130 likes | 273 Views
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. PROWE – what is it?.
E N D
PROWE (personal repositories:online wiki environments)– using new networking tools and shared repositories to support part-time distance tutors’ professional development Anne HewlingPROWE Project OfficerOpen 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 full-time 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: info@prowe.ac.uk Project Officer email (OU): a.hewling@open.ac.uk http://www.prowe.ac.uk