Online collaboration to maximise research reach and impact on users
Date / Time: Friday 22 March 2013, 11am-12pm
Venue: J.B.07, University of Waikato
Online collaboration to maximise research reach and impact on users*: Opportunities for new academic practice using the EdComms environment
This workshop will focus on how academics are using online communities of practice environments to improve the significance and impact of their research. In the UK assessment of the quality of academic research to be carried out in 2013, new criteria have been introduced which relate to the impact and reach of research.
In terms of The University of Waikato, the EdComms environment provides opportunities to link NZ academics with those in the UK and Europe for international collaborations. Such collaborations support the University’s strategic goals and its vision of excellence, distinctiveness and international connectedness. The EdComms site makes connections between academics more streamlined because people can search for others by key areas of interest. It also makes it easy to develop proposals with international collaborators.
*UK Research Excellence Framework Criteria for the 2013 research assessment exercise.
The Presenters
Christina Preston, Professor of Educational Innovation, Learning Futures Research Centre, University of Bedfordshire
Christina Preston has fifteen years experience of teaching in school in English, Drama and Information Technology, followed by four years as an English and Information and Communications technology advisor in Croydon, South London. From 1992-2001 she was an associate researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of London, and from 2002 worked at the Centre for Work-Based Learning for Education Professionals (WLE). Other research and lecturing associateships include Bath Spa University, Brunel University and the Czech Technical University in Prague.
Key successes have been the development of innovative multimodal research methodologies for Becta with Professor Marilyn Leask, new designs for Masters modules and their multimodal accreditation as well as the development of new modes of knowledge sharing within the profession in communities of practice. She is the founder of The MirandaNet Fellowship, an international professional organisation for teachers, teacher educators and researchers established in 1992. She is also instrumental in developing the Education Futures Collaboration.
Marilyn Leask, Professor of Educational Knowledge Management , Learning Futures Research Centre, University of Bedfordshire
Marilyn Leask is well known for her work on knowledge management in education and in building the evidence and knowledge base for teacher education and classroom practice. Her current work includes developing national and international models for scaling up promising small scale research. Her specialist areas are teacher education, change, improvement and development across large systems particularly through online networking and knowledge sharing, the development of approaches supporting evidence-informed policy and practice, and the use of ICT in education.
Direct queries to Noeline Wright: [email protected] or
tel. (07) 838 4466 ext. 7861.