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SESSION 10

1.

TeacherBridge: Knowledge Management in Communities of Practice

Authors: Kibum Kim, Philip L. Isenhour, John M. Carroll, Mary Beth Rosson, and Daniel R. Dunlap

Abstract: The TeacherBridge (Basic Resources for Integrated Distributed Group Environments) motivates collaboration and supports online tools for teachers' professional resource management by providing a socio-technical infrastructure for community networks. While this project focuses initially on local science and mathematics teachers, resources developed are designed to be globally diffused to a wide variety of online communities. This paper discusses the characteristics of online communities of educators and how home networking technology and knowledge management systems can support collaboration and knowledge sharing in such communities. We study examples of existing and well-known online communities of educators and introduce our own system, TeacherBridge, which supports teacher professional development by supporting peer-based collaboration and community. We also analyze and evaluate the characteristics of TeacherBridge with activity theory [12] and minimalism [37]. Activity theory provides an analytical framework for how TeacherBridge can be used as a socio-technical infrastructure for online communities of educators; minimalism guides the development of successful online communities that are easily accessible and facilitate teacher participation in knowledge sharing activities

2.

Digital Connections Between Home, Work and Community: Multi-wave Research Findings and Policy Directions

Authors: Thomas Horan and Kimberly Wells

Abstract: This paper draws upon a series of studies that have been undertaken in Minnesota to better understand the implications for home-based online activities relating to work (e.g. telecommuting) and community activities (e.g. distance education).

Three waves of data collection activities were conducted: a survey of telecommuters in public and private organizations, a series of follow-on indepth interviews with telecommuters and colleagues from these organizations, and two focus groups with community stakeholders on broader planning challenges to integrated online community services. Key findings from these waves are as follows.

In phase I, data were collected from 797 participants drawn from a large public agency and large private sector firm. In terms of organization performance, respondent job satisfaction and productivity were perceived as greater among telecommuters than non-telecommuters, but organizational commitment was not. Findings suggest, however, that telecommuting constraints described in the literature (managerial reluctance, job requirements, isolation fear, and risk to promotion) impose obstacles to telecommuting in this sample.

In phase II, follow-up interviews were conducted with individuals from these two employers. Analyses were conducted to explore the organizational relationships among telecommuting work groups (that is, when one group member is telecommuting). Results indicate that management strategies can play an important role in ensuring the effective work of telecommuting work teams. The interviews also revealed a generally strong view held by telecommuters on their productivity while telecommuting, but several organizational tradeoffs were revealed in terms of team-cohesion.

In phase III, a set of community focus groups explored the community context for a range of potentially home-based electronic services, such as teleworking, distance education, telemedicine, and smart travel. These services were explored within substantive context of digital places and the procedural context of two design studios with community representatives in Minnesota. The design studios revealed a general understanding by community stakeholders about the value of a community network that could enhance the delivery of electronic services. However, several barriers were raised to the effective deployment of such networks, and these barriers formed the basis of planning recommendations relating to infrastructure strategy, service delivery and stakeholder involvement.

In summary, home demand needs to be seen within the context of the service and work networks that deliver these services (such as education, telemedicine); an integrated approach to planning these services can provide positive externalities making the entire system more efficient; there are tradeoffs between electronic and face-to-face interactions that need to be recognized in the design of such home-community systems; and managerial and local policies can play an important role in bringing quality community services to the "last mile"-the home.

3.

A Survey of Computer Use in the Homes of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Year Undergraduate Students

Authors: Jacqui Taylor and Becky House

Abstract:

Aims: A survey was conducted to investigate the extent that computers are used in home environments by undergraduate students. The primary aim of the survey was to identify how computers were being used for educational purposes within the home. A secondary aim of the survey was to collect information on the social use of computers by students (in home and university contexts) to enable an evaluation of the impact of the computer on communication and social networks.

Background:This paper develops one of the findings identified in a previous study which investigated the use of online seminars by students in Higher Education (Taylor, 2002). In this previous research students were able to participate in seminars electronically 'any time, any place, any where'. Student feedback indicated that many students participated using a home computer, rather than use a computer within the University environment. The survey reported here was subsequently designed to explore this unexpected finding. A literature review was conducted to identify surveys published during the last five years recording trends of computer and Internet usage and attitudes towards the media from student populations. While useful in general terms, very few of these surveys collected data regarding the use of computers to support education within the home environment. Students studying full-time at 'physical' Universities (i.e. excluding distance learning institutions) are increasingly spending more of their time studying at home, gaining access to University teaching and learning materials via the internet. Also, such students are increasingly using their own computers at home to complete coursework rather than using University laboratory computers or open access resources. As designers of teaching and learning materials, tutors usually make assumptions about the contexts of student learning or like to have some control over the contexts of student learning. However, evidence (e.g. Taylor, 2002) suggests that the context of learning may be increasingly diverse. Policy makers, researchers and practitioners in Higher Education need accurate information regarding the current and predicted usage of computers in off-campus contexts. Similarly, they need qualitative information as to how students are studying within the home environment to design effective materials and to put in place appropriate support mechanisms.

The Survey: The survey collected quantitative data to identify the extent and type of computer usage within the home and University environments. Background data was also collected to enable participants' responses to computer-usage items to be compared for gender, age, and year at University. Previous research has identified individual differences (e.g. age and gender) to be a significant factor in students' use and attitudes toward networked learning in Higher Education. Also, by comparing the data collected from 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students it was hoped that a picture could be built of how computer use changed over the three years of an undergraduate degree, to give some predictive value to the results. Finally, qualitative data was collected to better understand students' educational use of computers and to identify their needs from HE establishments.

Discussion: The results have important implications to tutors with regard to their planning of teaching and learning and the support that they provide to students. The discussion section of this paper explores the ways in which context is relevant to common theories of teaching and learning in Higher Education. The results also have important implications at a strategic level, with regard to resourcing and staffing issues.

4.

Designing for One's Dotage: Ubicomp and Residential Care Facilities

Authors: Richard Beckwith and Scott Lederer

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an ethnographic study of a community living with ubiquitous computing. The community is contained within a sensor-rich environment and, most importantly, the sensors themselves are central to how people think about the environment. This widespread use of technology is being done in an effort to enhance the quality of life for the residents and the accountability of the staff. Our research into the lives of these people is meant to support interface and service design for a ubiquitous computing environment.