Cloudworks: Giota Alevizou

Yjr� Engestr�m: Analysing Expansive learning

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:53:30 +0000

Engestrom talking about the project: preventing social exlusion among the elderly in Home Care in the city of Helsinki

Analysing communicative action in institutions: where the cultural historical shapes the interactional

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:05:05 +0000

Abstract: Analysing communicative action in institutions: where the cultural historical shapes the interactional This presentation is concerned with the way which we understand and investigate the relationship between human functioning and social setting. It deploys post Vygotskian theory which attempts to account for the social
formation of mind mediated by artefacts understood as cultural historical products and Bernsteinian theory (e.g. Bernstein, 2000) which seeks to forge analytical linkages between structure, communication and consciousness. As I have noted elsewhere much of the sociocultural or Activity Theory research that claims a Vygotskian root
fails to fully articulate an appropriate theory of social structure and an account of how it directs and deflects the attention of the individuals it constrains and enables (Daniels, 2008,1). The central argument of this presentation draws on the work of Bernstein and Vygotsky. A novel approach to the study of the mutual shaping of human action and institutional settings is developed and an empirical example of its application is
presented and discussed. The research reported here is drawn from a 4 year ESRC TLRP funded study of professional learning in and for interagency working in Children’s Services in England. The talk will describe and discuss an approach to the analysis of innovatory learning as a sequential and contingent process that takes place across many workspaces and over an extended period of time.

Anne Edwards on the development of relational agency in professional practices

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:23 +0000

Abstract

It takes as its starting point a view of practices as knowledge-laden and emotionally freighted sites of purposeful and expert activity. Arguments therefore draw on cultural historical analyses of activities, practices and the institutions that shape them. Relational agency in inter-professional activities is a capacity for fluid and responsive work. It involves working with others to recognise and respond to what matters for each profession in complex professional tasks. It is seen to be mediated by common knowledge which is built in interactions at the points where the boundaries of practices intersect. The focus will be the development of common knowledge, described by Carlile (2004: 557) as a capacity to 'represent the differences now of consequence and the ability of the actors involved to use it', at the sites of intersecting practices. The argument, supported by evidence from four recent studies of interprofessional work, is that building and using common knowledge is an important feature of the relational expertise required for working across the practice boundaries on complex tasks.

David Wiley and Steven Downes debate...

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:04:27 +0000

...on the nature of openess, credentiality and the competition between efficienty and formality open learning

How do you reuse OER when they are so context driven?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:50:11 +0000

Derek Chirnside, Senior Educational Designer, University of Canterbury, Christchurch speaking about the caveats of reuse and remix. Teachers not too confident, worried about surveilance. The challenges for fostering community in the field of teacher training and education still prevails. 'It's too indiosyncratic' some say

Living the Dream: Best Practices in OER Publication

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:26 +0000

Presentation practices around the creation of content and modularization strategies

Olnet - feedback in a physical space

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:55:22 +0000

Thurs, 1st Oct 2009, Venue Design Observatory, Venables Building OU.

A gathering to discuss the connections amongst the various OER and web 2.0 projects existing in the university took place. Representatives from projects such as OLnet, Atelier-D, OpenLearn, SCORM, LDI, iSpot, the TERG research group and the OU Library.

It's intringuing how using 'conventional media' like pens and images from magazines we managed to visualise and represent Olnet.

Even more interesting were the perceptions of participants and their feedback. I am trying to include some here:

How could it link with JISC JORUM initiative and 'community bay'?
how do we improve resource discovery to deliver targetted and appropriate level material for reuse/repurposing?
Meta analysis of use is needed
how do we learn more about the sue of OERs? trough which methods?
OER international: all age groups, different cultures, web 2.0 tools
Are you investigating visualisations of qualitative/quant research data?
Researching 'known unknowns'
Communities of learners, delivery, designing, fostering?
global learning and cultures?

Perhaps OLnet has something to contribute in all four themes that emerged from the workshop including:

models of learning
models of communication / in social spaces
models of communication / tools for sharing
models of design

A snapshot of the discussions here.

Opened09 keynotes

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:18:14 +0000

Catherine Ngugi, Project Director, Open Educational Resources (OER) Africa

Ken Freedman, Station Manager & Program Director, WFMU

Fred Mulder, Rector, Open Universiteit Nederland: ‘The Dutch Case with OER: an Emerging National Strategy’

openness and identity

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:41:47 +0000

"Several themes overlap to form the compound concept of identity (ownership, control, credentials, assertions, personas, activities, etc…). Although many of the aspects are obvious and intuitive, a discussion of the implications, including risks and benefits, of open and online exposure is essential to fully understand what we are asking our students to do. What does it mean for a student to publish their work online? How does this affect their online identity, and by extension, their identity as a whole?"

Presentation by D’arcy Norman, Educational Technology Consultant, University of Calgary

Pre-workshop activity: What is an OER? - Share an OER!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:10:38 +0000

OER: Broad definitions

Activity. As the definitions linked to above suggest, an OER could be a text or PDF file, a photograph, a slideshow, a diagram, a video or audio file, a second life artifact, a course unit or an online assessment activity.

Using the links below as a starting point:

Find an OER which you have used in the past or thinking about using in a teaching or training context
Create a link to it here ('add link')
Introduce yourself and your role and describe the OER you have chosen.

Useful links: