Andreas Breiter

Mediatisierung schulischer Organisationskulturen

Versteht man mit Krotz unter Mediatisierung die sozialen und kulturellen Entwicklungen, die mit dem Aufkommen und der Etablierung der digitalen Medien auf den verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Systemebenen und der gleichzeitigen Veranderung der Verwendungsweisen alter Medien einhergehen (Krotz 2001, 2007), so scheint dieser Metaprozess sozialen Wandels in der Schule im vollen Gange zu sein. Immer mehr Lehrkrafte setzen digitalisierte Medien im Rahmen ihres Unterrichts ein und entsprechend werden sie auch von den Schulerinnen und Schulern genutzt. Neue Medienangebote wie z. B. die Online-Enzyklopadie Wikipedia oder das Videoportal YouTube haben gleichzeitig innerhalb erstaunlich kurzer Zeit den Unterrichtsbetrieb durchdrungen und stellen viele Lehrkrafte vor erhebliche Herausforderungen (Breiter et al. 2010; Selwyn 2011). Folgt man Thomas und Krotz, so konstituieren Medien technisch bestimmte, kulturelle und soziale Erlebnisraume in der Schule, uber die ihre Nutzerinnen und Nutzer, also in unserem Fall die Lehrkrafte (und ihre Schulerinnen und Schuler), einbezogen werden (Thomas/Krotz 2008: 24).

The use of data across countries: development and application of a data use framework

Promising evidence exists that data-based decision-making can result in improvements in student achievement [1], but studies, e.g. [2], show that many schools do not use data properly. Support in the use of data is urgently needed. This chapter focuses on the design of a professional development course in the use of data. In the first phase of the project, case studies were conducted in five participating countries (England, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania) to develop a common data use framework. In the next phase, in two schools in each of the countries, a data use needs assessment was conducted using a survey. Finally, a professional development course was developed and implemented. Results of each of the phases are discussed in this paper.

Monitoring User Patterns in School Information Systems Using Logfile Analysis

Analyzing user patterns in school information systems can be difficult as several methods (e.g. interviews, surveys, and observations) can be time-consuming. We propose logfile analysis as a method that offers several advantages, primarily non-reactive data capture. With logfiles from a school with over 100 teachers over a seven month period, we try to get a deeper insight about the system’s usage and the interactions between users. The results show that three user groups can be identified, classified by the intensity of usage. Network graphs helped us to visualize a complex system and helped us to identify important subjects and categories. Nevertheless, logfiles alone lack in providing information giving deeper insights about uses of the system like user goals and aims.

Requirements development in loosely coupled systems: building a knowledge management system with schools

The diffusion of computers, local area networks and Internet connections in schools and the increase of instructional software and online resources is a challenge for the school system. Appropriate tools to store, access, distribute and to use those resources in schools are still in their infancy. In order to understand why schools as learning institutions are struggling with knowledge exchange, existing models for knowledge management is described and adopted to the school context. Based on this framework, the specific functional requirements for of key stakeholders in schools are derived. In order to integrate the requirements into system development for a computer-based knowledge management system, a participatory design process was initiated with three schools. The empirical findings during the process of requirement analysis are documented, focusing on key organizational aspects in schools. Based on empirical evidence, it is suggested that participatory design can be used not only as a method for user-oriented system development but also as a catalyst for reflecting the new role of technology for teaching and learning within an organizational change process.

The Complexity of Datafication: Putting Digital Traces in Context

This chapter deepens the discussion on the problem of contextualizing digital traces. First, digital traces are reflected as a phenomenon of media-related complexity more generally. Secondly, the example of data from learning management systems is taken to discuss possible strategies of how to put such automatically generated data into context by the use of qualitative methods that become triangulated. On such a basis, some conclusions are drawn about the future challenges of this kind of research. Overall, this chapter can only argue in an exemplary way, taking a specific and thus limited case of analysis. But such detailed discussion makes it possible to outline different options for future methodological developments in media and communication research.

Potentials of Gamification in Learning Management Systems: A Qualitative Evaluation

Besides game-based learning, gamification is an upcoming trend in education, studied in various empirical studies and found in many major learning management systems. Employing a newly developed qualitative instrument for assessing gamification in a system, we studied five popular LMS for their specific implementations. The instrument enabled experts to extract affordances for gamification in the five categories experiential, mechanics, rewards, goals, and social. Results show large similarities in all of the systems studied and few varieties in approaches to gamification.

Schools as Mediatized Worlds from a Cross-cultural Perspective

If we think about education in the 21st century, we can identify a process of continuous change that is happening globally. Schools, in particular, are under constant reform pressure — from the Education Reform Act in the UK (1988), to ‘No Child Left Behind’ in the USA, (2001) to post-PISA in Germany (Programme for International Student Assessment). Furthermore, these processes are intertwined with meta-processes such as mediatization, globalization or commercialization. In order to understand the transformation of education, we need to understand the complex interplay between organizational reform (devolution, school autonomy and accountability) and changing media and their role in communication. The first is mainly induced by political pressure on the macro level, as well as on the micro level by parents. The second influences, and is influenced by, the way in which children learn and teachers teach, that is, communicate — inside and outside the classroom — and how administrators manage a school on the meso level. Hence, the traditional perspective of the functional distinction between the three levels of educational governance (Altrichter, Brusemeister and Wissinger, 2007) underestimates the process perspective across the levels, which is described by the meta-process of ‘mediatization’ (e.g., Hepp, 2013; Hjarvard, 2012;Krotz, 2007;2009;Lundby, 2009).

Assessment Information Systems for Decision Support in Schools

Schools as places for institutionalized learning could be a perfectly suitable domain for knowledge management systems. Making knowledge about teaching and learning as well as school performance available to the relevant stakeholders seems to be a promising approach. The crucial question is how to identify information needs, select the relevant data and how to organize feedback. In this paper, the computer-based support of classroom decisions and school management on the basis of standardized test results will be presented. With the help of these assessment information systems, feedback on different levels for different target groups in the school system can be organized. Reflecting on the rich body of empirical research on management information systems, we will present an example for an assessment information system from Hungary, which has just started with computersupport for data-driven decision-making. This case study illustrates the potential added value for the key stakeholders in the school systems.

Regional Learning Networks - Building Bridges Between Schools, University and Community

The so-called “digital divide” seems to be a major social obstacle for the Information Society. Most experts agree that citizens will need competencies that go beyond the basic cultural skills. Where can our citizens acquire these competencies? The idea of life-long-learning illustrates a major problem of our educational institutions: they work separately, they only process the results of the preceding phase and there is a lack of interconnection. This paper tries to develop a concept of a regional education network that includes pre-school, K-12 and further education, public libraries and community centres as well as other educational institutions. Taking the path of the digital divide as a social and educational divide and focusing on the school as one major player in the regional network, the innovation process and the actors involved in it are highlighted and explored. Using action research in a project between schools, local community, private partners and the university, the concept of the regional network is illustrated. The problems encountered in the project are described and discussed in order to give a realistic overview and impression of an integrated education policy.

Rethinking Transforming Communications: An Introduction

This chapter introduces the contributions to this volume in three stages. First, it is argued that when considering the present stage of deep mediatization, it is insufficient to concentrate solely on the media as such: one also has to consider how communication transforms with changing media. It is by virtue of the change in human communicative practices together with other social practices that processes of social construction change. This is what is called transforming communications. Second, the chapter outlines why it is helpful to take a figurational approach for researching such transforming communications. The term figuration goes back to Norbert Elias, who used it to describe structured interrelations between humans. However, for the analysis in question, it is extended to reflect questions of communication. Finally, this introduction provides an overview of the arguments presented in the following chapters.