From 2005 to 2008 the international research and development project iCamp carried out a series of targeted educational interventions into existing teaching and studying practices within a cluster of European universities. These interventions were meant to establish educational experiences that would correspond with key features of international, distributed and technologically mediated work settings. The main educational objective was the advancement of important dispositions (skills, knowledge, attitudes and orientations) for collaborating with others and for self‑directing intentional learning projects in such settings. The large‑scale, homogenous and centrally administered landscapes of tools and services commonly provided in institutions of higher education proved to be conceptually and technologically incompatible with iCamp's overall intervention perspective. Instead, iCamp fostered the systematic use of loosely‑coupled, networked tools and services in the realm of social media and social software (such as Wikis, Weblogs, Webfeeds, etc.) to augment personal and distributed learning environments. The conceptual and technological shift provoked by iCamp challenged institutional representatives, facilitators, and students alike. This paper focuses on the description and interpretation of some key challenges, tensions, and barriers experienced by the research and intervention team in the context of the final field study carried out within the project. The paper finally suggests that the reported challenges and barriers represent re‑occurring problems in educational research and argues for the need to develop an adequate conceptual framework for educational intervention that focuses on second‑order change.

The idea of moving away from battery‑type Academic Development Activities and silo modules and programmes towards open cross‑institutional approaches in line with OEP are explored within this paper based on a recent small‑scale, fully‑online study. This b rought together academics and other professionals who support learning, from different disciplines and professional areas who are studying towards a Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Teaching and Learning in HE/Academic Practice during a facilitated open Problem‑Based Learning (PBL) task around assessment and feedback using freely available social media. The study aimed to explore if and how online PBL can be used within PgCert provisions to provide opportunities to connect, communicate and collabo rate in a community of practice beyond institutional walls. The phenomenographic methodology underpinned this research. Participants experiences in this open Academic Development activity were captured through individual remote interviews, a series of qu estionnaires and reflective accounts. Findings indicate that open online PBL has the potential to enable learners and educators to break out of academic and virtual silos. It also widens collaborative learning within Academic Development in multi‑discipl inary and multi‑institutional groups. Recommendations are made to Academic Developers and other tutors on how to bring learners from different programmes, institutions and countries together online using social media to create the conditions and the envir onment for a meaningful, rich and fruitful exchange and enable collaborative formal and informal learning.

The emergence of social media has forced educators to think differently about the way learning occurs. Students and practitioners alike are using new technologies to connect with peers/colleagues, share ideas, resources and experiences for extracurricular activities. The social business gaming platform considered in this study leverages the social networking concept (an activity that all students actively participate in) in an academic environment. The primary objective of this technology is to foster a sense of ‘thinking outside the box’ and analytical ability through a medium that is widely accepted by students and graduates who have entered the workplace. Both the environment and problems are developed to adapt to suit any academic course from conducting research to proposing business solutions. This study was undertaken in order to develop information systems security (ISS) skillsets through the creation and facilitation of social business gaming, which allowed students to measure their performances of understanding as part of their on‑going learning. The online business game required students to apply what they have learned to problem situations and to further develop their understanding of ISS topics. The problems posed required that the learners had to prove that they understood the material being taught in the traditional lecture and could apply what they had learned in an online environment. The on‑going assessment component of the gaming network was used not just as an assessment for grades but also as a learning tool. This research focuses on a group of final year undergraduate students completing Bachelor of Science in Information Systems (IS). The online social game was utilised as part of the continual assessment process to evaluate group interaction, role‑playing, competition and learning in an ISS assignment.

Abstract: In 2013, Facebook was used in learning and teaching clinical problem solving in a Pathology and a Clinical Sciences course delivered at a South Australian university. It involved first‑ and second‑year Medical Radiation students and second‑year Nursing students, Of the 152 students enrolled in the Pathology course, there were 148 students who participated in the Facebook group. Of the 148 students, 61 (41%) completed the invited post‑intervention questionnaire. At the same time, all 17 nursin g students enrolled in a science course at the regional campus of the same university participated in the Facebook initiative, however, only 10 (59%) completed the post‑intervention questionnaire. A good practice and checklist were developed from the p ost‑intervention evaluations, which consisted of 25 Likert‑ and open‑type questions. Both student cohorts found the use of Facebook beneficial for them in terms of providing an innovative way of learning; fostering greater interaction amongst co‑students and staff; and effectively engaging them with the content of courses. The importance of clear communication of goals and objectives to students was identified from student comments. Six good practice principles were identified relating to: goals and objec tives, expectations, communication, engagement with the course content, active participation, and learning environment.

Electronic learning (e‑learning) plays a significant role in improving the efficiency of the education process. However, in many cases in developing countries, technology transfer without consideration of technology acceptance factors has limited the impact of e‑learning and the expected outcome of the education process. Therefore, this shift in learning method has been met with low enthusiasm from academic staff and students owing to its low perceived usefulness and perceived ease‑of‑use. The University of Kufa (UoK) in Iraq is considered a good case study because it has implemented the e‑learning platform since 2013. The UoK platform is based on open‑source Moodle owing to the latter’s advantages, such as low implementation cost, open community for support and continuous update and development. To identify and evaluate the challenges, this study uses a questionnaire survey that targets the level of adoption, implementation, familiarity and technology acceptance of staff and students. A total of 242 educators participate in the survey, and the data are subsequently analysed. Important information is extracted using data mining techniques, namely clustering and decision trees. One of the main crucial factors extracted from the analysis results is the perception that social media is easier to use compared with a dedicated e‑learning platform such as Moodle. This factor may also discourage educators/learners from adopting an offered e‑learning platform, regardless of actual usefulness, motivation and training programs. Therefore, this paper offers practical information regarding the main issues and a guideline to fully utilise e‑learning for policy makers and e‑learning developers, particularly in newly established institutions or developing countries.

At Aalborg University (AAU) we are known to work with problem‑based learning (PBL) in a particular way designated “The Aalborg PBL model”. In PBL the focus is on participant control, knowledge sharing, collaboration among participants, which makes it interesting to consider the integration of social media in the learning that takes place. In this article I would like to depart from the use of this pedagogical model, which integrates social media. The article will look at a learning design model, which could be a spring‑board scaffolding teachers at AAU in their pedagogical approach to learning design when combining the PBL approach with social media or web 2.0 activities or/and technologies. With regard to the discussions about PBL, three important characteristics of PBL can be extracted; the problem, the work process, and the solution, which can be used to distinguish between various theoretical and practical constructions of PBL – regardless initially of whether it is collaborative or cooperative. The three dimensions can then be thought of as stretched between two ends of a continuum between teacher and participant control. These fundamental questions of ownership and control seem also to be more generally applicable in relation to wider debates about social media and learning. The learning design model is based on the collaborative eLearning design (CoED) method. The CoED‑workshop methodology aims to support the design of targeted networked learning. The method scaffolds the design work of practitioners and has been developed and tried out in a number of different settings. Drawing on knowledge and theoretical concepts within the fields of design, systems development and collaborative learning, emphasis is on bringing focus and structure to the early stages of the design process. The method aims to develop design specifications and/or early prototypes within a few hours of starting work. In order to achieve one of the objectives of my PhD, I aim to further developing and elaborate on this method, which hopefully will lead to a pedagogical design method scaffolding teachers in their learning designs, taking into account the PBL approach and integration of social media and web 2.0 technologies. This article will be based on theoretical and methodological considerations within PBL, social media and web 2.0 technologies, together with learning designs trying to illustrate a pedagogical design model scaffolding teachers in their learning design when integrating social media and web 2.0 technologies into the PBL approach at AAU. The method has been tried out at the Faculty of Social Science, AAU during Spring 2011 and the article will present some of the preliminary findings in this.

The ways our children are using Internet have changed significantly within the last five years: the Web experience is more personalised, social, open, self‑regulated and oriented towards ripping, remixing, sharing, following, reflecting. As a result, also e‑learning has recently become more social and open, involving the use of personal learning environments or social networks. We believe that the schools are not ready for this yet, as strategies and regulations supporting open learning are not up to date . It may seem easier to restrict the use of e.g. Twitter or Facebook rather than integrate them into the learning process. In 2011, we carried out the qualitative analysis of 201 e‑safety related short stories presented by students (aged 12 to 16), pa rents, teachers, school IT managers and police officials, collected through the Safer Internet in Estonia EE SIC campaign. 2/3 of the stories are fictional … they may be based on urban legends which however appear to refer to real stories. 1/3 of the sto ries reflect real incidents. We mapped typical behaviour patterns and beliefs regarding privacy as well as the regulations and limitations concerning the use of social networks at schools. Our study shows that typical safety incidents are not solved adeq uately when existing regulations are used by the schools. We found that most of the solutions used by schools to ensure e‑safety are either technical or purely regulation‑based, only some schools appeared to have studied or elaborated on pedagogical or be havioural aspects. Problems are defied by limitations and regulations, while actual safety incidents (whether in‑ or outside school) remain largely unsolved (or even undetected). Thus there is an urgent need for information and working guidance mechan isms for managers, teachers, parents and students. These matters must be solved before schools reach the critical mass in using e‑learning, social networks and modern gadgetry as parts of curriculum. Keywords: online safety, schools, policy, new technolog ies, social media