Transcript PROWE (personal repositories:online wiki environments) – using new networking tools and shared repositories to support part-time distance tutors’ professional development Anne Hewling PROWE Project Officer Open University http://www.prowe.ac.uk.

PROWE
(personal repositories:online wiki environments)
– using new networking tools and shared
repositories to support part-time distance tutors’
professional development
Anne Hewling
PROWE Project Officer
Open University
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
PROWE – what is it?
a JISC-funded Digital Repositories Programme Project
between OU and UoL
Combines:
- new communications tools e.g. wikis and blogs
- part-time distance tutors/associate lecturers
- continuing professional development needs
- communities of practice
- repository theory and practice
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
What drives it?
"In what ways could wiki and wiki-type environments be
useful and useable as personal and informal
repositories to support professional development within
part-time tutor communities of practice?"
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
What does that mean in practice?
• What are the CPD needs of part-time teaching/tutoring
staff?
• What kind of sharing do these staff already do, or need
to do, or want to do?
• What can new technologies like wikis, blogs etc. offer in
response to these needs and wishes?
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
And “the ones that got away”…
till now…
• Is anyone out there interested in sharing?
• What are their existing pedagogical models and how do
they expect things to roll out?
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Institutional context - OU
• Around 150,000 undergraduate and more than 30,000
postgraduate distance students
• Nearly all students are studying part-time
• About 70 per cent of undergraduate students are in fulltime employment and more than 50,000 students are
sponsored by their employers
• More than 25,000 OU students live outside the UK
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Institutional context - UoL
• Around 10,000 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate
• 6,000 students are studying part-time distance courses
both in UK and overseas
• 65% of postgraduates are on courses with a significant
distance learning, often online, element
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Staffing context
The Open University has…
• More than 7,000 tutors with diverse backgrounds
• All dispersed around UK, Europe and elsewhere
• Highly structured learning/teaching/working environment
• Distance-only institution
• Moving towards Moodle in 2007
The University of Leicester has…
• Approximately 350 Associate Tutors
• In at least 11 departments
• A wide range of tutor roles, duties, activity/involvement levels
• Blended environment
• Moved to Blackboard in 2005
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
What has happened so far?
- user needs assessment
- tools assessment
- metadata and other complicated repositories bits
- elgg and Plone – testing environments
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
What happens next?
- bigger and better trialling (more people, longer,
more directed activity)
- development of documentation and models
- evaluation
- reaching some conclusions…
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Matters arising
- what is a typical tutor and what are typical needs?
- PRMS
- "if it 'ain't broke, why fix it?"
- facilitation
- why not/why?
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
PROWE: “A community is like
a ship: everyone ought to be
prepared to take the helm.”
Henrik Ibsen
http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Contact us:
Webpage: http://www.prowe.ac.uk
Project email: [email protected]
Project Officer email (OU):
[email protected]
http://www.prowe.ac.uk