Technologies in Learning

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 3

The International Journal of

Technologies in Learning ________________________________________________________________________

Going Where the Students are Already Reimagining Online Learning Where Students and Lecturers Co-Create an Interactive Teaching and Learning Space LISA HALL AND CATHERINE MAUGHAN

thelearner.com

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING http://thelearner.com/ First published in 2015 in Champaign, Illinois, USA by Common Ground Publishing University of Illinois Research Park 2001 South First St, Suite 202 Champaign, IL 61820 USA www.CommonGroundPublishing.com ISSN: 2327-0144 © 2015 (individual papers), the author(s) © 2015 (selection and editorial matter) Common Ground All rights reserved. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the applicable copyright legislation, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher. For permissions and other inquiries, please contact . The International Journal of Technologies in Learning is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

Going Where the Students are Already: Reimagining Online Learning Where Students and Lecturers Co-Create an Interactive Teaching and Learning Space Lisa Hall, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Australia Catherine Maughan, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Australia Abstract: Universities and tertiary education providers are increasingly faced with questions and challenges of how to adapt their practices to include the online space. Moving beyond the idea of online learning as solely a vehicle for content delivery, this paper explores how one Tertiary Enabling Course for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is using Facebook as an effective space for student centered engagement, communication and learning. It suggests that effective online learning needs to include much more than the delivery of content in order to be truly useful and meaningful to learners. It must first and foremost be centered on the social engagement of students into the community of learners. It dares us to reimagine online learning as a place where students and lecturers co-create an interactive teaching and learning space together. Keywords: Online Learning, Facebook, Transition, Enabling, Technology, Indigenous

Introduction

W

hile more Indigenous students are now accessing higher education than ever before, the completion rate for Indigenous students remains less than 50% (Radloff and Coates 2010). If we are to reduce drop-out rates and increase successful transitions into first year higher education we need to find ways to increase student engagement. Improving student engagement in an academic environment with increased emphasis on more online learning and less personal interaction is causing much concern to lecturers in the academy. Most universities have responded by using Learning Management Systems (LMSs) such as Moodle or Blackboard to create a university owned and controlled online space. Using a grounded theory approach, this paper explores how a tertiary enabling course for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is improving student engagement by using a public online platform (Facebook) where the students are already actively engaged.

Review of Literature The block-release delivery model, developed to meet the family and cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students, has been implemented across many Australian higher educational institutions for a number of decades (Arbon 1998; Bat 2011; Behrendt 2012; Mason et al 2003; Robertson et al 2002 and Rose et al 2003). MCYEETYA (2001) reported that without the block-release delivery model “many students would never have been able to access university.” While this delivery model has allowed many more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to start university, the completion rate of less than 50% is well below the 72% completion rate of non-Indigenous students (Radloff and Coates 2010). This disparity is possibly explained by MCYEETA’s (2001) findings that “students from rural and isolated and /or external or block release courses experienced isolation and disengagement from their course”. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student disengagement between block-release workshops continues to be a challenge for universities. The International Journal of Technologies in Learning Volume 22, Issue 3, 2015, www.thelearner.com, ISSN 2327-0144 © Common Ground, Lisa Hall and Catherine Maughan, All Rights Reserved Permissions: [email protected]

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING

The primary response by universities has been to develop ‘virtual class’ spaces (MCEETYA 2001) using tools such as Moodle (Dougiamas and Taylor 2002) and Blackboard (Curtis and Lawson 2001). These are university owned and controlled spaces designed primarily for the online delivery of course content, but also equipped with many tools designed to facilitate collaboration and communication including discussion boards, journals, blogs, wikis, chat rooms and video conferencing tools designed to ensure that an online student feels they have as much access as a student sitting in the classroom on campus. However, LMSs such as Moodle or Blackboard have found to be “great at delivering content but not so great at providing the other things that students get from attending a course face to face at university – community, learning from peers, tutorials, practical work, and motivation to study and progress” (Palmer 2012). In the past decade lecturers have been interested in the potential of using social media platforms to develop a more effective space for staff and students to engage online in some of the practices listed by Palmer (2012) above. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space and Google + have created new possibilities for student engagement in conjunction with online learning sites traditionally established by universities. While some authors are limiting the social media discussion to a simple dichotomy of whether sites such as Facebook are social or educational (Madge et al 2009, Fewkes and McCabe 2012, Selwyn 2009, Cheung et al 2011), others are examining the value-adding potential of social media to existing online educational resources. These authors are exploring the enhanced student engagement and satisfaction, the collaborative learning possibilities and level of student control that is afforded through integration of tools like Facebook into higher education learning (Promnitz-Hayashi 2011, Le Noue et al 2011, Valenzuela et al 2009). While a small number of authors have begun to touch on the implications of online learning for students with culturally different learning styles (Adeoye 2011) and in particular Indigenous students (Kutay et al 2012, Sharrock and Lockyer 2008, Edmonds et al 2012), we were unable to find much evidence of research that explored Indigenous student use of social media as part of learning with the exception of Kral and Schwab (2012). In terms of Indigenous higher education, a recent review by Behrendt and others (2012, 81) stated that “virtual networks would help higher degree students based in remote or regional areas to better access peers and academics.” Consequently, this research project is an important exploration of how virtual networks, such as Facebook, are being integrated into teaching programs to meet the learning needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The Context The Preparation for Tertiary Success (PTS) course is a small tertiary enabling program that is delivered to Australian Indigenous students in a block-release delivery mode. Class sizes range from 10 to 20 students, providing a quality student:teacher ratio for students who are almost all non-Standard Australian English speaking background. The course has been delivered in various forms by Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education since 2000. Since 2012 the course has been offered on two campuses, one in Alice Springs and one in Darwin, by the Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE) which is a partnership between Batchelor Institute and Charles Darwin University. After noticing that the students were more engaged with Facebook than their studies, the current Course Coordinator created the closed or ‘secret’ Facebook PTS Group in June 2011 on a trial basis to see if she could improve student engagement. The initial posts included links to websites and articles written by Indigenous researchers as well as links to stories of other Indigenous university students. The Course Coordinator reported that PTS students immediately became engaged with the material posted on the Facebook page by ‘liking’ and making comments on posts. Students posted comments that indicated they were feeling more motivated about their studies. For example, on 23 August 2011 the Course Coordinator posted a link to a

52

HALL AND MAUGHAN: GOING WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY

man who was the first Torres Strait Islander to graduate with a medical degree from James Cook University. In response Jeffrey, a young Torres Strait Islander man studying PTS, said “wow now I know I can do it 4 real” (posted on the Facebook PTS Group wall by Jeffrey on August 26, 2011). This increased student engagement and motivation coincided with an increase in the number of students completing the PTS course. As shown in Figure 1.1 the number of students completing went from zero in 2010 to five in 2011. The numbers of students completing PTS has continued to rise with 16 students in 2012 and 18 in 2013. Of the 39 PTS completions from 2011 – 2013 almost 80% enrolled in a tertiary course of which 86% commenced a first year Bachelor degree course and 24% a Certificate III, IV or Diploma level course (Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, unpublished data).

PTS Completions 20 15 10 5 0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Figure 1: PTS Completions 2006-2013 Source: Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, 2014 (internal data)

Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodology As explained in the review of literature, research on social media usage in educational setting is a new and emerging field. To date there is not a great deal that has been written about the potential for social media as a tool for engagement in learning. Consequently there was not much to draw on theoretically. Perhaps it was because of this absence of fit that the conversation about this research began with the lecturers noticing that something was working but not understanding what it was and why. All we knew was that ‘something’ good happened when we added Facebook to the tools we used for student learning and engagement. It was because of this that using a Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967) approach for the research seemed to work best. We had the evidence of changed student attitudes, behaviours and engagement in the form of their posts and messages, but also in the form of student completions. What we did not know was why and how this was occurring, other than it coincided with the introduction of using Facebook in the PTS course. To explore the question of why student learning outcomes seemed to improve in relation to our use of Facebook, this research has used a Grounded Theory approach. While Grounded Theory can be used with either qualitative or quantitative data, the data associated with this research is qualitative. We developed our theory through the analysis of documents in the form of online ‘posts’, private messages and student comments about how they used Facebook in the PTS course. The Grounded Theory process for this research included the following steps.

53

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING

1. Preparation We began with our general research topic or point of interest which in this case was the benefits for students resulting from the integration of the use of Facebook into our course’s teaching and learning processes. There was no preliminary literature review. Literature related to the topic was explored once the data was coded, analysed and discussed, as a way of expanding on the theories that emerged from our data.

2. Data Collection Our data consisted of ‘posts’ and messages from the Facebook PTS Group during 2011 and 2012 as well as the student interviews published on the Tertiary Success blog. Screen grabs of all 2011/2012 ‘posts’ and messages to lecturers were copied into Word documents. In addition, references in the blog that described how students used Facebook during their PTS studies were also copied into Word documents. This data then formed the ‘documents’ of a ‘document analysis’ process.

3. Analysis Initially we used an ‘Open Coding’ approach to our collected data. This started by us asking the question "What is this data a study of?" The initial analysis involved grouping the posts, messages and student quotes into different document piles, based on similar ideas. This enabled us to discover the ‘core variable’ of our study which is ‘online learning that is centered on the student and the community of learners’. This then became the focus of the research and theory. Initially we identified six key themes. After discussion and reflection the two authors then agreed on four key themes which are explained in detail in the discussion. We placed each document into one of four piles, representing the four identified key themes. After this initial grouping we looked at the specific incidents in more detail asking the question "What is actually happening in the data?" This enabled us to explore the ways that the participants in the Facebook PTS Group were flexibly using and adapting the possibilities of the medium to meet their learning needs. The documents in each of the four key themes were then interrogated in detail. Due to the small numbers of students involved and the strong learning relationships between the two lecturers and the students, we were able to give more meaning to the posts than an outsider would have. For example, we noticed how a student who was very quiet and reserved in class shared personal success on the Facebook post which resulted in positive comments from her peers. We also noticed how the student spoke up more in class during the next workshop. While these observations do not form part of the data, we found they helped us to gain a deeper insight in our understanding of how students use Facebook. This stage helped add texture to the themes that were emerging and how they related to the core variable and what they indicated in terms of an emerging theory.

4. Revision, Findings and Further Directions Once our theory was beginning to emerge in a clear way we explored the literature to see what this added to our developing theoretical outline.

Findings Four key themes emerged about how the PTS students and staff used Facebook to shape the online learning space.

54

HALL AND MAUGHAN: GOING WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY

1. 2. 3. 4.

Facebook as a place of accessing information Facebook as a place of teaching and learning Facebook as a place of relationship building and celebration Facebook as a place for student voices and affirmation

These four themes share similar characteristics to Wenger’s (2006) ‘Community of Practice’ theory. Wenger (2006, 1) defines Community of Practice as “Groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” According to the ‘Community of Practice’ theory three characteristics are crucial 1) the domain, 2) the community and 3) the practice (Wenger 2006). The ‘domain’, where members share a concern or passion, is the ‘relationship building and celebration’ which ensures a strong shared identity between the PTS students and staff. The ‘community,’ where group members interact and learn together regularly, is achieved through the Facebook PTS group as a ‘place of teaching and learning’. The ‘practice’ describes how members share their resources and put them into practice to address issues which equates to our finding that Facebook is a ‘place of accessing information’. The fourth theme of Facebook as a ‘place for student voices and affirmation’ relates to the overall characteristic of a Community of Practice where all members have the opportunity to contribute equally. The four themes are described further using student quotes of their experience using the Facebook PTS group as well as examples of posts and private messages shared between PTS students and staff.

Facebook as a Place of Information Sharing The reminders about due dates and workshops and other important things are really good too… We had that Wikispace but I never used it. With Facebook I have instant messaging so every time you post something on our page I get a message so I go straight there. Sometimes it’s fun stuff but mostly it’s really useful information that helps us (Rooks 2012). Numerous information-sharing functions are possible through Facebook that are not currently possible through the Blackboard platform. Firstly, membership of the Facebook PTS Group includes the whole PTS cohort, and includes students who are not currently enrolled (ie. students who are on leave of absence, intermission or have ‘dropped out’) which cannot be done in Blackboard. Secondly, information sharing can be initiated by anyone who is a member of the Facebook PTS Group, including PTS students and graduates. Thirdly, PTS staff can gauge what information is of value to students as they ‘Like’ particular posts. Finally, on Facebook PTS staff can instantly see which students have seen the information. If staff are concerned that a student hasn’t seen the information we can easily ‘tag’ them or use another form of communication. The Facebook PTS Group is a space where information about university processes can be shared in a timely manner. Navigating one’s way around university processes is essential to achieving success at university, especially in the first year, but it takes time to understand how things work at university. For example, at the time that students need to re-enrol, PTS staff post in Facebook the link to the correct place on the University website and the contact details of University staff who can assist. Providing university information on Facebook saves staff a lot of time and energy by enabling them to give the whole student cohort the correct information in a timely manner.

55

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING

Facebook as a Place of Teaching and Learning I’ve been struggling with getting stuck into my poster/essay and it’s because I’m not sure what it is you are looking for to be put in them. I understand the both ways theory but for our assessments are you looking for how Indigenous knowledge is used in those academic disciplines? I post this on here for all PTS004ers to see ‘cos I’m sure there are a few of us that are struggling with understanding what you are looking for (posted on the Facebook PTS Group wall by Kathryn 2012). While Facebook has not been a point of delivery for PTS course content, it has proven to be an effective teaching and learning space. Students ask questions relevant to a particular unit or task in the Facebook PTS Group. Students acknowledge that using Facebook this way will help other students who may have had a similar question or issue. This is effectively the online equivalent to a student raising their hand in class to ask a question that everyone needs answered. Students who do not feel comfortable ‘speaking’ in the open domain of the Facebook PTS Group use ‘private messaging’ to communicate with their lecturer. The lecturer is able to quickly give the student the information he/she needs so he/she can progress with their assignment. The result is that more assignments are now being submitted by the due date.

Facebook as a Place of Relationship Building and Celebration I also like that all our workshops are in Alice Springs because we’ve been able to form more of a learning community and we include the new people who are just starting. I also really like keeping in contact with everyone through Facebook. On Facebook I see who is coming to the next workshop and I don’t want to miss out so I made sure I made it to the workshop! (James 2012). Facebook is a place of maintaining and building ongoing relationships which are crucial to successful learning. This sense of ‘community’ (Wenger 2006) does not happen automatically; it must be built and nurtured and this was something the block-release delivery model, in the past, struggled to do between the face to face workshops. Often the relationships displayed on Facebook are a reflection of the group identity and relationships developed through the workshops. Private Messaging keeps the conversation open between staff and students. In the past when a student was absent from a workshop, it was often the staff member who tried to contact the student to see why they were not in class. Private messaging makes this situation less threatening as a person can explain in their own words without being put off by trying to find the ‘right words’ to put in an email. Overall PTS staff have noticed that students are much more likely to keep staff informed of their inability to come to a block-release workshop as well as daily attendance while on campus. We have also seen many postings in the Facebook PTS Group that are part of the celebration of our community. Some of the most popular posts are photos capturing a particular workshop, group or celebration moment. The milestone moments are also celebrated and affirmed on Facebook. There are numerous examples of congratulatory posts when someone completes a unit or the whole course. There is also evidence of students taking the opportunity to publically acknowledge staff and these posts are an affirmation of both the lecturer and themselves. It’s always a good feeling wen ya on the right track wit ya assessments! So thanx heaps 4ya help n teaching a good unit  with (lecturer name)(tagged) at Alice Springs Airport (posted by student on her own Facebook wall).

56

HALL AND MAUGHAN: GOING WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY

The student has used accepted Facebook language on her own wall indicating a level of authenticity for her readers. Some of these public affirmations are very honest and speak to the student’s own learning journey and the important role played by the support of other students and lecturers.

Facebook as a Place of Student Voices and Affirmation In 1977, Eddie Mabo set up the Black Community School in Townsville. Although it was in its experimental stage, it was a great concept. I was fortunate that I and many other ATSI kids became involved in the Black Community School. One of our excursions involved a trip to Townsville’s James Cook University, our parents were also invited to accompany us. I remember my dad telling me that he would really like me to attend University one day. After many years, I finally made it. I am currently doing undergraduate studies at James Cook. …Many thanks to the Batchelor PTS for also making it possible for me to enter Uni” (posted on the Facebook PTS Group wall by Elizabeth on October 1, 2012). The quote above was from one of the 2011 PTS completers. Unprompted and unsolicited, Elizabeth chose to share her reflection about her learning journey on the wall of the Facebook PTS Group. This type of sharing motivates current students to keep going as well as providing a strong role model to follow. The Facebook group allows graduates to support current students through offering their work as a model, guide and example. The PTS Facebook group is proving to be an important space to model a key concept of PTS; a Community of Practice. Students are familiar with using Facebook as a medium for expressing themselves. It is indeed a space where their voice is heard loud and clear by their peers. Many of the younger PTS students have ‘grown up’ using Facebook since their early teenage years. While students may not have previously used Facebook for anything other than personal reasons, the PTS experience has shown that students are willing and capable of using the medium for educational purposes. Interestingly there is noticeable code switching behaviour in the language used by students on the Facebook PTS Group when compared with the language they use on their own personal Facebook walls.

Discussion High course drop-out rates and low completion rates of Indigenous students continue to plague universities, especially in relation to block-release workshops and online delivered courses. Disappointingly many students continue to feel a sense of disengagement and isolation between block-release workshops. Through using a Grounded Theory approach we noticed something that was working well for our students, namely the increased use of Facebook as part of the PTS course. Unsure as to why this tool was making a difference we examined a wide range of posts and messages and four clear themes emerged: Facebook as a place of accessing information, Facebook as a place of teaching and learning, Facebook as a place of relationship building and celebration and Facebook as a place for student voices and affirmation. Once we had identified these four important themes we were able to see a strong correlation to Ettiene Wenger’s (2006) ‘Community of Practice’ theory. This then enabled us to reframe the premise of online learning as the creation of an online ‘Community of Practice’ as suggested by Wenger (2006). By looking at the data from our Facebook PTS Group through this lens we discovered a multitude of complex and sophisticated learning needs being met, and learning skills being developed, through people’s participation in and interaction with Facebook. While not a place specifically designed for the delivery of

57

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING

content, Facebook can be a space of teaching, learning and information sharing. Importantly it is a space where learning is not limited to the usual power dynamics of a traditional classroom. Facebook provides an online Community of Practice because it offers a real and meaningful way for students to continue the relationships they have developed face to face. It is a place to celebrate achievements and successes and to support each other through to successful completion and beyond. It provides a space for student voices to be heard and ideas to be affirmed. For new students it provides an entry point into a new learning experience, a way of connecting to a new community of learners. For PTS graduates it is a way to remain in touch with other students and offer advice, mentoring and aspirational guidance. Finally it is a very practical communication tool that offers students and lecturers a seamless, immediate and non-threatening way of having professional and supportive conversations about the learning journey. What makes Facebook a unique tool for student engagement and motivation is, first and foremost, that the students are already Facebook users. It is a tool that holds tremendous personal, social and cultural value to them so they engage with it every day. They trust it and know how it works. It is a reliable and regular part of their interaction with friends, family, the media and other organisations. Instead of asking the students to join another separate space, we have gone to them enabling them to seamlessly integrate aspects of their learning journey into their personal life. The lecturers are then able to meet students at their point of need. This does require staff to be committed to regular participation in the Facebook domain as well. Without this commitment the tool would not be nearly as effective. However, it also facilitates students helping each other and lessens the load of the lecturer in many ways, ultimately producing much more independent and confident learners who are able to problem solve and access multiple learning relationships to support their learning journey. In addition, students report numerous practical advantages of being able to communicate with staff via Facebook on their mobile phones. Some students do not have regular access to computers or internet other than as part of their mobile phone plan. Even students with their own computer often have expensive or unreliable internet access. Access to Facebook through their mobile phone keeps the lines of communication with lecturers open and students are submitting their assignments before the due date, which coincides with improved retention and graduation rates. So how do universities respond to this emerging new space that offers so many new opportunities for learning and engagement? Earlier in this paper we quoted Palmer (2012, 1) who was critical of university based learning management systems (LMS) such as Blackboard and Moodle because they were “great at delivering content but not so great at providing the other things that students get from attending a course face to face at university – community, learning from peers, tutorials, practical work, and motivation to study and progress”. This criticism of LMS, that they do not meet the social learning needs of learners, is only fair if we expect these online systems to be able to meet all the learning needs of students. The reality is that these LMS sites serve a purpose in terms of content delivery and assignment submission. There are some things these sites do well. However, students also need face to face and interactive learning spaces because as Wenger (2006) reminds us learning is a social activity. There is a gap in what the university LMSs offer and we have shown in this study that we have been able to fill that gap through our use of Facebook. Social media platforms provide this Community of Practice, which the LMS cannot provide well, largely because students are already there to begin with as everyday users of Facebook. It is unreasonable to expect that any one teaching and learning tool would be able to provide students with everything they need to learn effectively. Together with the university controlled platforms and face to face learning, why not use online social media platforms to create hybrid solutions to meeting the complex learning needs of our students?

58

HALL AND MAUGHAN: GOING WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY

Limitations and Possibilities for Further Study As with any research there are limitations to this study. Firstly, it does not compare results for courses that only use university controlled Learning Management Systems such as online discussion boards and forums, with the PTS course which also used social media. Secondly, the number of students and years explored in the study was narrow. While it is true that we have seen an increase in PTS completions we have not as yet explored what happens when students move into Higher Education courses that may not offer the social media space as a Community of Practice. These are all areas that would be conducive to further study. Finally, a quantitative researcher could do a much larger statistical study examining the comparative use and success of different online learning spaces. That was never the purpose of this study as our purpose was always to discover what was supporting our students in their learning.

Conclusion The use of Facebook in the PTS course is enhancing the learning experience of the students, especially those who are new to higher education. University online-learning platforms such as Blackboard and Moodle are spaces separate from students’ every day experiences. The rules of engagement are new and usually unknown and students may find the interface difficult to navigate. Facebook is the opposite of this as students already know the rules. Facebook is not a separate space that requires students to log into it; instead messages and interactions are seamlessly integrated into their everyday Facebook use. The interface does not change and it does all the things students need it to do. Students can ask questions at the time they need the information and receive answers quickly from both staff members and other students. This goes a long way towards preventing them from feeling disillusioned and confused and thus students face much less risk of dropping out of the course. Once the students are engaged in an ongoing way the space becomes fertile ground for other things, such as broadcasting information, sharing resources and ideas, building relationships and networking. Effective online learning needs to include much more than the delivery of content in order to be truly useful and meaningful to learners. It must first and foremost be centered on the social engagement of students into a Community of Practice. Through the use of tools such as Facebook that students already understand and feel comfortable with we begin to reimagine online learning as something that we do with students rather than for them. Evidence suggests that through this process universities can enhance the experience and engagement of students transitioning into higher education.

REFERENCES Adeoye, B.F. 2011. “Culturally different Learning Styles in Online Learning Environments: A case of Nigerian University Students”, International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 7(2), 1-12. doi: 10.4018/jicte.2011040101 Arbon, V. 1998. “Presence and Dialogue: the need for balance in remote tertiary education”, Ngoonjook, July, pp 16-30. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=963444653615838;res=IELIND> Bat, M. 2011. Learning from the journeys: Quality in Indigenous teacher education in Australia, (Doctoral Dissertation, Charles Darwin University, 2011) http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:13184 Behrendt, L. 2012. Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: final report, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. Retrieved from

59

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING

http://www.industry.gov.au/highereducation/IndigenousHigherEducation/ReviewOfIndi genousHigherEducation/FinalReport/IHERFinalReport.pdf Cheung, C.M., Chiu, P.Y. and Lee, M.K. 2011. “Online social networks: Why do students use Facebook?” Computers in Human Behavior, 27(4), 1337-43. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.028 Curtis, D. D. and Lawson, M. J. 2001. “Exploring collaborative online learning”, Journal of Asynchronous learning networks, 5(1), 21-34. Retrieved from http://wikieducator.org/images/6/60/ALN_Collaborative_Learning.pdf Dougiamas, M and Taylor, P.C. 2002. Interpretive analysis of an internet-based course constructed using a new courseware tool called Moodle, Paper presented at the Higher Education Research Development Society of Australia Conference, Perth. Retrieved from: http://online.dimitra.gr/sektrainers/file.php/1/MartinDougiamas.pdf Edmonds, F., Rachinger, C., Waycott, J., Morrissey, P., Kelada, R., and Nordlinger, R. 2012. “Keeping Intouchable”: A community report on the use of mobile phones and social networking by young aboriginal people in Victoria. Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES), University of Melbourne, Melbourne. Retrieved from http://www.broadband.unimelb.edu.au/publications/2012/keeping-intouchable.pdf Fewkes, A.M. and McCabe, M. 2012. “Facebook: Learning Tool or Distraction?” Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(3), 92-8. Retrieved from http://library.batchelor.edu.au:2653/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2andsid=97f899ef6eeb-4091-982a-077ec8939dde%40sessionmgr4002andhid=4101 Glaser, B.G and Strauss, A.L. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Transaction Publishing, New Jersey, USA James, J. 2012. Full of confidence. Retrieved from http://tertiarysuccess.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/full-of-confidence/ Kral, I. and Schwab, R.G. 2012. Learning Spaces: Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia, ANU E Press Canberra ACT, Retrieved from http://epress.anu.edu.au Kutay, C. Mooney, J. Riley, L. and Howard-Wagner, D. 2012. “Experiencing Indigenous Knowledge Online as a Community Narrative”, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 41(1), 47-59. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jie.2012.8 LeNoue, M. Hall, T. and Eighmy, M.A. 2011. “Adult Education and the Social Media Revolution”, Adult Learning, 22 (2), 4-12. doi: 10.1177/104515951102200201 Madge, C. Meek, J. Wellens, J. and Hooley, T. 2009. “Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university: It is more for socialising and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work”, Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 141-55. Doi: 10.1080/17439880902923606 Mason, T. Reid, C. and Perry, B. 2003. “The Aboriginal Rural Education program in Teacher Education at the University of Western Sydney”, Change: Transformations in Education, 6.2(Nov), 75-81. Retrieved from http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au//bitstream/2123/4503/1/Vol6No2Article7.pdf MYCEETYA Taskforce. 2001. Exploring multiple pathways for Indigenous students, Discussion Paper, MYCEETYA Taskforce on Indigenous Education, June 2001. Retrieved from http://www.scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Reports%20and%20pu blications/Publications/Cultural%20inclusion%20and%20ATSI/Exploring%20multiple %20pathways%20for%20Indigenous%20Students-Discussion%20paper.pdf Palmer, C. 2012. “Open learning launches into competitive MOOCs market”, The Conversation, 15 October 2012. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/openlearning-launchesinto-competitive-moocs-market-10155

60

HALL AND MAUGHAN: GOING WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY

Promnitz-Hayashi, L. 2011. “A learning success story using Facebook”, Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 2(4), 309-316. Retrieved from http://sisaljournal.org/archives/dec11/promnitz-hayashi/ Radloff, A. and Coates, H. 2010. Doing More for Learning: Enhancing engagement and outcomes. Australasian Student Engagement Report, ACER, Camberwell. Robertson, T., Dyson, L., Norman, H. and Buckley, B 2002. “Increasing the Participation of Indigenous Australians in the Information Technology Industries”, in T.Binder, J.Gregory, I.Wagner (eds.) PDC 02 Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference, Malmo, Sweden, 23-25 June 2002. Rooks, C 2012. Never give up, retrieved from http://tertiarysuccess.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/never-give-up/ Rose, D. Lui-Chirizhe, L. McKnight, A. and Smith, A. 2003. “Scaffolding Academic Reading and Writing at the Koori Centre”, Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32, 4149. Retrieved from http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/docs/2003324149.pdf Selwyn, N. 2009. ‘Faceworking: exploring students' education-related use of Facebook’, Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 157-74. DOI: 10.1080/17439880902923622 Sharrock, P. and Lockyer, H. 2008. “One to One and Face to Face: A Community Based Higher Education Support Strategy Retaining Indigenous Australian University Students”, Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37, 28-39. Retrieved from http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/index.html?page=103556 Valenzuela, S. Park, N. and Kee, K.F. 2009. “Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students” Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875-901. DOI: 10.1111/j.10836101.2009.01474.x Wenger, E. 2006. Communities of Practice. A Brief Introduction. Retrieved from http://wengertrayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/06-Brief-introduction-to-communities-ofpractice.pdf

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Lisa Hall: Lecturer, Division of Higher Education and Research, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia Catherine Maughan: Course Coordinator, Division of Higher Education and Research, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

61

The International Journal of Technologies in Learning is one of ten thematically focused journals in the collection of journals that support The Learner knowledge community—its journals, book series, conference and online community. The journal explores the role of technologies in learning, and processes of learning about and through technologies. As well as papers of a traditional scholarly type, this journal invites presentations of practice—including documentation of educational technology practices and exegeses of the effects of those practices. The International Journal of Technologies in Learning is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal..

ISSN: 2327-0144