Rebecca Ferguson
The Open University, Institute of Educational Technology, Faculty Member
- Educational Technology, E-learning, Distance Education, Mobile Learning, Digital Media & Learning, Lifelong Learning, and 17 moreTechnology Enhanced Learning, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), Online and Distance Education, Informal Learning, Online Education, Inclusive Education, Multimodality, Technology-mediated teaching and learning, Education History, Vygotsky, Dialogue, Computer Games Education, Academic Emotions and Motivation, Self-directed learning, Context Aware Technology Enhanced Learning, Co Operative Learning, and Affective response to learningedit
- In 140 characters… Professor emerita at The Open University UK, focused on educational futures, learning analytics, ... moreIn 140 characters…
Professor emerita at The Open University UK, focused on educational futures, learning analytics, online social learning and augmented education.
More information at
http://r3beccaf.wordpress.com/
and there is a more detailed set of publication details available at http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/rf2656.html
In more detail
I am currently a lecturer in the UK Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology, focused on Educational Futures. I am a co-investigator on the European-funded Learning Analytics Community Exchange (LACE) project. I also have a leading role in the evaluation of The Open University's MOOCs on FutureLearn.
My co-authored book, Augmented Education, was published by Palgrave in spring 2014. You can order a copy for yourself or your library on Amazon or, if that looks too expensive, you can also browse a very extensive preview there http://www.amazon.co.uk/Augmented-Education-Digital-Learning/dp/1137342811
In the past, I worked as research lead on the SocialLearn team, developing and researching initiatives to improve pedagogical understanding of learning in online settings, to design analytics to support the assessment of learning in these settings, and to extend the university’s ability to support learning in an open world. I have also lead work on Enquiry Blogger, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to develop blogging tools that support enquiry learning.
Since 2006, I have been a core team member of the Open University’s Schome project, working with UK and US teenagers online and in the virtual reality world of Second Life to develop ‘an education system for the information age’. During the same period, I have carried out a longitudinal study of Research Blogging together with two colleagues, which has twice reported results to date at ALT-C.
In addition, I have also been research lead on Learning to Know, Knowing to Learn. Funded by the university’s Children and Young People Research Group, this study investigated children’s use of online tools to support informal collaborative learning.edit
Our understanding of learning with technology is increasingly lagging behind technological advancements, such that it is no longer possible to fully understand learning with technologies without bringing together evidence from... more
Our understanding of learning with technology is increasingly lagging behind technological advancements, such that it is no longer possible to fully understand learning with technologies without bringing together evidence from practice-based experiences and theoretical insight to inform research, design, policy and practice. Furthermore, whilst practical experiences and theoretical insights make significant contributions towards understanding learning with new technologies, the dynamic nature of learner practices ...
Asynchronous online dialogue offers advantages to learners, but has appeared to involve only limited use of new literacy practices. To investigate this, a multimodal approach was applied to asynchronous dialogue. The study analysed the... more
Asynchronous online dialogue offers advantages to learners, but has appeared to involve only limited use of new literacy practices. To investigate this, a multimodal approach was applied to asynchronous dialogue. The study analysed the online discussions of small groups of university students as they developed collaboratively authored documents. Sociocultural discourse analysis of the dialogue was combined with visual analysis of its structural elements. The groups were found to employ new literacies that supported the ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Schome Park was a virtual island, set in the middle of a sunlit sea beyond which none of its inhabitants could wander. Like all islands, it had a limited set of resources and so the inhabitants had worked out a system of local governance... more
Schome Park was a virtual island, set in the middle of a sunlit sea beyond which none of its inhabitants could wander. Like all islands, it had a limited set of resources and so the inhabitants had worked out a system of local governance for allocating these. One day a newcomer, who had recently landed from the USA onto this island, dominated by Brits, approached the planning permission committee. Carefully observant of legal and procedural niceties, he set out his request, in writing, as required. He wanted to build a Gothic ...
A core goal for most learning analytic projects is to move from small scale research towards broader institutional implementation, but this introduces a new set of challenges because institutions are stable systems, resistant to change.... more
A core goal for most learning analytic projects is to move from small scale research towards broader institutional implementation, but this introduces a new set of challenges because institutions are stable systems, resistant to change. To avoid failure and maximize success, implementation of learning analytics at scale requires explicit and careful consideration of the entire TEL technology complex: the different groups of people involved, the educational beliefs and practices of those groups, the technologies they use and the specific environments within which they operate. It is crucial to provide not only the analytics and their associated tools, but also to begin with a clear strategic vision, to critically assess institutional culture, to identify potential barriers to adoption, to develop approaches to overcome these and to put in place appropriate forms of support, training and community building. In this paper, we provide tools and case studies that will support educational...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In this paper, we examine the state of the art in augmented reality (AR) for mobile learning. Previous work in the field of mobile learning has included AR as a component of a wider toolkit for mobile learning but, to date, little has... more
In this paper, we examine the state of the art in augmented reality (AR) for mobile learning. Previous work in the field of mobile learning has included AR as a component of a wider toolkit for mobile learning but, to date, little has been done that discusses the phenomenon in detail or that examines its potential for learning, in a balanced fashion that identifies both positive and negative aspects of AR. We seek to provide a working definition of AR and examine how it is embedded within situated learning in outdoor settings.
The Summer School taking place from 4-11 July on the beautiful island of Ischia in Italy is aimed at anyone interested in setting up and running a MOOC on EMMA. During this week long course you will learn: How to choose a MOOC approach... more
The Summer School taking place from 4-11 July on the beautiful island of Ischia in Italy is aimed at anyone interested in setting up and running a MOOC on EMMA. During this week long course you will learn:
How to choose a MOOC approach that best suits your resources and pedagogical objectives
How to design your MOOC according to best practice and sound instructional design principles
How to prepare your content for uploading, translation and transcription on the EMMA platform
How to deliver your MOOC to take advantage of the different functionalities possible within EMMA
How to use the monitoring and analytical functionalities of the platform to evaluate the success of your MOOC from both the learner and the provider perspective.
This summer school is being organised together with Federica Weblearning platform & The European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning (JTEL) and is running alongside the JTEL summer school with which it is sharing a number of exchange and collaboration opportunities.
How to choose a MOOC approach that best suits your resources and pedagogical objectives
How to design your MOOC according to best practice and sound instructional design principles
How to prepare your content for uploading, translation and transcription on the EMMA platform
How to deliver your MOOC to take advantage of the different functionalities possible within EMMA
How to use the monitoring and analytical functionalities of the platform to evaluate the success of your MOOC from both the learner and the provider perspective.
This summer school is being organised together with Federica Weblearning platform & The European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning (JTEL) and is running alongside the JTEL summer school with which it is sharing a number of exchange and collaboration opportunities.
Research Interests:
In this paper, we examine the state of the art in augmented reality (AR) for mobile learning. Previous work in the field of mobile learning has included AR as a component of a wider toolkit for mobile learning but, to date, little has... more
In this paper, we examine the state of the art in augmented reality (AR) for mobile learning. Previous work in the field of mobile learning has included AR as a component of a wider toolkit for mobile learning but, to date, little has been done that discusses the phenomenon in detail or that examines its potential for learning, in a balanced fashion that identifies both positive and negative aspects of AR. We seek to provide a working definition of AR and examine how it is embedded within situated learning in outdoor settings.
Abstract We describe the development and implementation of visual multimedia similarity search within a platform for social exchange of educational experiences and material to provide services for finding related media. The SocialLearn... more
Abstract We describe the development and implementation of visual multimedia similarity search within a platform for social exchange of educational experiences and material to provide services for finding related media. The SocialLearn project develops tools to support the building and exploration of personal learning networks. With the ever-increasing volumes of educational resources being made available, it is a challenge to find new material and forge appropriate learning pathways.
Abstract While generic web analytics tend to focus on easily harvested quantitative data, Learning Analytics will often seek qualitative understanding of the context and meaning of this information. This is critical in the case of... more
Abstract While generic web analytics tend to focus on easily harvested quantitative data, Learning Analytics will often seek qualitative understanding of the context and meaning of this information. This is critical in the case of dialogue, which may be employed to share knowledge and jointly construct understandings, but which also involves many superficial exchanges.
Abstract: Learning analytics is a significant area of technology-‐enhanced learning that has emerged during the last decade. This review of the field begins with an examination of the technological, educational and political factors that... more
Abstract: Learning analytics is a significant area of technology-‐enhanced learning that has emerged during the last decade. This review of the field begins with an examination of the technological, educational and political factors that have driven the development of analytics in educational settings. It goes on to chart the emergence of learning analytics, including their origins in the 20th century, the development of data-‐driven analytics, the rise of learning-‐focused perspectives and the influence of national economic concerns.
ISSN 1436-4522.© International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal... more
ISSN 1436-4522.© International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than IFETS must be honoured. Abstracting with credit is permitted.
Online social learning involves distributed learners interacting through the use of Web 2.0. In many cases, Web 2.0 interactions are limited to information exchange and do not provoke knowledge construction. Studies of concept mapping... more
Online social learning involves distributed learners interacting through the use of Web 2.0. In many cases, Web 2.0 interactions are limited to information exchange and do not provoke knowledge construction. Studies of concept mapping suggest that engaging with social learning via a question could encourage meaningful interaction, although this would be likely to depend upon affective conditions and the effort involved in asking and responding to these questions.
Our understanding of learning with technology is increasingly lagging behind technological advancements, such that it is no longer possible to fully understand learning with technologies without bringing together evidence from... more
Our understanding of learning with technology is increasingly lagging behind technological advancements, such that it is no longer possible to fully understand learning with technologies without bringing together evidence from practice-based experiences and theoretical insight to inform research, design, policy and practice.
The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students over a four-year period. An initial, one-year, pilot focused on the research blogs of three first-year doctoral students (Ferguson, Clough,... more
The study described in this paper investigated the use of research blogs by postgraduate students over a four-year period. An initial, one-year, pilot focused on the research blogs of three first-year doctoral students (Ferguson, Clough, & Hosein, 2007). Analysis indicated that blogs were used to promote a community where students were encouraged to reflect and share ideas, skills and stories of research life. The blogs also acted as memory repositories and encouraged collaboration.
This paper examines ethical and social issues which have proved important when initiating and creating educational spaces within a virtual environment. It focuses on one project, identifying the key decisions made, the barriers to new... more
This paper examines ethical and social issues which have proved important when initiating and creating educational spaces within a virtual environment. It focuses on one project, identifying the key decisions made, the barriers to new practice encountered and the impact these had on the project. It demonstrates the importance of the 'backstage'ethical and social issues involved in the creation of a virtual education community and offers conclusions, and questions, which will inform future research and practice in this area.
Abstract The language of mentoring has become established within the workplace and has gained ground within education. As work based education moves online so we see an increased use of what is termed e-mentoring. In this paper we explore... more
Abstract The language of mentoring has become established within the workplace and has gained ground within education. As work based education moves online so we see an increased use of what is termed e-mentoring. In this paper we explore some of the challenges of forming and supporting mentoring relationships virtually, and we explore the solutions afforded by online social learning and Web 2.0.
Summary Virtual 3D worlds such as Second Life2 and online gaming environments are attracting educationalists' interest. This paper reports upon the first European Teen Second Life educational project for 13-17 year olds: the Schome Park... more
Summary Virtual 3D worlds such as Second Life2 and online gaming environments are attracting educationalists' interest. This paper reports upon the first European Teen Second Life educational project for 13-17 year olds: the Schome Park NAGTY (National Association for Gifted and Talented Youth) Pilot. This project aimed to collect evidence about fresh approaches to education beyond the existing curricula of formal schooling through exploring the educational potentials and pitfalls of Second Life.
Schome Park was a virtual island, set in the middle of a sunlit sea beyond which none of its inhabitants could wander. Like all islands, it had a limited set of resources and so the inhabitants had worked out a system of local governance... more
Schome Park was a virtual island, set in the middle of a sunlit sea beyond which none of its inhabitants could wander. Like all islands, it had a limited set of resources and so the inhabitants had worked out a system of local governance for allocating these. One day a newcomer, who had recently landed from the USA onto this island, dominated by Brits, approached the planning permission committee. Carefully observant of legal and procedural niceties, he set out his request, in writing, as required.
Asynchronous online forums such as FirstClass are frequently used in many educational settings to link networks of learners. They offer opportunities for knowledge-building dialogue and for the exchange of learning resources, but many... more
Asynchronous online forums such as FirstClass are frequently used in many educational settings to link networks of learners. They offer opportunities for knowledge-building dialogue and for the exchange of learning resources, but many students struggle to make effective use of them. Researchers have therefore been concerned to investigate how learners successfully build knowledge together in online forums and which skills and literacies are likely to help users to learn in these environments.
Abstract This paper examines leadership practices in a virtual community, the Schome Park project. Schome Park, based at the Open University, UK, was the first European closed (ie protected) island in Teen Second Life, a multi-user 3D... more
Abstract This paper examines leadership practices in a virtual community, the Schome Park project. Schome Park, based at the Open University, UK, was the first European closed (ie protected) island in Teen Second Life, a multi-user 3D virtual environment. This fully realised, complex interactive 3D environment has no imposed narrative and offers significant engagement for educational projects.
The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR–www. solaresearch. org) is an inter-disciplinary network of leading international researchers who are exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, training and... more
The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR–www. solaresearch. org) is an inter-disciplinary network of leading international researchers who are exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, training and development. Our mission as an organization is to: a) pursue the development of research opportunities in learning analytics and educational data mining, b) increase the profile of learning analytics in educational contexts, and c) serve as an advocate for learning analytics to policy makers
Abstract This paper proposes that Social Learning Analytics (SLA) can be usefully thought of as a subset of learning analytics approaches. SLA focuses on how learners build knowledge together in their cultural and social settings. In the... more
Abstract This paper proposes that Social Learning Analytics (SLA) can be usefully thought of as a subset of learning analytics approaches. SLA focuses on how learners build knowledge together in their cultural and social settings. In the context of online social learning, it takes into account both formal and informal educational environments, including networks and communities. The paper introduces the broad rationale for SLA by reviewing some of the key drivers that make social learning so important today.
Blogs provide environments within which people can articulate, refine and reflect on practice. These characteristics make them useful for learners who are developing the practical skills and learning dispositions that are associated with... more
Blogs provide environments within which people can articulate, refine and reflect on practice. These characteristics make them useful for learners who are developing the practical skills and learning dispositions that are associated with authentic enquiry. The EnquiryBlogger tool is being developed to extend the core features of a robust, open source blogging platform in order to support awareness and reflection for enquiry-based learners.
Mentoring supports the processes of becoming self-aware of personal beliefs and engaging with a topic of concern in a reflective manner. With new media, new opportunities and new means for mentoring have arisen. In this contribution, we... more
Mentoring supports the processes of becoming self-aware of personal beliefs and engaging with a topic of concern in a reflective manner. With new media, new opportunities and new means for mentoring have arisen. In this contribution, we outline how an established face-to-face mentoring process has been 'translated'into an online mentoring system. The paper outlines the design decisions made for an initial online mentoring system supporting mentees to gain self-awareness of and to reflect about life-long learning skills.
This chapter examines the meaning of 'open'in terms of tools, resources and education, and goes on to explore the association between open approaches to education and the development of online social learning. It considers why this form... more
This chapter examines the meaning of 'open'in terms of tools, resources and education, and goes on to explore the association between open approaches to education and the development of online social learning. It considers why this form of learning is emerging so strongly at this point, what its underlying principles are, and how it can be defined.
We propose that the design and implementation of effective Social Learning Analytics (SLA) present significant challenges and opportunities for both research and enterprise, in three important respects. The first is that the learning... more
We propose that the design and implementation of effective Social Learning Analytics (SLA) present significant challenges and opportunities for both research and enterprise, in three important respects. The first is that the learning landscape is extraordinarily turbulent at present, in no small part due to technological drivers. Online social learning is emerging as a significant phenomenon for a variety of reasons, which we review, in order to motivate the concept of social learning.