Angela Rickard

Collaborative digital learning in schools: teacher perceptions of purpose and effectiveness

Research on the place of digital collaborative learning in schools has established its extensive use for the provision of online courses (Stevens, 2007), for learning within schools (Orech, 2009) and as a means of promoting inter‐cultural education (Austin, 2006). Given that teachers’ understanding and practice in collaborative learning is critical, the authors examine in this article teachers’ perception of collaboration and collaborative learning in terms of a model for understanding different levels of engagement with digital collaboration. They also seek to explore the reasons for teachers’ perceptions and how this may impact on their participation in online collaborative learning projects.

‘A Not-so-simple Story from My Life’: Using Auto-ethnography and Creative Writing to Re-frame the Heteronormative Narratives of School Life

Reflecting on my experience as a teacher and a lesbian in a second-level school in Ireland in the early 1990s, I use an auto-ethnographic approach first to explore some of the ways dominant narratives can silence, constrain and marginalise some people. Projecting forward to an imagined future, I draw on creative writing to ‘re-frame’ how identity could be represented and experienced. While it is noted that context, attitudes and experiences have changed for the better in the intervening decades, legislative frames still hold fast, and heteronormativity continues to curb expressions of difference. Adopting a creatively disruptive style and format, I hope to provide a glimpse of a new normal in schools where more positive and less alienating experiences are imaginable … for everyone.

Face-to-Face Contact in Blended Learning for Intercultural Education: The Role of Teachers.

In societies experiencing or emerging from conflict, teachers often deliver educational programmes designed to build community cohesion. We report on research which examined teachers’ views of the implementation of a programme involving both face-to-face and online contact between pupils. Findings suggest that this blended approach is highly motivational, enhancing online work and relationship building. The research underlines the importance of the political, educational and historical context for work of this sort and the impact this has on the particular blend of online and face-to-face interaction. Implications for policymakers and teachers include value for money and sustainability of blended intercultural education in similar contexts.