Destructive Creativity on the Social Web

2011 ◽  
pp. 1307-1320
Author(s):  
Steve Wheeler

The use of group oriented software, or groupware, encourages students to generate their own content (McGill et al, 2005) and can foster supportive and dynamic communities of learning (Shaikh & Macauley, 2001). One form of open architecture groupware known as the Wiki is freely available online in several versions, and enables tutors to quickly set up online spaces which can be edited by students, at any time and from any location. Online social spaces of this nature can be used to encourage creative writing and to engage students in critical discourse through focused discussion, but Wikis also have disruptive potential and can cause dissent and disharmony within the group. This chapter aims to highlight some uses of the wiki as a social writing tool, reporting on student perceptions of the limitations and benefits. The chapter also focuses on the tension between creative and destructive uses of wikis and concludes by offering recommendations on the effective use of wikis in mainstream higher education. The use of interview data gathered from a study conducted with a group of student teachers in 2007 is included to support the key messages of this chapter.

Author(s):  
Steve Wheeler

The use of group oriented software, or groupware, encourages students to generate their own content (McGill et al, 2005) and can foster supportive and dynamic communities of learning (Shaikh & Macauley, 2001). One form of open architecture groupware known as the Wiki is freely available online in several versions, and enables tutors to quickly set up online spaces which can be edited by students, at any time and from any location. Online social spaces of this nature can be used to encourage creative writing and to engage students in critical discourse through focused discussion, but Wikis also have disruptive potential and can cause dissent and disharmony within the group. This chapter aims to highlight some uses of the wiki as a social writing tool, reporting on student perceptions of the limitations and benefits. The chapter also focuses on the tension between creative and destructive uses of wikis and concludes by offering recommendations on the effective use of wikis in mainstream higher education. The use of interview data gathered from a study conducted with a group of student teachers in 2007 is included to support the key messages of this chapter.


2009 ◽  
pp. 1672-1685
Author(s):  
Steve Wheeler

The use of group oriented software, or groupware, encourages students to generate their own content (McGill et al, 2005) and can foster supportive and dynamic communities of learning (Shaikh & Macauley, 2001). One form of open architecture groupware known as the Wiki is freely available online in several versions, and enables tutors to quickly set up online spaces which can be edited by students, at any time and from any location. Online social spaces of this nature can be used to encourage creative writing and to engage students in critical discourse through focused discussion, but Wikis also have disruptive potential and can cause dissent and disharmony within the group. This chapter aims to highlight some uses of the wiki as a social writing tool, reporting on student perceptions of the limitations and benefits. The chapter also focuses on the tension between creative and destructive uses of wikis and concludes by offering recommendations on the effective use of wikis in mainstream higher education. The use of interview data gathered from a study conducted with a group of student teachers in 2007 is included to support the key messages of this chapter.


2022 ◽  
pp. 341-362
Author(s):  
Murat Çoban

This chapter determines the social presence perceptions and motivation levels of higher education students participating in the online learning environment and reveals the possible causes that affect these variables. According to the findings obtained from the study in which the explanatory design was used among the mixed research methods, it was concluded that the social presence perceptions of the participants were lower compared to their motivation. Besides, it was found out that there is a positive relationship between social presence and motivation variables. According to the qualitative findings, the majority of the participants stated that they were not satisfied with distance education, encountered technical and hardware problems, and the online learning environment was not effective enough in the context of communication and interaction. The research results contribute to the literature in terms of the effectiveness of online learning environments.


Author(s):  
Fanny Besem ◽  
Matthew Lennie ◽  
Carlos Chávez

This paper presents the perceptions of engineering students who followed podcasted courses during their higher education. Podcasting is widely used in remote education, but it also benefits on-campus students because it supports flexible and personalized teaching. The first three generations of students from an international Master’s degree program participated in a survey to give their impressions about the use of podcasting in their program. This preliminary survey targeted three aspects of podcasting: the format, the effect on learning experience, and the effect on student isolation. Results showed a majority of students considered recorded lectures a very helpful tool to support traditional on-campus lectures. The students appreciated the opportunity to pause and re-watch the videos to learn at their own pace. However, few students would consider a purely remote education; they felt less engaged in their education because of the lack of direct contact with teachers and peers. This highlights the importance of the social networking that happens on-site. In conclusion, the main advantage of podcasting is to compensate for the lack of individually adapted teaching in higher education. However, it will not completely replace traditional lectures without the development of both new tools to facilitate the professor-student interactions, and of teaching techniques to keep students engaged in their studies.


2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Tafani ◽  
Lionel Souchet

This research uses the counter-attitudinal essay paradigm ( Janis & King, 1954 ) to test the effects of social actions on social representations. Thus, students wrote either a pro- or a counter-attitudinal essay on Higher Education. Three forms of counter-attitudinal essays were manipulated countering respectively a) students’ attitudes towards higher education; b) peripheral beliefs or c) central beliefs associated with this representation object. After writing the essay, students expressed their attitudes towards higher education and evaluated different beliefs associated with it. The structural status of these beliefs was also assessed by a “calling into question” test ( Flament, 1994a ). Results show that behavior challenging either an attitude or peripheral beliefs induces a rationalization process, giving rise to minor modifications of the representational field. These modifications are only on the social evaluative dimension of the social representation. On the other hand, when the behavior challenges central beliefs, the same rationalization process induces a cognitive restructuring of the representational field, i.e., a structural change in the representation. These results and their implications for the experimental study of representational dynamics are discussed with regard to the two-dimensional model of social representations ( Moliner, 1994 ) and rationalization theory ( Beauvois & Joule, 1996 ).


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Meyer

Thirteen students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: Diversity, Academic Freedom, Political Tolerance, Affirmative Action, and Gender. Students read materials on each topic and generated questions for discussion that were categorized by Bloom’s taxonomy so that the level of questions in the two discussion settings would be closely parallel. Upon completion of each discussion, they answered questions that addressed depth and length of the discussion, ability to remember, and a self-assessment of how the student learned. Students’ assessments show a consistent preference for the face-to-face discussion but a small number of students preferred the online setting. However, what is perhaps more interesting is a minority of approximately one-third of the students who perceived no difference between the settings, or that the two settings were perhaps complementary.


2014 ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Pamela Labra Godoy ◽  
Rodrigo Fuentealba J.

Resumen: Los procesos de formación de profesores han estado fuertemente influenciados por una lógica aplicacionista y una visión fragmentada y prescriptiva de la naturaleza del conocimiento. Se puede observar una enseñanza basada en la oralidad, en un bajo trabajo práctico y una escasa vinculación con la realidad educativa y los requerimientos del contexto. Se hace necesario que en dichos procesos se reconozca a los futuros profesores como sujetos de conocimiento con quienes se debiese generar una estructura curricular práctica activa y reflexiva.El reconocer la complejidad de los procesos que se llevan a cabo en el contexto educacional, hace necesario transitar desde una lógica instrumental/mecanicista, proceso-producto a una perspectiva epistemológica donde se rescate el dinamismo del ámbito educacional y la complejidad del sistema social en que éste se encuentra inserto. Palabras clave: Formación Inicial Docente - Construcción de Conocimiento Profesional – Prácticas – Reflexión Profesional Abstract Teacher education processes have been heavily  influenced by application logic, as well as, to a fragmented and prescriptive vision of the nature of knowledge, instead of the construction of it. A teaching process based on the predominance of oral discourse, low practical work, and a limited relation with educational reality and context needs, has been  observed. It seems necessary to recognize student - teachers as knowledge subjects with whom there should be an active/reflective curricular activity, and also recognize the complexity of the processes that take place in the educational context. In other words, it is necessary to move from an instrumental, process/ product perspective towards an epistemological perspective able to recognize the dynamism in the educational system and the complexity of the social system in which it is immersed. Key Words: Initial Teacher Formation- Professional Knowledge Construction- Practicum- Professional Reflection


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