Social technologies for sharing practice

PERSoNA, Planet, Streamline projects:Janet Finlay, John Gray, Jim Hensman,

Wendy Luker

Introducing the projects

• PERSoNA: Personal Engagement with Repositories through Social Networking Applications (Leeds Met)

• Planet: Pattern language network (Leeds Met, Coventry, Glasgow Caledonian, Kings College, LKL)

• Streamline: Integrating repository function with work practice (Leeds Met)

Sharing practice• Two elements of sharing practice:

– Sharing content (material, what I use)– Sharing experience (activity, what I do)

• Teaching practice highly contextualised – losing this loses value– Need to know not only what but where and why– Writing a paper is not the best way to share teaching

practice• Sharing practice effectively facilitates reuse

– telling me is not useful if I cannot act

Sharing practice projects

PERSoNAPERSoNA

StreamlineStreamlinePlanetPlanet

Sharing contentSharing content

Sharing experience

Sharing experience

Social technologies for sharing practice

PERSoNAPERSoNA

StreamlineStreamlinePlanetPlanet

Sharing contentSharing content

Sharing experience

Sharing experience

Community Wiki

Facebook Delicious

Blogging Twitter

Web AppsTagging

Sharing outwards: Wordpress, flickr, slideshare, Youtube, Facebook

Sharingwithin:Google docsGoogle Groups

The Planet Wikihttp://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/

• Supports the Planet project and community in its main roles– Collecting case studies/stories– Identifying and refining patterns– Using these in new scenarios– Mapping patterns and creating a language– Pattern store and search host– Supporting the project team and project management– Document/Presentation/Information resource– Tagging and API (Linking to other systems)

PERSoNA: a new approach

Traditional repository

Multi-purpose environment

Work flow

Modular repository

Habit/inertia

Terminology

Usability

Widget technology

Dynamic environmentSocial tagging

SlideShare

Web 2.0

Flickr

http://leedsmetrep.wordpress.com

Sharing about the project

• Project blogs• Flickr/Slideshare/Youtube/Facebook• Syndicated content into Emerge Elgg site• Twittered about key posts• Took part in synchronous online conferences• Took part in asynchronous discussion forums

Sharing within project

• All of the above plus– Google groups– Google docs– Google code

• Public – private divide?• Managing spaces – keep it simple

Embedding sharing practice• Sharing experience:

– Provide spaces: online and face to face – disciplinary teams, course teams, teaching and learning staff

– Use a simple structure (e.g. Planet process)– Value sharing practice (as you value sharing research)

• Sharing content– Support process of using repository – staff, tools (e.g.

Streamline)– Encourage sharing

• Mechanisms e.g. Persona• Rewards

– Consider licensing and IPR up front and be explicit

Embedding social technologies

• Don’t legislate – facilitate• Make use of social technologies but don’t

neglect face to face• Keep it simple• Share what works

Over to you

• How is practice shared in your institution?• What works?• How might you use social technologies to

facilitate sharing in your context? • What issues/challenges would you face?