Post on 21-Feb-2023
Department of Education
University of Siena
25-26 October 2014 – Columbia University NY
Transformative Learning and Social networks.
Workplace, School and Informal Educational Settings
by Claudio Melacarne, Loretta Fabbri
What about the research group…
¨ Three universities involved
¨ Two years long ¨ Funded by Tuscany Region (Italy) € 530,000
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
Digital Learning
- On average of people who use S.N. is 37% - The online courses in and out workplaces are growing
Is it an opportunity to promote TL? If so, how can we plan on-line setting to support TL?
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
Region % of population in each group at 2014 (Emarketer.com)
North America 53%
Western Europe 44%
Central and Eastern Europe 44%
Latin America 40%
Asia- Pacific 22%
Middle East and Africa 18%
The research objectives
¨ Different contexts ¨ Online settings
¨ Organizational conditions
Transformative Learning
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
The point of view
¨ Transformation needs specific conditions to happen
¨ The learning is a mediated process and technology is increasingly the medium we use everyday to learn
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
The contexts
Schools Workplace Informal adult groups
- Digital Natives - Formal learning - Age: 15-18
- No familiarity in the use of SN - Non formal learning - Age: 30-50
- No familiarity in the use of SN - Informal learning - Age: 50-60
Why?
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
What we asked the 3 communities to do…
Community of students
Sonna Platform
Community of adults
Community of doctors
Research group
Would you be interested in working/studying with a new on-
line platform to resolve a problem of yours?
- A platform mixed with Facebook - A friendly platform where you can learn using a ‘serious game’
How we worked: the 4 work packages
WP1 – Understand the situated knowledge
WP2 – Plan the tools to support learning processes (Sonna online platform)
WP3 – Coaching and supporting the users (5 workshops for each group)
WP4 – Support the stabilisation of the platform in the community
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
a) Engage the group sharing the
contents
The data
Using Sonna Platform we can monitoring whole users’ activities in personal Facebook profile too
¨ Overall, the platform has registered about 2.600 accesses
¨ The platform has traced the publication of content on the 113 content management system, 51 of which have been modified several times over the course of the trial
¨ The users involved in the experiment from 16 October 2012 to 13 January 2013 made about 222.000 comments, 4.000 feeds, 174.000 links posted, 386.000 “likes”
Findings. The theoretical and practical implications
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
① The technological practices embodied in the 3 communities
② Different type of learning (instrumental, communicative and transformative learning) ③ The online and organizational settings
① Why do they use SNs or Technological tools in their communities?
Social Network
Technological practices
Professional or education problems
Personal and informal problems
Hospital: Medical problem
Formal communication
Schools
Informal adults group
① How do they use SNs or Technological tools? Social Network
Technological practices
Share information
Build new knowledge
Hospital
Schools
Informal adults group
The limits of theories and practices in use in the communities involved
¨ Why are you asking me to use my ‘personal identity’ to work into a ‘formal setting’?
¨ Why do I have to use a “serious game” to learn something?
¨ How can I trust the information if I don’t know your formal role?
¨ Role Vs Identity
¨ Game Vs Serious issues
¨ Ambiguity of the SNs communication
① What do they think about the suggested use of our on-line platform?
② Different types of learning
Subjects who used the platform told us in the interviews and in a final questioner that it was important to understand what someone means when they communicate through the platform.
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
SNs opportunities + developing communicative learning processes − developing instrumental or transformative learning processes
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
③ The online and organizational settings (SNs)
+ Fast feedback (1 day) + The goals have to be satisfied in a short time + Blended approach (reducing the ambiguity) + Do not mix personal and professional issues + Align the on-line work (SNs) with the organizational strategies
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
Suggestions. Are SNs an opportunity to promote TL? Yes, but…
¨ Fast
¨ Oriented and situated ¨ Blended
F
O
B
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
Contact us to share projects and researches:
claudio.melacarne@unisi.t
loretta.fabbri@unisi.it
https://unisi.academia.edu/CMelacarne
Thank you…
Claudio Melacarne – Loretta Fabbri
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