Colleagues/ A Major/Major Report AND Case Studies ... /Gerry A Study on the Effective Use of Social Software by Further and Higher Education in the UK Shailey Minocha / January 2009 / Department of Computing / The Open University / Walton Hall / Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK Executive Summary The term 'social software' covers a range of software tools which allow users to interact and share data with other users, primarily via the web. Blogs, wikis, social networking websites, such as Facebook and Flickr, and social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious, are examples of some of the tools that are being used to share and collaborate in educational, social, and business contexts. The key aspect of asocial software tool is that it involves wider participation in the creation of information which is shared. This study examined the use of social software in the UK further and higher education sectors to collect evidence of the effective use of social software in enhancing student learning and engagement. In this study, data from 26 initiatives, where social software tools have been employed, has been collected, analysed and synthesised. The cases chosen give a spread of tools, subject areas, contexts (parttime, full-time or distance learning), levels of study, and institutions (higher and further education). A case study methodology was followed and both educators and students were interviewed to find out what they had done, how well it had worked, and what they had learned from the experiences. This study provides insights about the: educational goals of using social software tools; enablers or drivers within the institution, or from external sources which positively influence the adoption of social software; benefits to the students, educators and institutions; challenges that may influence a social software initiative; and issues that need to be considered in a social software initiative. Our investigations have shown that social software tools support a variety of ways of learning: sharing of resources (eg bookmarks, photographs), collaborative learning, problem-based and inquiry-based learning, reflective learning, and peer-to-peer learning. Students gain transferable skills of team working, online collaboration, negotiation, and communication, individual and group reflection, and managingdigital identities. [snip] Effective Use of Social Software in UK Further and Higher Education: Case Studies [125 pp.] Date uploaded > 02 February 2009 > Shailey Minocha The case studies or initiatives investigated in this study are consolidated in this document. The 26 initiatives or case studies investigated in this study cover a broad range of social software tools such as discussion forums, wikis, blogs, podcasts, microblogging or Twitter, photo-sharing (Flickr), Google Earth, 3-D virtual worlds, web conferencing, social networking sites such as Facebook, and others based on Elgg and Ning. The case studies are from a wide range of disciplines, at different levels of study (undergraduate, post-graduate, vocational courses) in part-time and full-time courses in further and higher education. The mode of delivery is diverse: face-to-face, blended learning (face-to-face and online learning), and distance-education. Select Case Studies [snip] 2 Using Wikis to Support Small Group Work 17 3 Facebook as a Pre-induction Support Tool 22 4 Community@Brighton: Social Networking at University of Brighton 27 7 Social Networking through Ning on a Distance-learning Programme 40 8 Using a Wiki for Developing a Portfolio and for Communication 44 11 Collaborative Learning in a Wiki on a Software Engineering Course 59 15 Develop Me! Social Networking at University of Bradford 77 17 Blogs, Wikis and Social Bookmarking to Support Web-based Research 86 18 Social Networking and Community-building in Dentistry Courses 90 20 Social Networking: Connect-ing Students and Staff 99 24 Supporting a Group of Distance-learning Students on Skypecast 116 25 Using Twitter to Support Students and Their Projects 119 26 Using Facebook to Obtain Student Feedback 122 All Appropriate Links Available From [ http://tinyurl.com/q9r2sk ] Thanks to The Caribbean Librarian for The HeadsUp ! Enjoy ! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu There is Nothing More Powerful Than An Idea Whose Time Has Come / Victor Hugo [ http://www.blogger.com/profile/09093368136660604490 ] Iowa: Where the Tall Corn Flows and the (North)West Wind Blows [ http://alternativeenergyblogs.blogspot.com/ ]