Community Portraits: Online Learning and Community Building

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Community Portraits Online Learning and
Community Building

• Liz Timms
  Duncan Timms
• Dept. of Social Work CRDLT,
  University of Edinburgh
  University of Stirling

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EU-Projects

• ODELUCE
• Open and Distance Education and Learning
  through University Continuing Education.
• SCHEMA
• Social Cohesion through Higher Education in
  Marginal Areas.

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Community Portraits

• Developed from a social work course
  (face-to-face) at Edinburgh University,
  Scotland.
• Transformed into an online module in 1999. Pilot
  designed to investigate online collaboration
  between different HW professions (in Finland,
  Germany and Scotland).

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Programme

• Weeks 1-5 Introductory Phase
• Week 1 Introductions
• Weeks 2-3 Develop protocol for collaborative
  working
• Week 4 Consider notion of community
• Week 5 Introduce communities
• Weeks 6-16 Project Work
• Weeks 6 - 8 Groups work independently of
  each other monitored by tutor
• Week 9 Groups review their progress
• Weeks 10 -12 Work on portraits
• Week 13 Group presentations
• Weeks 14 -15 Group assessments of portraits
• Week 16 Reflection on collaboration
  online

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Community Portraits The Introductory Page
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Community Portraits

• Extension in 2001 to community members.
• Pilot online in conjunction with face-to-face
  collaboration between residents in Swedish
  housing estate (lone parents senior citizens).

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Some views of Skarpnäck
The project Some views of Skarpnäck is an
attempt to present some perspectives on
Skarpnäck, our community as well as the people
living there. This project, is made in
co-operation with the University of Edinburgh and
the University of Stirling in Scotland to create
contacts between different places and
countries.By Eva Sjögren Paul Anding Yvonne
NenanderAssisted by it-cafeet (for the whole
presentation see www.cafeet.com)
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HU11 Community Portraits

• Extension in 2002 to be part of WHO pilot
  programme for Family Health Nurse degree in
  Highlands and Islands of Scotland
• stand-alone module in online portfolio offered
  by University of Stirling

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Rationale

• The Community as a Context
• The social construction of communtiy
• Collaboration as a Method for Working (and
  Learning)
• The Internet as an Enabler of Collaboration

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Initial Outcome of Pilots

• Developing interaction takes time
• Diffident Approach to Differences
• Group Dynamics different online
• The necessity of feedback and support

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Lessons

• The importance of Informal Exchanges
• Bonding is Important for Offline Collaboration
• Bridging is Easier Online
• Intervention and Support from Tutor as and when
  required

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Contact Details

• e-mail
• Liz Timms - Elizabeth.Timms_at_ed.ac.uk
• Duncan Timms - dwgt1_at_stir.ac.uk
• web addresse
• www.odeluce.stir.ac.uk