Penny Coutas
Hypermedia Ethnography on a Shoestring
The Poster from my presentation at the EuroCALL 2009 conference in Playa de Gandia, Spain. eurocall.webs.upv.es/eurocall2009/
Note: I attached an iPod shuffle, small speaker and a small digital photo frame in order to have the participants "speak for themselves" and to show images of the case-study school environments.
Abstract:
New technologies allow for “anywhere, anytime” access to information resources and likewise facilitate the creation of those resources quickly, easily and at point of need. Mobile phones, mp3 players, netbooks, YouTube, blogs, social networks and tagging are just some of the tools available to language learners and educators that have facilitated innovative ways of collaborating and working together. So too have these tools enhanced opportunities for innovation in research.
With this poster, I present the possibilities, practicalities and challenges afforded by new Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools to conduct, analyse, and (re)present qualitative research on Computer Assisted Language Learning. This extends and builds on the work by Dicks, Mason, Coffey & Atkinson (2005) who used hypermedia ethnography as a methodology for research in learning environments by bringing the methodology into the “Web 2.0” era. I draw on findings from my current EdD research project, exploring the use of ICT for learning and teaching Languages in technology-enhanced and supported government high schools in Western Australia, to provide examples. Throughout the research process I have made great use of ICT tools and services, raising questions such as: how can an iPhone be used for data collection? Should it? Does blogging aid or restrict the research process? How is data best stored and access online? Do participants engage more fully in the research process when they have anytime access to their data? What are the important ethical issues that arise, unique to this methodology, and how might they be addressed?
This poster may pose many questions, but I also offer recommendations and suggestions for further developments and explorations in this area. Hypermedia ethnography represents a new trend for research in computer assisted language learning: one of great potential, and one that certainly facilitates innovative ways of collaborating and working together with both research participants and the broader research community
Hypermedia Ethnography on a Shoestring
The Poster from my presentation at the EuroCALL 2009 conference in Playa de Gandia, Spain. eurocall.webs.upv.es/eurocall2009/
Note: I attached an iPod shuffle, small speaker and a small digital photo frame in order to have the participants "speak for themselves" and to show images of the case-study school environments.
Abstract:
New technologies allow for “anywhere, anytime” access to information resources and likewise facilitate the creation of those resources quickly, easily and at point of need. Mobile phones, mp3 players, netbooks, YouTube, blogs, social networks and tagging are just some of the tools available to language learners and educators that have facilitated innovative ways of collaborating and working together. So too have these tools enhanced opportunities for innovation in research.
With this poster, I present the possibilities, practicalities and challenges afforded by new Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools to conduct, analyse, and (re)present qualitative research on Computer Assisted Language Learning. This extends and builds on the work by Dicks, Mason, Coffey & Atkinson (2005) who used hypermedia ethnography as a methodology for research in learning environments by bringing the methodology into the “Web 2.0” era. I draw on findings from my current EdD research project, exploring the use of ICT for learning and teaching Languages in technology-enhanced and supported government high schools in Western Australia, to provide examples. Throughout the research process I have made great use of ICT tools and services, raising questions such as: how can an iPhone be used for data collection? Should it? Does blogging aid or restrict the research process? How is data best stored and access online? Do participants engage more fully in the research process when they have anytime access to their data? What are the important ethical issues that arise, unique to this methodology, and how might they be addressed?
This poster may pose many questions, but I also offer recommendations and suggestions for further developments and explorations in this area. Hypermedia ethnography represents a new trend for research in computer assisted language learning: one of great potential, and one that certainly facilitates innovative ways of collaborating and working together with both research participants and the broader research community