Poster for Web 2.0 in University Life project first presented at Oxford University Department of Education Poster Conference Oct 2007

1. Web 2.0 in University Life Russell Francis, John Furlong, and Anne Edwards Oxford Centre for Sociocultural and Activity Theory The Department of Education, Oxford University Introduction: the need to understand the implications of media change for higher education There has been considerable excitement and speculation about the emergence of a global ‘participatory culture’ facilitated by so called Web 2.0 technologies. Media theorists, such as Jenkins (2006a; 2006b; Jenkins et al., 2006), argue that this bottom-up ‘participatory culture’ has arisen from its marginal sub-cultural origins to the mainstream and has started to disrupt, subvert and displace monolithic ‘top down’ hierarchical franchises associated with the mass media. Entrepreneurs and business studies students discuss ‘attention economics’ (Goldhaber, 1997), the ‘long tail’ (Anderson, 2004) and read books that discuss How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and transformed our culture (Battelle, 2006). However, we have scant understanding of the full implications of media change for learning and education. In particular we know little about the potential of so-called Web 2.0 technologies to support fundamentally new modes of self-directed, collaborative and independent learning that may now be disrupting traditional modes of education that evolved around the medium of the book. Aims and Objectives of Pump Priming Phase This study proposes to explore the implications of media change through an ‘extreme’ case study of well resourced, well motivated, advanced learners who enjoy uninhibited access to the Internet: Oxford University students. A study focussed on the changing practices of this group can help us better understand the complex relationships between learning, motivation, agency and identity in the new media age and arguably ‘peer into the future’ of higher education (Jones, 2002). To this end the study will: focus explicitly on how Web 2.0 technologies are now routinely appropriated by undergraduate, masters and research students in Oxford to meet their needs as learners. It will also function as a pilot study, by developing appropriate theoretical and methodological tools in preparation for a research proposal to the ESRC examining the ways in which different groups are appropriating Web 2.0 technologies in diverse contexts (e.g. school students, adult learners). It is intended to develop this line of research in collaboration with colleagues at the CoCo Research Centre, University of Sydney. Existing research informing the project The research builds on two previous high profile ESRC projects for which Prof. John Furlong was PI: ScreenPlay, which explored the home uses of ICT for learning of primary and secondary aged children (Furlong et al, 2000, and Facer et al, 2003); and Adults Learning @ Home, which focused on adult learners (Selwyn, Gorard and Furlong, 2006). This proposal also builds on more recent exploratory work that explored the ‘predicament of the learner in the networked university’ undertaken by Francis (forthcoming), the research officer, for his D.Phil. Using multiple qualitative methods, Francis documents examples of post-graduate students adopting tools such as MSN Messenger, Wikipedia, RSS feeds, pod casting sites like YouTube and social software tools like Friendster and Facebook for study, informal learning and self-education as well as socialising, entertainment and leisure. For example, one Law student used Wikipedia to research the history of the Lord Chief Justice’s office in preparation for a job interview; another used YouTube pod casts to research the causes of terrorism. Many students used the Amazon.co.uk book recommendation system to support exploratory literature searching. Moreover, students were appropriating communication tools (instant relay chat, MS Track changes, Skype and Writerly) to exploit peer and collaborative learning opportunities. Francis argues that these tools allow Oxford students to maintain links and actively participate in plural and overlapping life-world communities as they migrate across courses, institutions and continents in the pursuit of educational and career objectives. It is therefore likely that such tools will have important implications for students’ sense of identity as members of Oxford University and their respective college communities following graduation. This could have important implications for students’ continued participation in college alumni associations - a current priority for development officers. Research questions Substantively, the aim of the study will be to address the following question: In what ways are Oxford students appropriating Web 2.0 technologies and what are the implications for: course related study; informal learning and self-education; students’ sense of self and community? The specific aim of this pump priming study will be to ask: What theoretical and methodological tools can be used most effectively to address these questions? Research Design and Methodology Methodological innovation remains a key priority for this pump priming phase. It makes a broad commitment to ethnographic methods that allow the practices of advanced learners to be investigated in quasi-virtual spaces. The methodology draws more direct inspiration from cognitive anthropology (D'Andrade, 1995; Holland, 2001; Hutchins, 1995; Lave & Rogoff, 1984; Moll et al., 1997; Resnick et al., 1991) and the closely related sociocultural studies of mind (Scribner & Tobach, 1996; Wertsch et al, 1995) inspired by the pioneering work of Vygotsky (1978). In recent years a small but growing number of researchers have begun to recognise the relevance of this tradition for understanding learning mediated by digital tools (Säljö, 1999) and collaborative learning in online communities (Barab et al, 2004; Crook, 2003; Nardi et al, 2002). This study provides an exciting opportunity to build upon and contribute to this fertile field of theoretical innovation. Critically the study will focus, not on the technology itself, but on the digitally mediated practices of students: the various ways students appropriate and use a new generation of Web 2.0 tools to study, learn, connect to others and educate themselves. Eighteen moderate to high users of new technologies will be identified through Facebook or similar tools. We aim to recruit a diversity of students (age, discipline, nationality) from two Oxford colleges . In preparation for the full ESRC proposal. Two different data collection strategies will be explored in order to triangulate students’ on and off-line use of these new tools. Cognitive anthropology in specific socio-cultural contexts. The first set of methods refines and extends the methods developed by Francis to explore students’ use of Web 2.0 technologies in informal contexts (i.e. study rooms, college libraries or coffee bars). These include: (i) a pre-interview questionnaire to capture basic demographic information and an overview of students’ use of Web 2.0 technologies; (ii) an initial interview about use of Web 2.0 technologies; (iii) unstructured observation (recorded on video) of students’ naturalistic use of Internet tools; (iv) stimulated responses (or cognitive walkthroughs) recorded on audio whilst students are working at their computer; (v) in-depth interviews following observations focussed on aspects of practice. Virtual ethnography. Secondly, we intend to develop methods for conducting ‘virtual ethnographies’ in diverse online spaces used by Oxford University students to support informal learning e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Second Life: a virtual world that now hosts virtual conferences in the New Media Consortium’s virtual campusand in which Oxford University computer services recently purchased a virtual island to explore its potential as a learning space. This method can also be used to investigate students’ participation in a growing number of online affinity spaces supported by dedicated services like Yahoo Groups and Academici that allow students to actively participate, upload content, engage in discussion and share resources with globally distributed communities of learners who share specific interests. This will involve periods of participant observation: monitoring, cataloguing and recording online practices.