Peter Twining

Conceptualising Computer Use in Education: Introducing the Computer Practice Framework (CPF)

There is a growing need to be able to enhance the impact of investing in computer use in education at all levels. The article suggests that one way to approach this problem is through looking at the impact of such investments on educational practice. This necessitates the use of a coherent framework for conceptualising the educational practice surrounding computer use. A number of important problems with existing frameworks for thinking about the educational practice surrounding computer use are identified and a set of criteria for evaluating such frameworks is presented. A new framework, the Computer Practice Framework (CPF), is then described and its scope and limitations are discussed in the light of these evaluation criteria.

Assessing Activity-Based Learning for a Networked Course.

Networked environments offer new scope for presenting activity based courses, in which activities and reflection form the central backbone of course pedagogy. Such courses promise an enriching approach to study, but there are also challenges for the design of assessment. This paper describes a qualitative study of student and tutor perspectives on the assessment of an innovative undergraduate course at the UK Open University which has employed an activity-based approach. It discusses the relationship between assessment, student participation, and the development of skills, and then outlines the priorities for the design of assessment for such courses.

Moving education into the digital age: the contribution of teachers' professional development

This article introduces the main outcomes of discussions at EDUsummIT 2011 by the specific Technical Working Group on Teacher Professional Development (TWG3). The focus was to explore how professional development of teachers may ensure that teachers are better prepared to use information and communication technology (ICT) to promote 21st century learning. The article is organized into three main sections: a review of key literature on professional development of teachers (TPD), in general and with specific reference to ICT; a summary of the key points emerging from TWG3s discussions; and recommendations for action. On the basis of discussions held within the TWG3, the authors concluded that effective TPD requires changes at several levels of educational systems (political, institutional and individual), and that ICTs should be seen as an opportunity for introducing new goals, structures and roles that support these changes. It is significant that while many of the issues highlighted by the group are well established, addressing them continues to be problematic globally.

Learners Reconceptualising Education: Widening Participation through Creative Engagement?.

Engaging imaginatively with how education is manifested is necessary for providers both in higher education and in preceding contexts and phases. Fostering dispositions for creativity in dynamic engagement and the consideration of pedagogy, curriculum, inclusion, policy and the management of change, requires innovative provision to span school, home, work and higher education learning. Reporting on Aspire Pilot, a National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts‐funded initiative at The Open University, which sought to foster creativity of 11–18 year olds in considering future learning systems, this paper offers the beginning of a theoretical frame for considering learning, learners and systems in the Knowledge Age prioritising learner agency. Discussing findings, the paper explores implications for approaches facilitating widening participation in higher education.

Planning to use ICT in schools

This paper argues that despite massive levels of investment in ICT in education there is little evidence of this having had any significant impact on educational practice to date. It argues that one approach to enhancing the impact of investments in ICT in education is to base them on clearly articulated development plans. Such plans, it is argued, need to link explicit visions about the use of ICT in learning with implementation plans. In order to support the process of developing such plans the paper discusses three questions based on the Computer Practice Framework (CPF). The CPF has been developed over the last five years to support thinking about the educational practice surrounding computer use. In the discussion of the three dimensions of the CPF a range of models of organisation of computer resources are explored. Issues relating to the management of educational change are highlighted and linked to practical constraints that impact on the implementation plan

Some guidance on conducting and reporting qualitative studies

This paper sets out to address the problem of the imbalance between the number of quantitative and qualitative articles published in highly ranked research journals, by providing guidelines for the design, implementation and reporting of qualitative research. Clarification is provided of key terms (such as quantitative and qualitative) and the interrelationships between them. The relative risks and benefits of using guidelines for qualitative research are considered, and the importance of using any such guidelines flexibly is highlighted. The proposed guidelines are based on a synthesis of existing guidelines and syntheses of guidelines from a range of fields.

Exploring education systems: towards a typology for future learning?

Background In recent years there has been increasing interest in creating diversity of educational provision to meet the full range of needs presented by learners. This is both a reflection, and a partial consequence, of the three central agendas for schooling in many countries—standards, choice and inclusion, and the growth in information communication technologies and associated systems. The complexity of available ‘school’ types makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to explore the differences between the educational programmes on offer. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map the different forms of provision into a typology that will provide theorists, practitioners, users and policy-makers with a clear set of descriptors to explore current structures and to consider future developments. Nine types of education programme are categorized. Theoretical origins The paper takes the three distinct alternative education types, identified by Raywid, as a starting-point for this Educational Programmes Typology. It also draws upon the work of Aron, in which the characteristics of alternative education are outlined according to their relationship to other education systems, their target population, primary purpose, operational setting, educational focus, administrative entity, credentials offered and funding sources. Main argument The paper broadens Raywids and Arons typologies so as to include the identifiers for the full range of education programmes offered to learners, not just those who typically have additional needs. Six additional educational programme types are presented, which describe current provision within open entry, selective entry, special educational, home learning and adult learning settings. Type 8 is proposed as representing a possible educational system of the future. This reflects social and cultural developments, the evolution of information communication technologies and other technologies, and our changing understandings of learning theories and practices. Conclusions The proposed typology needs to be tested against a wide range of possible settings in different countries and education systems, but offers a useful tool for looking across boundaries of culture and practice. It provides an accessible vocabulary for exploring current learning programmes and those we create in the future.

Distributed cognition in a virtual world

Over a 13-month period, the Schome Park Programme operated the first ‘closed’ (i.e. protected) Teen Second Life 1 project in Europe. The project organised diverse educational events that centred on use of a virtual world and an associated asynchronous forum and wiki. Students and staff together exploited the affordances of the environment to develop skills and enhance community spirit. One popular activity, initiated by students, involved sailing boats around the projects virtual island, a technically challenging task for beginners. This paper studies the records of one of these sailing regattas. Organising and implementing this event involved considerable technical and interactional challenges. We analyse the following: How do people work together, including through the use of (virtual) artefacts, to solve problems? What particular qualities of the literacy practices surrounding the regatta appear to us to involve learning? Simultaneously, we contribute to the development of methodologies for studying learning in virtual worlds by employing a virtual literacy ethnography. Findings include a diversity of creative approaches that are used when solving problems, the significance of adult behaviour in authentically modelling learning and the value of humour in fostering a learning community. The notion of distributed cognition has implications for characterising learning and analytical approaches to analysis.

The Schome Park Programme: Exploring Educational Alternatives

The Schome Park Programme set out to extend thinking about what the education system for the information age (Schome) should be like. The first three phases of the programme spanned 13 months and involved the use of Schome Park, our “closed” island(s) in Teen Second LifeTM (TSL) virtual world alongside a wiki and forum. During this time approximately two hundred 13–17 year olds and around 50 adults were given access to Schome Park. Having explained the context in which this work took place the paper outlines the initial educational design underpinning the programme and describes some of the activities which took place. It goes on to explore some dimensions of practice which emerged from the data analysis towards the end of Phase 3, focusing on learner experiences of experimentation, playfulness, curriculum, choice, participation and the expression of the learner voice.

Virtual Worlds and Education

Context This special issue of Educational Research focuses on developing our thinking about the educational possibilities of virtual worlds, which are defined here as being environments within which users are represented by and operate through an avatar and can interact with others over the internet or local area network. There has been a growing interest in virtual worlds within the education community, as reflected by a growing number of special issues of journals on this subject (e.g. ALT-J, volume 16, no. 3, 2008; BJET, volume 40, no. 3, 2009; Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, volume 2, no. 1, 2009). These sources have provided a rich introduction to the field and have documented its emergence (e.g. Salmon and Hawkridge 2009). However, the field is currently under-theorised, with much of the initial work being exploratory, descriptive and often technologically driven (SavinBaden, Gourlay, Tombs, Steils, Tombs and Mawer in this issue, 123–133). There are exceptions, such as the work on the Schome Park Programme that set out to use virtual worlds to explore alternative visions of education, underpinned by existing educational models and leading to the development of key dimensions of practice that need to be considered when thinking about education in any context (Twining 2009a, 2009b; Twining and Footring 2009; Twining and Peachey 2009). This special issue aims to build upon and extend the exciting work in the field, focussing on critical analysis, pedagogical considerations, and the development of ‘models’ and ‘frameworks’ to inform and enhance future work with virtual worlds in education.