Peer 2 Peer University strongly supports both research activities under the auspices of P2PU as well as research activities about P2PU. Our internal research infrastructure is just getting started, but we are rapidly developing better integrated data streams and management tools, guidelines and templates for facilitating research inquiry, and of course a diverse and active research community.
Interested in P2PU related research? Join the research mailing list / working group.
Guidelines for P2PU research
If you are interested in doing research in the context of P2PU, please read through the following guidelines and make sure that you are comfortable with them.
- Research should drive understanding and lead to action (we want research to improve and increase open social learning opportunities). We support research that leads to better understanding of the overall OER ecosystem, but we have a strong interest, and can commit more resources to research that also directly helps P2PU.
- Researchers agree to involve P2PU so that we can give input and feedback.
- Researchers agree to be respectful of the privacy and time of everyone involved, especially individual users who are approached for data collection.
- All data / findings are openly shared (using an appropriate CC license, e.g. CC0, CC BY SA or CC BY, depending on the type of data and finding). In cases where research is intended for publication in a closed journal, we require an open access self archived version of the final manuscript to be available online. Most journals allow this.
- We are always open for discussion of these guidelines. ;-)
(these guidelines were developed through consensus on the P2PU research mailing list)
Research-oriented Meetings and Workshops
In addition to peer-generated and community-coordinated research activities, P2PU is both host and participant in a number of meetings and projects that are designed to build presence for P2PU in the academic community and to learn from that community to inform ongoing design decisions for P2PU itself. Browse the Meetings and Workshops list to see what has been happening and also to find ways to get involved.
P2PU-Relevant Literature and Research
Todo - We need to start compiling articles, presentation and partnerships here ... Accreditation paper, Open UK, Lena, etc.
Research about, motivated or inspired by P2PU
Alex Smolen, Heather Ford 2011
Masks: Final Report
http://blogs.ischool.berkeley.edu/masks/
De Liddo, Anna; Alevizou, Panagiota (2010). A Method and Tool to Support the Analysis and Enhance the Understanding of Peer-to-Peer Learning Experiences. In Open Ed 2010 Proceedings. Barcelona: UOC, OU, BYU. [Accessed: dd/mm/yy]. <http://hdl.handle.net/10609/4941>
Abstract: In this paper we look at how a web-based social software can be used to make qualitative data analysis of online peer-to-peer learning experiences. Specifically, we propose to use Cohere, a web-based social sense-making tool, to observe, track, annotate and visualize discussion group activities in online courses. We define a specific methodology for data observation and structuring, and present results of the analysis of peer interactions conducted in discussion forum in a real case study of a P2PU course. Finally we discuss how network visualization and analysis can be used to gather a better understanding of the peer-to-peer learning experience. To do so, we provide preliminary insights on the social, dialogical and conceptual connections that have been generated within one online discussion group.
(Slides from presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/giotita/alevizou-distributed-mentorship-p2pu)
Joe Corneli's paper Paragogy: Synergizing individual and organizational learning
Abstract:
This paper describes a new theory of peer-to-peer learning and
teaching that we call "paragogy". Paragogy's principles were developed
by adapting Knowles's principles of andragogy to peer-based learning
contexts. Paragogy addresses the challenge of peer-producing a useful
and supportive context for self-directed learning. The concept of
paragogy can inform the design and application of learning analytics
to enhance both individual and organization learning. In particular,
we consider the role of learner profi les for goal-setting and
self-monitoring, and the further role of analytics in designing
enhanced peer tutoring systems.
Key words: peer-to-peer, pedagogy, organizations, andragogy, learning analytics
Submitted it to the "1st International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge" (Banff, Feb 2011).
Sociotechnical Relations in the Creation of an Interest-Driven Open Course
Post-Refereed Draft to be Published in Elearning and Digital Media, 8(4) 2011.
Marisa Ponti
The aim of this article is to present the findings from a small exploratory case study of an open course on cyberpunk literature conducted at the Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), an online grassroots organization that runs non-accredited courses. Employing actor-network theory to inform an ethnographic-inductive approach, the case study sought to understand the performative effects of technologies on the creation of modes of learning and modes of presence in a setting of peer-based learning. Research data included observation of discussions in online forum and chats, course participants’ blogs and P2PU’s organizational documentation.
Three main findings emerged from a thematic analysis: (1) the participatory role of technology in the course was characterized by the use of an array of different open source and free tools, most of which were not integrated within the P2PU platform. This fluid technological space arguably led to a decentralized network; (2) people with different backgrounds affiliated around their common passion for the cyberpunk literature and the artifacts associated with it; and (3) knowledge was distributed and dispersed across many different people and artifacts, bringing about a shift from the subject-authority pattern of relations generally associated to teacher-led education to the agential pattern of relations associated to peer-led education, in which course organizer and participants can be on the same level of influence.
Peer-To-Peer Recognition of Learning in Open Education
Jan Philipp Schmidt, Christine Geith, Stian Håklev, Joel Thierstein
Abstract
Recognition in education is the acknowledgment of learning achievements. Accreditation is certification of such recognition by an institution, an organization, a government, a community, etc. There are a number of assessment methods by which learning can be evaluated (exam, practicum, etc.) for the purpose of recognition and accreditation, and there are a number of different purposes for the accreditation itself (i.e., job, social recognition, membership in a group, etc). As our world moves from an industrial to a knowledge society, new skills are needed. Social web technologies offer opportunities for learning, which build these skills and allow new ways to assess them.
This paper makes the case for a peer-based method of assessment and recognition as a feasible option for accreditation purposes. The peer-based method would leverage online communities and tools, for example digital portfolios, digital trails, and aggregations of individual opinions and ratings into a reliable assessment of quality. Recognition by peers can have a similar function as formal accreditation, and pathways to turn peer recognition into formal credits are outlined. The authors conclude by presenting an open education assessment and accreditation scenario, which draws upon the attributes of open source software communities: trust, relevance, scalability, and transparency.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/641
Validation of Competencies in E-Portfolios: A Qualitative Analysis
Olaf Zawacki-Richter and Anke Hanft
University of Oldenburg, Germany Eva Maria Bäcker
FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany
This paper uses the example of an Internet-based advanced studies course to show how the portfolio method, as a competence-based form of examination, can be integrated in a blended learning design. Within the framework of a qualitative analysis of project portfolios, we examined which competencies are documented and how students reflected on their competence development process using portfolios.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/893/1671
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.