Educational Web 2.0 Researcher

Moving experience

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:59:00 +0000

I have moved this blog to http://ashleytan.edublogs.org/.

Waiting and thinking

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:48:00 +0000

The official deadline for the IDM grant proposal submission has come and gone. I had to submit the documents in a system called RITA.

RITA seemed to have PMS and made everyone around her suffer. The administration system for the proposals was about as enjoyable as pulling your own teeth without numbing agents.

The real waiting game begins while the proposal is evaluated over the next couple of months. In the meantime, I am going on a "publicity" drive to promote Web 2.0 since I have workshops to organise and talks to give. I am thinking of representing the educational affordances of Web 2.0 with the PARTICIPATE framework:

-Production (user-generated content)
-Active learning (vs passive consumption)
-ReflecTive learning
-Independent learning
-Collaborative learning
-Informal learning
-Personal (ownership of learning)
-Alternative assessment
-Transformative teaching and learning
-Emergent uses

D-Day

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:39:00 +0000

Today is D-Day. Sort of.

The IDM proposals are due today for an internal review by “unseen” colleagues. The actual deadline is 15 October 2007, but I guess as professionals and Ph.D. holders, we still need some hand-holding so that we do not soil the name of our parent institutes. (Note: Tongue firmly in cheek!)

I am guessing that the actual deadline is also one that was pushed forward for yet another review process before the proposals go to “foreign talent” to review yet again. A rigorous process if you are asking for a large sum of money. All this for funding that you may only see in April 2008.

But I am grateful to my team of co-PIs who have made the writing process so much easier to live with. We even used a wiki (at my insistence) to co-write. That is saying a lot given how difficult changing mindsets can be...

IDM, here I come!

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:59:00 +0000

My synopsis for an IDM project has been accepted and I have been invited to write a full proposal. So now the real writing begins!

I like to think of it as "how to ask for a seven-figure sum of tax-payers' money." All this for research that might inform and transform practice!

Waiting, waiting

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:45:00 +0000

I am still waiting to hear from the powers-that-be about my IDM synopsis. If it goes through, there will be much work to do as my collaborators and I will then have to write a full proposal.

There is already a lot on my plate. Running the MxL, trying to build capacity and partners is a full-time job in itself! Oh, and here is the URL of the MxL: http://mxl.lst.nie.edu.sg.

Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:57:00 +0000

It was a year ago that I successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation.

Time flies whether you are having fun or not. I can't really complain so far! I have a start up grant to my name and am applying for a National Research Foundation grant. I am also now in charge of the Media Experiential (MxL) Studio.

More information on the MxL in due course.

Yes, no, YES!

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 15 May 2007 08:11:00 +0000

This is a potentially sensitive posting as I am writing about a grant application process. But I will focus on what I learned about the process. The opinions, however accurate they may be, are my own.

At the end of 2006, I was invited to submit an application for a start up grant offered by the university that I work for. I did and I was informed that I got it. However, I had to tweak my list of requests because I was not allowed to ask for research assistants. I tweaked the expenditure list and waited. And waited.

After hearing that other applicants had heard from the relevant office, I asked about my grant status. I was told that is was now not approved.

This news did a lot of damage. It flagged my morale and worse, pulled my reputation down. I had negotiated with vendors and lined up collaborators. But I did not have any money to support my efforts.

I pursued the matter as much as I could, but the process was not transparent and the office that dished out the grants did not give me any answers. I was encouraged by two more experienced colleagues to apply for bigger and better grants. I took their advice and started all over again.

At the beginning of May, I received an email telling me that the grant office changed their minds. The grant was mine again. I have the approval letter and am gleefully running through the red tape that administrative machines generate.

What have I learned?

Keep asking "why?" even if I don't get a straight answer. Sometimes it pays to be a pest.
Let key people know what I am doing and why those things are important. Make my work valuable and sell it to the right people.
Make sure that people put their money where their mouth is. I keep being told that I have good ideas and that policymakers will support my efforts. But administrators don't have a clue. Until they approve the grant and I have a hardcopy and grant reference numbers in my hand, there is no deal.

Valuable lessons indeed. And I am applying these lessons in the bigger grant that I am still applying for.

Wiki weakness?

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:23:00 +0000

Wikis seem to have become my Web 2.0 "experimental flavour" of the moment.

I have FIVE different wikis, all hosted at http://www.pbwiki.com. I have one for the Masters class I was teaching earlier this year, a service learning class that stretches over two semesters, a wiki for my trainee teachers' practicum "files", an administrative wiki for my department, and a personal wiki that I use for training and recording research ideas.

I chose PBwiki for two main reasons: it was very easy to set up and it has a WYSIWYG editing tool that I like.

Renaming?

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:20:00 +0000

I really should rename this blog. I am no longer just a blog researcher, I am a web 2.0 researcher!

Tablet PCs: Not a difficult to swallow

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:39:00 +0000

In addition to my new focus on Web 2.0, I have been invited to be a consultant for educational uses of tablet and slate PCs.

It's good money and might generate some interesting ideas for research on the side. So why not?

Research 2.0!

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:33:00 +0000

I seem to be swinging from one area of research to another. It's almost like being a graduate student in search of a dissertation topic all over again!

But I have found a way to establish a clear research agenda. I recently applied for a startup research grant and got it. I was pleasantly surprised because it was quite competitive and I had only two days to put it together.

I am now concentrating on Web 2.0 technologies. Specifically, I would like to know if they can live up to their potential in the educational arena. I am particularly interested in how they might transform pedagogy (the science and art of teaching).

I will need to read up more on examples of use as well as any empirical research. I would like to avoid publishing anecdotes unless something I do is truly outstanding.

Lull

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 11:56:00 +0000

The end of semester break is a good time to recuperate! I am giving teaching and formulating a "new" research agenda a break... I have better things to do with my leave! I love spending time with my family and have a new place to renovate!

Readings

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:22:00 +0000

I am about to start reading two different books in my quest to re-establish a research agenda.

The first book is What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy by J P Gee. I am reading this as I am part of the Interactive Digital Media (IDM)/Multiliteracies reading group in my department.

The second book is Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms by W Richardson. I came across this title when I revisited some RSS feeds I had accumulated and this book was mentioned in an EdTechTalk podcast. The main reason why I am reading this book (other than personal interest) is that a funding opportunity may come my way to pursue research in Web 2.0 technologies. Exciting stuff!

Playing games?

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:04:00 +0000

I find myself being pushed into the area of educational games. Not the wham, blam, no thank you m'am games, but games that may be part of the Interactive Digital Media (IDM) movement. For example, Dafur Is Dying, the McDonald's Game (no, it's not created or sanctioned by the golden arches), and Global Conflict: Palestine. The BBC has an article on the Dafur and Palestine games.

IDM is a lot more complicated that its name reveals and it will probably take a fairly thick book to explain what IDM is. A quick search on "Interactive Digital Media" will reveal a variety of definitions, all not particularly adequate. I base the inadequacy of the definitions on the fact that most definitions focus primarily on the technical aspects of IDM. The documents that I am currently privvy to (and to my knowledge unpublished) focus on the built-in pedagogy and social interaction of IDM products such as games.

IDM seems set to wash over the Singapore's educational landscape like a huge wave. I don't know if it is a fad, but much research funding and efforts will go that way. Here in NIE and Singapore, the funding and research is meant to transform pedagogy and change the way we prepare preservice teachers.

As a reminder to myself: One of the desired outcomes of the IDM movement is media literacy. A handy bookmark on this topic is the Center for Media Literacy.

Research takes a backseat?

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:55:00 +0000

Currently I do not have the luxury of thinking about, much less embarking on, a research agenda. With the number of classes I have, I do not have a choice but to focus on teaching.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching, which is one reason why I became an educator in the first place. Teaching is both energizing and tiring at the same time (any good teacher will know what I am talking about)! In fact, if I was given a role where I did not teach, I would be a happy man.

But gazing into my crystal ball, I see myself taking roles within the department, and possibly in the organization, that will take a significant portion of time away from both teaching and researching. More on this when the haze lifts…

New directions

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 04:56:00 +0000

Now that I am back in Singapore, I have had to re-examine my research agenda. Sadly, funding opportunities seem rare for reflection-based studies. Perhaps people are afraid of what they might see in the mirror!

I find myself getting involved in two other areas of research. One is the use of e-portfolios for young learners (six and seven year-olds). There are oppourtunities to explore interface design issues in the initial phase and learning issues during implementation. Two critical learning outcome issues could be the levels of reflection by young learners and the validlity of e-portfolios as an alternative assessment tool. Yet another learning issue is impact of e-portfolio use on the stress levels of such young learners.

The other main area of research revolves around a collaborative project with Futurelab, a UK-based company. The plan is to develop a prototype of a cutting edge educational game. Why get involved? Firstly, I like what the company stands for: learning and pedagogy before technology. Second, the examples they presented and the research they have done backs up this central principle. However, I will need to carve out a role and define my own research questions if I become a more permanent fixture in this collaboration.

Forms, forms, forms

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 02:05:00 +0000

I ran the gamut of red tape and filled out what should be my very last forms in IU.

Despite being able to submit my dissertation electronically, there were still forms to fill (one to say that it was submitted electronically!) and fee upon fee to pay. A colleague of mine alerted me to a fee increase and I paid those fees the day before they went up! Phew!

So does that make me Dr So and So now? Not officially. The paperwork will say that my graduation date is July 31. Not that it matters really. I return to Singapore on July 30 and start work on August 1. Talk about hitting the ground running!

Dissertation defended

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 01:45:00 +0000

I am doing some back postings as I have been caught up in a whirlwind of activity!

I successfully defended my disseration! I have some edits to make, but they are not major. My greatest "concern" now is balancing three needs: doing rewrites, packing up to return home, and watching World Cup matches!

But, boy, does it feel good to get the defence over and done with!

Process: Final draft

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Wed, 31 May 2006 05:02:00 +0000

I am currently editing the “final draft” of my dissertation. I had submitted it to the chairperson of my dissertation committee for critique and got some great feedback. Fortunately, I have relatively simple edits to make. Phew!

On reflection, I noticed that my writing got progressively worse! I am normally very anal-retentive about grammar and sentence structure, but there were so many unnecessary errors in my final chapter… I felt so unprofessional!

My excuse (probably along with everyone else’s) is writing fatigue. I guess writing fatigue is the lesser evil compared to writer’s block!

Anyway, I should have a final edited copy delivered to all members of my committee within the next few days. This will give them just over two weeks to read it.

Then the slaughter/defense begins!

Misc: Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 18:18:00 +0000

I was asked to present at a doctoral colloquium today.

I am making my presentation and supporting files available HERE to anyone who is interested.

The ZIP file is password protected. This allows me to keep track of interested parties and possibly to network. Please contact me by email if you would like to extract the files. Thanks!

Update: Computer crash!

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:04:00 +0000

Catastrophic hard disk failure… the mere mention of that is probably enough to make anyone cry! But this happens to other people and at non-critical moments, right? It happened to me two days ago!

It seemed like an awful “after April Fool’s” prank when the hard drive on my trusty laptop died suddenly. I say trusty because my two-year-old laptop (Acer Aspire 2000 series) joined me on the asphalt in a road accident last July. It was a minor miracle that it did not conk out sooner!

I tried replacing the hard disk with a new one and reinstalling using a boot CD but the CD drive also died! Fortunately, I had data and program backups in an external hard disk and more recent data in a thumb drive and online. Ah, backups… the lifeline of the anal-retentive!

I bought a cheap laptop replacement (Compaq V2405) yesterday and have spent the last day reinstalling and customizing.

What a scare! Better now than later I guess. An important “later” is my dissertation defense, which I have scheduled for June 19, 2006.

Process: Writing

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 05:20:00 +0000

After a hiatus, I have resumed writing my dissertation.

I had to take a break from my writing not because I needed one or because I was collecting data. I coordinate the efforts of the instructors of the technology integration course that I teach online. As the other instructors are new, I also guide them based on my experience.

That was the easy part and something I enjoy doing. It was the unexpected surprise that we had to make changes to the course a few weeks into the semester that caught me off guard. Suffice to say that the changes were politically-motivated and I'll leave it at that. As instructors, we stood in the middle and of the "powers-that-be" and our students and did what we had to do. Needless to say that it was time-consuming.

But I am glad to regain my focus despite this setback. I have revisted the first three chapters of my disseration and am in the process of revising it. Chapters on results and so forth are still at least two or three weeks away, so I have to push my timeline back a bit. This is eating up quite a bit of the buffer I planned for!

I must remember to sound my committee out for a defence date... probably some time in June or early July at this rate!

Process: Starting data coding and analysis

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 20:09:00 +0000

It’s February already. I have been experiencing a personal “winter storm” of such.

First a flurry of activity at the end of Fall semester trying to interview volunteers. I am now down to getting just one more interview and I will have collected all my data.

I have started to code my data and do some preliminary analysis of the interview data. I still have to manually enter a considerable amount of survey data because many of my participants opted to do the paper version of the survey instead of the online one.

Second, I came down with a bad case of the flu. I lost my voice completely for a few days and now have a very persistent cough. Another reminder for me to take steps to try to stay healthy! Hey, it might help to be a bit anti-social for the next few months!

Oh well, it’s back to the grinding stone I go…

Process: More data collection

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 01:24:00 +0000

I have selected interviewees based on profiles that were generated from the initial questionnaire.

With approval from my dissertation committee chair, I have reduced the number of interviewees from 16 to 8. This was in part due to the fact that I have a smaller sample than expected. I also do not have enough time this semester to conduct 16 interviews plus follow-ups!

So far, I have scheduled 5 of the 8 interviews this week and have conducted one already. (The fact that I got 5 replies in less than a week is short of a miracle!) I am hoping to conduct all of them before Thanksgiving week next week. Life gets crazy after they return. Then just about everything and everybody shuts down in early December.

I could not conduct the interviews any earlier primarily because some online discourse data was not yet online! This in turn was due to the schedule of topics for the course. So my hands were tied.

On reflection: If I had much of a choice, my efforts this semester would serve as a trial run and I would collect data for my disseration next semester instead. Why? The instructors of the course where I collect my data and recruit participants are still working out the kinks. (One major kink is deciding just how much reflection take place online!) I could also have used the trial study results to publish a paper or two. I can still take this route but it is a bit risky since I plan on returning home in July 2006.

Process: Data collection

noreply@blogger.com (W401 Instructor) — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:17:00 +0000

Time for another update!

I have had to recruit participants over three weeks to get the numbers I have now. I have half the number I was planning for, but I have been given the go ahead from my dissertation chair.

I am now waiting for the participants to complete their surveys online. The deadline was last Friday but most did not complete it, so I have extended it by another week. I think I might have to bring paper copies to them in order to get them to complete the first survey.

Telling them that it only takes less than 5 minutes to complete doesn’t seem to help. (In fact, most take a minute or two based on online time logs.) But getting timely responses for surveys is always a problem. Once the surveys are in, I will need to analyze them to a) describe my sample and b) identify suitable interviewees.

I have also started collecting my first set of online discourse data. This bit is tedious because I have to copy specific content from the forum or blog, and then paste and arrange the content into a spreadsheet. But this will make the coding much easier.