Science 2.0: Supporting a Doctoral Community of Practice in Technology

Enhanced Learning using Social Software

Denis Gillet and Sandy El Helou • EPFLMarie Joubert and Rosamund Sutherland • University of Bristol

Science 2.0 Workshop • EC-TEL • September 29, 2009

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From PALETTE to STELLAR

• PALETTE IP (2006-2008)Facilitating and augmenting individual and organizational learning in Communities of Practice (CoPs) • http://palette.ercim.org

• STELLAR NoEWP4: Building Next Generation CapacityInstruments: Doctoral Academy Events, Scholarships for mobility, and Doctoral Community of Practice (DoCoP)

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The DoCoP

• PhD students, PhD advisors and experts in TEL share research practice and learn from each other

• Reduce isolation• Establish co-coaching• Enable sharing of testbeds• …

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Lessons Learned from PALETTE

• CoP practice and interaction modes continuously evolve over time and in context (from simple social interaction to advanced collaborative activities)

• Integration of CoP members is (and has to be) progressive (from passive guest to active contributor and possibly facilitator) • Privacy !

• Roles continuously evolve and depend on activities (someone can be an expert in a context and a novice in another)

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Lessons Learned from PALETTE

• Integration of CoP services is (and has to be) progressive and non-invasive (work across members’ personal and professional IT contexts)

• Online spaces and their personalization strongly contribute to the building of the CoP identity and the sense of belonging

• Online spaces and environments (Web 2.0)are boundary objects for the negotiation of usefulness between providers and members (CoP & Service Mediators)

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Lessons Learned from PALETTE

• Utility, usability, acceptability, and maybe adoption• Do not disappoint members once, you will lose

them forever• CoP activity is always a side activity (not so much

time to invest, quick adoption necessary)• Members have some expectations, they do not

know necessarily the tools to support them • Elicitation of requirements• Detection of passionate members to support the

activity momentum

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Lessons Learned from PALETTE

• Value all contributions (incentive)• Unobtrusive information and awareness delivery• Unobtrusive and contextual notifications• Ubiquitous access for mobile clients• Responsiveness in context and fitness for

purpose• CoPs are informal social networks and informal

learning opportunity providers• CoPs operate and grow via a careful combination

of face-to-face and mediated interaction

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Results from PALETTE

• 3A Interaction ModelRepresents assetmanagement system,task management systemor discussion platform

Assets correspond to content; roles,tags, events andlinks define the context

Supports integratedawareness andrecommendation

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Results from PALETTE

• eLogbook.epfl.ch Social Software

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The DoCoP

• A scenario for a DoCoP member• First face-to-face contact during the Joint Summer or

Winter School on TEL (peers, PhD directors, experts)• Annual contacts at TEL workshops, conferences,

meetings, doctoral consortia, …• Further contacts and interaction through the Web

2.0 Science Portal, a possible integrated DoCoP Space and the associated Web 2.0 services

• What type of interaction ? What type of Services ?… Pilot questionnaire distributed at the EC-Tel DC

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The Questionnaire

• How could a DoCoP benefit you in terms of completing your doctoral studies and in your future professional life?

• What type of services would you need in the framework of the DoCoP?

• Please indicate the academic and social platforms you use for professional and research work

• What blogs, Wikis, Twitter channels or RSS Feeds related to TEL do you read?

• What blogs, Wikis, Twitter channels or RSS Feeds related to TEL do you contribute to?

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The Questionnaire

• Please indicate which portal or a mash-up platform you think could help in building the DoCoP identity

• What is your academic discipline (outside TEL)? • Do you see your professional identity as primarily

within your discipline or primarily within TEL• Are you studying for your PhD full time or part time

and what is the total expected duration of your PhD study

• Do you have to take PhD courses in your PhD programme? If yes, how many ECTS credits do you need to get?

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Possible DoCoP Space

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Further Actions

• Revised questionnaire sent to all the participants of the previous Doctoral School in TEL

• Contact with PhD Advisors• Preliminary aggregation page on the

STELLAR Web site• Progressive integration of requested

services in a relevant DoCoP Space

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Contacts

• http://www.stellarnet.eu• http://palette.ercim.org• http://people.epfl.ch/Denis.Gillet• http://elogbook.epfl.ch• http://www.jTELSummerSchool.eu

• The related paper:http://oa.stellarnet.eu/open-archive/browse?resource=2196_v1