Which characteristics in successful learning practices implementing the Web 2.0 technology may serve as leading principles for redesigning learning environments in similar contexts?

The effective implementation of ICT, especially the Web 2.0 applications, is considered to be of vital importance in realizing learning practises where students and pupils on the one hand, and the educational institute and teachers on the other hand have a joint responsibility for the learning contents and process. However, these applications, also referred to as the social web with major key words such as ‘openness’, ‘sharing’ and ‘creativity’, are mainly used in personal environments and seldom used in learning environments brought forward by educational institutes.

This research investigates possible matches between these informal and formal learning processes in learning and teaching via a cross-case analysis of five innovative learning practices in the Netherlands.

The description of the learning practices gain insight into the aspects contributing to successful results: motivation and ownership of all parties involved, characteristics of the context, contents of the learning practices, didactical strategy, choices with respect to media and communication, features of target groups and other parties involved, available learning environments, and supplementary conditions which may have been part of creating a successful environment.

The Students’ Voices research includes video vignettes, compiled of footage used for research purposes, capture students’ views about their motivation and ownership of their learning; characteristics of the context; their learning strategies; the overall factors of success and how they are or are not transferable.

Click here for the report and here to watch the video clips.

View his presentation on SlideShare:

• Alfons ten Brummelhuis, Head of Research of Kennisnet, The Netherlands
• Jim Bosco, Professor Emeritus/CoSN Principal Investigator, Western Michigan University
• Teresa Evarista, Directora-Adjunta Gabinete de Estatística e Planeamento da Educação, Portugal
• Francesc Pedro, Senior Policy Analyst, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Stephen Heppell, Professor, Director, heppell.net Ltd, Chair of New Media Environments at the Centre for Excellence for Media Practice at Bournemouth University, UK (update may 17th)
• Hiller Spires, Professor of Literacy and Technology, College of Education, C & I North Carolina State University, Friday Institute Senior Research Fellow (update may 17th)

The book will be published in 2011 by IGI Global and is edited by Associate Professor Kathryn Moyle and Professor Guus Wijngaards. The focus of this book is research about students’ views of learning with technologies, where the data is collected directly from students. It is intended this edited research publication will provide case studies about students’ views and expectations of learning with technologies drawn from around the world.

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The Students’ Voices II-project, the sequel to the first stage of Student Voices, is expected to lead to a centre of knowledge that can be implemented in a productive way in education.

The main research question for the Students’ Voices II research project is formulated as:

Which characteristics in successful learning practices implementing the Web 2.0 technology may serve as leading principles for redesigning learning environments in similar contexts?

The description of successful practicing should gain insight into the aspects of any given learning practice contributing to successful results. Other than motivation and ownership of all parties involved, characteristics of the context, contents of the learning practices, didactical strategy, choices with respect to media and communication, features of target groups and other parties involved, available learning environments, and supplementary conditions which may have been part of creating a successful environment, should be taken into consideration. Subsequently, analyses will show which factors may be considered context specific and hence are not expected to appear in other types of education; factors which may transcend or may be transformed into conditions applicable to multiple situations.

Read more about the Students’ Voices II project and it’s theoretical background here.

1. To discuss future online environments appropriate for teaching and learning;

2. To inform our discussions by recent ‘student voice’ research;

3. To discuss the concept of the ‘personal web’.

View the presentation here:

If you are interested in submitting a book chapter please read for further details the call for chapter proposal. The proposal submission deadline is set at April 15th 2010. We are currently in the process of putting together an international editorial advisory board.

Focus of the book
As there is little published research about listening to students’ views about learning with technologies, the objective of this book is to present original research, the data for which has been collected from students. It is intended this edited research publication will provide case studies about students’ views and expectations of learning with technologies drawn from around the world. The underpinning question that each chapter will address is: ‘What do students say about learning with technologies?’ In addressing the question authors are asked to report, critically analyse and discuss research where the researcher has directly collected data from students. Our goal is for each chapter to provide insights into succesful pedagogical approaches appropriate to a given cohort of students, with the aim of providing insights into the aspects of learning practices that contribute to successful learning that includes technologies.

Don’t hesitate to contact us via info@studentsvoices.org if you have any questions. We are looking forward to your proposals.

At this moment we are in contact with colleagues in the following countries: Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Portugal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

If you too would like to participate, please let us know!

During the Learning and Technology World Forum Kathryn Moyle and Guus Wijngaards organized an interactive presentation (using Zing) about ‘What are students’ voices‘ about learning with technologies and how can we use these to inform preparations for future learning?

We have published both presentations as slidecasts via SlideShare:  click here

The Learning and Technology World Forum 2010 11 – 13 january 2010, London, UK
The world’s premier event on learning technologies attracting national and international leaders from across the globe to share best practice and debate future practice in education and skills.

CoSN Conference 2010: Innovation, Ingenuity & Insight, February 28 – March 2 2010,Washington, United States
CoSN is in its 15th year of  delivering the leading national technology leadership conference, dedicated to policy and effective implementation from school district, state, and national perspectives attracting over 1,000 district, state, and national education technology leaders.

At these conferences we would like to canvass interest and support for taking the Students’ Voices work further by inviting interested academics and government officers to indicate whether they would be interested in being involved in future collaborative research work.