ALTC 2010: Seeding the cloud: using Cloudworks for resource management for the ELESIG community of practice

ELESIG is an international community of practice (CoP) of over 770 researchers and practitioners from higher and further education (and other learning contexts) who are involved in investigations of learners' experiences using technology in learning (Sharpe & Mackness. 2010).

Part of the sea-change in creating CoPs is to make them technology-independent. ELESIG’s community model [(Whitehead & Cable. 2008) is based around interactions between the members and the knowledge and practice they share, in a Ning hub, and in the varied online and offline spaces inhabited by members.

In partnership with Cloudworks (Conole & Culver. 2010), an innovative open access ‘social object’ oriented social network, ELESIG has explored the potential for collecting, collating and making meaning from a shared repertoire of resources generated by ELESIG members and the community. Resources, e.g., bibliographies, papers, photos, videos, slides and recordings, are physically held across the Web, including in password-protected spaces, research-specific repositories and as user-generated content.

Managing resources in this way is more fluid than using a conventional repository and requires a new approach to or model of the storage of information, its ownership, and its permanence. In this workshop we will explore ways in which information relating to research and practice can be held in the cloud (across the web) and shared, interpreted, contextualised and opened to discussion for the benefit of a CoP and of the wider education sector, using Cloudworks.

• (10 minutes); presentation on ELESIG and Cloudworks
• (5 min); discussion on the types of resources and where to store them
• (15 min); Cloudquest: a hands-on exploration of ELESIG's Cloudworks and file-storage sites
• (30 min); group work setting up clouds and cloudspaces using the model ending with a discussion.

Participants will be encouraged to suggest their own resources and uses for cloudscapes as well as using ELESIG’s resources as examples. By the end of the workshop participants will: be familiar with the principles behind Cloudworks and its use by ELESIG; have used various online tools for storing and making available different types of information; have applied a model of cloud-based information management to design and setup of cloudscapes to share information.

ELESIG
15:32 on 4 September 2010 (Edited 15:33 on 4 September 2010)

1. ALT Occasional Publication "The positioning of educational technologists in enhancing the student experience". ALT repository: http://repository.alt.ac.uk/831/

    

2. Quick Start how to use ELESIG & Cloudworks

    

   http://www.helenwhitehead.com/elesig/QuickStartelesig_cloudworksPDF.pdf

    

3. ELESIG – Guidelines on using resources in the cloud

    

   http://www.helenwhitehead.com/public_html/elesig/ELESIGWherestoreresourcesinthecloudPDF.pdf

    

4. Mobilities Literature Review, John Traxler, ELESIG Small Grant outcome

    

   http://www.helenwhitehead.com/elesig/ELESIG Mobilities ReviewPDF.pdf

    

5. Powerpoint from this presentation

    

   http://www.helenwhitehead.com/elesig/ELESIGCloudworksPPT.ppt

    

6. Make a video answering the question: My top tip for improving the learner experience

    

7. Find clouds in the ALTC2010 cloudscape for this conference that are relevant to learner experience

    

8. "If you build it will they come? A model for sustainable online community networks for practitioners" Cohesion community model presentation from ALT-C 2008 referenced in this talk  (link to blog or presentation?)

Helen Whitehead
08:03 on 8 September 2010 (Edited 09:13 on 8 September 2010)