitter to share knowledge, information and learning resources?
This action research project will test the hypothesis above by addressing these key questions:
What are the key concerns or barriers to participation in social bookmarking and Twitter activities? What training, guidance or support would address this?
What would motivate and increase participation in Twitter and Diigo activities? For example, assessed activities, specific subject/topics, timing of activities?
The questions outlined below will form the basis of the questionnaires and interviews. Some of these questions will be explored through a literature review.
What are the benefits of using Diigo and Twitter on the Masters programme?
What is collaborative learning? Is it important?
How do other UK Higher Educational Institutions incorporate social bookmarking/ micro-blogging into undergraduate or postgraduate programmes?
What are student/staff concerns/barriers regarding participating in Masters social bookmarking and Twitter activities?
What would motivate/increase participation in Twitter and Diigo activities? For example, assessed activities? Specific subject/topics? Timing of activities? Synchronous or asynchronous activities?
What are the training needs for students/staff?
What methods are currently used to share knowledge, information and learning resources? Do student/staff use any of these?
Evaluate the effectiveness of Diigo and Twitter as the main tools used.
Establish opinion on a defined/restricted/recommended folksonomy for Diigo/ Twitter?
These articles and studies have helped to strengthen the focus of my inquiry and informed the refined project question. The main research question/hypothesis that I will be testing is:
How can opportunities for collaborative learning between Masters students/staff be enhanced, by using Diigo and Twitter to share knowledge, information and learning resources?
This action research project will test the hypothesis above by addressing these key questions:
What are the key concerns or barriers to participation in social bookmarking and Twitter activities? What training, guidance or support would address this?
What would motivate and increase participation in Twitter and Diigo activities? For example, assessed activities, specific subject/topics, timing of activities?
The questions outlined below will form the basis of the questionnaires and interviews. Some of these questions will be explored through a literature review.
What are the benefits of using Diigo and Twitter on the Masters programme?
What is collaborative learning? Is it important?
How do other UK Higher Educational Institutions incorporate social bookmarking/ micro-blogging into undergraduate or postgraduate programmes?
What are student/staff concerns/barriers regarding participating in Masters social bookmarking and Twitter activities?
What would motivate/increase participation in Twitter and Diigo activities? For example, assessed activities? Specific subject/topics? Timing of activities? Synchronous or asynchronous activities?
What are the training needs for students/staff?
What methods are currently used to share knowledge, information and learning resources? Do student/staff use any of these?
Evaluate the effectiveness of Diigo and Twitter as the main tools used.
Establish opinion on a defined/restricted/recommended folksonomy for Diigo/ Twitter?
Project Outline
How can opportunities for collaborative learning between Masters students/staff be enhanced, by using Diigo and Twitter to share knowledge, information and learning resources?
This project will investigate using the social bookmarking tool Diigo to facilitate and encourage the co-creation of Creative Technologies content and knowledge in order to develop a collaborative and transdisciplinary research resource that will enhance collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students.
In addition, the project will seek to experiment with the use of Twitter to encourage collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students. A schedule of Twitter activities (synchronous and asynchronous) will be devised and implemented for existing students, alumni students and a pre-enrolled cohort of International students.
RSS feeds will be used to glean relevant and emerging information relevant to Creative Technologies. As a non-subject specialist action researcher, this will help to generate quality and emerging content to book mark in Diigo and redistribute through Twitter.
In addition to IoCT Masters course students, the project will also involve the course Programme Leader, Module Leader representatives and IoCT Researcher representatives. It is hoped that the Masters course and the organisation as a whole will benefit from increased external interest and strengthened networks.
The outcomes for the project will include; increased access to transdisciplinary information and knowledge, increased distribution of specialist knowledge, improved networks between collaborators/students, knowledge bank developed, IOCT research identity strengthened, increased opportunities for collaborative learning and support, increased online presence.
Keywords: Knowledge distribution, knowledge management, collaborative learning, learning, networked learning, transdisciplinarity, connectivism, social learning, learning technology, social media tools, micro-blogging, social bookmarking.
Initial Rich Picture
Modified Rich Picture
This project will investigate using the social bookmarking tool Diigo to facilitate and encourage the co-creation of Creative Technologies content and knowledge in order to develop a collaborative and transdisciplinary research resource that will enhance collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students.
In addition, the project will seek to experiment with the use of Twitter to encourage collaborative learning opportunities for IoCT Masters course students. A schedule of Twitter activities (synchronous and asynchronous) will be devised and implemented for existing students, alumni students and a pre-enrolled cohort of International students.
RSS feeds will be used to glean relevant and emerging information relevant to Creative Technologies. As a non-subject specialist action researcher, this will help to generate quality and emerging content to book mark in Diigo and redistribute through Twitter.
In addition to IoCT Masters course students, the project will also involve the course Programme Leader, Module Leader representatives and IoCT Researcher representatives. It is hoped that the Masters course and the organisation as a whole will benefit from increased external interest and strengthened networks.
The outcomes for the project will include; increased access to transdisciplinary information and knowledge, increased distribution of specialist knowledge, improved networks between collaborators/students, knowledge bank developed, IOCT research identity strengthened, increased opportunities for collaborative learning and support, increased online presence.
Keywords: Knowledge distribution, knowledge management, collaborative learning, learning, networked learning, transdisciplinarity, connectivism, social learning, learning technology, social media tools, micro-blogging, social bookmarking.
Initial Rich Picture
Modified Rich Picture
Welcome To The Masters Action Research Blog
Welcome. This blog will form the basis of a commentary on the various processes involved in undertaking my action research pilot study for the concluding module of the University Certificate in Professional Development course in Web-enhanced Practice (UCPDWEP) at De Montfort University.
This commentary will be a transparent account of the various stages and practical developments of this research study. These posts will also form a record of my own learning, reflecting on my own experience of using action research as a dynamic, collaborative methodology as well as reflecting on the findings and new knowledge gleaned from this pilot study.
In the participatory spirit of both action research and Web2.0 culture, it is hoped that this blog will form an open forum to capture your experiences of the various activities, the tools used as well as the collaborative research process.
Your comments will provide ongoing feedback over the duration of the pilot study. I also invite my peers and tutors on the UCPDWEP course to act as critical friends by offering constructive challenges, advice and support.
Please note that by contributing comments to this blog you are also giving your permission for these comments to be used as part of my research findings. However, all contributions and comments will be anonymised within the final research report. This blog is in the public domain and could be viewed by people outside the research collaborators group. If you would rather make comments and give feedback privately, please email me on lmcnicoll@dmu.ac.uk.
The final report will form the basis of assessment towards my UCPDWEP qualification and will also used to support recommendations presented in the Masters Programme Enhancement Plan.
This commentary will be a transparent account of the various stages and practical developments of this research study. These posts will also form a record of my own learning, reflecting on my own experience of using action research as a dynamic, collaborative methodology as well as reflecting on the findings and new knowledge gleaned from this pilot study.
In the participatory spirit of both action research and Web2.0 culture, it is hoped that this blog will form an open forum to capture your experiences of the various activities, the tools used as well as the collaborative research process.
Your comments will provide ongoing feedback over the duration of the pilot study. I also invite my peers and tutors on the UCPDWEP course to act as critical friends by offering constructive challenges, advice and support.
Please note that by contributing comments to this blog you are also giving your permission for these comments to be used as part of my research findings. However, all contributions and comments will be anonymised within the final research report. This blog is in the public domain and could be viewed by people outside the research collaborators group. If you would rather make comments and give feedback privately, please email me on lmcnicoll@dmu.ac.uk.
The final report will form the basis of assessment towards my UCPDWEP qualification and will also used to support recommendations presented in the Masters Programme Enhancement Plan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)