WP6. Supporting “Science 2.0” Practices for TEL

The STELLARnet “Science 2.0” concept will implement a variety of communication channels to ease internal exchanges within the network as well as beyond the network to reach the general TEL community. These communication channels will also be employed to make research results known to the respective communities of interest as well as to the European and international TEL community. These communications channels will include online electronic products, virtual community building, printed materials, and face-to-face concertation and conference activities.

WP6 is focused on providing and evaluating the technological communication channels for intra network as well as extra network cooperation. In the following we will refer to these as the STELLARnet “supporting Science 2.0” framework, which we conceive as being delivered via a “Science2.0” portal.

Objectives

Scaffolding the emergence of a stronger research community: The STELLARnet  technological framework will enhance mutual learning, support knowledge sharing and facilitate the advancement of one’s own competences and knowledge while researching. It will also allow to further explore the evolving knowledge structures of the TEL scientific communities, and to identify the best practices and the tools to support them. STELLARnet will open its framework and instruments to interlink with relevant scientific communities and people, and to support knowledge construction within the TEL research area. For this purpose, it will provide efficient access to the research outcomes of colleagues and peers in one’s own and related disciplines, using web 2.0 approaches that leverage the links between people as well as the links between documents, using a combination of pull and push techniques.

Understanding the research community: Technology enhanced learning is an interdisciplinary field, drawing on a multitude of sciences. As in many interdisciplinary fields, its scientific practices have not been fully established. Thus, we strive to support and get information on the evolving scientific practices in the TEL community. This information will be shared in particular with the “STELLARnet evaluation” work-package (WP7) which will perform analysis of this information and provide recommendations, it will also be passed to other WPs to help them to better analyze their practices. In particular, this approach will be used to monitor the integration process in the Grand Challenge work-package.

The STELLARnet Science 2.0 Framework: our Science 2.0 work will utilize, mash-up and apply to the TEL community the following three types of tools/services:

  1. Generally available web 2.0 tools and social software: The Web of the second generation adds collaboration and communication mechanisms to scientific research resources by designing and implementing tools to support, follow and track discussions, argumentations and the whole history of a process which participates in the building of science. Blogs, forums, Wiki-pages and RSS feeds have become popular means for light-weight exchange, discussion and syndication of knowledge and opinions. This will be the core of the STELLARnet “supporting Science 2.0” concept.
  2. Tools and services previously developed by STELLARnet partners: the Science 2.0 portal will use tools or products for its online communication that have already been developed by STELLARnet partners, such as AlphaComplex, FlashMeeting, Hexagon and Social Networking Tools (e.g. Weblogs). This category also includes more complex services such as OpenArchive and services developed within EU-funded projects such as iCamp, APOSDLE, MATURE, etc.
  3. Analysis tools: the Science 2.0 portal will also provide analysis tools, which will allow us to evaluate the usage of our portal communication channels. For example, based on our previous Network of Excellence experience we will aim to deploy Social Network Analysis tools as an important means of analysing and visualising the evolving of the social networks and STELLARnet communities.

STELLARnet “Science 2.0” Activities

Initiate ”Science 2.0” work. The STELLAR technological framework will be provided in the first two months the necessary environment to equip and facilitate the partners’ collaboration and allow a quick bootstrap of the integrating effort. It will address all the different levels of community within the different capacity work packages. This also involves setting up a STELLARnet website which will serve as the central access point for all communication tools.

Create, apply and refine TEL specific mash-ups. We will develop mash-ups of mainstream tools, like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft live maps, YouTube and Blip, Twitter and Pawnce, Facebook, Linkedin and Plaxo, Friendster, etc. to support the collaboration within STELLARnet, as well as the collaboration with partners outside of the network in a strict sense. This work is already underway in beneficiary Universities, but will become part of our ‘shared and common infrastructure’ via this task. Through the usage of mash-up technology through the TEL community and through the STELLARnet capability building activities we expect our “Science 2.0” concept to evolve. New (freely available) tools will be added, existing tools will be exchanged, data will be added, user feedback will improve the usability, new tools from other TEL projects can be added. Through this evolution the framework will develop its own practices and cultures specific to the TEL community and research.

Apply STELLAR partner tools and products to TEL community. Selected products, tools and services previously developed within EU-funded projects will be applied and adapted to the needs of the TEL community and offered via the “Science 2.0” view. For example, we will stimulate the development of the use of the open archives by STELLARnet researchers by offering this service in cooperation with the existing TeLearn OA (www.telearn.org) and providing the support to researchers in order to facilitate the upload and use of the repository. From APOSDLE we will offer work-integrated learning services applied to selected TEL domains and provide specifically young researchers and doctoral students with a possibility to experiment with context-based learning. MATURE will provide selected services for knowledge structure evolution and negotiation.

Evaluate “Science 2.0” useage. In order to improve the usage and user-friendliness of our common infrastructure, tools, systems and services, we will conduct detailed analysis of tool usage. For this exercise, firstly, relevant data will be collected - either quantitative data such as the number and frequency of usage, or qualitative data such as the purpose of usage and ethical considerations (e.g. privacy issues; IPR issues etc.). In face-to-face meetings we will reflect the data and discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as regards the further development and integrative value of our joint infrastructure. This analysis will help to improve and eventually to enlarge the structural fabric of the common infrastructure and “Science 2.0” practices.