Fostering young smart citizens through PLE for

projects.kmi.open.ac.uk/urban-inquiries

Alexandra OkadaAnnika WolffAlex Mikroyannidis

Fostering young smart citizens through PLE for

How do young citizens engage with urban inquiries activities on Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)?

Project’s Aimto equip students to be able to identify and describe problems or questions scientifically mediated by social and personal learning environments (PLE)

QuestionsWhat are the benefits and challenges for developing “co-inquiry” projects?

What are the co-inquiry tools and strategiesuseful for teachers and students?

Qualitative study – Initial pilot 5 researchers from Higher Education, 2 science teachers and a class 26 teenagers of a secondary school in the UK4 lessons (1h30)

Research

1. Three inquiries: a. Car Warsb. Energy Consumption

c. Microclimate - Solar panels

2. Virtual ethnography data production - 161 questions, 126 rates, 56 comments, 27 photos in weSPOT 14 photos in nQuire, 3 maps in LIteMap, 3 reports, 4 posters , 3 project videoclips, 4 lessons recorded, 3 events registered in weSPOT.

3. Data AnalyticsStudents and Group Participation during 4 lessons

4. Surveys - Pre and Post questionnaires:a. conceptual knowledge x understandingb. Nature of Science - Scientific Inquiry skills c. Epistemic belief d. Usabilitye. Collaborationd. Cognitive overload

MethodologyQualitative Study

Energy consumption:a shorter shower

or banish blow-dries?

SCIENCE-IN-THE-NEWSwebsites and video clips

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

URBAN DATA

Science Communicators Science Educators Smart City Researchers

Activities

MOBILE DATA COLLECTIONData Inquiry + Visualisation

Storytelling

CO-INQUIRY PROJECTDilemma + Discussion

Questioning

COLEARNERS OUTCOMESArgumentative Mapping

Scientific Report

Science TeacherLearners & Technologists

Co-inquiry community

Students Smart citizens

Technologies

What are the benefits and challenges for developing “co-inquiry” partnerships?• Collaboration in authentic scenarios• Co-authorship in various publications

Students: 3 posters, 3 videos, 1 presentationResearchers: 3 papers different perspectivesTechnologists: Agile software development

What are the co-inquiry tools and strategiesuseful for teachers and students?• weSPOT Questioning: to create, comment and rate• weSPOT analytics: to encourage participation/feedback• nQuire spot-it: to collect, discuss & rate data (photo)• Dilemma: to engage students in “Science-in-Society”• Data Inquiry: to improve their scientific questions• Storytelling: to increase understanding • Group Discussion: to support a student-centered teaching

Outcomes

Challenges- Some students were not focused to participate online - Technology was sometimes disruptive - A few students used weSPOT at home as their own initiative

Equipping citizens with knowledge and tools for responsible participation in society, by being able to develop evidence-based opinions about risks and benefits of scientific innovations.

Source: European Commission Report

Responsible Research Innovation

SCHOOLSSTUDENTSEDUCATORS

UNIVERSITIES

PROFESSIONALSSPECIALISTSSCIENTISTS

multi-disciplinary researchRRIco-Inquirydata InquiryPLEmobile devicesin/formal LearningSmart citizenship

PARENTSPEER-ReviewersInterviews

RRI

Science-in-Society Knowledge

ScientificInquiry

Skills

Technology

Urban Inquiries - framework

Smart cities

IBL

co-inquiry

City-school context

Collaboration

Energy Consumption

Microclimatic Design

Mobile Data Collection TECHNOLOGIES

Learning Analytics

Domain Structure

Mind Mapping

Argumentation

Evidence-based report

Responsible Research and Innovation

Renewable Non-renewable Oil Gas Coal

Nuclear Eco-Driving

CO2 Emissions

OPEN

SOCIALPERSONAL

Wind

BIG DATA

Sensemaking

StorytellingGraphs

Data Inquiry

SimulationData analysisInterpretation

Communication

Smart Citizenship

Scientific Dilemma Socio-Scientific Issues

Science-in-the-news

Electricity Hydrogen

Biodiesel

Diesel

Petrol

Geothermal

Solar Panels

Energy TransferHeater

Games

QuestioningVoting Rating Commenting

Peer-review

Badge

Argumentative Narratives

Tagging

Participatory Media

Electric Cars

Group Discussion

Citizen Science

Fossil fuels

Water

Wave

Community-centric applications

Video

Fuel cells

Radiation

High voltage batteries

Conservation

Efficiency

co-Inquiry based Learning

Students Engagement

Reflective Practitioners

sensing approaches

Ubiquitousconstraints Scientific

Literacy

OER

Information visualisation

colearning ecosystems

Educators ProfessionalsParents

• N Komninos, M Pallot, H Schaffers Special issue on smart cities and the future internet in Europe. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2013• Buchem, I.; Pérez-Sanagustín, M. Personal Learning Environments in Smart

Cities: Current Approaches and Future Scenarios. eLearning Papers, 35, November 2013. • A J. Dewey. How we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking

to the educative process. Heath: Boston, MA, 1933.• Okada,A.; Serra,A; Ribeiro, S; Pinto. S. Key skills for co-learning and co-inquiry

in two open platforms: a massive portal (EDUCARED) and a personal environment (weSPOT) Open Praxis, vol. 7 issue 1, 2015.• Ratcliffe, M., & Grace, M. Science Education for Citizenship. Open University

Press, 2003• Vahey, P., Yarnall, L., Patton, C., Zalles, D., & Swan, K. Mathematizing middle

school: Results from a cross-disciplinary study of data literacy. American Educators Research Association Annual Conference. April, 2006.• Kinshuk, R. . Ubiquitous Learning Environments and Technologies. Springer,

2014

Contact: Ale Okadaale.okada@open.ac.uk

References

Questions

1. What are the role of technologies for co-inquiry and brokering partnerships? Any example?

2. What are the strategies for mobile learning considering that students cannot use their mobiles with internet in the school?

3. Do you know any project about partnerships for smart citizenship among Universities, Schools & Professionals ? What would be the drivers and catalysts for partnerships?