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THE USE OF LEARNING PLATFORMS TO ORGANIZE LEARNING
PLATFORMS TO ORGANISE LEARNING IN ENGLISH PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Carey Jewitt, Wilma Clark and Christina Hadjithoma-Garstka
This is a pre-print version of an article that appears in Learning, Media and
Technology (2011) http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2011.621955
ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the use and potentials of Learning Platform (LP) technologies
for organizing learning in English primary and secondary schools. It reports on the
findings of qualitative research on the benefits of Learning Platforms (LPs) based on
data from case studies in 12 ‘early adopting’ English primary and secondary schools
(2010, Jewitt et al). The paper reports findings on the potential of LPs to enhance
student access to a broad range of learning resources, to increase opportunities for
independent and personalised learning, to support opportunities for collaborative
learning and to improve student processes of reflecting on and assessing their
learning. The paper concludes by drawing out some of the pedagogic implications
from these findings and a brief summary of the emerging conditions associated with
the effective use of LPs to support and organize learning.
Key words: learning platform, assessment, independent learning, collaborative
learning, personalised learning
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THE USE OF LEARNING PLATFORMS TO ORGANIZE LEARNING
PLATFORMS TO ORGANISE LEARNING IN ENGLISH PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
INTRODUCTION
There has been significant government and industry interest in the promotion of LPs.
In this paper LP is used to encompass a range of technologies including virtual
learning environments, management information systems, communications
technologies and other information and resource sharing technologies. The character
and form of these technologies as well as their use varies from school to school.
In some schools these technologies are integrated into shared online systems and
environments that support teaching staff, students and, less often parents, to access
learning resources, communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as monitor,
assess and report on student progress.
This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research project, funded by Becta in
2009-10 (Jewitt et al., 2010) that examined the potential benefits of using LP
technologies for leadership and management, teaching, parental communication and
involvement, and learning. It focuses on the research findings related to the
organization of learning and forms of learning that are supported by LPs notably
personalised and collaborative learning (rather than on learning per se). The aim of
the project was to provide evidence to inform and support the effective use of LP
technologies across schools (that is the use of the LP to realise the schools’ goals
within their a wider learning, teaching and management strategy). The project was
informed by three main research objectives. First, to develop a detailed understanding
of how LP technologies are being implemented, adopted and used within English
primary and secondary schools; second, to provide robust evidence for the benefits
that are being achieved through the effective use of LP technologies – in particular
how LP technologies are fitting with schools’ wider learning, teaching and
management strategies; and third to develop understanding of the factors
underpinning the effective use of LP technologies in schools. Findings on the positive
potentials for learning realised through the use of LPs are presented here, alongside a
discussion of the constraints and tensions experienced by the case study schools.
The potential advantages of LPs for learning and teaching have begun to be
acknowledged within the education technology literature – especially in terms of the
benefits associated with the use of virtual learning environments (see Weller 2007).
Empirical evidence for the educational outcomes of LP technologies in schools is,
however, limited, and most research to date has been small-scale non-peer reviewed
action research. Evidence of benefits associated with LPs reported in social science
research papers and peer-reviewed evaluation research include supporting innovative
approaches to learning (Padmore et. al. 2006), student appreciation of immediate
feedback provided by LP systems (Roth et. al. 2009), enhanced collaboration (that is
where students draw on each others’ resources and knowledge) between students (and
the development of ‘learning communities’ and enhanced student levels of enjoyment
and motivation (McCarthy et al. 2004, Valentine et al. 2005), supporting the
development of bond between instructor-students (Rau et. al. 2008) and increased
‘closeness’ between parents and children (Kong & Li 2008).
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The BESA survey of LP use in schools (Connor 2009) reported that the majority of
secondary leaders to primary leaders anticipated LPs to provide some or an extensive
improvement to teaching and learning in their schools. There are, however, a number
of inconsistencies in the use of LP technology throughout the English school system.
The Ofsted (2009) study of LP use in twenty-two educational institutions (including
six primary and two secondary schools) suggested that although support for the
technology existed from “enthusiastic staff and learners” the “use of VLEs to
enhance learning was not widespread” (Ofsted 2009, p.4). The Harnessing
Technology Report (Becta, 2009) reported a distinct divide between primary and
secondary sectors – with 67 percent of secondary schools and 42 percent of primary
schools currently using LP technology, with primary school leaders less likely to see
the technology as a priority for their school (22 percent reported having no plans to
introduce LP technology into their schools). In terms of the nature of school LP use,
the Harnessing Technology school survey (Smith et al. 2008) reported the principal
uses of LPs in many schools as a repository for documents for learning and teaching
and, secondly, as a store for digital learning resources. Grant (2009) observed that the
use of LPs within schools appears to conform to existing patterns of delivery and
‘broadcast’ of information and resources, rather than following more interactive
patterns, that is they are mainly used to “upload content rather than interactive
communication or learning” (Grant 2009, p.5).
Research methods
The research project took the same methodological approach to primary and
secondary schools, although differences in and organizational approaches across the
participating schools were accounted for when sampling the schools, and analyzing
the data. It took a two-phase approach to addressing its aims and objectives.
Phase One: knowledge mapping activities & identification of case study schools
Phase One of the project took place throughout September and October 2009 and
sought to map existing evidence on the benefits that can be realised through the
effective implementation and use of LPs and associated technologies, that is the use
of the LP to realise the schools’ goals within their a wider learning, teaching and
management strategy. It involved a review of a wide range of literature and online
networks alongside in-depth interviews with 15 key informants (policy makers,
educational leaders, and LP industry). Findings from this phase informed the
development of the fieldwork research instruments.
To select the case study schools the project team compiled an initial long list of 230
suitable primary and secondary schools across England. These included schools that
were identified as having award-winning ICT provision and/or nationally recognised
for their ICT use, as well as schools recommended by key informants. This list was
reduced to 115 schools by removing schools with involvement in recent Becta
research.
In order to gather local information on the short-listed schools a short email
questionnaire was administered to these 115 schools supported by additional
telephone or email contact. This information was used to select a sub-sample of 30
schools to fulfil the following section criteria:
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A LP had been embedded in the school for more than one year;
Clear evidence of identifiable school leadership around LP use;
High level of visible online activity on the school LP;
Clear focus on one or more key areas of teaching, learning, management,
administration, and parent/home links.
From these thirty schools, a final sample of twelve schools (six primary and six
secondary) was selected to offer a range of school types (i.e. urban/ rural, large/ small,
single sex/ co-educational, different specialism) and LP applications to form the basis
of the second phase of the project.
Phase Two: In depth case studies of twelve schools (October 2009 and February
2010). Each case study consisted of:
In-depth interviews conducted with school senior management and administration
teams (SMTs) involved in the use of the LP in each school. These interviews provided
a rich picture of the institution and organisational issues underlying the
implementation and improvement of the managed learning system. Interviews
focused on a range of areas including assessment management, monitoring student
progress, reporting, curriculum planning, and communication.
Focus group interviews of between four to eight teachers conducted in each school to
gain a sense of their use of LPs in the course of their practice. These interviews were
used to explore issues raised by the school SMT, as well as identifying the use of the
LP to support and extend teaching, planning, administration, and the creation/sharing
of resources), and assessment.
Focus group interviews facilitated with four to six students from two year groups in
each school. These interviews utilised student homework planners, images of LPs,
and interaction with the school’s LP using talk-aloud protocols to capture the student
perspective. The students in each group reflected the range of ability groups within
the year. Topics covered included learning materials and support, choice,
personalisation, communication and collaboration.
Structured classroom observations of students’ in-class use of LP technologies. The
observations used a structured, observational grid to collect data on how the LP
featured in the school, variation of use across subject areas, learning materials, and
issues of personalisation (defined later in the paper), and motivation.
In-depth interviews conducted with parents/carers from each school, where
appropriate. The first half of these interviews took the form of a ‘talk aloud’
observation of the parent’s use of the LP. Here parents were asked to demonstrate
how they used the LP on a computer equipped with screen-capture and voice-capture
software. The second half of the interviews allowed parents to explore and expand
upon wider issues relating to the LP.
All of these research activities resulted in a total of 277 respondents being interviewed
across the twelve case-study schools (see Table 1).
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Primary
schools
(n=6)
Secondary
schools
(n=6)
Total
Senior management
24
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35
ICT co-ordinators
6
11
17
Teachers
24
30
54
Students
95
49
144
Parents/ carers
14
4
18
Others (governors, library
managers, administrators)
6
3
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Table 1: Number of interviewees across the twelve case study schools.
Analysis
Thematic and content analytical procedures were used to categorize and code the
different data sets. The preliminary analysis of the case study observational and
interview data was guided by a focus on the benefits of LPs in four areas of activity/
high level codes: parental involvement, learning, teaching, and management. The
completed case study descriptions, literature review and a series of stakeholder
interviews were used to generate a second level of thematic codes. This generated an
initial set of 23 codes which were further refined through iterative analysis across the
data set to produce a final set of twelve codes of the benefit of LPs: Enhancing the
accessibility, quality, relevance and range of resources; Increased opportunities for
collaborative learning; Increased opportunities for independent and personalised
learning; Building the school civic identity and community; Enhancing digital
literacies; Facilitating leadership and management of teaching; Improved management
of student behaviour and attendance; Improving the processes of monitoring and
assessing learning; Increased and improved organisation of information and
communication; Making best use of teacher time; Parental involvement and supporting
learning at home; and Supporting additional educational needs and inclusion. This
paper focuses on the first three of these codes related to the organisation of learning.
Each code was further defined by the project team through the second stage of
preliminary analysis to generate a third level of descriptive sub-codes, for instance
increased opportunities for independent learning included sub-codes related to the
degree of student choice, student autonomy, ownership, self-directed working, student
confidence, and ICT skills. The third-level descriptive sub codes for each of the areas
of learning discussed in this paper are provided under the relevant sections discussing
each theme later in the paper.
These codes were applied qualitatively to the dataset to look at patterns of interaction
across the different benefits in each case study, rather than to quantify the data.
Thematic analysis enabled the data from the different sets to be combined to produce a
coherent case study report on each school. These were reviewed and coded
thematically by the project team. From this basis the data was selectively coded in
terms of categories identified with the initial code list directly related to the aims of the
study. The interview data were thematically analyzed via the N*VIVO software
package.
A constant comparison technique was used to analyze the dataset that was generated
from these interviews. This first involved reading all the interview transcripts to gain an
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overall sense of the data. A sample of the dataset was then read again and ‘open-coded’
until, in the opinion of the researchers, analysis had reached theoretical saturation.
From this basis the whole dataset were then coded selectively in terms of categories
identified with the initial code list directly related to the aims of the study. Thematic
analysis enabled the data from the different data sets to be combined to produce a
coherent variety of influences and factors underlying the use of LP technologies across
the school.
Findings: The uses of LPs for organising learning
This paper presents and discusses the project findings relevant to the use and
potentials of LPs for organising learning with a focus on four themes that emerged
from the data:
learning resources;
opportunities for independent and personalised learning;
opportunities for collaborative learning and interaction;
processes of monitoring and assessing for learning and teaching.
Each of these themes is now discussed drawing on the case study data. It is important
to note that the findings are from case study schools that were considered advanced in
their use of LPs and where this technology was firmly embedded across the school.
As shown by the statistics on schools uses of LPs (reported in the introduction) they
are not typical of the majority of schools.
Learning resources
Categories concerned with learning resources that emerged from the data analysis
included the range and quality of learning resources they had access to, the
organisation of resources, the source of resources, for example, teacher-made,
student-made or commercial resources, the sharing of resources, the adaption of
resources to the local context, the role of resources in professional development, the
role of resources in the surveillance of teachers and the involvement of students and
parents, as well as student access and use of learning resources at home and in the
classroom.
Enhancing the range of resources
School leaders, teachers and students viewed their LPs as enhancing the range and
quality of learning resources they had access to. Teachers used the LP as a ‘one-stop
shop’ to easily gather, organize and manage learning resources (e.g. folderized
resource bank/repository). Online education content services, recommended links and
downloadable resources provided via some LP providers gave teachers access to a
wide range of appropriate teaching materials in addition to their own use of the
Internet. The LP also provided a means to manage, access and use multiple resources
within lessons, for instance, for managing multiple websites, audiovisual resources
and Geographical Information System (GIS) simulators in the geography classroom.
The LP also provided teachers with links to software applications for creating online
materials.
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Adapting and sharing resources
Teachers in all the schools were encouraged to share resources and to collaborate at
departmental or school level, to seek peer review and feedback, and to get ideas from
each others’ practice. The collaborative character of teacher resources on the LP was
commented on as useful by all, particularly newly qualified teachers, who said it
helped them to get ideas for their teaching and to better understand the possibilities
for teaching as well as providing continuity when supply teachers were used. It also
provided a route to manageable and relevant access to student content for teachers and
students in the form of e-portfolios for example. Teachers reported benefits realised
by the visibility and ‘public’ character of the LP in relation to learning resources
including increased collaboration, possibilities for re-cycling and adapting colleagues’
resources, a stronger sense of accountability, and a higher quality of resource
development (in direct response to their visibility). However, some teachers also
reported some negative aspects of this visibility in particular that it enabled a stronger
managerial gaze on the work of teachers that may reduce innovation and risk taking.
Student access to a range of resources
The LP offered the students opportunities to access, select, use and manage learning
resources at school or home. In the case study schools students could access a range
of interactive and audiovisual materials through the LP including discussion forums,
blogs and other collaborative applications, video clips, podcasts, photographs,
quizzes, games and online tests. The LP also provided links relevant to project work
and revision selected and approved by teachers. In all the case study schools the LP
was actively used to scaffold and structure learning as fun, engaging and motivating
with a focus on imaginative, creative and inclusive resources. Resources created by
staff often sparked students’ imagination and interest. As one Secondary school
teacher noted:
‘We’ve had science departments that are videoing their own experiments, so
that children can see an experiment that they’ve actually been part of. They
can see it now either by going on to YouTube or logging on to our Extranet, …
getting children involved in that creative procedure as well. So we’ve had
girls doing sound recording, girls doing videoing, girls doing the actual
commentary, girls doing the experiment itself. You involve them in a process
like that and it boosts their interest.’
As one teacher commented:
‘I think that they [parents] can see the real impact when they hear their
child’s voice on the video or they see them, they can link a bit more to it…it’s
just an easier way to understand…it just hits them straightaway, that’s what
they’ve been learning. And it’s a good conversation topic and might it engage
conversation and take learning further at home also than maybe a piece of
writing would. But they’ve [writing and video] each got their place and
importance in learning.’
Student-made resources
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Some schools were encouraging students and parents to create their own content,
allowing the dynamic creation and recreation of learning resources rather than the LP
being used as a static digital ‘drop box’ or repository. LPs were being used to make
learning resources more relevant to fit the specific needs of their class or students and
sharing of student-generated content in a range of languages was more easily
supported. Students were encouraged to generate resources to be shared with the
school community via the LP including games design, and book reviews. The LP
provided a space for students to publish and showcase their resources, and allowed
students to take ownership of the resources and the LP more generally.
The potential of LPs to support innovative approaches to learning is noted in other
studies (Padmore et. al. 2006). Some teachers (and students) reported that caution still
rules too many decisions notably with respect to negative perceptions of social
networking sites and this resulted in some useful sites and applications (e.g. Twitter
and YouTube) being censored for fear of scandal or danger. Schools had also had to
address parental perceptions of such sites and concerns about e-safety when using the
LP and Web 2.0 applications.
‘My only concerns on that are, I mean, if you’re going to put photos or videos
on an open website, you’ve got to cover it with parental consent’ [Parent]
The case study schools had all worked with parents to allay concerns, and to educate
students on e-safety. However, most of the schools were at an early stage of parental
involvement and engagement and this continued to be a factor in the development of
the LP.
Opportunities for independent and personalised learning
The main categories that emerged from the data in relation to student opportunities for
independent and personalised learning included the design and organization of
learning environments, the range of resources and the degree of student choice and
autonomy supported by the LP, ownership, opportunities for self-directed working,
moving beyond classroom-focused learning, student confidence and ICT skills,
parental support and involvement with learning.
In all of the case study schools the LP was used to provide students with access to
activities designed to supplement and support their classroom learning. Teachers
sometimes set independent activities on the LP and made use of discussion forums,
blogs and other collaborative applications. Others posted homework tasks for a whole
week or month through the LP so that students could work through homework as they
wished. Students developed and used revision and quiz materials on the LP .
All of the 12 case study schools had developed their use of LPs with the explicit aim
of increasing student opportunities for independent and personalised learning (that is
an approach to learning in which all pupils are able to progress, achieve and
participate in different ways and at their own pace). They had achieved this by
designing open and safe spaces on the LP for classes and subject areas and the
provision of a range of resources. This increased student choice and autonomy
regarding learning resources, and enabled them to select those that best suited their
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interests. Students spoke of taking ownership of and becoming more engaged in
learning activities.
‘You can just go on there and do it yourself. ... So then you’re learning all
yourself, without your teacher’s help.’
(Year 4 student)
Across the case studies LPs were considered by teachers and students to support
independent learning through enhanced student motivation, increased enjoyment and
enthusiasm for topics, more opportunities for reflection and self-directed working
including revision and preparation for examinations through the student-driven use of
revision and quiz materials.
The case study schools worked to make homework tasks ‘transparent’ to parents,
supplying them with prompts to support their child’s engagement with set homework
tasks and information to give parents a clear focus for schoolwork with their children.
Some schools regularly sent digital messages via the LP to parents, for example, with
details of homework tasks. Some Primary schools provided access to educational
games specifically for parents to play with their child at home.
The use of the LP as the main space for independent learning is on the one hand a
benefit for learning, and on the other shot through with tensions related to equity,
relations between home and school, parental involvement with their child’s learning,
and access to technology in the home.
‘Are we going to work on the basis that we’re going to exclude 10% of the
school population? I’ve had comments from students saying, for whatever
reason, I don’t have access at home at the present time, I am unable to get
the material that I need, so I think there is an equal opportunities issue.’
(Teacher)
‘Yes [I have got a computer at home], but I can’t use it because of my sister,
she also goes to college and she’s got to do her homework.’
(Year 6 student)
Further, teachers commented that even when students do have access to equipment
their lack the confidence and low literacy and ICT skills and without parental support
for learning at home often found it difficult to navigate the LP interface.
‘It could be a bit wordy for the lower abilities … there are a lot of words and
they click, they click and if they can’t read very well that’s hard.’
(Teacher)
‘Some don’t like the computer because they don’t know what to do, and they
don’t know what the computer is like, and they don’t have them at home and
they won’t know anything.’
(Year 2 Student)
Some teachers commented that student lack of access to the Internet in the home
presented an ethical barrier to using the LP to set digital homework or extended
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independent learning. Others considered the school computer facilities ensured all
students had access to the Internet and did not view access in the home as a barrier to
setting digital work to extend independent learning.
Increased opportunities for collaborative learning and interaction
The main categories emerging from the data with respect to using LPs to increase
opportunities for collaborative learning and interaction were the design of digital
spaces for students to communicate, peer focused activities, the use of digital
technologies to support collaborative practices and projects, as well as interaction
between schools and teachers, the benefits of the sense of communicational distance
afforded by LPs (i.e. the LP created a sense of a physical and emotional distance
between students working online that students and teachers considered supported
critical engagement), ideas of belonging and community.
The case study schools had developed their use of LPs to increase opportunities for
collaborative learning and interaction. In all of the schools the LP was used as a space
for students to share ideas and collaborate on projects, and to support collaborative
learning and interaction between schools, and teachers. Although the extent to which
students made use of these spaces varied across the schools and subject areas.
Teachers and students reported that the LP supported increased student peer
interaction. The digital tools facilitated by LPs, including blogs, wikis, and discussion
boards were marshalled to provide a collaborative environment which teachers and
students reported enlivened and enriched the learning process and created a range of
productive social contexts for learning.
Collaboration took place within individual schools, and also across different schools.
Students were provided a range of opportunities to engage with other students across
different schools – especially between existing clusters of schools. Students in one
primary school cluster, for instance, had worked on a never-ending story using a Wiki
to focus on the cluster theme on writing. Another school had taken part in audio
broadcasting to support a range of cross-school collaborations on writing. Students
had been enabled to learn from each other, to amend, and improve their work through
collaboration using digital applications on the LP . For instance, Wallwisher (an
online notice board maker) had been used to generate debate on a topic, and a digital
presentation developed and uploaded onto the LP to share, while another group had
collaborated to make a video. As one Year 4 student commented:
‘[working together] you don’t learn exactly what you know, you can learn
what your friend knows as well.’
Teachers reported that student use of blogs and discussion boards on the LP had
provided students with more opportunities to develop their communicational skills
and learned how to discuss, question, argue, and reason with one another in ways that
had developed their potential to identify choices and hone their ideas. Teachers
commented that the sense of distance afforded by digital online communication
enabled interactions between students to be less emotional or personal which in turn
had helped to support critique and difficult commentaries that face-to-face classroom
interaction could not support so easily. Students and teachers noted that this
contributed to developing a feeling of belonging to a learning community (either at
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community, school or class level). This echoes research that suggests enhanced
collaboration between students can contribute to a more developed learning
community (McCarthy et al. 2004:180).
The use of collaborative digital applications such as Wikis need, however, to be
understood in the context of the school so that their collaborative affordances are not
over-ridden by the social affordances of the context (Grant, 2006).
Improved processes of monitoring and assessing for learning
The main categories that emerged from the data with respect to the use of LPs and
opportunities for monitoring and assessment concerned digital forms of teacher
feedback, new forms of recording feedback, and the use digital technologies (e.g.
video) to support student critical reflection, automated online feedback, and the
visibility of grades over time to support self-review, and less positively a sense of
surveillance for students and teachers.
The schools used the LP to create opportunities for self and peer review and to
support a range of forms of assessment including the provision of teacher feedback in
the form of track changes, the review of video recordings of classroom activity, the
use of audio files in language lessons and for the assessment of speaking and
listening, as well as automated feedback via quizzes. For example, students in one
school had access to recordings uploaded to the LP of them talking in French which
enabled them to listen to themselves speak and hear their accent. Other schools
provided students with instant feedback, for example through the use of auto-scoring
computer quizzes or teacher online feedback. Most of the schools provided students
with some form of access to archives of their work on the LP . This supported
students to see, assess, and value their progress over time and set their learning goals,
it made their learning visible to them. As one Year 10 Student said:
“One thing I really like which I found especially nice, on it [LP] you can
access all your different lessons… so you can literally click on each individual
bit and you can go on classes from this year and classes from last year, so you
can look at stuff you’ve done over time... “
Students in some schools were provided with data on the LP to enable them to review
their targets, and find out what they need to focus on. For example, students in one
school were ranked using a traffic light system in relation to their targets across the
school year. Students and teachers were further supported in some schools to easily
exchange messages enabling students to explain how they did their work to the
teacher, using commentary boxes and audio notes, assessing their own work and
difficulties. In some Primary schools important features of classroom assessment were
made more permanent and shareable using the facilities of the LP . For example, the
creation of permanent records of achievement or ‘praise pod casts’ took momentary
comments from teachers and recorded them into an audio file for students to revisit
and share with their family. This serves to open up a dialogue between student and
teacher (and parent) around specific homework tasks. Other research suggests that
this can support the development of a positive bond between instructor-students (Rau
et. al. 2008).
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Pedagogic implications and emerging conditions for the effective use of LPs to
support learning
Overall the analysis presented in this paper has shown that when used effectively LPs
have the potential to support learning in primary and secondary schools of different
sizes and the home in a number of significant ways. Notably giving students access to
a broad range of learning resource, supporting opportunities for independent and
personalised learning, facilitating student collaboration, and encouraging student
reflection and self-assessment. Here we draw out some of the pedagogic implications
of the findings.
With respect to resources the research findings indicate that the pedagogic benefits of
LPs may be enhanced in both primary and secondary schools by 1) a clear shared
vision of the purpose of the LP in relation to learning in school and at home and the
links between the two; 2) ensuring a wide range of appropriate and safe resources and
applications are made available to students that make full use of the different media
and modes supported by digital technologies; 3) designing the LP to be a ‘one-stop
shop’ that gives thematic structure to resources, gathers together, organizes and
manages resources in a coherent way; 4) supporting teachers to adapt, recycle, and
share existing resources; 5) fostering a collaborative risk taking environment in which
teachers can share ideas and problem solve; and 6) providing staff training and
support focused on both the technological features and pedagogic uses of a range of
applications such as blogs, digital video, and podcasts in the design of learning
resources.
All of the schools used the LP to generate opportunities for independent learning in
the home and to a lesser extent the school (although some were more technologically
and pedagogically innovative). Opportunities for independent and personalised
learning can, the research findings indicate, be supported by the LP by 1) increased
student choice and autonomy (e.g. regarding learning resources); 2) setting tasks and
activities with open aspects; 3) ensuring access to student-driven time and activities;
4) the development of self-directed spaces on the LPs (e.g. blogs, forums); 5) the
provision of permanent spaces on the LP for individual students to archive their work
across their school life and that can be personalised; 6) ensuring access to educational
games linked to learning outcomes; 7) reviewing options for supporting student
access to technology at home and school; and 8) supplying parents with prompts to
support young children’s learning.
The research findings show that opportunities for collaborative learning and
interaction can be supported by the use of LPs using many different media, over
different time-spans. Collaboration can be organized across locations, including
across year groups, schools, subjects, or be project-based collaborations. This appears
to be most effective when the social and cultural practices of school (whether primary
or secondary) and the technology are explored and e-safety and monitoring issues
have been considered.
The research findings suggest that the potential of LPs to improve processes of
monitoring and assessing for learning may be harnessed to useful pedagogic effect by
1) creating regular opportunities for self and peer review; 2) the use of digital
technologies to support a range of innovative forms of assessment (e.g. praise pod
13
casts); 3) providing students with materials over time to allow them to review their
own work and progress; 4) creating opportunities for online dialogue between
students, teachers and parents; and 5) being aware of the potential for permanent
digital records to follow students in positive and negative ways.
The research reported in this paper is of course limited by its focus of the research on
the benefits of LPs and a sample of schools identified as making good use of LPs for
teaching, learning, and management. Nonetheless this paper highlights some of the
potential benefits that could be realised through LPs and as such provides a rationale
and starting point for those schools who wish to explore how and why they might
want to make use of their LP to support the organisation of learning.
References
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