When CoPs and researchers collaborate to invent life long learning practices: PALETTE project stories
Symposium Convenor: Bernadette Charlier
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Fribourg, Bernadette.charlier@unifr.ch
Lilliane Esnault
Institutions, Law and Systems, EM LYON, esnault@em-lyon.com
Symposium Introduction
The PALETTE project integrates computer scientists, educational scientists and members of Communities of Practice with the objective to facilitate and enhance individual and collective learning in Communities of Practice (CoPs) by developing integrated technological services as well as online learning and organisational instruments. The objective of this symposium is to highlight and confront the various experiences and viewpoints of the main actors of this participative methodology: computer scientists, educational scientist and CoPs' members. The debate will lead the participants to identify main added values and drawbacks of this methodology and find perspectives to improve it.
The PALETTE project
The main goal of the PALETTE project is the facilitation and enhancement of both individual and collective learning through Communities of Practice (CoPs) - frequently interacting groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that domain. Empowered by the appropriate use of networked applications and advanced technologies, CoPs have the potential to become a fundamental ferment for the deployment of learning environments that support professionals, organisations and individuals in the future. Cross-fertilizing pedagogical (P) and technological researches (T), in order to elaborate, implement and, validate new learning environments, enhancing knowledge building and sharing in CoPs, are the main challenging issues addressed by the PALETTE project. To reach this goal, a participatory design approach has been adopted.
While understanding and respecting the ten CoPs participating in the project own choices, objectives and constraints, collaboration with the PALETTE project allow them to analyse their current situation and, to imagine and make effective possible improvements through the experimentation of new activities and tools. It includes: the management and use of documents owned by the CoPs, the creation of social links through a better awareness of the social networks and interactions, the representation and efficient retrieval of the knowledge created and, the availability of effective decision making processes. Scenarios written through the participatory design process represent the original configuration of practices created by each CoPs through the use of services integrated in their environment: what they would learn and change. The usability and reusability of such scenarios is targeted for the benefit of the wider European community.
Participatory Design Methodology
The ANT (Actor Network Theory) (Latour, 1999; Monteiro, 2000), the Participatory Design principles (Ehn, 2003; Triantafyllakos et al., 2007) as well as principles from the instrumental approach (Béguin, 2003; Béguin & Rabardel, 2000) continuously inform the PALETTE design processes. Namely:
- To take into account all the factors of the PDM both the human and non-human ones and to provide them with means to negotiate their interests and collaborate.
- Sharing cultural backgrounds, ideas and needs (both of the developers and the CoPs);
- Ongoing users' and designers' active participation and commitment;
- Ongoing reflection on process with the designers of the methodology;
- Construction of a shared language and vocabulary;
- Organisation of 'design-in-use' constructive activities to allow for the appropriation of artefacts by users;
- Differentiation of tasks (users and designers carry out different actions) but interdependence of roles (they are necessary to each other);
- Production of intermediary objects (or 'boundary' objects) in order to make concrete the points of discussion between users and designers;
- Mutual learning between the users and the designers.
The first phase of the Participatory Design Methodology, the "Design-for-use" is well advanced. It means that specific scenarios have been elaborated in collaboration with the ten CoPs collaborating with the project and that services have been further developed taking into account the requests of the CoPs. All of the deliverable and development produced during this first phase are available on http://palette.ercim.org/. Now the integration between specific services will be technologically realised and experimented to support real activities lived by the allowing them to revise their practices as well as the services and scenarios suggested. The "Design-In-Use" phase has started
Objective of the symposium
The objective of this symposium is to highlight and confront the various experiences and viewpoints of the main actors of this participative methodology:
People who design and evaluate the methodology: Charlier, B., Daele,
A, Esnault, L., Henri, F. and Saunders, M. "Participatory
design in PALETTE project: building a collective methodological approach".
People who improve and develop practices in CoPs through PDM :Van De Wiele,
N,., Rossier, . Charlier,B., Design in use - the
case of two CoPs: ePreP and Did@cTIC.
People who design and integrate the services according to the methodology : El Ghali, A. , Giboin, A., Vanoirbeek, C. , Bridging the Gap between Technical and Pedagogical Project-Partners' Perspectives on the Modelling of Communities of Practice.
Et El Helou, S., Tzagarkis, M., Gillet, D., Karacapilidis, N., Chiu Man Yu, Participatory Design for Awareness Features: Enhancing Interaction in Communities of Practice
The debate will lead participants to identify main added values and drawbacks
of this methodological approach and find perspectives to improve it.
Participatory design in PALETTE project
Building a collective methodological approach
Bernadette Charlier
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Fribourg, bernadette.charlier@unifr.ch
Amaury Daele
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Fribourg, amaury.daele
@unifr.ch
Lilliane Esnault
Department Institutions, Law and Systems, EM LYON, France, Esnault@em-lyon.com
France Henri
Téluq, Sciences et Technologies, Université du Québec
à Montréal, henri.france@teluq.uqam.ca
Murray Saunders
Centre for the study of Education and Training, University of Lancaster,
m.saunders@lancaster.ac.uk
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to report on the preliminary results concerning the building of the participatory design methodology which is being developed using a participatory approach and supported by the implementation of participatory management in the context of the European project PALETTE. PALETTE integrates computer scientists, educational scientists and members of Communities of Practice with the objective to improve and facilitate the living and functioning of CoPs by developing integrated technological services as well as online learning services. The paper builds upon key elements which were crucial for implementing Participatory Design in PALETTE.
Design in use - the case of two CoPs: ePreP and Did@cTIC
Nathalie VAN DE WIELE, Annick Rossier
ePrep (France), nathalie.vandewiele@eprep.org
Centre de Didactique Universitaire, University of Fribourg, annick.rossiermorel@unifr.ch
Bernadette Charlier
Centre de Didactique Universitaire, University of Fribourg, bernadette.charlier@unifr.ch
Abstract
This paper aims to illustrate how the services developed within the PALETTE project (Pedagogically sustained Adaptive LEarning Through the exploitation of Tacit and Explicit knowledge - 2006-2009) can answer specific needs of different CoPs. Through the analysis of two cases (ePrep CoP and CoP Did@cTIC), the reader will discover how the involvement of CoPs in the project has had an impact on support for learning within CoPs (pedagogical interests, organizational). The article shows also how the involvement of CoPs in the project, through the Participatory Design Methodology, helped to develop technical services that are relevant to communities of practice (CoP).
The ePrep case describes some Participatory Design Methodology (PDM) events, involving, in term of Design in use, ePrep CoP members and PALETTE researchers. ePrep CoP members are, for the most of them, teachers in "Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles" (CPGE), a first higher education cycle preparing students for the competitive entrance exams to the French "Grandes Ecoles". Arisen in 2006 under the guidance of PALETTE researchers, the ePrep CoP conducts pedagogical projects for French and French-speaking CPGEs and similar establishments, using PALETTE tools. According to the PDM, a lot of Design in use events have been organised between CoP members and PALETTE researchers in order to provide the CoP with the tools and services ideally suited to its needs. These events are first presented in a chronological way, then their outcomes are analysed, on a technological point of view, and on a pedagogical point of view. For the technological point of view, we will see how Design in use makes the tools evolve. For the pedagogical point of view, we will see the impact of this evolution on the ePrep CoP members' professional practices. We will conclude that Design in use is a fruitful way for developing tools and services for Communities of Practice, allowing both CoP members and technological researchers to increase their learning in their own filed.
The « Centre de Didactique Universitaire » of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland offers continuous training in Higher Education and Technology. The aim of this training is to develop teaching and academic competences for the teaching profession. One part of this training is to give the possibility to the participants to solve problems of teaching practice through their participation in community of practices called CoP Did@cTIC. The Did@cTIC case highlights two main changes both to the CoPs practices and the PALETTE services infer from the PDM. The first one is the use of structured documents and the other one is the development of an effective information search.
Bridging the Gap between Technical and Pedagogical Project-Partners' Perspectives
on the Modelling of Communities of Practice
Adil El Ghali, Alain Giboin,
INRIA Méditérranée - Sophia Antipolis, {adil.elghali,
alain.giboin}@sophia.inria.fr
Christine Vanoirbeek
EPFL - Lausanne, christine.vanoirbeek@epfl.ch
Abstract
During the modelling process in multidisciplinary context, the points of view of the actors can be a barrier to efficiently achieve the process. In this paper, we relate the experience we have been confronted to in the context of the Palette IST project . In this project, computer scientists and educational scientists aim at developing services for communities of practice (CoPs). The common work following a participatory design methodology allow us to produce some interesting results for the CoPs, but require to bridge the gap between our perspectives and objectives.
Participatory Design for Awareness Features:
Enhancing Interaction in Communities of Practice
Sandy El Helou
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, sandy.elhelou@epfl.ch
Manolis Tzagarakis
Research Academic Computer Technology Institute, tzagara@cti.gr
Denis Gillet
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, denis.gillet@epfl.ch
Nikos Karacapilidis
University of Patras and Research Academic Computer Technology Institute,
karacap@cti.gr
Chiu Man Yu
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, chiuman.yu@epfl.ch
Abstract
In the framework of the European Integrated Project PALETTE, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Patras are developing mediation services. These services aim at sustaining collaboration, supporting tacit and explicit knowledge management and enhancing individual and organizational learning in communities of practice (CoPs).
Defined by Dourish and Belloti as "an understanding of the activities of others, which provides a context for one's own activity", awareness is one of the most crucial needs expressed by communities of practice in the framework of the participatory design process implemented within the Palette project. Awareness of past and current actions in shared environments and over shared artifacts motivates participation and guides the members' decisions and course of actions.
This paper describes the approach adopted by two Web-based collaboration support applications, namely eLogbook and CoPe_it!, for developing awareness services. CoPs needs, in terms of awareness, were identified through the participatory design approach. Then, a combination of relevant awareness types found in the literature was adopted in order to address the identified awareness requirements. The resulting awareness services implemented by Palette's mediation services (eLogbook and CoPe_it!) are presented. In particular, the kind of awareness information provided and its rendering means are described. For each tool, the available awareness functionality is related to the awareness type it contributes.
PALETTE is a research project co-funded by the EU under the FP6
| About NLC |
2008 Conference Papers
| Conference Committee| Keynote
Speakers
| Papers from previous NL conferences |Research Seminars| Current Conference
| Sponsors | Contact
|