ALT-C 2010
Fred and I have been wondering for some time how to represent the ways in which mobiles affect the Architecture of Participation. A year ago we presented a paper at iPED2009 (Beyond a Boundary on Slideshare) which, in line with the conference theme of pedagogical boundaries, looked at organisational boundary issues from a range of perspectives, including mobile. Picking up on Mike Sharples theme that mobiles enable informal learning strategies to enter the classroom, what Thomas Cochrane calls “Bridging Learning Contexts,” we started looking at what a mobile Architecture of Participation might look like. Last week we presented the attached poster (pdf) and supporting paper (.doc) at the ALT-C 2010 Conference in Nottingham to elaborate our developing ideas.
The poster seeks to look at the context for mobile learning and is based on our work both on policy (Policy 2.0) and with the Learner-Generated Contexts Group by exploring how issues such as trust and organisational learning need to be addressed in making the best of use of mobile technology for learning and participation in education.The poster is presented graphically as a series of flows to promote reflection and the paper is basically the same material presented as linear text.
In more practical terms a presentation by Thomas Cochrane at ALT-C, on strategies for mlearning integration, addressed a lot of the issues identified in our mobile AoP and put them into practice on the B.Sc for Product Design at Unitec in Auckland, New Zealand using the concepts of the PAH Continuum and Technology Stewardship. He gave a brilliant talk at ALT-C which can be viewed on his “mlearning Prezi”. Thomas adds in a role for Technology Stewards, as discussed by Etienne Wenger in Digital Habitats, but his key trope is involving lecturers in designing the use of mobiles, and in scaffolding that use against clear assessment outcomes. We really value this work but our concern is perhaps more at the next, strategic, level of the system investigating how these kind of imaginative, purposeful uses of mobiles can be integrated into the strategies and policies of the University (as recommended by Gilly Salmon) and thus help lead to a more participative learning process and educational system. Thomas Cochrane and Fred Garnett have since developed this aspect in their CAL11 paper on Technology Stewards.
Mobile – Architecture of Participation-submission-x
Supporting-paper-0179 Creating the right conditions for the use of mobile technology in learning
Posted by Nigel Ecclesfield
Since my last post two developments in the conceptualisation of “public value appeared with the work of Don Tapscott in “Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World” and in Clay Shirky’s book “Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age” I am looking at both books to ensure my final analysis takes in these perspectives, but they are not strong on how you build collobarative contexts within community settings and i need to bring this our in my reference to this work.
In the mean time, the indiscriminate use of the term “social capital” continues to surface – you may like to look at the RSA Journal – http://www.theRSA.org.uk/journal for the articles by Small entitled “Human Resources” and “Linked out?” by Krotoski. Both of these articles use the term in ways which calls for a response, which you can do at the link given above. I will be producing a detailed response to both papers and suggesting that the RSA promotes a debate about the use of this term in relation to their objectives and current programme, but it would be interesting to hear from those of you reading this blog about your responses to these articles and the arguments I set out in my last post.
Nigel Ecclesfield
contact via nefg1@gmail.com
Nigel, could you explain to me what the “architecture of participation” actually means. I am writing a collaborative essay on participation across many fields….here http://throng.wordpress.com/about-2/ I would be very grateful for your thoughts to include.
[...] mobile Architecture of Participation (mAoP) identifies some of the institutional shifts that could facilitate a greater embedding of mobile [...]