Considering space in open online learning environments - CNIE 2017
- 1. MICHELLE HARRISON, PHD, THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY, BCMAY 18, 2017 CONSIDERING SPACE IN OPEN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS @mkinchina
- 2. Overview Definition of Space Spatial Metaphors Research Context Theoretical Framework Analysis and findings
- 3. flickr photo by Patrick Goossens http://flickr.com/photos/goossens/ 3333965118 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license Container or Backdrop to Action Turbulent, enacted, flow According to this tradition, space is “a set of relations between individuals, groups and the material environment” (Kuntz & Berger, 2011, p. 245). flickr photo by tim caynes http://flickr.com/photos/timcaynes/352901751 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license WHAT IS SPACE? Soja, (2000) and Massey (2005) emphasize a dynamic relationship between social norms, how material and social structures influence these norms and how they are then embodied by individuals
- 4. “walled garden with windows” (Dron & Anderson, 2014) “gatekeepers” Safe, controlled Invisible Open Spaces “in the wilderness” needing… taming, mooring (Knox, 2014), tethering (Cronin, 2014), wayfinding (Siemens, 2011), skilled orienteers (Waite et al., 2012) Spaces of Enclosure Chaotic, overwhelming Visible
- 5. Spatial focus for educators Fenwick, Edwards & Sawchuk, (2011 ) ask the following questions: •“how do spaces become specifically educational or learning spaces; •how are they constituted in ways that enable or inhibit learning; •create inequities or exclusions, •open or limit possibilities for new practices and knowledge; •how is space represented in the artefacts we use in educational practices, such as maps and pictures” (p. 129)
- 6. Research Context: Open Boundary Courses (I am not a MOOC) Alevizou, Galley, & Conole (2012)—the participatory culture afforded by social technologies blurs “the boundaries between creative production and consumption, and opens up novel, public spaces for, and styles of, networked learning; social spaces that promote communities of enquiry, collaborative knowledge building, and shared assets (e.g. interests, goals, contents, ideas)” (p. 75). BUT They can also be characterized as “uncanny”, unsettling or troublesome when co-opted into hierarchical learning models (Alevizou, Galley, & Conole, 2012; Bayne, 2010; Hemmi, Bayne, & Land, 2009; Ryberg, 2008). SO Open boundary course (Weller, 2013) blurs the boundary between formal/informal invites wider participation opens up the learning space Case Study Virtual Ethnography (Hine, 2008)
- 7. Research Questions What effects do virtual learning spaces have on the development of a learning culture in online, open networked learning environments? How do learners’ perceptions of learning spaces as being open/closed, formal/informal, private/public, online/offline affect how they use or inhabit these spaces? How do characteristics of the virtual learning environment both enable and constrain elements of student participation and creation of their own learning processes? At the same time, how do learner practices, both online and offline, help shape the learning spaces? Do learners who are formally registered in a course perceive and use the learning space in different ways than from those learners who are participating using informal learning pathways? In what ways can the open and participatory elements of social technologies create “troublesome” or “boundary” spaces (as per Savin-Baden 2008, and Ross, 2012) that encourage learners and teachers to explore new practices, pedagogies, and subjectivities?
- 8. Framework for Analysis the daily practices and interactions between the material and social spaces of the course how these spaces were designed, interpreted and used by the participants and other contributors in the course. Content Analysis Structural Analysis Social Network Analysis Spatial Analysis
- 9. Data collection/Analysis Pilot: Explore Interviews Participate in Course Explore and Capture Course pages Postings (Forums, Blogs, Twitter) Field notes Mapping of course space Student feedback via email interview Course pages Postings (Forums, Blogs, Twitter) Mapping Course spaces Skype, 1 hour Recorded and transcribed Preliminary Coding Coding Social Network Analysis (SNAPP tool) Course Mapping (Participation/ time) Data Practices SpatialAnalysis
- 10. Boys, J. (2011). Where is the theory. In A. Boddington & J. Boys (Eds.), Re-shaping learning: A critical reader: The future of learning spaces in post-compulsory education (pp. 49–66). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS: A SPATIAL LENS Spatial Practices Representations of Space Representational Spaces Ordinary routines of existing educational practices Designed transformations of ordinary routines of learning Perceptions, relationships to and negotiations with ordinary routines and designed transformations GapsTensions Contradictions
- 11. • Openness - flexibility, OER, assessed/not-assessed (Wild-west Moodle) • Autonomy - anytime, choose your own path • Social Dialogue - participation within course, external networks, sharing projects
- 12. PRACTICES -TWO PATHWAYS FOR LEARNERS
- 13. Number of instances 0 12.5 25 37.5 50 Week 1 Week 3 3029 Cognitive Teaching Social Practices - Discussion Analysis
- 14. SPATIAL ANALYSIS
- 17. Highlights of Findings Tensions related to visibility/anonymity, assessment, flexibility (pathways, time), resources, conceptions of openness, and complexity of the learning environment, all had an impact on how the learning spaces were perceived or enacted. Learners valued direct pathways - challenge for designers/learners to find coherence - need mooring/wayfinding Learners/Instructors inscribed this space as an educational space, through their identities and practices (boundary crossing, norms/rules/hierarchies, the familiar or homely) Multiple spaces/places - nooks/crannies create feelings of disorientation, different levels of visibility and anonymity, conceptions of openness Repurposing/remixing by instructors/designers/learners to wrangle their spaces Blurring and repurposing spaces (virtual/work/home/travel) The learning space is an assemblage (material/social) - a code/space, an educational/ learning space, a globalized space - all influence communication practices Material space both constrains/supports - hierarchical, compartmentalize structure interrupts the flow of communication - barriers to autonomy, access and visibility
- 18. Institutional provisions for open spaces are not always supported, how do we open our boundaries without having to create a “wild-west” version? How do we make the “rules of the game” more explicit for learners? How do we balance this with making space for greater learner agency? How do we create learning designs that provide engaging pathways for informal/formal participants? How do we make space for troublesome encounters? (it is not the tools) How do we incorporate learners multiple spaces (both material and conceptual) more effectively? QUESTIONS
- 19. Alevizou, P., Galley, R., & Conole, G. (2012). Collectivity , Performance and Self- representation: Analysing Cloudworks as a Public Space for Networked Learning and Reflection. (L. Dirckinck-Holmfeld, V. Hodgson, & D. Mcconnell, Eds.) Exploring the Theory, Pedagogy and Practice of Networked Learning, 75–84. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-0496-5 Kuntz, A. M., & Berger, J. B. (2011). Faculty Work Practices in Material Environments: A Case Study. The Journal of Higher Education, 82(3), 239–264. doi:10.1353/jhe.2011.0019 Boddington & J. Boys (Eds.) (2011). Re-shaping learning: A critical reader: The future of learning spaces in post- compulsory education (pp. 49–66). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Boys, J. (2011). Where is the theory. In A. Boddington & J. Boys (Eds.), Re-shaping learning: A critical reader: The future of learning spaces in post-compulsory education (pp. 49–66). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Hemmi, A., Bayne, S., & Land, R. (2009). The appropriation and repurposing of social technologies in higher education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(1), 19–30. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2008.00306.x Hine, C. (2008). Virtual Ethnography: Modes, Varieties, Affordances. The Sage Handbook of Online Research Methods. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell. Massey, D. (2005). For Space. London: Sage Publications. Ryberg, T. (2008). Privacy, power, place and identity – the construction of mixed spaces in an educational context. IR 9.0 – Rethinking Communities, Rethinking Place. Association of Internet Researchers. Savin-Baden, M. (2008). Learning Spaces: Creating Opportunities for Knowledge Creation in Academic Life. Learning spaces: Creating opportunities for knowledge creation in academic life (pp. 7–21). Berkshire, England: McGraw-Hill, Open University Press. Weller, M. (2013). Registration open for my Open Education MOOC. The Ed-Techie. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from http:// nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/no_good_reason/2013/02/registration-open-for-my-open-education-mooc.html References