COMMENTS ON RAMBE & NG’AMBI (2011):
• The paper analyzed the role of Facebook in mediating information sharing among students who assume interchanging roles of informers and clients.
• “Clients are invited by “Informers” to become friends.
• It also describes the characteristics of facebook as an informing network.
• The literature review comprises an historical outlook on the creation of facebook as well as its transformation as an educational platform.
• The Activity system is of a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) that is based upon Engeström’s (1999, 2001) principles of Activity System.
• In summary, Engeström (1999) proposes that the Activity theory can be analytically summarized by five principles namely, activity system, multivoicedness, historicity, critical role of contradictions, and expansive transformations /learning.
• This study employed an ethnographic case study approach.
INFLUENCE OM MY IDEAS FOR THE PROPOSED PAPER:
• The general use of the Activity system as proposed by Engeström (1999, 2001)
• The course level, therefore, provides a vantage point from which to interrogate the activity system in its entirety, that is, course goals, objects of artifact-mediated interaction, different gender roles and perspectives of participating subjects (informers and clients), and the influences of socio- historical conditions on interaction.
• The course level analysis also allows for easy abstraction from the macro level issues relating to the course to the micro level issues of individual learners.
• The behaviour of the “Client” depends not only on the information transferred from the Informer, but also on the context, or frame, in which the information is transferred.
• Furthermore, it gave me a general scope of how the paper must be written.
1) WORKING TITLE
“Towards creative learning and interaction using advanced educational technologies in authentic contexts.”
2) BACKGROUND
Sociocultural context – Lim’s garden metaphor
Society at large:
Due to the COVID-19 scenario, the society at large are guided by the Government under leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister, Dr. Zweli Mkhize. We are all directed by what measures the government put in place and, to what extent, we are impacted as a people.
Education System:
The education system, both Basic Education and Higher Education are guided by what the Ministers of both Ministries are saying, as well as the Trade Unions in these respective departments. The following are points to ponder as described in the Joint Union Statement if the plan of the Department of Basic Education is to be implemented:
School:
Schools are to strictly follow protocols of the Education Department as well as the Health department and adhere to regulations as set out above. Schools should have a clear plan of action for restarting and phasing in the curriculum. All stakeholders within the school system should buy into this as a collective.
Course of Study:
The course of study in all spheres of education are hugely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and drastic measures should be taken to re-route the courses of study in all education sectors. Online learning is to become the new “norm” for courses to be presented and teachers, parents and students should polish their ICT skills / 20th Century skills to integrate technology into education. Creative learning and interaction using advanced educational technologies in authentic contexts will be pursued to establish a community of learning.
Activity System:
Step 1: (Activity) What sort of activity am I interested in?
I am interested writing a journal article on creative learning and interaction using advanced educational technologies in authentic contexts.
Step 2: (Objective) Why is the activity taking place?
To create an interactive platform where collaboration between teachers and learners can take place.
Step 3: (Subjects) Who is involved in carrying out this activity?
The teacher, parents and learners
Step 4: (Tools) By what means are the subjects performing this activity:
By using a technological device (eg. Computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet) to create interactive platforms for collaboration.
Step 5: (Rules & Regulations) Are there any cultural norms, rules or regulations governing the performance of this activity?
Give clear rules and instructions for usage of the online platform(s). Eg. Inappropriate posts will be deleted etc.
Step 6: (Division of labour) Who is responsible for what when carrying out this activity and how are the rules organized?
Teacher are responsible to create the platform for creative learning. Students are responsible to reply to the topics posted by interacting with the content, using creative technologies. Teacher moderates interaction.
Step 7: (Community) What is the environment in which activity is carried out?
Online Learning community in the Lockdown environment due to CoVID-19
Step 8: (Outcome) What is the desired outcome from carrying out this activity?
The desired outcome will be to have a creative interactive learning platform that is shared between the teacher and the learner, with the latter having a more restricted roll in this environment. Higher Order Thinking Skills.
3) PROPOSITION
a. Using Herrington’s (2010) authentic learning context, the 9 elements will be used to inform the objective of the journal article. The 9-elements are:
1. Provide authentic contexts that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real life
2. Provide authentic activities
3. Provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes
4. Provide multiple roles and perspectives
5. Support collaborative construction of knowledge
6. Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed
7. Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit
8. Provide coaching and scaffolding by the teacher at critical times
9. Provide for authentic assessment of learning within the tasks.
b. Conceptual questions:
• What educational apps will be suitable as collaboration platform(s) for creative learning and interaction in authentic contexts?
4) METHODOLOGY
a. Activity Oriented Design Method
The Methodology that will be used in this paper is Mwanza’s (2002) 8-step Activity Oriented Design Method (AODM)
b. New Research Questions generated
Technique of Generating General Research Questions by Mwanza (2002)
1 How does the teacher and students use the advanced educational technologies as a means of teaching and learning in authentic contexts?
2 Do the restrictions on the collaboration platforms affect the way creative learning and interaction takes place?
3 How does the teacher and the learners share the workload to achieve creative learning?
4 How does the computer, internet and collaboration aid the community for creative learning to take place?
5 Does the moderation of the collaboration platform as well as the restrictions imposed by the teacher mediate creative learning?
6 How does the responsibilities of each member of the community affect their ability to learn?
5) RESULTS
a. What one question is most significant, and why?
How does the teacher and students use the advanced educational technologies as a means of teaching and learning in authentic contexts?
6) CONCLUSION
The contribution of my paper matter as this is in response to a call for special issues wherein the aim of this special issue is to collect innovative theoretical work and original applications related to technology-supported creative learning programs in authentic contexts.
References:
Herrington, J., Parker, J., & Boase-Jelinek, D. (2014). Connected authentic learning: Reflection and intentional learning. Australian Journal of Education, 58(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944113517830
Lim, Cher Ping. (2002). A theoretical framework for the study of ICT in schools: A proposal. British Journal of Educational Technology. 33. 411 - 421. 10.1111/1467-8535.00278.
Rambe, Patient & Ng'ambi, Dick. (2011). Towards an Information Sharing Pedagogy: A Case of Using Facebook in a Large First Year Class. Informing Science. 14. 61-89. 10.28945/1391.
Vol 25 Iss 1 Call for papers.pdf
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