[Asis-l] EQ > "Where Do You Learn?": Tweeting to Inform Learning Space Development

[gerrymck]

By Elizabeth J. Aspden and Louise P. Thorpe

EDUCAUSE Quarterly (EQ) » EQ Archives » EQ Volume 32 (2009) » Volume
32, Number 1, 2009 »

Key Takeaways >

 •Emerging technologies and applications can extend traditional
approaches to data generation and can be used effectively in
institutional planning.

•Having participants provide real-time information offers valuable
behavioral insights in context, rather than relying on information
recall.

•Using a method where data is shared and emerging — as opposed to
controlled and presented summatively — enables informed decisions
about ongoing projects and developments.

Learning environment development has been a key part of the Academic
Innovation Team’s remit for a number of years at Sheffield Hallam
University (UK) ... . Beginning with our research into the impact of
e-learning on the student experience in 2002 — and recognizing the way
e-learning influenced students’ views of physical spaces — we started
to look more closely at the ways in which our students and faculty use
on-campus spaces, and at ways in which our environments needed to
evolve. A recurring theme that emerged was the importance of
serendipitous meetings and the ad hoc use of those "in between" times:
in between taught sessions, in between focused study, in between study
and home.

Student Use of Informal Spaces

By 2007–8 a particular focus of ours was students’ use of informal
learning spaces. We set out to develop an understanding of different
patterns of informal learning and to examine how we can support these
through effective provision of space, resources, and integrated online
and face-to-face activities.

[snip]


Tweet, Tweet: What Are You Doing?

In early 2008 we were looking for an innovative data-generation method
to support our work.[snip]

At the time, one of the authors was using Twitter as part of an
established and active network; the other had just started
experimenting with it and was on the verge of abandoning it. After
all, there’s a limit to the number of times you can update (or tweet)
"sat at my desk…" to an audience of people in the same office and
still believe that there’s a point! It was registering her phone to
enable short message service (SMS) updates on the go that convinced
her to think about the possibility of harnessing this succinct,
mobile, always on technology as a sort of micro-diary. What if we
could take Twitter’s "What are you doing?" prompt and instead ask
"Where are you learning?" Could we get students to send tweets that
would offer insights into their learning patterns, activities, and
environmental triggers?

We recruited 15 students to take part in a two-week study. During this
time ...  we asked each participant to:

•Register for a Twitter account and tweet an average of three times
per day about their learning activities and the spaces they were
using;

•Provide three longer summaries per week offering additional
information on points of interest selected by us (for example, "You
mention working in x location — what is it about this space that works
for you?"); and

•Take part in a final reflective interview at the end of the fortnight.

Only one participant had used Twitter before, but with a five-minute
introduction to the application, all the students managed to use it
successfully and easily. Most chose to register their phones to allow
SMS tweets and used a combination of PC- and phone-based updates.
Using a dedicated project account (@learningspaces), we were able to
track and collate the tweets of our participants.

[snip] ... [T]hose students who expressed an interest in participating
mentioned specific benefits as contributing to their willingness to
take part:

•Benefits for themselves: "Taking part would encourage me to open my
eyes more of what I do day to day to learn!"

•Benefits for their programs of study: "I feel that it would benefit
me within my field of study."

•Benefits for on-campus spaces: "Me and my friends are always
complaining about where we can study, so this could improve the spaces
available to us."

[snip]

Benefits of Twitter for Data Collection

The benefits of using Twitter over more traditional diary-based data
includes the ability for participants to update anytime, almost
anywhere, and through a variety of devices that are integral to their
lives (cell phones, laptops, desktop PCs). [snip]

•Their environment: "I’m in collegiate learning centre doing group
work in the main part downstairs! It’s quite distracting and it’s
really hot in here!"

•The resources they are using: "In Adsetts quiet area revising. Just
books, not computer."

•The sorts of activities they are involved with: "Tuesday evening,
muddled study at home, cooking, sorting out car to menders, family,
laptop runs in conservatory and gets picked at."

The limited length of tweets — 140 characters — meant that updates
were concise and focused on the key question. This also encouraged
participants to be selective in capturing the most significant aspects
to share.

The use of Twitter as the collection tool contributed an additional
dimension to the diary-based data by making the data visible to the
community in real time. [snip]

Using an emergent technology based on community and sharing to gather
research data also changed the nature of the relationship between the
participants, the researcher, and the wider community. [snip]

On occasion, the participants and researcher used the direct-message
facility on Twitter to send private communications, although most of
the time e-mail was used as a back channel for queries, instructions,
or follow-up requests.[snip]

As Twitter use becomes more embedded in everyday life  ... , some
interesting conversational models are emerging. Consequently, we
expect that researchers and participants alike would feel more
comfortable using Twitter in this way than we did in early 2008.

Stories to Help Decision Making

To aid longer term planning and decision making, we created a set of
10 personal stories based on the data collected from the individuals
involved in the study.

[snip]

We are using these stories internally to initiate and frame dialogue
with key decision makers, drawing upon students’ rich personal
experiences to inform the facilities, services, and opportunities we
offer to learners. The @learningspaces account is continuing its life
as an alternative communications channel.

Twitter proved to be a valuable tool for data generation, particularly
when combined with the slightly longer summaries. To further enrich
the data, it would be interesting to look at using the text-based
information with photos ... .

Using Web 2.0 for Evaluation on Your Campus?

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As Previously Requested > I Am Greatly Interested In Any / All Library
; Educational Uses / Applications Of Twitter / Other Microblogging
Technologies || Please Post As A Comment(s) On The Blog Entry ...
Thanks A Million !!!

 Regards,

/Gerry

Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University Library
Ames IA 50011

gerrymck at iastate.edu

There Is No Answer, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying

The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed
Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace