Category talk:The Bouverie Centre

Notes on the website design aligning with educational design

A meeting held 24 April 2013, to discuss how developments on a new Bouverie website might align with developments of online educational programs.

General principles

We discussed some general principles that form some of the basis of the advice being given to The Bourverie Centre's academic staff with regard to educational development:

1. Normal practice, individually documented

That normal teaching and research activities continue, but that staff start using readily available and popular media (social media) to manage and document their activity. It is important that we find ways to replace some current practice and not let perceptions develop that this work is additional and on top of existing practice - this is a significant risk to the project. Assuming success in this effort, as many Bouverie staff as possible start building an individual web presence for their work.

2. Student generated content - activities that benefit public information

From that activity, as well as coaching, we expect that new ideas and practices will emerge that inform developments in research, community outreach, teaching and assessment, that make use of these new mediums and methods. Also, we expect that notions of 'student generated content' will gain strength, where course work is assigned that encourages students to organise and produce media in a similar way as principle one

3. Bouverie highlights and promotes the work of individuals

That The Bouverie Centre develops capacity to track individual staff and student work across the web, with a view to highlighting and promoting particularly valuable contributions on The Bouverie Centre's own website and social channels (managed much the same as in principle one, but as an organisation rather than an individual).

What the website might need

We then moved our discussion into what the new website might need to accomodate and compliment the activities we expect to see out of those principles.

That The Bouverie Centre's website is able to accomodate distributed and dynamic content such as with embed codes, iFrames, displaying RSS feeds and the like. Of particular help would be if the web developers are able to customise these dynamic content display codes, so that the content appears native to the website (ie, acquiring the CSS). The sorts of dynamic content that might by displayed on the website this way are things like:

• Youtube playlists (via embed code) and other Youtube activity
• Google Docs, including spreadsheets, forms, presentations, and text documents (iframe)
• Flickr photo collections (RSS feed and/or embed codes)
• Wikimedia Commons content (HTML5 and embed code)
• Wikiversity content (possibly RSS feeds)

For example, copying Wikiversity texts into the website

We discussed Wikiversity and that some subjects that the Bouverie offer have been drafted in Wikiversity. You mentioned that you have begun work on course pages already. We suggested that your team investigate if it is straight forward to copy text from Wikiversity and past it in the website. If it is straight forward we might knock two birds with one stone if we combined our efforts in drafting course content on Wikiversity, so that when finished it is then copied to the Bouverie website periodically. Examples of Bouverie content on Wikiversity are here: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Category:The_Bouverie_Centre

Considering Bouverie media

We talked at length on the legal and ethical issues around imagery and stock photos. I suggested that the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike Australia 3.0 copyright license be the governing factor on as much content as possible. If it is possible to apply this copyright license on as much content as possible, it ensures maximum reach, use and flexibility. This license has implications on people's informed consent however. Bridget offered numerous ideas on how to get around these concerns.

The Wikimedia Commons is the multi media repository that feeds Wikipedia and the other major wikimedia projects. All content in there is governed with the CC By SA copyright license - or similar, meaning you are free to reuse any content from there too, provided you attribute the author and source. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Professional Development program

On 24 April 2013, Leigh proposed that a regular online meeting time be set, for Bouverie staff (open to others including admin and externals) to optionally drop in as time affords and learn various skills relating to online information and communications. This regular time would be 30-60 minutes every week, where each meeting is focused on a particular skill. This is intended to support the work that being done informally and face to face in The Bouverie by Bridget and Susan.

Once a regular time is set, we would use a range of online meeting platforms from Teleconference, Skype and Google Hangout, through La Trobe's Collaborate and Video Conference facilities. This is all experiential learning. All meetings will be recorded and published for later access and review. The sorts of activities in these sessions will be coordinated with Bouverie people tasked to support this professional development program, but as an indication:

Getting set up to participate

1. Registering interest
2. Get set up with Google+ and Hangouts
3. Join the Bouverie Centre Community on Google+
4. Join a Hangout, invite people to Hangout

Subject and course development

1. Understanding the Australian Qualifications Framework
2. Writing a text version of a subject schedule
3. Methods of writing in plain language
4. Formulating assessable learning objectives
5. Ideas for activities, assignments and assessment

Educational content production and management

1. Consent, copyright and publishing online
2. Creating an account on Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikiversity and Wikibooks)
3. Creating a Userpage on Wikiversity
4. Creating a subject outline on Wikiversity
5. Finding a using a photo on Wikimedia Commons
6. Uploading a photo to Wikimedia Commons
7. Creating a Youtube playlist
8. Recording a presentation, interview, panel discussion part 1
9. Recording a presentation, interview, panel discussion part 2
10. Creating your own professional website (subject, course, project, community hub)
11. Getting news and announcements out there
12. Copying a Wikiversity subject outline to Moodle
13. Copying a Wikiversity subject outline to a website

Activities, assignments and assessment

1. Activity and assignments that benefit public knowledge
2. Learner generated content and methods of peer review
3. Situated learning, and how formal education can compliment non formal and informal
4. Assessment in communities of practice

Methods of communication

1. Using group SMS
2. Using a telephone conference
3. Using an email forum
4. Using Google+ Hangouts and Live
5. Using Skype
6. Using Collaborate
7. Using video conference