1. Bridging formal and informal learning outside school : investigating participation in an online educational social 'network' for bright young people
- Author
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Charalampidi, Marina
- Subjects
LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools ,LC Special aspects of education - Abstract
This is a study about learning online outside school. It examines participation in IGGY, an international network for high achieving students aged 13 to 18. IGGY was hosted by the University of Warwick and ran from 2012 to 2017. It had around 7,000 registered members though not all were active. IGGY was designed to support young learners through access to enrichment academic materials and to open debates on everyday and academic topics. There is much public and academic discussion of online social networks for young people but much less is known about social networks with educational aims such as IGGY. This study focused on describing this particular learning context, elucidating its value and discussing its feasibility. The study employed a mixed methods approach to explore the case of participation in IGGY. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with IGGY members (n = 12) and IGGY mentors (n = 2), content analysis and visualisation diagrams of 20 conversations from the debate forum. Quantitative data were collected in the form of online surveys (n = 161) and data on posts obtained from the online archive and the IGGY team. The different sets of data allowed the analysis of participation both as it was perceived by the research participants and as it was borne out by actual online activity. Although this study set out to be an inquiry into different experiences of participation, its focus shifted to the more active members. These members accessed learning resources related to what they were taught at school and content that was not covered in the school curriculum. They interacted with others in the forums where they discussed a variety of topics, ranging from ones characterised as fun and social to more in-depth and academic ones. Discussions were constructive and meaningful, and marked by respectful understanding of each other's positions. Through their social interaction members felt connected and formed friendships that they valued, albeit of different depths and types. Active members would also take part in educational activities either collaboratively or as individuals. Participation in IGGY was motivated by intrinsic, environmental and extrinsic factors. While members were self-directed, the distinct character of the network, the people who made up the community, the technology used to build the network and events outside the network had an impact on their engagement with it. Participation in the network brought about personal, social and cognitive benefits. Members were able to extend their social networks, to communicate with people of like mind and experience feelings of belonging, to increase their self-esteem and sense of identity, to receive peer and expert support and to access useful resources for studies and career. They viewed IGGY as enhancing their school performance but also as expanding their knowledge and skills beyond the formal curriculum. The study offers a vision of how young learners can engage in an exemplary form of argumentative discourse that is valued and often asked for by teachers in classrooms. Debates in IGGY were characterised by commitment to justification of opinions and ideas, openness to different beliefs, kindness and tolerance of others. In light of the above, this study provides a model of an educational network that bridges older and newer perceptions of learning i.e. the conventional understanding of formal learning and the contemporary understanding of learning-as-participation. It highlights the significance of members; mentors; technology; outside factors in sustaining a network. The study contributes to an under-researched area, that of out-of-school education networks. The findings of this study fit into a more positive view of communication technology, however, it does not offer an over romanticised view. Participation in networks with educational objectives has limits and the study brings those to light. The study also shows the value of a mixed methods research design that draws on person-focused and message-focused approaches and exploits the opportunities afforded by each to better and more fully understand online participation and learning.
- Published
- 2021