- Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
UK
Dr. Katy Jordan
University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education, Department Member
In the past decade, a number of online social networking sites (SNS) have been introduced. As a result of their popularity, several SNS aimed at the academic community have been launched. This poster focuses upon one affordance of... more
In the past decade, a number of online social networking sites (SNS) have been introduced. As a result of their popularity, several SNS aimed at the academic community have been launched. This poster focuses upon one affordance of academic SNS: the utility to pose questions to the wider community, by analysing a sample of questions from the Academia.edu platform. This study set out to explore the types of questions academics pose to a specifically academic SNS, in terms of both the topics and question types.
Research Interests:
Jordan, K. (2013) Emerging and potential learning analytics from MOOCs. Presentation given at 'Let the Learners Speak for themselves: The Potential of Learning Analytics and Big Data', 8th 'What the research says' seminar, London... more
Jordan, K. (2013) Emerging and potential learning analytics from MOOCs. Presentation given at 'Let the Learners Speak for themselves: The Potential of Learning Analytics and Big Data', 8th 'What the research says' seminar, London Knowledge Lab, 21st March 2013.
Research Interests:
Jordan, K. (2011) What is social bookmarking? Lunchtime talk given at London Knowledge Lab, 9th November 2011.
This lunchtime seminar aims to give a brief introduction for beginners to the concept of the semantic web, what is meant by the term semantic technologies, and reviewing a selection of tools which have been created by educational... more
This lunchtime seminar aims to give a brief introduction for beginners to the concept of the semantic web, what is meant by the term semantic technologies, and reviewing a selection of tools which have been created by educational practitioners using the Simile toolkit.
Jordan, K. and Johnstone, K. (2009) Exploring 3D Molecular Structures with Exhibit. Poster presented at Ensemble Project seminar, 8th January 2009, St John's College, Cambridge
The learning object which is the focus of the presentation was subsequently awarded first place in the Jorum leaarning and teaching awards.
"Ensemble: Semantic Technologies for the Enhancement of Case Based Learning" is a major project within the ESRC/EPSRC's Technology Enhanced Learning Programme. An interdisciplinary research team is working with teachers and students at... more
"Ensemble: Semantic Technologies for the Enhancement of Case Based Learning" is a major project within the ESRC/EPSRC's Technology Enhanced Learning Programme. An interdisciplinary research team is working with teachers and students at the University of Cambridge and City University, London, to explore the potential of the Semantic Web 'vision' and of specific 'semantic technologies' in supporting and enhancing teaching and learning in areas where case based learning is used to address complex, controversial or rapidly changing learning domains.
The Semantic Web (or "Web 3.0") is envisaged as "an extension of the current Web in which information is given well-defined meaning ... data on the Web [is] defined and linked in a way that it can be used for more effective discovery, automation, integration, and reuse across various applications" (Semantic Web Activity Statement, 2001). However this vision has yet to have significant impact on teaching and learning activities and environments; the 'Educational Semantic Web' is, as Allert (2004) describes it, a "space ready to be filled with meaning".
As part of preparation for the main project which begins in October 2008, a series of pilot projects have taken place, involving students, teachers, software developers and researchers who have used and evaluated the SIMILE Semantic Web Toolkit developed at MIT. The majority of the presenters are student researchers employed under the 'Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme' (UROP), who used their perspective as 'expert learners' to engage critically with the curriculum content of their courses and to participate on equal terms with teachers and software developers as part of an extended, interdisciplinary 'community of enquiry'.
This symposium/workshop will present the results of some of these pilot projects. An initial overview of the background to the project and some of the emerging issues and themes will be followed by short presentations of four demonstrator projects (details of each of these are included as separate abstracts). These include examples drawn from across disciplines and demonstrate different applications of semantic technologies.
Participants in the symposium/workshop will the have an opportunity to engage in discussions with the presenters in a 'round-table' format which will be further supported by a poster display. Rather than having a formal discussant role, a chaired 'panel discussion' will allow participants to offer responses to the presentations. We expect that this session will initiate a continuing dialogue about the potential, nature and scope of 'Web 3.0' for education.
The Semantic Web (or "Web 3.0") is envisaged as "an extension of the current Web in which information is given well-defined meaning ... data on the Web [is] defined and linked in a way that it can be used for more effective discovery, automation, integration, and reuse across various applications" (Semantic Web Activity Statement, 2001). However this vision has yet to have significant impact on teaching and learning activities and environments; the 'Educational Semantic Web' is, as Allert (2004) describes it, a "space ready to be filled with meaning".
As part of preparation for the main project which begins in October 2008, a series of pilot projects have taken place, involving students, teachers, software developers and researchers who have used and evaluated the SIMILE Semantic Web Toolkit developed at MIT. The majority of the presenters are student researchers employed under the 'Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme' (UROP), who used their perspective as 'expert learners' to engage critically with the curriculum content of their courses and to participate on equal terms with teachers and software developers as part of an extended, interdisciplinary 'community of enquiry'.
This symposium/workshop will present the results of some of these pilot projects. An initial overview of the background to the project and some of the emerging issues and themes will be followed by short presentations of four demonstrator projects (details of each of these are included as separate abstracts). These include examples drawn from across disciplines and demonstrate different applications of semantic technologies.
Participants in the symposium/workshop will the have an opportunity to engage in discussions with the presenters in a 'round-table' format which will be further supported by a poster display. Rather than having a formal discussant role, a chaired 'panel discussion' will allow participants to offer responses to the presentations. We expect that this session will initiate a continuing dialogue about the potential, nature and scope of 'Web 3.0' for education.
In October 2006 the Department of Plant Sciences at Cambridge University began running its first undergraduate course based in a Sakai environment. Here, we will reflect on what we've learnt from this year and share our tips, focusing on... more
In October 2006 the Department of Plant Sciences at Cambridge University began running its first undergraduate course based in a Sakai environment. Here, we will reflect on what we've learnt from this year and share our tips, focusing on trends in usage by students from site stats and student feedback.
The Plant Sciences Pedagogy Project at the University of Cambridge is seeking to develop evidence-informed practice in small-group teaching and learning. Sakai, and particularly the wiki tool, has been used effectively to support... more
The Plant Sciences Pedagogy Project at the University of Cambridge is seeking to develop evidence-informed practice in small-group teaching and learning. Sakai, and particularly the wiki tool, has been used effectively to support research, staff development and student learning. This may be a useful development model for other institutions.
This poster visually summarises the experiences of two research associates within higher education who have worked through a cycle of collaborative action research, with the aim of improving the teaching and learning outcomes of small... more
This poster visually summarises the experiences of two research associates within higher education who have worked through a cycle of collaborative action research, with the aim of improving the teaching and learning outcomes of small group tutorials at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge.
With a background in the academic study of plant science we have been developing our knowledge of educational research theories and strategies during this research project, through our relationships with educational researchers at the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies (CARET).
Within the research project we take on the role of mediators between plant science lecturers, tutors and students in the Department of Plant Sciences and educational researchers at CARET and several other national and international university departments. This role has given us an insight into the value and nature of brokerage in higher education.
Our previous academic study has enabled us to develop skills in IT, statistics, and several forms of communication which, have been very valuable for the success of this collaborative project and have been used to create links within and between several academic networks.
This experience has highlighted the essentiality of occupying a liminal state within both the educational research and the plant sciences discipline in order to maintain the freedom to translate, coordinate and align the research objectives between both fields.
Our relationships and exchanges with academics within both disciplines are depicted in the light of our previous academic backgrounds and we try to acknowledge how our beliefs and theoretical perspectives affect these associations.
Within higher education short term contracts add a complexity to the mediator role as there is an additional need to maintain the flexibility to make future career moves back into the heart of our chosen disciplines. The process of analysing and confirming our role within the higher education community has alleviated our tendency to feel disconnected with our past and potential future academic communities, and we hope that this poster works towards developing shared mediator practices for academics in higher education.
With a background in the academic study of plant science we have been developing our knowledge of educational research theories and strategies during this research project, through our relationships with educational researchers at the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies (CARET).
Within the research project we take on the role of mediators between plant science lecturers, tutors and students in the Department of Plant Sciences and educational researchers at CARET and several other national and international university departments. This role has given us an insight into the value and nature of brokerage in higher education.
Our previous academic study has enabled us to develop skills in IT, statistics, and several forms of communication which, have been very valuable for the success of this collaborative project and have been used to create links within and between several academic networks.
This experience has highlighted the essentiality of occupying a liminal state within both the educational research and the plant sciences discipline in order to maintain the freedom to translate, coordinate and align the research objectives between both fields.
Our relationships and exchanges with academics within both disciplines are depicted in the light of our previous academic backgrounds and we try to acknowledge how our beliefs and theoretical perspectives affect these associations.
Within higher education short term contracts add a complexity to the mediator role as there is an additional need to maintain the flexibility to make future career moves back into the heart of our chosen disciplines. The process of analysing and confirming our role within the higher education community has alleviated our tendency to feel disconnected with our past and potential future academic communities, and we hope that this poster works towards developing shared mediator practices for academics in higher education.
Sudden Oak Death Syndrome (SODS) is used as a prevalent and topical case within the second year undergraduate Plant Sciences course at Cambridge to illustrate concepts in plant disease epidemiology. This disease has only appeared in... more
Sudden Oak Death Syndrome (SODS) is used as a prevalent and topical case within the second year undergraduate Plant Sciences course at Cambridge to illustrate concepts in plant disease epidemiology. This disease has only appeared in recent years, and research is ongoing to gain a better understanding of its biology and epidemiology.
Our project focused on applying the SIMILE toolkit - and specifically the 'Exhibit' web interface to the spatial representation of data associated with SODS. The Google Maps API was used as the basis of a scalable map which was overlaid with reported occurrences of the disease and other potentially significant factors, such as elevation and climatic conditions.
Our semantic tool was designed to allow learners to explore existing data related to the disease. The semantic elements of the tool allow the incorporation of new datasets into the map visualisation tool as they become available, which is particularly important given the contemporary nature of the case in question.
The development of this prototype tool yielded an insight into the challenges which face teachers and learners who wish to develop both Semantic Web data sources and the teaching and learning tools which make use of them. 'Exhibit' was successfully used by students working in a collaborative environment (along with teachers and software developers) to develop a potentially valuable and reusable tool for use by other students and teachers.
Our project focused on applying the SIMILE toolkit - and specifically the 'Exhibit' web interface to the spatial representation of data associated with SODS. The Google Maps API was used as the basis of a scalable map which was overlaid with reported occurrences of the disease and other potentially significant factors, such as elevation and climatic conditions.
Our semantic tool was designed to allow learners to explore existing data related to the disease. The semantic elements of the tool allow the incorporation of new datasets into the map visualisation tool as they become available, which is particularly important given the contemporary nature of the case in question.
The development of this prototype tool yielded an insight into the challenges which face teachers and learners who wish to develop both Semantic Web data sources and the teaching and learning tools which make use of them. 'Exhibit' was successfully used by students working in a collaborative environment (along with teachers and software developers) to develop a potentially valuable and reusable tool for use by other students and teachers.