Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2016
Deleuze and Guattari’s principles of the rhizome were used to inform the design of a massive open... more Deleuze and Guattari’s principles of the rhizome were used to inform the design of a massive open online course (MOOC), Rhizomatic Learning: The Community is the Curriculum, which came to be known as Rhizo14. In a previous paper about learner experiences in this course our reported findings from a qualitative survey (which enabled anonymous responses) raised concerns about the ethics of using experimental pedagogies in designing MOOCs. In this paper, we continue this research and report learners’ understandings of the rhizome as applied in Rhizo14, from what participants have told us in email interviews and from our own reflections on participation in the course. Our findings reveal that many participants could relate to and welcomed the anti-authoritarian, anti-hierarchical characteristics of the rhizome, but that knowledge and understanding of Deleuze and Guattari’s conceptual principles of the rhizome was more difficult. Lack of engagement with theory and lack of appreciation of ...
In this paper we present an alternative view of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Rather than fo... more In this paper we present an alternative view of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Rather than focusing on open media resources produced by expert practitioners for use by peers and learners, we examine the practice of learners as active agents, producing open media resources using the devices in their pockets: their mobile phones. In this study, students are the producers and operate simultaneously as legitimate members of the YouTube community and producers of educational content for future cohorts. Taking an Action Research approach we investigated how student’s engagement with open media resources related to their creativity. Using Kleiman’s framework of fives conceptual themes which emerged from academics experiences of creativity (constraint, process, product, transformation, fulfilment), we found that these themes revealed the opportunities designed into the assessed task and provided a useful lens with which to view students’ authentic creative experiences. Students’ experie...
In the last decade, higher education institutions have had to come to grips with the increased pr... more In the last decade, higher education institutions have had to come to grips with the increased pressures on staff and resources to deliver quality education programmes. Interest has focused on technology as a means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of course delivery in a context of diminishing resources. Here we consider two technologies- WWW and Lotus Notes- used to support campus-based delivery. The project described here is firmly within the current mass market- full-time, campus-based students- but also includes part-time students and touches upon alternative methods of delivery. The impact of the use of technology is considered from the staff, student and organisational perspectives.
The phenomenal impact of the internet upon organizations has manifested itself in many ways with ... more The phenomenal impact of the internet upon organizations has manifested itself in many ways with its view as an opportunity and threat being the major items of attention for many. However, organizations embracing or responding to this do not always foresee the rapid, and sometimes dramatic, changes in their internal structures and in their relationships with other businesses. In this paper, an existing framework is developed and applied to a case study which concerns the evolving relationship between a software house and its customers in the book publishing industry. The case study traces the evolution of a portal, and its role in developing shared competencies and trust between supplier and customers in the context of Internet-enabled re-configuration.
Federman (2004)’s interpretation of McLuhan’s statement “the medium is the message” encourages us... more Federman (2004)’s interpretation of McLuhan’s statement “the medium is the message” encourages us to notice changes that accompany a new medium, in order to shape its development and effective use. This approach has informed the development and delivery of a Year 1 undergraduate module called Emerging Technologies to 250350 students across eight different degree subjects in a United Kingdom Business School. Our students use personal digital technologies such as mobile phones, MP3 players and digital cameras; and use these to consume (and produce) social media at video sites, message boards, photo sites, and linked through social networking services to sustain and extend networks of interpersonal relations. Our expectations confirmed by Selwyn(2009) is that many students will have some proficiency in the use of social media but may not yet be critical consumers, or see them as relevant to either their study or their future career. Digital literacy is embedded within the curriculum an...
TLQIS funding enabled us to investigate the effect upon our students of collaborating with studen... more TLQIS funding enabled us to investigate the effect upon our students of collaborating with students at another European institution to exchange expertise and evaluate their work. Salford's TLQIS scheme funded a pilot study to develop a framework for resources for collaboration, that will be expanded into a larger scale project for which we are applying for funding, eg from the Minerva programme. Online learning is being used to enable wider participation in higher education. The module Developing Systems for Teaching and ...
We would like to thank the following reviewers for their contribution to Volume 13 of ALT-J:DOI: ... more We would like to thank the following reviewers for their contribution to Volume 13 of ALT-J:DOI: 10.1080/09687760500480033
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2016
Deleuze and Guattari’s principles of the rhizome were used to inform the design of a massive open... more Deleuze and Guattari’s principles of the rhizome were used to inform the design of a massive open online course (MOOC), Rhizomatic Learning: The Community is the Curriculum, which came to be known as Rhizo14. In a previous paper about learner experiences in this course our reported findings from a qualitative survey (which enabled anonymous responses) raised concerns about the ethics of using experimental pedagogies in designing MOOCs. In this paper, we continue this research and report learners’ understandings of the rhizome as applied in Rhizo14, from what participants have told us in email interviews and from our own reflections on participation in the course. Our findings reveal that many participants could relate to and welcomed the anti-authoritarian, anti-hierarchical characteristics of the rhizome, but that knowledge and understanding of Deleuze and Guattari’s conceptual principles of the rhizome was more difficult. Lack of engagement with theory and lack of appreciation of ...
In this paper we present an alternative view of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Rather than fo... more In this paper we present an alternative view of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Rather than focusing on open media resources produced by expert practitioners for use by peers and learners, we examine the practice of learners as active agents, producing open media resources using the devices in their pockets: their mobile phones. In this study, students are the producers and operate simultaneously as legitimate members of the YouTube community and producers of educational content for future cohorts. Taking an Action Research approach we investigated how student’s engagement with open media resources related to their creativity. Using Kleiman’s framework of fives conceptual themes which emerged from academics experiences of creativity (constraint, process, product, transformation, fulfilment), we found that these themes revealed the opportunities designed into the assessed task and provided a useful lens with which to view students’ authentic creative experiences. Students’ experie...
In the last decade, higher education institutions have had to come to grips with the increased pr... more In the last decade, higher education institutions have had to come to grips with the increased pressures on staff and resources to deliver quality education programmes. Interest has focused on technology as a means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of course delivery in a context of diminishing resources. Here we consider two technologies- WWW and Lotus Notes- used to support campus-based delivery. The project described here is firmly within the current mass market- full-time, campus-based students- but also includes part-time students and touches upon alternative methods of delivery. The impact of the use of technology is considered from the staff, student and organisational perspectives.
The phenomenal impact of the internet upon organizations has manifested itself in many ways with ... more The phenomenal impact of the internet upon organizations has manifested itself in many ways with its view as an opportunity and threat being the major items of attention for many. However, organizations embracing or responding to this do not always foresee the rapid, and sometimes dramatic, changes in their internal structures and in their relationships with other businesses. In this paper, an existing framework is developed and applied to a case study which concerns the evolving relationship between a software house and its customers in the book publishing industry. The case study traces the evolution of a portal, and its role in developing shared competencies and trust between supplier and customers in the context of Internet-enabled re-configuration.
Federman (2004)’s interpretation of McLuhan’s statement “the medium is the message” encourages us... more Federman (2004)’s interpretation of McLuhan’s statement “the medium is the message” encourages us to notice changes that accompany a new medium, in order to shape its development and effective use. This approach has informed the development and delivery of a Year 1 undergraduate module called Emerging Technologies to 250350 students across eight different degree subjects in a United Kingdom Business School. Our students use personal digital technologies such as mobile phones, MP3 players and digital cameras; and use these to consume (and produce) social media at video sites, message boards, photo sites, and linked through social networking services to sustain and extend networks of interpersonal relations. Our expectations confirmed by Selwyn(2009) is that many students will have some proficiency in the use of social media but may not yet be critical consumers, or see them as relevant to either their study or their future career. Digital literacy is embedded within the curriculum an...
TLQIS funding enabled us to investigate the effect upon our students of collaborating with studen... more TLQIS funding enabled us to investigate the effect upon our students of collaborating with students at another European institution to exchange expertise and evaluate their work. Salford's TLQIS scheme funded a pilot study to develop a framework for resources for collaboration, that will be expanded into a larger scale project for which we are applying for funding, eg from the Minerva programme. Online learning is being used to enable wider participation in higher education. The module Developing Systems for Teaching and ...
We would like to thank the following reviewers for their contribution to Volume 13 of ALT-J:DOI: ... more We would like to thank the following reviewers for their contribution to Volume 13 of ALT-J:DOI: 10.1080/09687760500480033
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Papers by Frances Bell