Measures of Dispersion and Variability: Range, QD, AD and SD
Professorial lecture learning and technology_nov13_open
1. Learning and Technology:
evolution or revolution?
Inaugural Professorial Lecture
Professor Linda Creanor
Glasgow Caledonian University
l.creanor@gcu.ac.uk, @lcreanor
#creanor13
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
3. 1) everything that’s
already in the world when
you’re born is just normal; 2) anything that gets invented
between then and before you turn
thirty is incredibly exciting and
creative and with any luck you can
make a career out of it;
3) anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural
order of things … until it’s been around for about ten years when it
gradually turns out to be alright really.
(http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/19990901-00-a.html)
How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love
the Internet (Douglas Adams)
5. Clyde Virtual University, 1995
Strathclyde University (Lead), University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University
Paisley University (now UWS), Glasgow School of Art
9. By 2025, global demand for
higher education will double
to around 200m per year,
mainly from emerging
economies
(NAFSA -Association of International
Educators, 2010)
15. Understanding networks
It is our contention that we need a detailed
understanding of how social theories of learning are
related to current practice. A thorough understanding
of practice will rely on research into the actual use of
computer networks to develop an understanding of
the relationships that are possible between
networks and learners.
Networked learning is learning in which …
technology is used to promote connections:
between one learner and other learners; between
learners and tutors; between a learning
community and its learning resources.
(Jones & Steeples, 2002)
16. ETUDE & Dialog On
• Ten-Telecom & ESF funded (€1M +€3M)
• Activities led by:
– European Trade Union College
– 13 EU trade union organisations,
– 2 trade union confederations,
– Glasgow Caledonian University
– Evaluation by Leeds Metropolitan University
• 32 online courses, training a total of 471
trade union officers and representatives
along with 27 tutors and facilitators.
• 8 online networks with a total of 320
participants (Creanor, 2003)
• 9 professional development guides in 13
languages.
17. Identified new learning-related roles
specialist online tutors
network ‘animateurs’
‘bare-foot pedagogue’
the union learning representative
… it does appear to confirm the pivotal role of the ‘proactive
broker’ … “who has the experience and skills to build bridges
across cultural and organisational divides in support of mutual
knowledge sharing and learning”. (Chen et al, 2010; Creanor, 2010)
18. The role of theory
A theoretical understanding of
the interplay of social, cultural,
pedagogical and technological
aspects of networked learning is
essential.
Tutors need -
“a heightened awareness of the
pedagogical options”
“to encourage learning
relationships through common
understandings”
(Creanor & Walker, 2011; Creanor & Walker, 2010; Walker &
Creanor, 2009; Walker & Creanor, 2005; Creanor 2002)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adesigna/2940634261/
19. Technological determinism
Resistant to repeated pleas
for evidence-informed
pedagogy
(Laurillard, 2009; Conole & Oliver,
2007)
Often driven by political
agendas and tactical funding
opportunities
(Conole, Smith & White, 2007)
Widespread adoption of
social media and Web 2.0 by
educators in a ‘creative
explosion of new ideas’
(Laurillard, 2009)
‘a crisis looming and a
paradox emerging’ over
issues of agency, ownership
and control with regard to
mobile devices
(Traxler, 2009)
20. Rapid technological and social changes are leading
developments in education, often at the expense of pedagogy
and theory
http://tinyurl.com/c7tntva
http://tinyurl.com/d55kv9q
http://tinyurl.com/cnpuu8d
21. LEX (Jisc funded)
• We started from the premise that
learners are experts on their own
experiences
• We adapted an Interpretative
phenomenological analysis (IPA)
approach
• Interview Plus added
• Interviews and focus groups were
conducted with learners from HE, FE and
work-based contexts across the UK.
(Creanor & Trinder, 2010; Creanor et al 2008; Creanor L. 2008;
Creanor L. et al 2006)
22. Characterising effective e-learners
Age NOT a key determinant
Willing to engage & expect tutors to engage also
Believe technology should enhance their learning
Blurring of boundaries between formal learning &
informal networks
Choice and control = engagement
A new ‘underworld’ of digital communication
23. “I started a new course last year and
was wondering how I was going
to cope with it all... I suppose I
hadn’t really given much thought
to the technology, I hadn’t
realised how much it could help.”
http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9780566089305
24. Learning with Online & Mobile Technologies
Listening, reading &
sense-making
(coping with course
content)
Writing and presenting
(preparing oral & written
assignments)
Communicating and
community
(communicating with a
group)
Searching and
researching
(searching, evaluating &
using online resources)
Technology
30. New ways of understanding learning
Formal learning
People, information,
resources
Informal learning
Personal networks –
close ties, loose ties
“Knowledge is in the connections. Learning is the forming of connections”
(Siemens, 2004)
Technology as ‘connector’
31. GCU Strategy for Learning 2013-2020
Design
Principles
Engaged
learning
Divergent
thinking
Personalised
learning
Inclusive,
accessible
learning
Broader
& deeper
learning
Flexible
learning
Global
learning
Real
world
Problem
solving
Entrepreneu
r-ship
Responsible
Leadership &
Professionalis
m
Digital
Learning/
Technology
Staff
Digital
Learning/
Technology
Support
Systems
EnvironmentUniversity
systems
Student
feedback/
evidence base
Effective
Partnership
working
Enablers
Strategy for Learning 2013-20, Glasgow Caledonian University http://bit.ly/1jw5MCX
35. The digital revolution may not have arrived in higher education
(yet) but flexibility and agility are key to ensuring that
universities are ready for change in -
• Understanding learning and social networks
• Providing learning and teaching choices
• Understanding and engaging students
• Supporting and preparing staff
Planning for a Digital Future
36. http://tinyurl.com/nclxkg8 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence
3D Printing
“But the change, though
steadily and rapidly
progressive, has nevertheless
been gradual; and, like those
who drift down the stream of
a deep and smooth river, we
are not aware of the progress
we have made until we fix our
eye on the now distant point
from which we have been
drifted.”
Excerpt From: Scott, Walter. “Waverley.”
iBooks.
37. References
Chen, FC., Chang HM., & Wang, T. (2010), Collective Brokering Practice4: a constellation of practices, inDirckinck-Holmfeld L,
Hodgson V, Jones C, de Laat M, McConnell D & Ryberg T (eds), Proceedings of the 7th International Conference onNetworked
Learning
Conole, G. & Oliver, M. (Eds) (2007) Contemporary perspectives in e-learning research: themes, methods and impact on practice,
London: Routledge.
Conole, G., Smith, J. and White, S. (2007) A critique of the impact of policy and funding, in Conole, G. & Oliver, M. (Eds)
Contemporary perspectives in e-learning research: themes, methods and impact on practice, 38-54, London: Routledge
Creanor L, Durndell H, Primrose C. (1996) Library and Study Skills using Hypertext: the TILT experience, The New Review of
Hypermedia and Multimedia, Applications and Research, Vol 2, pp 121-147, Taylor Graham. London
Creanor L. & Trinder, K (2010). Managing Study and Life with Technology, in R. Sharpe, H.Beetham & S. De Freitas
(eds) Rethinking learning for a digital age: how learners are shaping their own experiences, 43-56, Routledge, New York
Creanor L. & Walker S. (2005), Learning Architectures and Negotiation of Meaning in European Trade Unions,ALT-J: Research in
Learning Technology, 13, 2, 109–123
Creanor L. & Walker, S. (2011). Interpreting Complexity: a case for the sociotechnical interaction framework as an analytical lens
for networked learning research, in L. Dirckinck-Holmfeld, V. Hodgson, D. McConnell (Eds) ‘Exploring the Theory, Pedagogy and
Practice of Networked Learning’, Springer, New York
Creanor L. (2002) A Tale of Two Courses: a comparative study of tutoring online, Open Learning Vol 17, No 1, pp57-68, Taylor &
Francis, London.
Creanor L., Trinder K., Gowan, D., Howells C. (2008), Life, Learning and Technology: views from the learners,Journal for Learning
and Teaching in Higher Education, 2, 26-41.
Jones C. & Steeples C. (2002) Perspectives and Issues in Networked Learning, in Steeples, C. and Jones, C. (Eds.),Networked
Learning: Perspectives and Issues, 1-12, London: Springer Verlag.
Laurillard, D. (2009) The pedagogical challenges to collaborative technologies, in The International Journal of Computer-Supported
Collaborative Learning, 4 (1), 5-20, London: Springer-Verlag
Macdonald, J. & Creanor, L. (2010) Learning with Online and Mobile Technologies: a Student Guide, Gower, London.
Traxler, J. (2009) Students and Mobile Devices: choosing which dream, in Davis, H. & Creanor, L. (Eds), ‘In dreams begins
responsibility’ – choice, evidence and change, Proceedings of ALT-C, 8-10 September, Manchester, UK, 70-81
Walker S. & Creanor L. (2005), Crossing Complex Boundaries: transnational online education in European trade unions,Journal for
Computer Assisted Learning. 21, 5 , 343-354
Walker S. and Creanor L. (2009), The STIN in the Tale: a socio-technical interaction perspective on networked learning, Journal for
Educational Technology and Society, 12, (4), 305-316.
