Connected Minds ...

'Connected Minds, Emerging Cultures' is a new book several of us have got together to produce over the last year. In the next few blog posts I will present an extract of the introduction to give you a flavour of what you can expect in the book when it is published at the end of the year through Information Age Publishers (Greenwich, Connecticut, USA):

In the opening section there are four chapters about digital subcultures, the first of which focuses on learning within the collaborative online spaces increasingly popular in education. The chapter showcases some of the recent research into the use of wikis in higher education and Steve Wheeler approaches this topic armed with an extensive data set derived from the discussion group postings of his online teacher trainee groups. He concludes that wikis are a powerful and as yet relatively untapped online collaborative tool that has the potential to promote deeper engagement with learning.

The second chapter, written by John Traxler, dwells on the realities and possibilities of the mobile culture, made possible by cellular and wireless technologies that are now pervasive in the Western world and in the process of becoming a global phenomenon. Although the future of mobile technology seems robust, Traxler raises a number of important questions about its impact on learners, teachers, communities and society in general. He offers to evaluate this impact through an exploration of the impact of mobile technology on culture, community, discourse, identity and their educational implications. The author attempts to reconcile the perception that discrete mobile subcultures exist with the perception that all cultures are somehow transformed by mobility.

Chapter 3, written by Palitha Edirisingha, reveals that a ‘listening’ sub-culture has grown up around the increasingly popular podcasting technologies. In his chapter, Edirisingha traces the development of podcasting through media, entertainment and technology industries and the transformation of a broadcast tool into a learning tool. He identifies a variety factors that have an impact on the formation of such a listening culture. He highlights some of the lessons learned from empirical studies, predominantly from an international study called IMPALA. Edirisingha concludes by offering insights into how podcasting can be effectively used for learning, with a focus on higher education.

Part 1 concludes with chapter 4, in which Mark A M Kramer explores the ways students are beginning to harness mobile networked enabled technologies to create new cultures of learning and collaboration. Kramer argues that these new movements can best be understood as a ubiquitous and pervasive learning culture in which anyone can engage in a form of learning that takes place independent of time and location. He concludes by suggesting that this new culture of ubiquitous and pervasive learning is inevitable, but warns that it may take time to become established in education.

More tomorrow from the Introduction...