Sunday November 22, 2015 - 1500 UTC / GMT
What was it about?
This Hangout on Air is with Ali Bostangioglu, who is returning as promised to report to us on the full details of his study of Webheads in Action, for which he is soon to be awarded his PdD. As many of you know, Ali interviewed a number of Webheads in the data-collection phase of his study, but was unable at the time to divulge his hypothesis nor the true purpose of the questions in the interviews. In this session, we hope that he will pull back the veil and reveal how the study has come together to support his hypothesis.
This event will take place in Hangout on Air. As usual with L2g Hangouts, you can join us in the HoA at a link that will be provided just prior to the event (once Ali and I are both in the HoA). You can also follow the stream at its YouTube link and interact with us in our Chatwing text chat space.
See more at Learning2gether archive of this event
http://learning2gether.net/2015/11/22/learning2gether-about-details-of-ali-bostancioglus-research-into-webheads-in-action/
Here is Ali's abstract for his case study:
English as a foreign language teachers’ technology professional development through online communities of practice
An online community of practice (OCoP) is a group of people, who are brought together by a shared interest and with the aim of deepening their understanding of an area of knowledge through regular interactions facilitated by computer mediated communication (CMC) tools.
In response to critiques of current professional development (PD) approaches such as workshops and cascade training which are conducted in short periods of time allowing for only limited follow up and feedback opportunities, OCoPs can be beneficial and a viable alternative for teacher PD. This is because an OCoP potentially provides teachers with those elements of effective PD, cited in the literature, such as collaboration, opportunities for mentoring, and sustainability over time.
However, research on adopting an OCoP approach for teacher PD has been limited. Therefore, conducted within the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching, the present study aimed to 1) investigate EFL teachers’ PD in learning how to integrate technology in their teaching and 2) identify what factors contribute towards creating successful OCoPs.
The Webheads in Action (WiA) community has been chosen as a case for this study since WiA has previously been established to be an OCoP in which EFL teachers from different countries participate. A mixed methods research strategy was adopted which combined questionnaires and interviews. Initially, the questionnaire was administered to 69 members of the community. 24 of those members (4 core, 9 active, and 11 peripheral) participated in follow up interviews. Additionally, members’ interactions in the public group page were collated over a period of nine months in order to triangulate findings.
The results suggested that member participation in the community led to perceived technology professional development (TPD) of EFL teachers and that the more a member participated and collaborated with other members, the higher their reported TPD was; a finding which underlined the importance of co-construction of knowledge in this process.
Two major themes emerged in relation to factors affecting member participation in this long standing OCoP. The first one was identified as dynamism inherent in the community which manifested itself as new topics that kept members interested and participating, a flow of continuous member recruitment to the community and leaders who responded to community needs when necessary. The second was the creation of a sense of belonging to the community which was achieved through various means such as having an initiation process, providing an inclusive community environment, fostering trust through community norms, and meeting other members face-to-face.
In conclusion, this study showed that OCoPs can be a viable alternative form of teacher PD and highlighted the importance of not only the professional but also the socio-affective dimension for designing and sustaining OCoPs.
All are welcome!
How this worked at showtime Nov 22, 2015
- You can listen to the stream in the video embedded above while chatting with us in real-time in the Chatwing embed below
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The following is a copy / paste from just the chat occuring during this session
Learning2gether is about to start talking to Ali Bostangioglu in 15 min from now, about his research into Webheads in Action
welcome viewers, you can join us in HoA or ask questions here and we'll answer
we have three viewers in the stream
there are 4 in the HoA, room for 10
hi, sorry to be late, election time in Arg ;-)
hi rita, feel free to join us in HoA, can you scroll up and find the link?
hi all :) just to let you know I've been listening ..
Happy to be with you today.
There are still spaces in the hangout
I've been in the outer ring of the group, but not a complete outsider.
Yes, me too, and it changes over time
I'd say you were active, Dan. You join us often, and you intersect your network with outs
with ours
is that based on quantity or quality?
The email list is a glue that keeps me connected, even when I don't have time to get into Sunday chats
did Ali interview you Dan?
someone should write a song about that
webheads all over the world :-)
it looks like someone already has :-)
"Webheads all over the world"
Hi Maria and Elizabeth
Maria we have room in the hangout
Ali and I never connected. Not being ESL teacher I felt a bit outside range of his focus
44 subjects, he asked on the list for volunteers for his survey
OK I misunderstood
I can't see this graphic, too small
we can ask if we can get a link to it we can see online
I´m in netbook which video does not work well
I can hear very well though and will participate here
Hi Maria, well we are with you here :-)
ElizA--I think it's viewable but non members cannot post there
I asked - how come the YG messages are viewable by the public - I thought it was a private group - Nina replies "it's viewable to public"
As Owner Vance will know what the settings are
Yes teaching can be very isolating
we respond quickly because we care about each other
Also because we are online a lot haha
I was just about to paste this here: Elizabeth Anne
5:40 AM
Oops - how come the YG are publically available ? I thought it was members only
sorry for the delay in my post just now
yeah I had to go thru a process authorizing chatwing on my other computer
Too B. dynamic (the field of interest) IMHO
@Vance - yes, I tried to copy but couldn't an so re-typed ;-)
It'll be interesting to see whether ICT4ELT will add as many new webheads to the CoP
as BaW
Welcome to Webheads Ali!
Yes, Tapped In was fun. I liked my little virtual office there
I used to have chats with my students
I had an account there once but haven't been forever
do you remember when it had scripts that you could place in your office? what was the acronym for that?
Four questions: 1) did Ali look at other CoPs. Is there list? 2) did he map size of group; growth since 2000?; 3) show changes since mid 2000s due to Facebook, G+, etc (he's talking about this now); and 4) important role of facilitator
I'm wondering what type of policy makers he is talking about
All very good questions, Daniel
within the CoP ? surely not
I believe that Vance's continuous shepherding of the webheads has been absolutely crucial to its success and sustainability
cat herding, not shep hearding :-)
He has always been there to sort out spammers, etc, tech issues with YG, dealing with problems and also now with L2g keeps us supplied with all kinds of learning opportunities
cat, sheep, whatever! shepherding in the sense of being vigilant and taking care of the community
cat herding because the community takes care of itself
The Yg does not take care of itself though
L2g does not take care of itself
and EVO does not take care of itself
Vance has been central and active in all of those endeavors
4 minutes to the hour, well-timed Ali!
we'll probably go anohter 15 / 20 min :-)
we don't know either
Being a webhead is a frame of mind
Yes, if you had used a different time frame you would have found a different result for me, I think
I have to leave now, I enjoyed listening to this ss I am proud of you all Webheads and honoured to have you as part of my PLN
I am peripheral now but used to be more active
Did Ali look at L2g participation or only YG, FB, google?
Anchor is a very good word for what Vance does.
webheads have 264 members in G+ C
I'd love to continue the discussion, but I'm going to try to get into the wizIQ
Catherder exraordinaire
Quintessential Webhead
Byebye ElizA
Would like to find others looking at CoP and looking at cMOOCs, too.
1089 enrolled in YGroup community
Hi guys... I think the ebb and flow of participation also has to do with the time of school year in northern & southern hemisphere.
I keep looking for support/partners to try to build community of youth tutor/mentor orgs/supporters with same longevity and interactions. I see fragmented growth in different platforms.
Should encourage Ali to include these numbers in his paper. Perhaps one slide?
I think there are a lot more live/recorded options to distract people... for them to choose from.
Yes Vance puts a lot of work into getting the word out :D
hi sab, join us in the HoA if you want
tell dude we'll be right back
No matter how long I've been away, I always feel welcome when I come back.
Ha ha. I'm on a new laptop & need to sort out the download... Dude heard your voice when I switched on youtube thing & was tripping out a bit. He remembers you guys :D
Longevity is important factor in building a depth of relationships. I've started participating in a few cMOOCs that have repeated since 2013 and am building relationships with a few members. It takes time. Would not happen if there was no continuation.
He's surfing... Hey I met Rita & ElizabethAnne in Dublin over Halloween weekend :D
I have to step away fromt he computer for a few minutes .. Thank you so much for this presentation. Very interesting study and findings .. have a good one all :)
I'll watch the full recording of this because it took me a while to join. Huge thanks to Ali for interviewing a lurker & kicking my butt into being more active !!
thanks Sab, appreaciate you're popping by
Thank you, Ali Bostancioglu for your presentation. Between rural connectivity issues and teaching in a different area, I've been a peripheral for years.
Currently, my primary interest is higher ed ~ changes, community building, advocacy. I often use Webheads as an example (ideal) of an online community but find the concept is hard to grasp for those who have not been part of a community of practice. Presentations like this one will be a huge help ~ even if the groups I work with lean to the tech-suspicious
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