Oleg Liber

Colloquia – a conversation manager

Learning technology can permit a radical transformation in the way education is engaged in doing away with current mass models of teaching and learning. Business has already exploited technology to restructure its processes and practices, but education has focused more on the role of technology in developing and providing new content, rather than on interaction between teachers and learners. New educational groupware is emerging that promises to permit new forms of engagement. Colloquia is one example of these that provides a unique approach to managing learning conversations, which are seen as representing the most important aspect of the learning process.

The TOOMOL project: supporting a personalised and conversational approach to learning

Abstract Toolkit for the Management of Learning (TOOMOL) project is a JISC Technologies Applications Programme funded project, developing tools to help teachers and students to manage learning resources, negotiate learning programmes and develop learning profiles. The system can be used in both local and distance learning contexts, and is designed to be able to support those engaged in life-long learning programmes. Two key theories underpin TOOMOL: conversation theory and organisational cybernetics. The former is concerned with the interactions that take place between participants in the learning and teaching process; and the latter with the organisational constraints under which learning and teaching takes place. TOOMOL has been designed to embrace a constructivist approach to learning, specifically making the management of learning conversations its primary aim. From this viewpoint, learning resources (including online materials), activities and assignments can be seen as amplifying and enriching conversational acts. Using the tool, teachers and learners can build and then access a history of their learning conversations, allowing this to inform their continuing interactions. This paper describes the theoretical framework that guided the design of the software and briefly illustrates its application.

Embracing Educational Media; an organisational perspective

(1999). Embracing Educational Media; an organisational perspective. Journal of Educational Media: Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 55-57.