#qualitative research: introduction to #grounded #theory and some emotive language use in courses idea

The last couple of months I have been immersed in data analysis research: some qualitative (argh) and some qualitative (well, argh as well). No matter how I twist and turn it, I need to really dig into data analysis to understand how it works and why this type of analysis is a good thing. Let's just say my mind is not naturally equiped for data analysis, although on the other hand I get somewhat of a high when an analysis is done. My MobiMOOC Research Team (MRT) colleagues and I have also been working on a paper regarding emotive language use in an open online course, in order to deduce whether some sentences could be indicators of emerging demotivation and even dropout of an open course. For if this would be the case, course facilitators and even computer data mining programs could be used to pick-up this effechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift and enter in a motivational conversation with those learners (nice idea). This experience got my eyes opened as I understood how less I understood of qualitative research.

So for all of you that are also struggling, I will gladly share any meaningful resources that might just get us a bit more knowledgeable on data analysis. Starting with one of the most commonly used one's: grounded theory. I found this set of videos on YouTube, these are lectures given by Grahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifham Gibbs, who teaches at the University of Huddersfield (United Kingdom) and with a typical British under-cooled flair (how do those Brits keep their passion so controlled?) he gets the key points across: coding, ethics, approach...

Below you will find the first (5 min) video, but you can also subscribe to the Qualitative Research Channel right here and get all of the videos on the subject.

Btw if anyone knows great resources on data analysis, feel free to share, I can use every bit of it. Now diving back into Creswell (2007) on qualitative methods design.

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Noam Chomsky on the purpose of #education via #LWF

Across time there have always been people who's voice was sounding louder than the voices of others. Simply because they have/had a solid opinion based on vision and strong arguments. And apart from the fact that you can always agree or disagree, listening and reflecting on ideas of outspoken, well-argumented people always brings you to the next level of understanding. One of these voices in the past 50 years has been Noam Chomsky. In this 21 minute video you can hear his opinion on education. The video was produced for the wonderful and energetic conference of 'Learning Without Frontiers'.

Noam's ideas on education in short (and paraphrased by me at times):

There is a constant struggle between two realities: the principles of the enlightment and indoctrination.
From the enlightement: the highest goal is the quest for knowledge. For this the learner is going to achieve that quest, it is her/his responsibility.
Indoctrination: young people are placed in a framework and they are molded to what is to be expected.
These two sides are always there. Do you learn for a test or are you learning for creative inquiry? There are always two different ways to look at things from kindergarden al the way through graduate and beyond...

Technology is a neutral instrument, education is a framework
Currently there is a substantial growth in technology, culture... but we should bare in mind that the technological changes that are happening are not that impressive as we think at times. The technology of the past century were impressive as they influenced life expectancy, health..., but the shift from a type writer to a computer, is in no way in comparison to the changes taking place a century ago.
Technology is a neutral instrument, also for education. So for any technology we should always look at the framework where in the instrument is used: what is significant, what is to be pursued... If you do not have a framework, the internet will not lead to significant enlightenment. So behind any significant use of technology, there needs to be a well constructed apparatus.

What does society want its citizens to be?
Do we want a society of free, critical thinking people? Education is a value on itself, because it can help to build better human beings.

Assessment versus autonomy
Increasing demand to take tests to follow personal evolution. But tests never tell you very much on the real insights, the real personal progress that is made. Sometimes tests are just a couple of hurdles, nothing essential. Teaching out to be inspiring, and motivating students to explore on their own (remark of myself: this is a close link to buddhist, ancient greec and jewish learning tradition). The questions and the discussions are important.

Personal thoughts after hearing the talk
But the thing I wonder about is, how can you build a critical thinking framework and ... even if such a framework is provided, who is to say how 'critical' is defined? Or is critical only defined as non-conform? No matter what we teach our children, I have the feeling that in the beginning, when they are young they want a better world for all of us, but as the realities of society is getting to them - to us - many of us turn bitter, or we turn away from the concept that human society can indeed become peaceful, compassionate and nurturing. I wish enlightenment was possible, but power and establishment seems to be getting in the way. Sometimes I even wonder whether research is not just another way to keep intellectuals outside of society, and give them a bone to chew on so they will not stir up things for the happy few. Why cannot science be the establishment? We know so much to bring about a cooperative world, yet violence is still all around us despite of different educational approaches and new technologies...

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New issue of the free #eLearning journal #IRRODL is out - a great read

Below you will find the contents of the new issue of IRRODL, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. The issue contains 12 research articles and one field note, research note, and article reaction note.

The winners of last years Best Articles of the year in IRRODL for 2011, have also been selected by the Editorial Board. This is a new reward the IRRODL people launched and it comes with it the opportunity to have the work translated and published in a number of our partner educational journals that publish in languages other than English (great initiative!).

The winning articles and authors of 2011 are:

Vol 12, No 6 (2011)	Examining motivation in online distance learning environments: Complex, multifaceted and situation-dependent	ABSTRACT HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
by Maggie Hartnett, Alison St. George, Jon Dron

Vol 12, No 2 (2011)	A pedagogical framework for mobile learning: Categorizing educational applications of mobile technologies into four types	ABSTRACT HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
by Yeonjeong Park

And these are the articles of the new IRRODL issue:

Vol 13, No 1 (2012)

Table of Contents

Editorial

	Editorial Volume 13, Number 1	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Terry Anderson	i-v

Research Articles

	An open education resource supports a diversity of inquiry-based learning	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Catherine Anne Schmidt-Jones	1-16

	Toward a CoI population parameter: The impact of unit (sentence vs. message) on the results of quantitative content analysis	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Paul Gorsky, Avner Caspi, Ina Blau, Yodfat Vine, Amit Billet	17-37

	Pretesting mathematical concepts with the mobile phone: Implications for curriculum design	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Rita Ndagire Kizito	38-55

	Heutagogy and lifelong learning: A review of heutagogical practice and self-determined learning	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Lisa Marie Blaschke	56-71

	Science teacher training programme in rural schools: An ODL lesson from Zimbabwe	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Misheck Mhishi, Crispen Erinos Bhukuvhani, Abel Farikai Sana	72-86

	Investigating instructional strategies for using social media in formal and informal learning	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Baiyun Chen, Thomas Bryer	87-104

	An investigation of communication in virtual high schools	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Marley Belair	105-123

	Connectivism and dimensions of individual experience	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Carmen Tschofen, Jenny Mackness	124-143

	Online social networks as formal learning environments: Learner experiences and activities	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	George Veletsianos, Cesar Navarrete	144-166

	Rapport in distance education	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Elizabeth Murphy, María A. Rodríguez-Manzanares	167-190

	The implications of the local context in global virtual education	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Ståle Angen Rye, Anne Marie Støkken	191-206

	Challenges of virtual and open distance science teacher education in Zimbabwe	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Vongai Mpofu, Tendai Samukange, Lovemore M Kusure, Tinoidzwa M Zinyandu, Clever Denhere, Shakespear Ndlovu, Renias Chiveya, Monica Matavire, Leckson Mukavhi, Isaac Gwizangwe, Elliot Magombe, Nyakotyo Huggins, Munyaradzi Magomelo, Fungai Sithole, Chingombe Wiseman	207-219

Field Notes

	Learning management system migration: An analysis of stakeholder perspectives	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Thomas G Ryan, Mary Toye, Kyle Charron, Gavin Park	220-237

Research Notes

	Motivating factors that affect enrolment and student performance in an ODL engineering programme	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	Pushpa Ranjani Dadigamuwa, Nihal Saman Senanayake	238-249

Article Notes

	Article review - Social presence within the community of inquiry framework	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
	D.R. Garrison

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#mHealth a #diabetes #mobile project in DRCongo, Cambodia and the Philippines

Most of us want to make some kind of difference, making the world a better place. Josefien Van Olmen is one of these wonderful researchers at ITM that gets it done. A few months back she asked me to get involved in a diabetes project which would involve basic cell-phones. We all got our heads together (doctors, social scientists and technologists) and set up a really cool and easy to build and implement diabetes project. For those interested a quick overview of how it was set up:

Josefien drew up the medical side of things, taken into account national differences, regional challenges, medical ethics, etcetera. She is a very intelligent expert researcher and she drives her people hard but with an incredible warmth of heart. Will not link to any medical framework here, as this is part of Josefien’s work, but feel free to contact her if you want to learn more about it: Josefien’s LinkedIn page can be found here.

Needs going into the project:

• Getting in touch with diabetes people (diabetes 1 and 2) who are living in remote areas or who have a hard time getting to their health clinics/health care workers/diabetes educators.
• Keep the diabetes project at low cost,
• Make use of the personal cell phones the diabetes patients have (cheap cell phones, mostly java enabled) to make them feel comfortable with the technology of the program.
• Make it generic so other organizations in the country (or elsewhere) would be able to reproduce it for their own purposes,
• Get people empowered to use their cell phone for practical life changing/enhancing topics.
• Make the program strong and durable by providing patient records
• Keep the program easy to use, so health care workers as well as users will be kept motivated to use it even in difficult times.
• Allow the content and communications to be written or performed in different languages (French, Khmer, …).
• Keep control of the program and the health messages.
• Easily build health messages to send around in bulk.

Solution:

• First of all working closely with the diabetes managers in the countries: they know their patients, the challenges for their specific regions. Getting a participative project going from the start.
• Finding a low cost (free and open source!) solution that works with basic cell phones, offers the option to build your own reports/forms, and allows all the communication that is happening between the patients, the health care workers and the diabetes managers to be put into long lasting and transparent patient records => one solution the Frontline SMS medic solution.
• Testing the program: the most difficult part was finding the right modem to get frontline sms to work properly (we used a Huawei gsm modem in the end, after trying quite some other types of gsm modems).
• Getting a frontlinesms expert in to fine tune to the program’s needs. Limbanazo Kapindula was/is the man of the moment. He just finished a mHealth project in Malawi (blogpost and his presentation on the project can be found here).

Some resources
If you are interested in testing out the frontlinesms medic for your own purposes, feel free to download the frontlineSMS medic program here or check out this video and start your own project yourself or with your team.



This diabetes program is now being set up right now and will be ready for roll-out in the very near future. Josefien, you sure know how to make a difference. I know how important it is to get connected to my fellow diabetics and health care workers, thank you for your great work and the opportunity to work with you!

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4 calls for #papers on #mLearning and #eLearning

Happy New Year to all of you! Slowly getting up to speed for a wonderful 2012: working on a new online feature (thanks to Stephen Downes)… which takes more time than expected, but hoping to get it launched in the next couple of weeks. This year I am also looking forward to finalizing my thesis (thanks to Athabasca University), co-launching the mobile curriculum framework (a free framework for institutes willing to get cracking with a mLearning curriculum, with thanks to Adele Botha, Jaqueline Bachelor and John Traxler), getting some research papers and chapters out (thanks to my typing hands), enjoying all your company (online and f-2-f), and organizing the MobiMOOC2012 in September with an adjusted format. All of which I will share as work progresses.

But to start the year: the new call for papers!

EDEN Annual Conference
Deadline for submissions: 10 February 2012
Conference dates: 6 - 9 June
Location: Porto, Portugal, Europe.
The EDEN Annual Conference will approach the key questions of learning methodology and technology focusing on the 'Open learning generations', the contexts of socially significant target groups: junior and senior e-learners. We will explore their learning cultures, technology use patterns and discuss new approaches in the schools, universities, lifelong - informal - adult learning settings that respond to them.

The 2012 European Year of Active Ageing and the Solidarity Between Generations serves as framework for raising awareness, generating innovative approaches and disseminating good practice.

• Open learning for and amongst diverse generations
• Innovative pedagogical models have been significant in empowering learners and their communities as co-producers in networked lifelong learning. The spread of educational resources as digital content which accommodate different learning pathways, widening participation and shared learning experience between generations will contribute to closing the technology gap.
• Online and Social

The 2012 EDEN Annual Conference will be supported and accompanied intensively by social networking, online and virtual presence and involvement possibilities. That will be implemented through the EDEN Members Portal: the NAP area on the web.

Call for Contributions
We invite all interested professionals to take part and discover the conference themes by submitting their experience.
There will be opportunities for submitting and presenting papers, workshops, posters and demonstrations. At the Porto conference, virtual presentations, as a new form will be introduced. The conference allows openness in choosing the topics and in applying interactive formats and ways of presentations.
To learn more about the scope of the event and consult the themes, please visit the respective conference pages.
For details visit the Conference web-site and the Call for Contributions links.

Paper Submissions - 10 February, 2012
Registration Open - Mid February
Notification of Authors - 31 March

Keynote Speakers
· Laszlo Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (invited)
· Nuno Crato, Minister of Education, Portugal
· Bob Fryer, Chair of Board, Campaign for Learning, UK
· David White, Honorary Director General, European Commission, DG EAC
· Dale J. Stephens, Educational futurist, 2011 Thiel Fellow '20 Under 20', USA
· Lesley Wilson, Secretary General of the European University Association (invited)
Ingeborg Bo, Norwegian Associaton of Distance Education, EDEN Past-president


mLearn conference 2012
Conference dates: 19 – 21 June 2012
Location: San Jose, California, US.
Deadline for submissions: 30 Januari 2012
mLearnCon is interested in sessions offering insights to facilitate management decision processes regarding the adoption and deployment of mobile learning technologies, including:
· Potentials, opportunities, and limitations of mobile learning
· Platform and operating system considerations
· Design and development considerations
· Implementation and management strategies
· Engagement, tracking, and assessment strategies
· Case studies, demonstrations, and best practices
· Other topics of interest to learning professionals exploring mobile learning
Visit the conference website for more information.


Conference: 11th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning mLearn 2012 - Mobile Learning in Context
Conference date: 16-18 October 2012
Place: Helsinki, Finland
Deadline for submissions: 30 May 2012
Conference website: www.mlearn.org/mlearn2012
Follow updates at: http://www.facebook.com/mlearn2012

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
* Mobile learning in and across formal and informal settings
* Ubiquitous and ambient learning and technology
* Theories, models and ethics for mobile and contextual learning
* Open and distance education with mobile devices
* Mobile language learning
* Interaction design and usability for mobile learning
* Interoperability and standards for mobile learning
* Challenges for mobile learning in developing countries
* Mobile learning strategies in schools, higher institutions, industry, and organizations
* Adaptive, virtual or collaborative environments for mobile learning
* Augmented reality for learning
* Innovative approaches to learning of current and emerging mobile technologies
* Toys and smart objects for learning
* Mobile learning across cultures
The conference programme will highlight keynote talks, symposia/workshops, plenary sessions, parallel presentations, roundtables and debates, special Focus Sessions, poster sessions, technology and product/service demonstrations.


Call for papers for Journal Technology and Investment
ISSN Online: 2150-4067
www.scirp.org/journal/ti

Technology and Investment (TI) is an international journal (Open Access) dedicated to the latest advancement of technology and investment. The goal of this journal is to provide a platform for scientists and academicians all over the world to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in different areas of technology and investment related problems.

Topics:
www.scirp.org/Journal/AimScope.aspx?JournalID=104
+ Banking and Investment
+ Business and Technology Risk Analysis and Management
+ Business Climate for Investments
+ Business Cycles and Investment, etc
+ Business Developments
+ Business Economics
+ Business Management
+ Capital Management
+ Economics of Agricultural Technology
+ Economics of Investments
+ Economic Theory of Investment
+ Energy Technology Economics
+ Entrepreneurship and Innovation
+ Evaluation of Technologies
+ Finance
+ Financial Evaluation Models and Techniques
+ Financial Evaluation Techniques
+ Financial Strategies of Investments
+ Industry Studies
+ Influx of Investments on Technological Development
+ Information Economics
+ International Investments
+ Investments and Economic Development
+ Investments and Environment (Climate Change)
+ Investments in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) Countries
+ Investments in Developing Countries
+ Investment Strategies
+ Investments under Uncertainty
+ Labor Risks Prevention
+ Legal Environment for Investments
+ Management Engineering
+ Managerial Economics
+ Market Analysis
+ Prediction of Future Technology
+ Regional Directions of Investments
+ Resources Management and Labor Issues
+ Service Industry Economics
+ Technology Economics
+ Technology Innovation
+ Technology Product Development
+ Transition Economies and Foreign Investments
+ US Economy and Foreign Investments

Authors' Guidelines:
www.scirp.org/Journal/ForAuthors.aspx?JournalID=104
+ All manuscripts must be prepared in English.
+ Review paper is warmly welcome.
+ Submit your paper via online submission system papersubmission.
www.papersubmission.scirp.org/admin/initLoginAction.action?journalID=10
+ To expedite the review process, please format your reference as the guideline,
+ Please visit journal homepage for more information.

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Content from the Social #Mobile #Networking for #Informal learning roundtable #somobnet

A quick recap of some of the SoMobNet International Roundtable on "Social Mobile
Networking for Informal Learning" that ran on 21 November 2011 in London: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5965

Guy Merchant's keynote: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5965
From which I quote some key ideas here:
What happens when mobiles are founds in formal educational contexts? They get banned! Classroom ecologies: possibilities for different kinds of learning relationships. BUT institutions are patterned by established relationships. Institutions find it difficult to break into new approach.

David Parry coins the term mobile literacy. Understanding info access, hyperconnectivity and the new sense of space. Latter, is location specific, e.g through QR codes.

But, there are 3 concerns.

• Is the fact that we can do new things sufficient justification?
• How can teachers, trainers manage the the potential levels of distraction?
• Which students have devices that are sufficiently nimble, who owns them and who pays for them?

More positive story. 2009 Campsmount secondary school, when burnt to ground. After fire no coursework, student contacts, VLE. Within 24 hours Wordpress blog, Twitter feed, Facebook group (1,500 members) and YouTube video press release (3,000 views). Worked with donated laptops, iPod touch. Got going as a school I a new form within 1 week and school became mobilized and mobile. Changed way school worked spurred on by extensive blogging, QR clouds etc. Head sprints around school ‘capturing learning’ using Soundcloud etc. But some questions, What (and whose) device are most appropriate in different learning contexts (smartphone, iPod touch, tablet)? What should we be teaching about mobile social networking?

Conclusion: What practices are seen as legitimate/legitimated in learning contexts? (Need to remain safe). What constitutes ‘advantageous practice’? Especially for disadvantaged students ...


Another keynote came from Charles Crook's: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5966
Giving some stats on UK access (the video is to be found at http://www.metacafe.com/w/7843243 ), here are his slides:

Charles crook

View more presentations from London Metropolitan University

Christoph Pimmer, Sebastian Linxen: The transformational role of social
mobile media in the context of the Nepalese medical education system
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5971
In this contribution the transformational potential of social mobile media in developing countries are addressed from a socio-cultural perspective. Networking sites – like Facebook – that are often accessed by means of mobiles are highly popular in developing contexts. They can be regarded as a catalyst for mobile internet use in general. From a learning perspective they enable students and teachers to participate in social professional communities beyond local and even national boundaries. The technological artifacts do not only lead to new and emerging educational practices in informal learning contexts, they also affect the overall educational system. The on-going change has to be critically viewed with respect to media literacy, privacy as well as to ethical and legal issues. In the light of the achievement of the UN Development goals it’s pedagogic implications, however, appear to be far more powerful than those of the numerous initiatives that distribute technology and knowledge - bottom up - in formal learning settings.

Roundtable. v03

View more presentations from Christoph Pimmer

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#Mobile design webcasts by @bdconf

Breaking development is organizing a variety of mobile conferences and webinars and as I was going through their September 2011 mobile webcasts, some of the videos got my attention. Great stuff. Here are the two webinars that I found very interesting, but there are 18 (!) videos on mobile design, and each of them have key ideas that affect learning with mobile devices.

The presentation by Stephanie Rieger explores how our use, and perception of mobile devices is changing, and how these changes may impact how we should design for them going forward. The nice thing about her 1 hour presentation is that she connects mobiles to our contemporary society (banks, revolutions, how data moves all around us...). Stephanie also stresses the importance of being simple when any of us wants to share our own content/data... so flexible, light weight websites are the way to go with m-design. Progressive development is another key point in her speech, as the user will decide what they find is the 'best' thing, so let the people choose their own meaningful enhancement (nice approach, a bit of crowd-sourcing approach for m-design). Different sites for different data space, bringing it together as patterns. "Create the best experience for all the audiences"

Breaking Development April 2011: Beyond the Mobile Web from Breaking Development on Vimeo.

Another webinar that got my attention was the presentation by Stephen Hay on Responsive mobile design. Responsive design is a hot topic, as he talks about fluid grids (grids that go in and out depending on how big the viewport is) and media queries (feature detection of a device), combining these two is responsive design. Stephen explains responsive design in a pleasant, humorous way. Referring to Paul Rand who said that design is putting form and content together. He also refers to progressive enhancement and the similar discussions that appear in m-design and who were discussed a decade ago when discussing computer web-design. He then goes on showing some coding examples for m-design.

Breaking Development April 2011: Real World Responsive Design from Breaking Development on Vimeo.

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