Vibes in AVO Open Networks

Vibes in AVO Open Networks Descriptions of the AVo project operAtion During 2008–2011

AVo reports 1/2012

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Contents

prefAcetiina front-tammivirta .............................................. 3

AbstrAct ................................................................... 5

cornerstones of coorDinAtion AnD coMMunicAtion in the AVo projecttiina front-tammivirta, Anne rongas and titi tamminen ............................................................. 7

AVo project MeMbers’ DistAnce coMMunicAtion tooLsjoanna Kalalahti ......................................................15

sociAL MeDiA eDucAtion for teAchers AnD the DeVeLopMent of this eDucAtionAri-Matti Auvinen and Kaisa honkonen-ratinen .......................................25

the netfoLKs – Web-Age ciViL societY DeVeLopeD AnD testeD neW operAtiVe MoDeLsAntti poikola ..............................................................33

“We Were so out, out of the cLAssrooM – AnD We LeArneD!”outi Vahtila, johanna salmia, Annika Michelson and Lotta Linko ......................37

WisDoM in WiKi proDuction – our peer proDuction estAbLisheD neW operAting MoDesjoanna Kalalahti ......................................................61

seconD Life VirtuAL WorLD in the serVice of eDucAtionriitta Liski, päivi svärd, isto huvila, Kim holmberg ..........................................................71

eDucoss succeeDeD in proMoting eDucAtionAL uses of free AnD open source softWAre (foss)elias Aarnio ...............................................................85

suomen eoppimiskeskus ry, Visamäentie 33, 13100 hämeenlinna, [email protected]

English translation by Tiina Lanas • Layout design: Adverbi Oy • Printing: Oy Fram Ab

ISBN 978-952-67714-0-3 (paper publication) • ISBN 978-952-67714-1-0 (electronic publication)

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Preface

The AVo- open networks for Learning project gave a meaningful contribution to the diversity of open production and distribution. A large number of

events and publications was produced collectively. the community-based mode of operation was manifest in the planning and implementation of events, training courses and functions as well as in how people participated in editing materials and how they joined brainstorming ses-sions in social web services and wikis.

the project’s peer productions include a variety of items: a training concept for social media, the Mobii-likesäkoulu (Mobile summer school), the AVo webinar series (about 40 of them), active and activating confer-ence sessions (such as those at information technol-ogy in education itK and Digital competence and Learn-ing DcL) as well as certain social media environments and materials. peer production sessions were imple-mented internally among project members as well as open for external participants. the extensive project network formed a good test bed for new services and web rooms; the far-reaching national-level network made it possible for more than ten organisations to work in the project and for dozens of experts to participate in six subprojects in 2008-2012. More than 2500 individu-als participated in the training sessions and events that were organised during the project.

the AVo network used new services and web rooms actively so that the widely dispersed participants were able to establish a sense of presence in the project com-munity. the range of communication tools employed was deliberately extensive, as one of the project objectives was the testing and piloting of new services offered for project use. openness was a key principle and, there-fore, we favoured freeware and free services. project workers operated widely dispersed around the country, challenging the traditional communication and meeting practices. Managing the extensive project and reporting within the project and externally required a new opera-tional culture which, in turn, prepared ground for new project work practices.

education for teachers (Kaisa honkonen-ratinen and Ari-Matti Auvinen); the mobile summer school event (outi Vahtila, johanna salmia, Annika Michelson and Lotta Linko); the netfolks (Antti poikola); second Life (riitta Liski, päivi svärd, isto huvila, Kim holmberg); peer pro-duction project Viisautta wikin tekoon - Wisdom in Wiki production (joanna Kalalahti) and educoss (elias Aarnio).

oili salminen and i edited this publication together. the publication of this report was made possible by the active, creative AVo team. our warmest thanks to you all.

hämeenlinna, March 2012Tiina Front-Tammivirta AVo coordinator the Association of finnish eLearning centre.

Openness was a key principle and, therefore,

we favoured freeware and free services.

Project workers operated widely dispersed

around the country, challenging the traditional

communication and meeting practices.

this report contains eight stories, each shedding light on the project’s practical implementation from a dif-ferent angle. The stories are the following: coordination and project communication (tiina front-tammivirta, Anne rongas and titi tamminen); project members’ distance communication tools (joanna Kalalahti); social media

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the AVo project (open networks for Learning, 2008–2011) searched for methods to jointly produce learn-ing materials; it also developed methodologies for open production and sharing and promoted a communal way of planning and implementing events, functions and courses. the cooperation among the eleven participat-ing organisations went well, in general. the new culture of working together and borrowing creatively was adopt-ed in varying depths at varying times.

the key feature of the project was networking. peer production and peer learning together with the creation and maintenance of networks were central to its mode of operation. the results reached were excellent.

the implementation occupied thousands of individu-als. the extensive national-level network had more than ten organisations involved in project work and dozens of experts participating in the six subprojects in 2008–2011. More than 2500 individuals participated in the training sessions and events that were organised during the project.

the AVo network used new services and web rooms actively so that the widely dispersed participants were able to establish a sense of presence in the project community. the range of communication tools employed was deliberately extensive, as one of the project objec-tives was the testing and piloting of new services offered for project use. A broad range of web services and web rooms was first introduced into project internal use, and then a variety of interest groups was trained to use them.

this project report is intended for learners and us-ers in diverse educational institutions and organisations that employ open learning, open working cultures, so-

oiLi sALMinen

Abstract

cial media, content production, virtual worlds and mobile learning devices for educational purposes, as well as for those that employ free and open source software in school use. there will be two other reports published of the AVO project:

• AVO – On an open collision course – challenges in combining the real and the virtual • AVO ripples propagate – openness in sight!

these reports will deal with the success and effective-ness of the project. this report contains eight stories, each shedding light on the project’s practical implemen-tation from a different angle. the stories are the fol-lowing: coordination and project communication (Tiina front-tammivirta, Anne rongas and titi tamminen); pro-ject members’ distance communication tools (joanna Kalalahti); social media education for teachers (Kaisa honkonen-ratinen and Ari-Matti Auvinen); mobile sum-mer school event (outi Vahtila, johanna salmia, Annika Michelson and Lotta Linko); civic society online (Antti poikola); second Life (riitta Liski, päivi svärd, isto hu-vila, Kim holmberg); peer production project Viisautta wikin tekoon – Wisdom in Wiki production (joanna Kala-lahti) and educoss (elias Aarnio).

the AVo project was implemented in 2008–2012 un-der the esf operational programme in mainland finland, axis 3, Active citizen of the open Learning environment. the project was funded by the centre for economic De-velopment, transport and the environment in Lapland and coordinated by the Association of finnish eLearning centre.

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the question whether good practices can be transferred remains partly unanswered – our answers are not ex-haustive. our report will introduce certain methods for familiarising others with good practices and promoting the use of such practices in other projects and func-tions. We will also describe what, in our three years of work (total of 22.5 man years), was such that we would like to recommend it, on the basis of our experiences, for others in similar large projects in public administra-tion, civic society and business.

We will also investigate the interaction models adopt-ed in the project together with their outcomes. in addi-tion, this story will touch upon other issues that seem necessary to clarify the role of coordination within the project as a whole. We hope to give you, our reader, an idea of the many faces of AVo and its many projections to a variety of directions. We also believe some people will be interested in hearing which areas lagged behind

tiinA front-tAMMiVirtA, Anne rongAs AnD titi tAMMinen

Case: Cornerstones of coordination and communication

in the AVO projectIn this project report, we will describe the administrative coordination and communication in the

AVO project, both under the responsibility of the Association of Finnish eLearning Centre. When we

recorded experiences and views concerning the coordination and communication in the AVO project,

we encountered the inevitable themes of networking, interaction, assistance and working together,

pitching in to help, internationality and the sorrows and joys associated with networking. One of the

most important duties of the coordinator was the enabling of the cooperation among the participants,

of whom there was a large number, designing smoothly-functioning models for their interaction.

The communication activities and practices, the responsibility of which was the coordinator’s,

supported the purposes of coordination while they facilitated the work in other areas.

This report will also describe what actually went on during the project.

the expectations or outright failed. We will share some of those experiences as well.

We had a very large number of people involved from different professional fields in different parts of finland. this facilitated our work. We were able to communicate about our project in various networks and were assisted in it by people we knew and people we did not know. We can say that it was us, all of us, who worked in the vari-ous subprojects that created AVo together.

All in all, the AVo project was edifying, inspiring and encouraging for us due to the enthusiasm and great mo-tivation of those involved. We heard the same adjectives from other participants as well. the project feedback was mainly positive. there were very few disadvanta-geous evaluations. the overall project, our funding pro-gramme Aktiivi, gave mainly positive feedback concern-ing AVo, and gave encouragement and guidelines when needed.

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it is a compliment to a project if the implementation of its key issues continues. this is taking place, and a new large programme, openness Accelerating Learning networks, was kicked off at the beginning of 2012. the objectives include the establishment and strengthening of a communal and participatory networking culture in the participating educational institutions and organisa-tions as well as among their interest groups.

OPENNESS, NETWORKS AND LEARNING – ELEMENTS OF AVO’S STONE BASE

the AVo project was implemented under the esf op-erational Programme in mainland Finland, axis 3: Active citizen of the open Learning environment. As of 2008, Active citizen of the open Learning environment has fo-cused on activating people in different sorts of learn-ing environments. the esf development programme has funded 14 different projects, one of which was AVo. three new ventures were kicked off at the very begin-ning of 2012.

the projects under the AKtiiVi programme include nationwide networked projects, ready to share their results with all citizens. the goals of these networked projects comprise supporting cooperation under their themes, increasing expertise, sharing information and best practices as well as promoting the flexible use of technology. they also want to find ideas for new prod-ucts which could be turned into business models. the

outcomes that these projects intend to achieve are meant to foster the structuring of new types of learn-ing paths for different types of learners. the aim is to remove obstacles, restraints and blind alleys of learning, and active operators are provided with diverse opportu-nities for demonstrating their skills (see e.g. hämewiki, http://ttstyt.wordpress.com/tietoa/).

the words “open networks for learning” in the name of the project describe rather well the issues at the core of the project - they formed fixed points that anchored AVo work. openness and networks were the enablers, supports and boosters of learning in this project. these elements were essential, and any one of them would have been less productive had the others not been there.

AVo piloted, trained and supported the introduc-tion of new operating models into educational institu-tions and civic activities. it was particularly important for these models to include pedagogically suitable char-acteristics and features. AVo also supported the critical introduction for use of these models; this means trial-ling and analysing the models during the introductory phase, enabling changes to the models if the use of any as such in a particular place was not appropriate.

the funding of AVo was approximately 860000 € an-nually, making the total funding at the end of the 3-year period in excess of 2.5 million euros. of this, 15% was acquired by AVo itself; one half of the 15% came through municipal funding and the other half from social me-dia education arranged for municipal organisations. in terms of euros, the project was rather large among pro-jects with funding from the european social fund (esf), but when compared to eu frame programmes and other eu level programmes, it actually was relatively small. Medium and large projects there amount to 8-10 million euros per project.

in project coordination, finances and payment orders required a great deal of work. Well-managed finances, as is well known, allow manoeuvring room for actual pro-ject activities. project economy worked well even though we occasionally had to herd our innovative participants back to their schedules.

We have extensive amounts of coordination-related material. project reporting and payment orders have brought about 20 large folders with mainly payment or-der data, and before we can have the project materi-als archived, we will most likely have six more similar folders with follow-up data, decision documentation, payment decisions etc. this project that so well made use of the electronic media did not reach the paperless stage.

Openness and networks

were the enablers, supports

and boosters of learning

in this project.

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the number of participants varied per phase. the number of people involved simultaneously averaged 50-60; full-time staff numbered 1-2 most of the time, with part-time staff supporting. the project involved a large number of experts. turn-over was high and job induction was required in great volumes.

A GOOD PLAN HELPS IN IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION

the implementation and reporting of eu-funded pro-jects are clearly specified. When the AVo project plan-ning team started drafting the funding plan in 2007, the world was very different from today. for example, appli-cations and services for mobile communications, social media and virtual worlds were taking their first steps, and some had not emerged at all at that time.

it is clear that planning is difficult if not impossi-ble in a rapidly-changing area that is under constant renewal, as is online learning. however, the availabil-ity of funding is determined by the project plan and the conditions given by particular funding providers. it was fortunate - or far-sighted - that the project planning group was able to draft the plans sufficiently precisely but also flexibly enough so they could be changed when

FOLLOW-UP DATA 2008–2011

Participants Goal Actual (31.12.2011)

businesses 10 87

organisations 200 255

Persons 850 2533

Women 600 1526

Men 250 1007

Days teaching and instructing, man-days Goal Actual (31.12.2011)

face-to-face instruction 900 1616

Distance learning 850 851

Development and consultation 290 300

other man-days 150 157

Total 2190 2924

needed. there have been needs for changes over the years.

if there are no active participants, any project will wane and its outputs will fade out before the actual goals have been reached. the AVo participants, whether in supportive or active roles, always did their share and also assisted others. the AVo consortium consisted of Aalto university of Art and Design Medialab, university of tampere infiM, Åbo Akademi university, hAMK uni-versity of Applied sciences, otava folk high school, edu-cational Association of citizens’ forum sKAf, technol-ogy centre innopark, summer university of häme, city of hämeenlinna, city of Kotka and hci productions oy.

the project developed the use of mobile devices, blogs and wikis in learning and interaction, the use of 3D virtual worlds and online conferences in education, and it piloted social media tools, open source code so-lutions and web communities as teachers’ learning re-sources. peer production quality assessment formed an important area. it was difficult and required that we put ourselves at risk, observing how our actions impacted others and the results of others. cooperation among a large group of participants succeeds when the condi-tions and principles are clear for everyone.

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Cooperation among a large

group of participants succeeds

when the conditions and

principles are clear for all.

it is noteworthy that resources were joined and in many cases group efforts took place autonomously with-out any formal project coordination. in our opinion, this demonstrated the positive aspects of online networking. the amount of volunteer work was noticeable. people did not count up their hours very precisely.

PROJECT COMMUNICATION

the range of communication tools employed was de-liberately extensive, and new services that were made available during the project were tested and piloted with due diligence. because of the nature of the project and the people involved, piloting and assessing new tools was a natural part of the project’s communication chan-nel selection. openness was an essential theme in the project all along, and therefore, we favoured freeware and free services whenever possible.

from the very beginning, AVo project’s common infor-mation distribution and discussion channels consisted of a project wiki for project management, an email dis-tribution list, google calendars delivered to the partic-ipants for internal and external events, regular online meetings (once every two months) and regular face-to-face meetings (twice per year). the Monday bulletin, dis-tributed via email, was the weekly bulletin which was openly put together through mutual effort in a shared document in googleDocs. shared documents were in active use so we could avoid sending different versions through email. internal communications and joint plan-ning made use of collective mind maps, training design wikis and mobile videos on the AVo channel in the bam-buser, an interactive live video broadcasting service.

even external communication largely took place online. the compilation blog Avoinvirta (open stream) formed, internally, a key channel for members to monitor the work, and externally, it was an important communi-cation channel. participants’ blogs and other relevant blogs were available in one web address.

requests were made to obtain a virtual coffee table for the use of those who wanted interaction in real-time. trials were started with flowdock, then they were trans-ferred to organisaatio-Qaiku and finally to Yammer. ser-vice providers were changed twice, because flowdock became subject to a charge, and organisaatio-Quaiku was not found to be an easy communication tool. the virtual space created a sense of belonging for users; this was an essential support for a project worker strug-gling alone in an organisation. Quick reactions and an-swers to questions and thoughts posted online gave rise to a strong sense of belonging at times.

in general, online meetings took place with Adobe connect pro (Acp) web conferencing software, skype group chat supported by a wiki and collaborative text editors (etherpad); wiki meetings were also experiment-ed with, convening on a wiki meeting page at an agreed time. the transmission of video with many participants present does not work in the best possible way; the vid-eo function in an Acp connection requires a great deal of bandwidth, reducing the quality of the connection. the participants felt that the audio functionality supported by text was sufficient particularly after people had met face-to-face.

in August 2011, we included the trial of the google+ hang-out service which offers high-quality audio and vid-eo to as many as 10 simultaneous participants. goog-le+ hangout proved to be an excellent tool for our free-form Monday morning project meetings.

face-to-face meetings were arranged twice a year; the one in early september always lasted for two days. it was always possible to attend face-to-face meetings remotely even though we hoped that participants would arrive on location physically. of all the communication and meetings among project members, 90% took place on various web channels with online tools.

AVO PEARLS SHOW OUR SATISFACTION

the AVo project, open networks for Learning, focused on the creation, development and support of methods and models of open learning and content production in educational institutions and civic activities. how did we succeed?

AVo pearls show the project members’ idea of the project’s best outcomes and practices. outcomes and practices were worked into “AVo pearls” in a certain workshop. At the midpoint of our string of pearls, we placed a diamond which signifies the culture of posi-tive copying, i.e. the principle that all outputs and prac-tices obtained with the aid of public funding need to be shared openly.

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open webinars

training modelfor jointly produced

materials Wikis for social media courses

Mobile summer school

travel Agency soMe

guides forsocial media

users

jointly producedmaterials

peer-production, peer-learning

Qualitycriteria

open production and distribution

of materialsoss

Mobile devices

”sometu” -network

Wikis and blogs

social media in education

Web conferencing

Virtual worlds (3D)

co-creation, co-operation,

open work culture

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the nature of our operations was characterised by the idea that we would openly distribute all outputs and practices we obtained with the aid of public funding among all interested parties for their information and use.

the communal mode of operation was manifest throughout the project at all levels.

project workers operating widely dispersed around the country challenged the traditional communication and meeting practices. AVo bravely tried out web chan-nels from online conferencing systems to skype and sharing videos. our motto was that we work as we teach, in other words, we used the same tools and operating models that we taught to our target groups.

cooperation must be initiated at the first possible instance. When that is the case, cooperation becomes a habit that increases the chances of success. Working and cooperating in AVo actually succeeded better than was hoped for at the beginning.

Innovative solutions are well-suited to everyday life

AVo produced new information in areas in which infor-mation has not previously been available in finland. AVo produced information and applied it to practice, enabling new ways of operation in, for example, learn-ing materials peer production, project work, civic ac-tivities etc. innovative solutions worthy of the name of best practice were also found in the use of project tools as, with them, we succeeded in the dissemina-tion of information and instructions among our target groups very quickly, making easy the introduction of novelties into use. in education, innovative solutions were evident in the focus: education should not be tools training but instead should contain new operat-ing models directing the work culture to making use of technology in a flexible manner in accordance with the target group.

Centralised payments and liaison with public officials

the coordinating party must have clear guidelines and smooth processes for ordering payments and collecting follow-up data. Adherence to agreed reporting and pay-ment order schedules requires good commitment on the part of the member organisations.

communication with the funding party in the various phases of the project was an important aspect of the coordinator’s work; we agreed from the very beginning that the contact to the funding official would be central-ised. to order payments, the coordinator collected the required bookkeeping materials and reports by the due date and delivered the package to the relevant authority. this arrangement worked well and there were no over-drafts to the budget. this may have been impacted by the early intervention policy adhered to even in money matters – the coordinator guided and assisted in the preparation of payment orders.

Within the project,

we used the same tools and

open methods that we taught

to our target groups.

CIRCULATION OF GOOD PRACTICESMotto: We work as we teach

the most important duties of the coordinator were agreed to include ascertaining the conditions of cooper-ation for the great number of participants and designing smoothly-functioning models for their interaction. the accomplishment of these duties was aided by the cus-tom assumed at the very beginning of the project, that all outputs and practices obtained with the aid of public funding were shared openly among all interested parties in public and also in tailored forms among project mem-bers. common rules for communication and meetings are necessary. the presence of alternatives and diver-sity had to be fostered in a large group to help everyone find the best methods most suited to them personally.

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the groundwork for project coordination was com-pleted at the very beginning. the coordinator met in person with the parties implementing the various sub-projects, with a preprepared agenda that contained is-sues related to practical project work and reporting as well as to contents issues. on the basis of such meet-ings, the objectives and forms of working were clarified for each subproject. reporting instructions and other guidelines were available for the participants in a pro-ject wiki. comprehensive guidelines covering the entire project period (on e.g. reporting, participant data col-lection, acceptable costs, the use of the logos, etc.) formed the basis for the smooth operation of the project consortium composed of several organisations. central-ised participant data collection in events and functions was one of the enablers of AVo’s success. social media in project work was even the subject matter for a sub-project. this subproject was conducted under the centre for economic Development, transport and the environ-ment in satakunta, and the participants were education-al ventures.

Culture of creative copying

there are challenges in working together in peer produc-tion, but there is also an invigorating pull that catches one unawares. We must learn to operate on uncertain grounds if we aim at producing any output together, learning during the process. the culture of creative copy-ing is created as a side issue.

social media is still often labelled as frivolous. Dur-ing the project, we noticed that the label has begun to wear off, and the uses of social media for a multitude of purposes are better understood. it is likely that the application of social media and learning from others – even borrowing from others – in everyday situations and also the communal services established for handling the less interesting tasks such as financial administra-tion, have promoted the credibility of social media.

Nothing is forever – we need to be ready for reassessments

objectives and operational models were checked in joint events and online discussions.

issues difficult for project administration included e.g. copyright which emerged regarding the ownership of materials openly available through the web. copy- right was often been discussed with public authorities as statutes and regulations seem to lag behind web life.

the implementation of AVo began as a joint effort of the organisations, and soon inter-organisation groups started forming. it will be necessary to move on from

this organisation and group oriented mode to adopt a more flexible mode. the next large project will proceed more on the lines of contextual themes and topics.

A distinct drawback during the project was the fact that funding could not be addressed to persons under 16 or over 64 even though they often had excellent knowledge and skills for the use of social media.

Spreading of good practices

As the AVo coordinator, the Association of finnish eLearning centre spread information concerning the pro-ject and communicated good practices and forms avail-able for various types of activities. our success in this task can be seen in how often AVo members were invit-ed to various events as speakers and trainers or to take on other expert duties. the demand during the project grew gratifyingly, and AVo members were often invited to social media education events. communication took place through the magazine seoppi, the blog Avoin virta (open stream) as well as other web communities and blogs. international information exchange took place in the form of conferences, seminars and exhibitions. All outputs, materials and guides from the AVo project are publicly available. they can be handily obtained from the open wiki at the address http://bit.ly/avomateriaalit.

All parties involved in the project are still available. if you would like to give us feedback, please contact us.

Funding programme: the esf operational programme in mainland finland, operational Line 3: The Active Citizen of the Open Learning environment

Budget: 2.7 million euros during 2008–2012Project Consortium: Aalto university of Art and Design, university of tampere, Åbo Akademi university, hAMK university of Applied sciences, otava folk high school, educational Association of citizens’ forum sKAf, technology centre innopark, summer university of häme, city of hämeenlinna, city of Kotka and hci productions oy. coordinated by the Association of finnish eLearning centre.

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AT A DISTANCE AND NEAR-BY IN AVO

the AVo project comprised six separate subprojects, each focusing on a certain type of content. shared, natural activities were effortlessly built around common issues, but it required communication to notice these common issues. the AVo project had certain common goals, and the sponsor required inter-subproject coop-eration. A project study completed at the end of 2011 showed that participants experienced the common goals as unclear and the discussion concerning them as lacking.

An appropriately functioning discussion channel is needed to enable cooperation. because project mem-bers were located in different parts of finland, web tools were made use of from the very beginning. the tools introduced for use at the beginning of the project did not support common discussion, nor were they the answer to the participants’ wish to strengthen their sense of community, nor even to their wish to learn to know the other members better. because informal discussion can facilitate members becoming acquainted, there was the expectation that the new project discussion tool would include this feature.

half-way through the project in the fall of 2010, we introduced flowdock1, a finnish application for creating webrooms for real-time online discussion (e.g. real-time

Case: AVO project members’ distance communication tools

This subproject report describes how the viewing of distance – the aspects of remoteness

and proximity – and the experience of distance changed with the emergence of distance

communication tools as the AVO subprojects and their networks progressed.

chat). Very likely, it would have been possible to intro-duce a discussion tool even earlier, but for some reason, tool selection became a key issue. finally, the introduc-tion of Flowdock took place rather spontaneously: a pro-ject member established a web community and invited the others to join in. the idea was that it was better to try one potentially suitable tool than to continue the de-liberation as to which tool would eventually be selected. online discussion got a good start and continued lively as long as the tool was in use. the topics of discus-sion ranged from general project themes to informal chit chat. As the use of the tool developed, the groups also developed insider jokes such as the witticism posted by a member every friday that acquired the name friday Wisecrack. the participation threshold was clearly low, and flowdock discussions included very many types of subjects. the channel was excellent for cases in which one member needed answers from other members to particular questions concerning, for example, their views. We must state, however, that all project members did not take part in these discussions; discussions took place mainly within a core team of 8–10 members.

When flowdock became subject to a charge at the end of 2010, the project decided to transfer to a free-of-cost platform. in connection with the transfer, a survey was conducted concerning discussion tool user experi-ences of the past three months. this survey contained questions for those project members who had not used 1 www.flowdock.com

joAnnA KALALAhti, uniVersitY of tAMpere

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flowdock actively or at all, and also general questions on the use of remote communication tools. the survey was intended to bring us information of how the intro-duction of the web discussion tool had met the expecta-tions that had emerged in the project study: i.e. a com-mon virtual space, discussion and becoming acquainted with the others. the general impression was encourag-ing, and we expected to see discussion continue as live-ly on the new platform.

the selection of the new web discussion platform fell on organisaatio-Qaiku2, the business version of the micro-blogging service Quaiku. After the change of the platform at the beginning of December 2010 and the initial experiences, discussions seemed to dwindle to almost nothing. A few individuals tried to initiate and keep up discussion in organisaatio-Qaiku, but it is rather cumbersome to conduct discussions alone. We admit-ted that the new tool did not support the type of discus-sion we wanted to sustain. the problem was, most likely, caused by the features of the platform that were meant for a type of use somewhat different from the active online discussion we desired. organisaatio-Qaiku struc-tures collaboration in channels, the monitoring and use of which was seen as confusing and cumbersome. or-

ganisaatio-Qaiku, for example, does not alert users of in-coming messages. in addition, finding the messages in the channels was considered difficult. this platform was clearly better suited for compiling and structuring infor-mation. because discussion dwindled, we shortened the four-month trial period we had initially planned. in con-nection with the platform change, we again conducted a project survey to gain an understanding of the issues that eventually dried up the discussion in organisaatio-Qaiku. We also invited views concerning the features required in web discussion tools suitable for establish-ing shared virtual places. We decided to introduce the Yammer3 platform at the beginning of february 2011 to revitalise project discussion on a new platform possibly better suited for the intended use. some project mem-bers had introduced Yammer by the time we conducted the second survey, so we were able to ask about their first impressions.

expectations concerning Yammer were obviously high after the disappointment with organisaatio-Qaiku. comments were encouraging, but in practice, discus-sion in Yammer remained relatively subdued compared to what it had been in flowdock. the platform indicated the number of users logged in, so we could see that an average of five individuals were present almost at any time. still, discussion did not fire up even though some project members made efforts to cajole others to join in. communication about common matters did not work on Yammer, because so many members did not use it. in autumn 2011, project members suddenly started to use Yammer more; there were several messages every day, which was different from the previous half-year with several days between messages.

our experiences indicate that discussion platforms differ and studies founded on their feature descriptions do not reveal the whole truth about how they would func-tion for a particular type of discussion. in our experi-ence, certain features are quite critical for the viability of the platform: incoming message alerts, the simple structure of the platform, ease and fluency of use, pos-sibility to backtrack messages, and the suitability of the platform for each individual’s daily set of tools. the problem in a distributed network like AVo is that the pro-ject members are allocated to work in the project in dif-ferent ways for different percentages of their time; it is not necessarily even possible to involve everyone in dis-cussion. this naturally means that information cannot be passed to everyone on the same platform, making it

2 www.qaiku.com/organisations 3 www.yammer.com

reports 2012 17

necessary to apply other communication tools. Messag-es allow us to form a rather comprehensive picture of what the discussion tool users are working with, which issues are troubling them, and what observations they have made in their fields. this information concerning individuals who do not use these tools is not accessi-ble. online discussion with other project members and the simple awareness of their simultaneous presence on the platform give a sense of reality for the project when traditional face-to-face meetings are impossible. the web discussion tool also helps disseminate infor-mation, and it enables quick and easy questions to the others while creating a sense of familiarity among pro-ject members.

how did we use our online discussion tool? for in-dividual project members, the introduction of the tool required little more than the acquisition of the user iD and the acknowledgement from the establisher of the network about the acceptance of the member. the on-line discussion tool was then available, and its use re-quired very little time. it was always open and formed a quick route to distant colleagues. the tools tested for AVo use differed, but generally, this type of tool makes its presence known in various ways only when new mes-sage alerts come in (sounds, visual indicators for new messages). Among the tools tested, organisaatio-Qaiku had no incoming message alerts. the online discussion tool even contained rather much information about the project, as members included links in their messages during their discussions. therefore, the tool was also used for seeking information. of the tools tested, only Yammer had a mobile user interface, which made the work of those project members who prefer mobile de-vices that much more difficult. in addition to the mobile user interface, Yammer offers a specific desktop appli-cation for users who prefer not to operate through their browsers. Yammer is also easy to integrate into vari-ous applications, which makes it easily suited for daily work with different equipment. online discussion tools reduced the amount of e-mail messages, which was one of the objectives in AVo.

FEEDBACK SURVEYS

two surveys were conducted concerning the use of on-line discussion tools in AVO: the first one was sent out after the transition from flowdock to organisaatio-Qai-ku, and the second one after the transition from organ-isaatio-Qaiku to Yammer4. in addition to aspects related to the tested applications, both surveys aimed at study-ing the wider background changes in the viewing of dis-tance – the aspects of remoteness and proximity.

it seems that there are conditions related to tools and to other issues that are essential for the sense of community and a pleasant telepresence. As many as nine respondents mentioned that if the tools work well and enable interaction, telepresence is as good an op-tion as physical presence. the tool as such was con-sidered important in how it brought others close who were actually distant. the following replies illustrate this point: • Flowdock helped people at distance feel closer well (5 responses) or very well (2 responses) whereas organisaatio-Qaiku helped AVo people at distance to feel closer poorly (6 responses) or very poorly (1 response). only two respondents considered organisaatio-Qaiku to have succeeded well in the creation of the feeling of telepresence. • Mostly, it was seen that Flowdock helped AVO people become acquainted very well (1 response) or well (5 responses), but one respondent felt it did so poorly.• Flowdock was seen to have helped the emergence or increase of trust among AVo people very well (2 responses) or well (5 responses).• Communication via Flowdock was seen to have worked very well (1 response) or well (6 responses), and via organisaatio-Qaiku, well according to four respondents and poorly according to five respondents.

4 Dozens of people worked in AVo with different percentages of their time. both surveys had 12 respondents. seven of the respondents to the first survey used flowdock relatively actively (two of them used it weekly and five of them used it daily). there were six active users of organisaatio-Qaiku, four of them weekly users and two of them daily users. of the active users, six kept flowdock open at all times, two kept organisaatio-Qaiku open at all times, and others monitored the communication on these channels more sporadically.

18 reports 2012

• allow including members’ pictures in their profiles (1 response)• not highlight differences in the users’ skill levels too much (1 response).

the project members listed tools that they thought cre-ated the feeling of presence while there was a physical distance. they included chats, virtual blogs, microblogs, web communities, web conferencing systems, wikis and document platforms for collective writing, laptops, tel-ephones and geographic information services. the an-swers varied widely according to the respondents’ tool preferences and the combinations of such. personal preferences and the circumstances and purposes of use were seen as significant.

it was said in the responses to the survey that the tool as such was not significant for the arising feeling of telepresence, and instead there were other factors that were decisive, such as people knowing one an-

the significance of an informal discussion tool is well illus-trated by a comment from a project member, ”This informal

tool is essential for me for my work motivation, because no-

body else does this work in my organisation. I need peer dis-

cussion even if it only touched on the weather.” According to our respondents, the tool to be used for online discussion and the establishment of a common virtual place should:• make use of the different senses and the respective alternative methods of communication (sounds,

speech, written communication such as chat), be-cause e.g. written communications do not create any sense of presence for many people (6 responses)

• be simple, easy and fluent in use (3 responses)• be sufficiently real-time; it is important that the application alerts users to new messages in real time (2 responses)• enable backtracking messages (2 responses)• be suited for each individual’s daily set of tools (1 response)

Figure 1. Significance of the online discussion tool for project work in the AVO project.

Chit chat through the online discussion tool was considered important for several reasons:

An informal online discussion tool was considered important for the sense of belonging, atmosphere, stress management and

work motivation.

the online discussion tool was an important channel to reach the others.

the online discussion tool enabled informal communication with a low threshold for participation.

the online discussion tool benefitted those who use online channels more naturally than other channels.

the online discussion tool saved money and made communication more effective.

the online discussion tool reduced the project members’ need for travel.

the online discussion tool helped disseminate tacit knowledge.

the online discussion tool helped externalise thoughts and return to them later.

reports 2012 19

the following table presents a comparison of the tested platforms and sheds light onto why organisaatio-Quaiku was not felt as suitable for AVO project discussion as Flowdock and Yammer:

FEATURES OF THE TESTED APPLICATIONS COMPARED

Clarity of structure and user interface

the user interface and operation of organisaatio-Qaiku were considered confusing and they caused problems for e.g. perceiving which texts belonged to which channels; all in all, the underlying channel-based principles were not understood (9 responses). users could not enter their texts because they did not know which button to click on to do so, and they could not find new messages and, in particular, the comments to them. instead, the user interface of flowdock was considered clear (3 responses), and there were no actually negative comments given concerning it. the general look and feel of Yammer was appreciated. for example, the “like” button was considered important for informal discussion. Yammer was considered similar to facebook, with which many project members were familiar, and therefore it was easy to use. More features typical to community software were requested for flowdock (one response). the fact that organisaatio-Quaiku did not have status updates was considered negative (one response).

Suitability for intended use

According to the responses, organisaatio-Qaiku was not suited to the intended purpose due to some of its features. it was not considered suitable for quick-paced daily communication and instant messaging (7 responses), and its daily use was encumbered by the lack of visual or audio alarms for new messages. organisaatio-Quaiku was not seen as suitable for as small a group as was the AVo project team (2 responses). on the other hand, organisaatio-Quaiku was seen to be strong in that is stored message chains permanently, which made it particularly suited for asynchronous long-term work, collaboration, information structuring, planning and seminar reporting (5 responses). the first impressions of those who experimented with Yammer were largely positive. the tool seemed handy and well-suited for the intended purposes such as coffee table chit chat, internal communication, keeping up-to-date, and status updates. in addition, discussions seemed to flow better than in organisaatio-Quaiku (3 responses). even though flowdock and Yammer were generally seen to suit discussions such as were desired in AVo, one respondent in the first survey doubted that flowdock had been the right choice, because it was seen to be better suited for closer-knit daily teamwork whereas AVo work was less close-knit. there were no specific justifications given for this view, and the project members’ experiences of flowdock were otherwise positive (5 responses).

Alerts for new messages

flowdock was seen to work well, and it was not seen to disturb users with excess information, because there were various filters available, and alerts could be adjusted by users to the levels of their preference (1 response). the user interface was simple and clear, and it was possible to grasp everything of interest to oneself at one glance (2 responses).

Suitability of the application for each individual’s daily set of tools

on the basis of these surveys, it is difficult to say what improvements could have been made to fit the online discussion tool any better to every individual’s daily set of tools. for some users, a mobile user interface might have been an improvement. the lack of mobile user interface in flowdock and in organisaatio-Qaiku was experienced as cumbersome (1 response for each). on the other hand, Yammer’s mobile user interface was considered good (1 response), and Yammer’s alternative applications were brought up as viable solutions (2 responses), e.g. a desktop application in addition to the browser application. (there is even a customer-specific Linux application, but it was considered useless.) features considered cumbersome in the use of organisaatio-Qaiku included the lack of automatic sign-in (3 responses) and the lack of Digsby interface (1 response).

Previous experience in the use of an application

the importance of previous experience as a facilitator for introducing new applications was brought up (2 responses). organisaatio-Qaiku was considered to highlight the differences among project members and to make communication unequal (1 response), because some individuals were experienced users of the tool and that was considered to be too manifest in all communications that took place on that platform.

20 reports 2012

other (3 responses), people being on the same wave-length and wanting to interact (4 responses), and fun and humour being included in the communication (1 re-sponse). it was considered important for feedback to be quick so that the feeling of presence can be created (3 responses). “there must be some reaction, preferably during the same work day, to the issues you send out into the communication tool. Without reaction, your trust in the operation of the channel deteriorates. if the reac-tions occasionally come faster (perhaps in a few sec-onds only), there is the sense of presence, the sense that we are both or all here now and we can talk.” indi-vidual differences in the requirements necessary for the establishment of telepresence came up: some people wanted to meet others in the physical world and have the trust established there (2 responses), some people made acquaintance with others quite naturally irrespec-tive of medium (1 response).

face-to-face meetings were considered appropriate (9 responses) for learning to know the others (5 re-sponses) and for the sake of light conversation (4 re-sponses). the need for face-to-face meetings was not considered to be great after the first face-to-face contact if online communication was working. As some project members put it, face-to-face meetings “gave spirit and body to the web characters” and brought leisure and variety to distance work.

the goal-oriented mode of operation and shared ef-forts were also experienced as significant for the feel-ing of presence (2 responses). even less close coopera-tion was seen to become more fluent through the use of tools that enabled telepresence (1 response). equal online interaction skills were considered important (1 response).

DISCUSSION

What new operational models could there be that would be related to the change in our experience of remote-ness and nearness that emerged along with new tech-nologies? What barriers might there be in our thoughts and actions that we would need to conquer to make technologically mediated presence as natural as physi-cal presence? the tools were different through which work and changes in work were studied in the two ex-amples in this subproject report; however, the study of the use of each tool brings out essential aspects of the change in the perception of the distant and the near, and also of the significance of this change for the work itself.

technological developments have made it possi-ble for us to cover distance more and more easily. the meanings of being distant and near have changed; the

change may even have highlighted the old familiar feel-ing that we can be more distant when we are actually present than we are when we are at a distance. technol-ogy has brought new dimensions to physical distance. text- and speech-based communication are not the only means of staying in contact with those distant from us; various virtual places in 3D make it possible for us to include the experience of a physical body in our experi-ence of covering distance. even though many different technologies have existed for a long time, they have not been introduced into use in any large numbers. their introduction raises many different views. traditional let-ters and telephones are examples of means to cover distance, even though few of us think of them as such now that they are daily tools used by of all of us.

An important concept for studying various aspects of being at distance and being near is telepresence, also called virtual presence or co-presence. this concept can be used for describing the sense of experienced pres-ence which emerges when we are at a distance, either in time or physically, communicating through some form of technology. the intensity of the experience may vary, and traditionally, factors affecting this experience have been sought among the features of the technology ap-plied – how good are the users’ possibilities for influenc-ing how the software works, or how fast is the response to users’ actions. on the other hand, we must remem-ber that the experience of telepresence is highly indi-vidual and rather difficult to render into a measurable form, even though different tests have been developed precisely for measuring this experience. We should also remember that the experience of telepresence is always connected to the presence of other actors in the same virtual room as well as to factors specific to the circum-stances and the persons. (steuer 1993, 11–18, Mokka & Välkkynen 2002.)

the feedback from AVo surveys also brought up issues that, in addition to technology, should be dis-cussed in connection with the creation of the telepres-ence experience. important factors seem to include the interaction of the participants involved with the use of the tools and the fact that they know one another – and it is difficult to determine which comes first. in a pro-ject or other venture in which people work remotely a great deal of their time, it may be difficult to learn to know the others. it is natural that some individuals get in closer contact with some others, and some of the people involved know one another from before. however, common action and discussion cannot be forced among even people who know one another if no truly common issues exist. the tool as such cannot rescue interac-

reports 2012 21

tion and determine upcoming activities, if any. even with basic tools in use, we believe the telepresence experi-ence is the better the more familiar the participants are with one another. however, a good tool that enables the telepresence experience may help people learn to know one another. perhaps, as remote work and long distance meetings become more common, people will soon feel it natural to work over the web with strangers as well. As the technology becomes more familiar and routine use develops in interaction with people we know, we become ready to interact with strangers also.

one key aspect in the change of operative models, we believe, is the distinction between reality and virtual reality. for example, facebook discussions and commu-nication are easily stamped trivial and distinct from real life. however, these discussions often deal with events that take place outside the web; they resemble coffee table conversations conducted among people at a physical distance. such discussions naturally have their limitations that keep them from being identical to similar discus-sions at physical coffee tables. but we do not wish to deny the genuine quality of online coffee table discus-sions: through these discussions, it is quite possible to reach a solution to a problem that bothers a participant who initially brings up the topic, starts pondering on it, and receives com-ments and tips from others. the AVo experience confirms concretely that it is quick and easy to reach simulta-neously all users through a distance communication tool in cases when, for example, there is a question that requires an immediate answer and it is not quite clear who would be able to provide the answer. What happens in the web is not distinct from events in real life but forms a clear continuum with them. What happens in the real world can have a continuation in the web. rational work practices that have emerged with new tools probably have smoothed out the partly artifi-cial distinction between the real and the virtual. stauer refers to Laurel’s research results, bringing up the build-ing of the relation between a user and a technology. the essential elements include the engagement of the user with the tool, which engagement consists of mainly emo-tional but also of cognitive components. the establish-ment of engagement requires a momentary exclusion of all cognitive aspects, or in other words, the user must

allow himself/herself to be captured by the experience caused by the tool. (steuer 1993, 18.) With experience, it is possible to overcome concerns, if any, about tools and transfer attention from tools to issues made possi-ble by tools and accomplished through tools. the more users focus on the stimuli in the environment and the deeper they become immersed in it, the stronger their experience of presence. (Witmer & singer 1998, 226–228.)

Discussion concerning whether or not a distance communication system can stand in for physical pres-ence is somewhat problematic, as it sustains the divi-sion mentioned above. A slightly provocative question on this issue was included in the AVo survey on distance

communication tools. online meetings are often used to replace face-to-face meetings, but in consortiums like AVo in which meetings mainly take place online, the situ-ation is reversed, i.e. online meetings are occasionally, at least, replaced by face-to-face meetings.

it is clear, of course, that face-to-face and online meetings have their differences today, and neither can completely stand in for the other, if we wish to contrast them so. in the AVo project survey concerning the dis-

What happens in the web is not

distinct from events in real life but

forms a clear continuum with them.

What happens in the real world can

have a continuation in the web..

22 reports 2012

tance discussion tool, similarly, it came up that face-to-face meetings cannot be completely replaced using online tools, but face-to-face meetings are needed clear-ly less often than online meetings. More appropriately than speaking of these meeting types’ mutual replace-ability, perhaps we could speak of the different mean-ings that meetings acquire online and face-to-face. both types have their own places and they should be con-sidered to be in a continuum in relation to one another instead of any juxtaposition. face-to-face meetings can facilitate online work, and well-timed, they can promote online discussions, keeping them active (sivunen 2007, 125). in that way, interaction face-to-face and online can be formed into more fluent wholes instead of keeping them explicitly separate.

the study by Anu sivunen on technology-mediated social interaction of dispersed teams observed that in people’s experience, in view of relation-building and re-lation maintenance, technology-mediated interaction is secondary to and weaker than face-to-face interaction

unpleasant for many people. the fact that information is stored may involve concerns similar to those observed in the peer production case study which is also included in this project report. it is still not felt natural to present unfinished or spontaneous thoughts for others, and it is, naturally, only good to understand that what is once posted on the web will always remain in the web. We all must find the limit where we feel comfortable.

the development of telepresence systems from sets of equipment in specialised rooms to browser-based systems on everyone’s own computers has been one step towards personal uses that require few practical arrangements to set up. this is certainly one of the fac-tors impacting on how much these systems are used and how popular they are; when their use is spontane-ous and takes place on one’s own computer, their use is also quick and easy as long as users have the re-quired application-specific skills and understand the way of working. in addition, the convergence of various telepresence applications and services makes them more and more easily available for various mobile de-vices, interlinking synchronous and asynchronous forms of communication and integrating video, audio and still pictures. (odgen & jackson (2010, 333, 336). for exam-ple, the AVo surveys concerning the distance communi-cation tools showed many different preferences for ap-plications and systems. As it would seem important to have the whole network using the same tool – to ensure communications, if nothing else – it would be important to ensure that the unsuitability of the tool for members’ personal practices would not form an essential barrier. the fact that an application is text-based may form a barrier for those who do not use text as their primary communication medium and those who prefer mobile applications may consider it a barrier that an application is not available for mobile devices. however, the range of devices is growing as we speak, and even a smartphone today makes it possible for anyone to attend an online meeting. standards harmonisation is an important is-sue on our way towards widely accepted telepresence technologies. how well the experience of telepresence is created through the various technologies has its ef-fects on the user experience and the comfort of it. one potential barrier to the experience of telepresence today is, we believe, the technology itself, even though it also is an enabler, and enables much more than before.

cost savings with the use of distance participation technologies are seen as important in many organisa-tions. With this in mind, many employers are ready to train their staff in the use of these applications. how-ever, user training is not necessarily enough if the mode

Cost savings with the use

of distance participation

technologies have been

seen as important in many

organisations.

even though technology-mediated interaction, in prac-tice, is made use of for these particular purposes. face-to-face interaction is justified in many ways even though, in practice, many issues could be handled technology-mediated as easily as face-to-face. (sivunen 2007, 225–226.)

odgen and jackson (2010, 336) have brought up that our culture itself is one of the key prohibitive fac-tors regarding the acceptance of telepresence systems. Many telepresence systems include video connections to store the interaction. speaking to the camera and using applications with storage media are still outright

reports 2012 23

of operation is essentially unfamiliar and strange and not a part of daily life.

the AVo project was a pilot that was intended, among other issues, to monitor the functioning of a network in which the participants mostly were widely dispersed. on-line tools available from the web were made wide use of, and because the project was designed to promote the use of different tools among its target groups, the wide range of tools in use was characteristic to the project. Different tools had different functions and they were used in different circumstances. on the other hand, as we experimented with our tools, we noted – as is evident from the examples in this subproject report – that great differences exist between tools, either hindering or help-ing communication.

When studying technology-mediated interaction in dispersed teams, sivunen observed that different com-munication tools seem to support different types of in-teraction. still, the use of communication tools is not always rational, nor is it founded on which functions of interaction such technologies ought to serve. (sivunen 2007, 221.)

it was found out that, for the purpose of experienc-ing telepresence or a virtual connection, several issues were particularly important: to be able to make use of different communication channels, the ability of the tool to transmit real-time messages and alert users regard-ing new messages, the option of backtracking the mes-sage chain, and the suitability of the tool for each indi-vidual’s daily set of tools.

SOURCES

Mokka, s. & Välkkynen, p. 2002. presence. Läsnäolon tunne virtuaaliympäristöissä. (sense of presence in virtual environments.) research report 47/2002. Vtt ict.

odgen, M.r. & jackson, s. 2010. telepresence. in August e. grant & jennifer h. Meadows (eds.) communication technology update and fundamentals (twelfth edition), 322–341.

sivunen, A. 2007. Vuorovaikutus, viestintäteknologia ja identifioituminen hajautetuissa tiimeissä. (social interaction, communication technology and identification in virtual teams.) jyväskylä studies in humanities 79. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä.

Steuer, J. 1993. Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions determining telepresence. journal of communication 42(4), 73–93.

Witmer, b.g. & singer, M.j. 1998. Measuring presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 7(3), 225–240.

24 reports 2012

reports 2012 25

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

in 2010 and 2011, the open networks for Learning (AVo) project implemented a three-tier training programme in social media for educators in secondary education and tertiary vocational education. the programme consisted of a model which familiarised students with social me-dia as a concept and a phenomenon as if quickly dipping them into it, then expanding their skills with a teacher-controlled dive, finally prompting them to dive into the depths to implement their own social media projects, supported by their trainers (see figure 1).

the need for social media education is evident in educational institutions. According to a study by statis-tics finland, finnish school children and students are active users of social media, but the use of social media declines clearly in older age groups (see table 1).

At the moment, it seems that teachers do not quite recognise, much less make use of, the educational pos-sibilities available through social media. this could be partly caused by the fact that, maybe due to their lack of time, they have not been able to familiarise themselves

Ari-MAtti AuVinen AnD KAisA honKonen-rAtinen, hci proDuctions oY

This subproject report will focus on the qualitative development of teachers’

social media education. The trainers’ stories of their own experiences form

our most essential sources. These experiences were charted and enlarged

upon in an expert panel session arranged for the trainers.

Figure 1

them

atic

dep

th

number of participants

Dip

DiVe

Depths

Case: Social media education for teachers and the development

of this education

26 reports 2012

with this versatile and changing field. the objectives of this training programme, implemented in AVo, included integrating social media to the daily life in education and training in a practical way.

experiences were charted and enlarged upon in an expert trainers’ panel session, in which theme-based discussions were held. in addition to information from these discussions, our source material for this report consists of the training programme’s administrative doc-uments (including offers) and the course materials used during training sessions (in particular, the materials wiki and the trainers’ internal electronic communications). this subproject report will strictly limit itself to evaluat-ing the parts of AVo implemented by the university of tampere. We will not discuss general participant feed-back or any other feedback possibly collected.

THE PEDAGOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME

the training model consisted of three independent but interlinked modules: Dip, Dive and Depths in the world of social media. the idea was to have all teachers in-volved in the programme to attend Dip, whereas only

selected teachers were intended to be attending the ex-tended modules Dive and Depths.

All participants were offered the opportunity to use a structured materials wiki in which trainers collected ma-terials on social media, samples, and instructions. the wiki remained in the use of the learners after the train-ing. the idea was also to disseminate best practices concerning educational uses of social media.

Dip was a one-day introductory course which familiar-ised the students with the extent and richness of social media. in addition to educational staff, this course was intended for support functions such as administration, project management, it support, communications etc. the course was based on lectures by experts concern-ing the world of social media, the various tools (e.g. Wikipedia, facebook, Linked-in, blogs, googleDocs etc.) and their use, as well as the netiquette and information security of social media.

Dive was implemented in four half-day workshops. these workshops focused on one or two themes, e.g. the educational use of blogs and wikis, or the work-re-lated uses of shared documents. the students acquired user iD’s for several key tools and learned about them

Age group

Has used the internet during the

past 3 months

Uses the internet several

times a day

Has registered as a user in a web-based community service

Follows a web-based service no less often than daily

Has posted messages in the web (groups,

communities)Has read blogs

16–24 99 % 73 % 89 % 75 % 83 % 49 %

25–34 100 % 80 % 79 % 62 % 78 % 54 %

35–44 99 % 76 % 60 % 38 % 58 % 45 %

45–54 95 % 60 % 32 % 18 % 29 % 30 %

55–64 81 % 41 % 16 % 9 % 15 % 20 %

65–74 53 % 23 % 9 % 2 % 6 % 11 %

TABLE 1

Source: Statistics Finland:use of information and communications technology [online publication].ISSN=1799-3504. 2010. Helsinki: Statistics Finland[accessed 28 oct 2011].

reports 2012 27

hands-on. the discourse among trainers and students during the periods between workshops took place on Linked-in discussion forums. the participants were each expected to start a project in order to improve their own teaching, with trainers and other students supporting.

Depths consisted of five half-day workshops. the contents were designed in response to the hopes and needs the students had expressed in advance. the theme selection included the use of streamed video, the basics of planning teaching, quality assurance in social media etc. the mode of operation in Depths was hand-on; the focus was on supporting the students in the use of social media in their own development projects.

Dip was implemented in auditoriums with 60-100 participants at one time. in Dive and Depths, the ses-sions were organised in it classes in which all par-ticipants had access through their computers to the different tools touched upon. Dive and Depths had ap-proximately 15 participants per session.

BEST PRACTICES AND IDEAS FROM THE TRAINERS’ VIEWPOINT

Organisation of training

As early as the planning phase, the idea of a roadshow was included in AVo with the purpose of spreading the expertise and knowledge gained during the project. As the project progressed, these roadshows were formed into social media training courses that were offered to educational institutions. the marketing, sales, coordina-tion, feedback collection and invoicing of these courses were managed by the Association of finnish eLearning centre, the project coordinator, and the trainers came from the various AVo subprojects.

in october 2011, the roadshow implementation team reflected on good training practices and observa-tions that were made during the year. We compiled some of the trainers’ thoughts so they can be further refined.

the cooperation with educational institutions during the project made it clear to us that the roadshow events should be changed from the brief info sessions they were to more extensive social media training courses for teachers. the planning of the training model and the marketing of training events started at approximately the same time, and we quickly learned about the actual demand. some schools had ventures ongoing that could easily accommodate our training whereas some other schools experienced a strong need for social media edu-cation in their own operating environment.

in connection with the marketing, sales and even some of the implementation activities we noticed how

very challenging it is to tailor a training programme to meet the customers’ requirements. even though the various customers acquired training courses compiled of the same elements, their actual needs were quite dif-ferent. the Dip, Dive, Depths model was supposed to explain the different focuses of these modules to the customers and to describe the skill levels expected of the participants, but we learned that the individual goals of the participants who attended the sessions were of-ten quite different from the goals of the organisation that footed the bill.

customer-specific issues were challenging for the tai-loring of these training sessions: a customer might omit, for example, some forms of support for the participants (such as remote support for Adobe connect pro, a web conferencing platform) or the specified requirement of personal project work. therefore, some participants could not work on their own projects except during the face-to-face sessions held for their courses, nor could they be supported by the trainers except for the duration of the face-to-face sessions. Many educational institutions were found to lack their own pedagogical support network.

sometimes it was a customer’s undefined need for “some” social media education that made it difficult to focus and target the course appropriately. our trainers would like to express their hope that in the future when selling and negotiating courses, coordinators would pay attention to matching the course contents to the cus-tomers’ needs.

it happened more than once that trainers were asked to concentrate on the devel-opment of pedagogical ex-pertise, but the participants present actually wanted ef-fective hands-on instruction in how to use typical social media tools. it would have been extremely important to allow trainers to gain an un-derstanding of the expected results when the training course was still being planned so that they could have made it clear to the participants what sort of training was going to take place.

During the implementation of the courses, one of the challenges was presented by the large variation in the skill levels of participants. social media skills have no clear framework or skill levels defined on the basis of which participants could assess their skills and detect any blind spots in their learning. there even was the

Depths supported

students in the use of

social media in their own

development projects.

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TABLE 2

Positive issues

• The form of the AVO roadshow was open at first but, as the project progressed, it developed and took a form that improves social media skills.• The internal developments in AVO made it possible to use these courses for the dissemination of practices.• The courses finally formed an important part of the project’s funding (funds generated by operations).

case of a course where the range of attendees included people who had not learned any basics previously and experienced web experts familiar with new tools and their use due to their daily work. for many people, it was a challenge to identify their own skill level correctly.

Trainers’ experiences of course implementation

the training courses formed different applications of the Dip Dive Depths model. in some schools, Dip formed the Veso day (training required under the collective la-bour market agreement) and in some others, it made up the orientation for long-term training. some courses that were implemented did not involve a project of the par-ticipants’ own at all, but instead, they wanted to focus on various social media tools - some wanted to focus on such a large range that the participants finally had trou-ble in structuring any comprehensive view.

trainers used a shared wiki to produce their mate-rials and to distribute them for participants. Materials wikis were the brightest jewels of the courses in the view of trainers and trainees alike. the wikis allowed others to see which elements the trainer planned to use in the upcoming training and they also allowed the distribution of supportive and additional materials after the training day. the trainers’ community spirit was raised by their active approach to work and their extensive expertise in many different areas which were manifested in how the contents of the wiki and the training blog were ac-cumulated.

A certain course had as many as eight trainers, which means that almost every workshop had a specific trainer. course implementation required effective coor-dination, cooperation, information sharing and advance preparation for the set to be a comprehensive whole from the participants’ viewpoint instead of a series of independent lectures. the materials wiki helped in this work as well. still, some trainers felt that the work in the preparatory phase should have been even more careful and in particular, that the sharing of information after the workshops should have received even more atten-tion in order for the participants’ wishes to be better re-sponded to. After all, a plan does not explain what actu-ally is done. the teaching styles adopted by the various trainers differed, and participants may have been left with confusing pictures of the course implementation.

the field of social media is a constantly developing aspect of online learning. the constant change associ-ated with it requires that teachers and students alike understand and accept incompleteness. functions as-sociated with tools change, legislation develops and views of pedagogical models develop all the time. this was particularly evident in the looks and feels of various tools which changed during the courses, allowing train-ers only to remark, “oh well, there has been an update, let’s continue”.

the trainers’ work was made more cumbersome by some tool-related issues. the customer ordered tools training, but when the course began, all equipment was still in unopened sales packages, software was not

Summary of trainers’ panel discussion and their observations regarding the organisation and development of the training programme.

Issues that could be developed further

• It is challenging to tailor courses to customer needs; customers should be instructed in how their training packages should be compiled when they are buying them.• Customers do not know what they want - they are not able to identify their own needs.• Define prices better: if you want more support, you pay more.• Educational institutions do not have their own pedagogical support systems.• Not enough time (if any) is allocated for learning outside the face-to-face sessions.• The results expected of the training must be specified more clearly.

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installed, and some software was actually disabled. At times, the trainers used their own personal tools to be able to present even the basic functionalities. in the fu-ture, it would be important to compile a technical check list to make sure that the customer’s selection of course elements can actually be implemented. similarly, the in-tegration of applications into customers’ online learning environments was still ongoing, and there was no pre-cise understanding of the social media mix in the client organisations.

the trainers thought the three-tier approach of Dip, Dive and Depths formed a good basis for planning and implementation. those trainers who were not involved when the model was being designed or who only ap-peared briefly to lecture online during certain workshops did not manage to quite grasp the model or they did not

perceive how their input fit into the whole. in the future, we need to allow more time to clarify the model for all trainers who participate in these courses. in practice, the understanding of the model was made more difficult by certain school-specific requirements that were added to the model. in some cases, these requirements were contradictory to the basic principle of diving deeper into the world of social media.

experiences of success were created for the trainers in cases in which students clearly internalised a piece of knowledge and worked with it. the first thing in the morning, a teacher explained that “social media con-tains nothing applicable to my teaching”, but by early af-ternoon, social media had formed the solution for many of this learner’s problems. ”oh yes, i can do it with this! this is not so difficult at all.”

TABLE 3

Positive issues

• Trainers were inspired by the active approach of other trainers to their work.• A network of several high-quality experts.• Open channels (such as the wiki and distance collaboration tools) allowed even distance teachers to do development work.• The shared materials wiki was an important resource for the entire training team.• The shared materials wiki was easy to produce.• Work was facilitated through familiar trainer-pairs.• The shared trainer blog was an important channel for communication and sharing.• The importance of advance preparation was highlighted throughout the courses. • Learning by doing works in small teams.• The end result was greatly affected by the person’s good understanding of the operating environment.• The understanding of the incomplete state of social media was facilitated by good mutual communication.• It was inspiring to be included in new environments.• Enthusiastic learners gave much joy to the trainers – those in particular who only now became enthusiastic, i.e. turncoats.• Trainers relied on status updates from their peers rather than the three-tier model.• Dip, Dive, Depths is a functionable model as such even though some polishing adjustments are still required.

• More careful selection of social media tools (schools’ own tools are important).• Providing training in an unfamiliar field in a new environment gives quite a challenge.• Initial skills level differences among participants.• Guilty feelings for not being able to perform better.• Common planning sessions among trainers were few.• The three-tier model of the courses was not clear for participants.• All participants were not at the expected level (e.g. distance teachers), and specific requirement levels from educational institutions confused the situation even more.• Students’ mistakes in the identification of their skill levels put them in training at levels inappropriate for them.• The training styles among the trainers varied.

Summary of trainers’ panel discussion and their observations regarding the development of the course contents and functionali-ties.

Issues that could be developed further

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IDEAS AND TARGETS FOR DEVELOPMENT

the targets observed for further development can be summarised as in figure 2. one dimension in figure 2 relates to the organisation and implementation of train-ing; the other dimension relates to internal issues for which the training organisers are responsible and ex-ternal issues for which the customer organisations are responsible.

Implementation of training

Organising of training

Inte

rnal

External

• further development of the learner support model• debriefing sessions for trainers• harmonisation and development of training styles• internal development of the multiple trainers model• development of mentoring and project working skills

• development of the contract negotiation process• facilitation of the order process• nomination of a headmaster for every course• improving advance planning• developing internal communication

• clarification of services before actual order• clearly allocated working hours for participants to attend training• developing personal learning objectives• making clear distinctions between different social media tools• strengthening the pedagogical support in educational institutions themselves

• advance charting of participants’ skill levels• better grouping of participants• clarification of participants’ developmental objectives• appropriate advance preparation of all work of one’s own• more effective use of the expert resources offered

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the materials wiki, perceived as the brightest jewel in this training programme, formed a sturdy support for many participants, and many of them intended to use it later. A problem was caused by the rapid changes in the field of social media – all materials become out-dated quite quickly. During the actual courses, several wikis were used that contained miscellaneous course materials. for the future, it would be advisable to col-lect all materials wikis together and construct one loca-tion for their maintenance. the distribution and main-tainability of up-to-date-materials must be considered with particular care.

the web literacy of participants should be paid atten-tion to when considering the use of the materials wiki. When being first introduced to the use of social media, it may be a challenge to understand the functioning and structure of wikis. As experience grows, so grows web literacy, and the use of the selected support forms be-comes easier. At the beginning of training courses, it would be advisable to emphasise how the materials wiki should be used and what its role is in the training.

We also need to provide support, which compels us to develop versatile mentoring and support services, all of them easy for the customer to purchase and so clearly beneficial that they actually get bought. in the sessions arranged so far, the lack of support and the related problems were evident. in view of our general development work, we must decide whether we intend to use the model applied to supplementary training courses (one official primus motor for the entire train-ing course, with other speakers as guests), or whether we want to develop a new model. this should be given some thought before the next extensive training pro-grammes start. A high-quality support model requires a great deal of resources. if this is our decision, the resourcing required for the support model needs to be considered in the work division and in the allocation of working hours.

for the sake of trainers’ communication and the de-velopment of training-related issues, resourcing should also include trainers’ debriefing sessions. these ses-sions would provide the opportunity to discuss what was done and where each trainer left off. this would be aimed at preventing any overlapping but also at improv-ing what was left unfinished so as to make the best use of the participants’ time.

participants in training courses often want tools training only, but our project trainers do not think tools training alone forms any pedagogical foundation for their use. training targeted at teachers should consider the development of their professional identities at the

pedagogical level, enabling the development of these teachers as teachers. this may irritate some partici-pants, but change must be made possible before it can take place. the party ordering training courses should understand that the order is not placed for training days but for improvements in operation. changes require time and the opportunity to try out new ideas, and that is not possible if time is allocated for face-to-face session participation only. contract negotiations should empha-sise changes through small steps that require support and time, and also commitment from the customer so that the objectives can be reached.

When planning learning tasks, the trainers should take some time together to consider the use of open and protected publications. for example, being required to describe a personal learning process on an open web service platform is not appropriate from the viewpoint of the legal protection of the learner.

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the netfolks – Web-age civil society network aimed at strengthening active citizenship and democracy through, for example, shared activities and innovation. the net-work was founded under the AVo project, subproject opetus 2.0, which operated in the fields of networking and social media to study and develop the use of social media for the of benefit civic activity.

DAILY ENVIRONMENT AS THE ENABLER OF NEW MODES OF OPERATION

there was a demand for the netfolks – Web-age civil society network. the web environment has experienced fine-tuned changes that promote civic activity, and we can expect the future to bring more such changes. Dur-ing the past couple of years, many pioneering activities have emerged in finland that can be grouped under our umbrella term web-age civil society. there are ac-tive citizens involved, organising themselves formally or informally, and sometimes even working alone, wanting

Antti poiKoLA

Case: The Netfolks – Web-age civil society developed and

tested new operative models

Otava Folk High School, operating under the AVO project, convened the network of the Netfolks

– Web-age civil society. The network developed and tested new means of civic participation and

involvement. The themes included open democracy, collaborative consumption, web facilitation,

modern associations, community-driven participatory planning and data journalism. Organising

events and get-togethers were essential in the operation of the network. The case of Kaupungin

Kangas was a significant new initiative in the City of Jyväskylä: participatory planning was under-

taken in a variety of ways for the reconstruction of the local paper mill site, purchased by the city.

to participate in and influence the development of the civil society. some of these individuals take action in their free time and others are employed full time in this field. in addition, many individuals in administrative po-sitions are involved, changing our administrative struc-tures from the inside to enable participation; many en-trepreneurs are also involved, resolving societal issues through their businesses.

even small changes in the operation of our administra-tion and institutions combined with the possibilities ena-bled by the web will create room for new ways of working. the public sector is experimenting with entering social media enjoyed by its citizens and preparing to open siz-able administrative data reserves for public use. the web-age civil society can take this opportunity to become reori-ented, setting up networks and activities that facilitate the dissemination of models of effective participation.

the proclaimed common goal of the civic society, in-fluential politicians and the administration is to make

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the decision-making and decision-preparation process-es more open, which will enable new opportunities for participation for citizens and new opportunities for the administration for offering such. public authorities, trust-ed persons and citizens are prompted in different ways to cooperate closely.

the modes of civic activity are changing. Long-term commitments with organisations are changing into shorter activities that are more project-like and more in-formal in character. examples of this type of activities in-clude e.g. the restaurant Day and the Kallio movement. During the restaurant Day, hundreds of people in cities spontaneously set up pop-up restaurants in their homes and public places. the Kallio movement was born in the Kallio section of helsinki out the desire to oppose the expulsion of Mr. hursti (a local charity activist) and his breadline from that part of the city. Later on, this popu-lar movement, self-organising in social media, has ar-ranged block parties and various events. in the latest presidential campaign, we saw extensive self-organising campaign activities in which the official campaigns of the candidates had no role in either their coordination or promotion.

ACTIVITIES AND THEMES

the netfolks – Web-age civil society network took many different sorts of action during the AVo project. in con-nection with the project, the network organised events and functions, created publications, and tested in prac-tice how community-driven participatory planning suc-ceeded in visualising the future structure of the Kangas section in the city of jyväskylä. the communication of the network took place mainly through the web through e.g. the blog mahdollista.fi and a facebook group. re-mote attendance was possible through video in all net-work events.

the network shared experiences and was active in development work under several themes. the themes included open democracy, collaborative consumption, web facilitation, modern associations, community-driven participatory planning and data journalism. netfolks in-terested in a particular theme participated in its devel-opment, but at the same time, our goals included the cross-pollination of ideas.

the network was established in the fall of 2010 at a netfolks – Web-age civil society camp held in tampere. After that point in time, the network has organised an event every month or two, presenting a current theme that has awakened interest in the web. this has provid-ed the network with the opportunity to introduce these themes to the general public.

During 2010–2011, the network arranged ten events, many of them outside the capital city metropolitan area. one of the most popular events, a camp, was the one called (name translated) open democracy – open data. it was arranged in tampere in the spring of 2011 to experiment with cross-boundary cooperation among par-ticipants in the civic society and individuals in the pub-lic administration. the organisers were the Vaalilupaus- arkisto ry (campaign promises archives association) and the project osallistumisympäristö (participatory en-vironment) under the Ministry of justice of finland.

CASE: THE KANGAS AREA – BRAINSTORMING IN JYVÄSKYLÄ

the netfolks – Web-age civil society network was active in introducing community-driven participatory planning methods; for example, we had a presentation on wiki planning for representatives of the city of jyväskylä early in the spring of 2011. the result of this was that the opportunity presented itself for us to experiment more widely with operative models arising from the network, as the city of jyväskylä and hub jyväskylä arranged a large citizens participation project in the spring. the sub-ject was the Kangas paper mill area.

The Netfolks – Web-age

civil society network

operated in many different

ways during the project.

civic activities increasingly take place in different types of communities and networks without any official organisation or articles of association. in addition, tra-ditional organisations are assuming new modes of op-eration and making use of the opportunities they see emerging as information and communications technol-ogy develops. technology offers new opportunities for making one’s voice heard through civic action and also for the management of common matters. Making use of such opportunities and functional implementations start with unprejudiced experimenters. because we do not have very many good solutions ready at hand, we learn by experimenting and doing.

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the city of jyväskylä obtained the Kangas area, previ-ously owned by the local paper mill, in the fall of 2010. some of the paper mill facilities will be kept and some will be torn down, and the jyväskylä city centre will be built to include this area in the next few years. before the prep-aration of the Kangas architecture contest programme around february-March in 2011, the city and hub jyväsky-lä invited individual citizens, communities and groups to put together their views concerning what “a good city” would mean in relation to the future of the Kangas area.

the objective was to collect expert and experiential information from the inhabitants and communities so that the architecture contest participants could give their ideas a physical form, combining it with other ob-jectives and conditions set for their work.

the table was empty when the collection of ideas started. the acquired material shows a copious set of objectives and dreams held by the local people regard-ing the concept of “a good city”. these dreams are not limited to zoning but contain much that zoning cannot impact upon, not directly in any case.

the development of a whole new part for the city will be a comprehensive task in which zoning is only one of the many factors influencing the final outcome. the ideas and views that were collected can now be used by the city offices, businesses, various organisations and even private people in the over-all development of this area. Jyväskylä planning before architects come in: http://www3.jkl.fi/blogit/kangas/

TRAINING

the theme of data journalism was first discussed in a one-day event at the university of tampere in August 2011. in addition, the netfolks – Web-age civil society

network cooperated with the newspaper helsingin sa-nomat.

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

With the AVo project, the netfolks – Web-age civil society network managed to activate new types of cooperation among the various participants. the question is that of causing new operating modes to strike root – even in public administration.

the general interest in netfolk events and functions increased throughout the project. We owe our gratitude for this to the extensive web of social media that was woven around our activities.

our key challenge has been the building and crystal-lising of the identity of this network. As we are working with something new, we do not always quite see what connects the various parties, and the field looks like a fuzzy list of words. Active citizenship, citizen empower-ment, the democracy of making, experimenting cultures, open data reserves, local democracy, theme democracy, e-democracy, cross-boundary cooperation, peer produc-tion, and strength in common action – these will form the field that will change the nature of civic activity in the 2010’s.

the netfolks – Web-age civil society network was pro-filed as a pioneering network, and large groups of peo-ple were reached through the Kangas area collaborative project. it can be seen, however, that ventures aiming to promote democracy are easily forced to the background when they have to compete for people’s leisure time. As a result, the people involved do not number very many; we can say it is rather the activists who do this. there-fore, one of netfolk’s goals is to awaken the interest of wider circles in society.

the work of netfolks will continue under openness Accelerating Learning networks (AVo2) until the end of 2013.http://www.slideshare.net/apoikola/nettikansa-pitch/

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outi VAhtiLA, johAnnA sALMiA, AnniKA MicheLson AnD LottA LinKo, hAMK uniVersitY of AppLieD sciences

Case: “We were so OUT, out of the classroom

– and we learned!”

During the AVO subproject Mobile devices in learning and interaction in 2008–2011, the educators in

the HAMK University of Applied Sciences studied the use of mobile appliances. The Mobile Summer

summer courses familiarised a large number of teachers with the benefits of these devices.

The experiences from our subproject show that mobility together with services available through

social media enables learner-oriented learning processes, web presence,

real-time supervision and the documentation and assessment of learning.

Applying the viewpoints of both the organisers and the participants, this report will describe the Mobile sum-mer model and how it was designed and implemented. At the end of the report, we will briefly discuss the mean-ing and the future of mobility.

The Mobile Summer – an annual event now

the Mobile summer event (www.mobiilikesakoulu.com) was arranged on the Mustiala campus in 2010 and 2011. teachers were offered the opportunity to ex-periment with various methods of mobile teaching and learning in practice.

originally, we intended to arrange one summer school -type event during the subproject. but the feedback we received from Mobile summer 2010 encouraged us to arrange the next event the next year. the second Mobile summer was important for the outcome of the project as it gave us additional data and further experiences for the completion of our mobile learning concept. it was an initial illusion only that arranging the event for the

second time would be easy and effortless. the school year 2010–2011 brought great advances in appliances and services and therefore also development ideas for the model. Mobile summer 2011 featured almost total mobility and true freedom of choice for the participants. our next challenge will be the further development of our method for the reflection of one’s own learning.

Approximately 80 individuals, mostly instructors in universities of applied sciences, participated in Mobile summer each year. Mobile summer helped the mobile expert group, already established under the AVo project, to expand into a whole network, the members of which considered their most important tasks to include arrang-ing annual get-togethers and setting up new ventures. it seems that the summer school is going to become a yearly mobile learning event. the target groups of Mobile summer consisted of teachers and persons in develop-ment-related jobs. the programme was designed with a view on learning and interaction, and the themes of the event were structured accordingly.

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Table 1. The participants’ interest in and their use of mobile applications in 2010.

Table 2. The participants’ interest in and their use of mobile applications in 2011.

My interest in and my use of mobile applications

i use several...

i use some...

i have very little...

i have no...

0 10 20 30 40 50

the respondents could choose more than one of the options so the percentage may exceed 100%.

i use several mobile applications daily; phone conversations form only a small part of my use 14 18 %

i use some mobile applications 41 54 %

i have very little experience in the use of mobile applications 15 20 %

i have no experience in the use of mobile applications 9 12 %

My interest in and my use of mobile applications

i use several...

i use some...

i have very little...

i have no...

0 10 20 30 40 50

the respondents could choose more than one of the options so the percentage may exceed 100%.

i use several mobile applications daily; phone conversations form only a small part of my use 34 40 %

i use some mobile applications 33 39 %

i have very little experience in the use of mobile applications 18 21 %

i have no experience in the use of mobile applications 4 5 %

We asked about the participants’ backgrounds on the registration form. it was interesting to observe that in 2010, 18% of the participants used several mobile applications daily, but the number had risen to 40% the

next year. tables 1 and 2 present the data concerning the participants’ interest in and their actual use of mo-bile applications.

Participant data:

reports 2012 39

the hardware also had undergone a significant change during the year. in 2010, about 25% of the participants did not have the opportunity to acquire a smartphone for the course, but in 2011, everyone with the exception

of a few individuals had their own smartphone, some participants even had many of them. tables 3 and 4 describe the participants’ devices.

Table 3. Features of participants’ devices in 2010.

Table 4. Features of participants’ devices in 2011.

MODEL OF OPERATIONStarting points

the implementation of the Mobile summer event was included in the original AVo project plan, and the precise planning of it took place during the project. the basic concept consisted of the creation of a model of opera-tion that would make live what was planned first: learning situations and instruction without traditional educational technologies. A good model to base the work on was of-fered by Ms. Marja-Liisa Viherä’s ict training sessions

in the 1990’s, called communication camps at the time. these camps combined working together, the supervi-sion of the work, the outputs, presentations of the out-puts and a natural environment of beauty, freedom and positiveness. the starting point for the planning was that an event should be put together that made use of ict and gave participants the joy of togetherness, shared work and shared experiences.

Features in my device/connection

i have a W...

i have an un...

i have a data...

i have no...

i do not have a...

i do not have a...

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

the respondents could choose more than one of the options so the percentage may exceed 100%.

i have a WLAn connection 51 67 %

i have an unlimited data package 41 54 %

i have a data package based on throughput 13 17 %

i have no data package 8 11 %

i do not have a smartphone but can obtain one for the duration of summer school 8 11 %

i do not have a smartphone and cannot obtain one myself 12 16 %

Features in my device/connection

i have a W...

i have an un...

i have a data...

i have no...

i do not have a...

i do not have a...

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

the respondents could choose more than one of the options so the percentage may exceed 100%.

i have a WLAn connection 68 81 %

i have an unlimited data package 54 64 %

i have a data package based on throughput 18 21 %

i have no data package 2 2 %

i do not have a smartphone but can obtain one for the duration of summer school 3 4 %

i do not have a smartphone and cannot obtain one myself 5 6 %

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The principles adopted for Mobile Summer were these:• The event is planned through close cooperation among the organisers: active planning together, online meetings for the entire team and the theme-specific teams.• The event forms a journey for the participants, progressing as a systematic process: orientation (advance learning tasks and messages) -> getting acquainted (introductions and handshakes) -> working -> compiling outputs -> feedback.• Genuine mobility: all types of activities are possible in the mobile environment.• No more wires: learning without stiff structures outside in authentic learning environments in nature.• Openness: all information is available on open web pages – in advance.• Most important communications take place electronically: all messages are sent to phones but all information is also made available traditionally on paper. • Good use is made of geographical information systems: the event map with additional information is made available online for mobile applications.

• Effortless participation: catering outside, data in mobile devices, Qr codes, persons in charge of groups and activity points, personal guidance, transportation to the swamp area.• Experiential learning: the joy of doing, learning together, expansion of personal skills.

Activity points in oases

Mobile summer was a cooperative effort that was based on the shared, common expertise of the people organis-ing it. their shared view was built during the joint plan-ning process that lasted several months. the organisers convened online several times to plan common parts for the programme as well as specific activities for the activ-ity points/oases. the time spent on planning each year came up to approximately 1500 hours.

in 2010, participants were divided into three groups that circulated from one activity point to another. their themes included:• mobile teaching and communication• mobile learning• mobile tools.

reports 2012 41

in 2011, activity points were transformed into oases with several activity points in each. the participants could stroll freely from one oasis or activity point to an-other. The oases were:• mobile learning and supervision• mobile production• mobile technologies• social media.

Maps and traffic in the area

both years, the participants received maps of the area that showed the parking places, activity points/oases and the most important buildings.

in Mobile summer 2011 the participants also had a mo-bile map, put together with google Maps, that showed the various oases and points. the map enabled naviga-tion with gis systems.

Figure 2. A Google map of the area showing the activity points, oases, catering locations and other important places.

Figure 1. Map: Oases in the area in the PDF-format.

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Links to locations opened their pictures, some links even opened video clips such as this presentation of the old school building:

the various activity points were indicated by signposts with Qr codes on them. the Qr codes lead to the web pages of the respective activity points.

Figure 3. A Google map presenting the old school building.

Figure 4. The signposts helped in finding the right places. The QR codes made it possible to read the respective online materials with a mobile device.

Activity points offered instruction to help participants go deeper into their topics. the participants had the oppor-tunity to experiment with different functions and useful applications.

THE PEDAGOGICAL MODEL

the key idea of the Mobile summer event was to offer learning paths for the participants to take them through a variety of themes to make them realise how they could apply mobility to their own work. instead of traditional lec-tures and lengthy introductions, we only briefed the par-ticipants concerning the theme. their learning was based on their own actions and independent experimentation. The learning tasks were problem-oriented: the partici-pants had to complete a small task such as the compiling of a learning object or the convening of a mobile meeting.

the objective was to have the participants gain insights into how mobility can assist learning. Mustiala park was an excellent place for carrying out the event in an authen-tic learning environment. We were away from traditional classrooms, screens, print-outs, books and computers. in both Mobile summers, the pedagogical model was based on activity points structured around various themes. shared reflexion, summary sessions, coffee breaks and outings guaranteed the community feeling and supported the formation of shared views.

PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATIONThe organisers’ journey

from the organisers’ viewpoint, the building of the Mo-bile summer events was an effort of several months. the arrangers comprised project staff, company repre-sentatives and people involved with mobile learning in other educational institutions.

the core team consisted of the key persons in the subproject Mobile devices in learning and interaction. They were in charge of:• managing and organising the planning• event budget• creating the required web pages and forms (Mobile summer, Mobile path)

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• marketing the event, putting together the adverts and leaflets• arranging additional events and the agreed competitions• practical arrangements on the venue• compiling the materials and outputs• reporting and feedback analyses.

Other activists were in charge of:• attending planning meetings• arranging their own briefings and training sessions.

Description of the programme and activity points

putting together the Mobile summer programme in 2010 was rather challenging. it was difficult for the organisers

to reach an understanding of the names of the themes and of which issues belonged under which themes. this exemplifies the variety of ways people can structure in-formation in their minds. for example, it was surprisingly difficult to draw the line between mobile tools and peda-gogy. in addition, it was challenging for the organisers to fathom how the programme could be implemented with-out the usual classroom environment. how does one learn and teach without lectures?

in 2011, the contents of the programme were much easier to put together because many of the organisers were the same as the previous year. on the basis of the first Mobile summer event, they had formed ideas as to what models worked well in the particular environment. the naming of the oases and the grouping of the con-tents were effortless this time.

Figure 5. The 2010 Programme.

Wednesday 9 June 2010 Thursday 10 June 2010 Friday 11 June 2010

8:00–9:00 breakfast registration (new arrivals)

breakfast

9:00–11.00 Registration and accommodation Work in activity points (3.5 h/point)briefing session for all attendeesPoint 1: Mobile learningPoint 2: Mobile supervisionPoint 3: Mobile tools

Planning of national-level cooperation • Expert group convenes• Structuring the national-level project for mobile supervision

11:00–12:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch

12:00–13:30 Opening of the summer school• Welcome, briefing• AVO project introduction• Introductions• Division into groups, group members get acquainted

Work in activity points continues Point 1: Mobile learningPoint 2: Mobile supervisionPoint 3: Mobile tools

13:30–17:00 Work in activity points (3.5 h/point, groups circulate):briefing session for all attendeesPoint 1: Mobile learningPoint 2: Mobile supervisionPoint 3: Mobile tools

Work in activity points (3.5 h/point):briefing session for all attendeesPoint 1: Mobile learningPoint 2: Mobile supervisionPoint 3: Mobile tools

17:00–18:00 The best of the day – what was there for my mobile backpack?fruit and soft drinks served

The best of the day – what was there for my mobile backpack? fruit and soft drinks served

18:00 Evening programme, lakeside sauna, open fire and roasted sausages, catering by iso piippu (the local pub)

Outing to torronsuo national parkrecording the event with mobile devicesSupper

44 reports 2012

in addition to the complete programme made available in the pDf-format, the Mobile summer 2011 event of-fered the participants the opportunity to compile their own personal electronic programmes. they could print these personalised programmes to take them with them or access them with their mobile devices.

both years, the Mobile summer programmes includ-ed briefings, practical exercises and experiments, lec-tures to various groups, work together, and introductions to views of the future.

each year, the programme started with a briefing session for all participants in which the progression of the event and the key issues for each day were explained. the opening theme in 2010 was “mobility sets you free”. You do not need to sit at your desk, getting stiff, but you can work free of desks, wires and walls. in 2011, the participants were asked to reflect on how mobile

devices already are “parts of our being, parts of our per-sons”. Mobile devices have become our means, almost our seventh senses, for observing the world around us in new ways e.g. making use of presence information. We are on our way towards a ubiq world in which data systems merge with daily activities.

Figure 6. Learning situations can be relaxed.

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Brief descriptions of the oases and activity points

Mobile learning and mobile pedagogythis oasis presented situations in which the learner is mobile. the activity points provided good hints and prompted learners to try planning and implementing mo-bile learning processes. one of the activities was com-piling a learning object.

Production and communicationthe participants got a feel of how mobile devices are used for producing, editing and distributing materials such as blogs, pictures and video. in addition, they learned about mobile supervision and mobile confer-ences. Mobile learners can produce their learning dia-ries and attend training sessions through their mobile devices.

Technologythe technology-related information the participants were offered dealt with various mobile devices and their op-erating systems, their costs and the basic applications such as calendars. the participants were introduced to user interfaces that include games, supplementary ap-plications for smart phones, gis systems, 3D environ-ments, and sensors and their uses in learning.

Social mediathese activity points acquainted the participants with the functions of various types of web personalities and what work roles and personal roles might consist of. in addition, they were introduced to various applications that could benefit them in their communication and their production of visuals and text. they also learned how they can obtain the benefits from these applications with their mobile devices.

briefings at the activity points consisted of short in-troductions with examples shown on mobile devices. Af-ter briefings, participants were allowed to use their own devices for completing tasks relating to the topic.

our example is the learning task related to geograph-ical information. participants could access the task by reading a Qr code into their mobile devices. the Qr code gave a link to a route in google Maps; the route could be downloaded and integrated into the partici-pants’ own maps. then, it was simple to use the map and navigate in the area from one point on the route to another.

Transmission of the copyright lecture

During Mobile summer 2011, in addition to briefings and experiments, we offered copyright information on-line. the lecture by Mr. tarmo toikkanen on copyright, “ten pieces of advice to those who portray their sur-roundings”, was transmitted through the web to the par-ticipants.

Figure 7. Example: Progression of the GIS task given in the briefings.

the participants received a text message shortly before the lecture began. some participants moved on to the relevant oasis, some preferred the assembly hall, some listened to the lecture sitting on a park bench. it was possible to use the chat to ask questions and to receive answers during the lecture.

Figure 8. A QR code lead partici-pants to the copyright lecture.

Figure 9. You could attend the copyright lecture via your own phone.

try navigating in the area

read the Qr code

open the link to the

sample route

Download google Maps to your own

maps

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COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

because the event took so many forms and was so unique to the individual, it was challenging from the view-point of communication. in order to ensure success in communication, we drafted a specific marketing and com-munication plan for the event.

the main role was occupied by the website. in 2010, the website had pictures of Mustiala and a video of the venue. in the marketing of 2011, we used materials from the 2010 event: visuals, video clips and sample learn-ing objects. in addition, we produced a video in which our project manager described the event and urged the audience to participate. We also produced video clips of how the oases and activity points functioned.

various networks and paper publications. in addition, we distributed printed postcards with adverts at vari-ous functions (conferences such as Digital competence and Learning and information technology in education), and sent adverts to several organisations. We also used blogs, twitter, facebook and other social media services for our marketing activities.

Communications were electronic: we used only email and text messages, and the two were integrated. All messages, their contents and the precise dispatch schedules were planned in advance. the text messages were sent out timed in advance with the recipient groups compiled according to their expected participation in the various functions. in this way, we made sure our mes-sages reached the participants and the respective or-ganisers precisely at the right time. the participants agreed to receiving text messages on the registration forms. With a few exceptions, the participants accepted text messages. the sending of text messages was spe-cifically planned, and the messages were timer-timed (appendix 2).

Feedback collection

in both Mobile summer events, we collected feedback from the participants. electronic feedback forms were used for the purpose, providing the possibility for the par-ticipants of using either desktops or mobile devices.

feedback for Mobile summer 2010 was collected at the activity points per activity point as well as at the end of the event regarding the whole event. in 2011, no activ-ity point -specific feedback was collected because partici-pants had thought it too cumbersome and time-consum-ing, but feedback for the whole event was still collected.

Marketing activities made use of the existing connec-tions, i.e. the organisers’ own contacts, networks and services. the event was marketed through adverts in

Figure 10. Video clips presented the functioning of the oases.

Figure 11. Mobility enables learning anywhere at any time.

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Practical arrangements

for the flow of the event, it was extremely important for the participants to be able to navigate in the area and for the catering service to function well. because the partici-pants arrived at different times, registration and instruc-tions given at registration received particular attention.

in that connection, participants received their fold-ers and the keys to their rooms. Application installation service was available at that time, and there was quite a demand for it. We noticed soon that we had not reserved enough time or enough staff for this work. While the Mobile summer events were on, the services of mobile guides on foot were available on the site. these mobile guides offered guiding services and assisted in problem-atic situations if any arose. coffee was served in activity points and on a common patio, which also was a signifi-cant aspect of mobility.

The participants’ journey

Mobile summer was a journey for the participants. the course was a two-day event, but it was possible to take part for one day only. Most of the participants were there for two days. the event had a website created with goog-le pages. the journey started on the marketing pages that contained the basic information of the course con-tents together with the programme details and a link to the registration form.

After the participants had registered through the Mobile summer web page, they were led further to the Mobile path site. this site formed the materials stor-age (e.g. instructions, identifiers, assignments) for par-ticipants and organisers alike, and it was also used to store the outputs and results of Mobile summer after the event.

A wide variety of briefing sessions was available for the participants. in 2010, the participants formed groups and circulated from one activity point to the next, visiting all points. in 2011, the participants chose freely the activity points in which they wanted to work.

The participants’ advance preparations

After registration, the participants each received an e-mail message and a text message asking them to enter the Mobile path. these pages contained further informa-tion concerning the participants’ personal introductions and the completion of their advance learning tasks, and also presented them with a survey concerning their use of mobile devices. they were asked to draft an introduc-tory presentation about themselves for the website be-fore the beginning of the event. the template for their introductions was a google document with non-exclusive

Figure 12. The 2011 Mobile Summer website.

Figure 13. The 2011 Mobile Path website.

write access. the advance assignment prompted the par-ticipants to consider their practical needs in terms of in-formation not at hand and the storing and supervision of important moments.

the participants were instructed to take enough equipment and clothes with them. the web pages ex-plained which applications should be installed in ad-vance and which personal identifiers were required.

Individual programmes

in 2011, Mobile summer provided a service which ena-bled the participants to create their own personal pro-grammes by entering the event’s website with their e-mail addresses. the e-mail address was the identifier required by the application. After entry, the participants could choose the activity points they wanted for their pro-grammes. the participants could read their programmes on their mobile devices during the Mobile summer school and they also could print the programmes if they wanted to take them with them.

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Materials distributed

As usual, the participants were given folders containing the most important information they needed on paper. for the sake of eventual rain, the folders also contained plastic bags for mobile devices. in 2011, all the assign-ments on the activity points could be found printed in the participants’ folders. each assignment had a specif-ic Qr code that made it possible to read these instruc-tions also through the web.

Getting acquainted and guidance in the locality

in 2010, the participants were introduced to the area in groups. group leaders took the groups around the area in advance and took the opportunity to tell about the history of the area. in 2011, the participants were guided electronically with a map designed with google Maps. the link to this map was sent to the participants’ phones. instead of reserving time for getting acquainted, we reserved time for participants to plan their routes.

All activity points were indicated by signposts with Qr codes. this made it possible to access the respec-tive web materials.

Figure 14. The QR code trail led the participants to interesting questions.

Outputs

the participants and organisers alike created many different kinds of outputs during the Mobile summer events. they included video clips, photographs, tweets, blog posts, facebook messages, geographical informa-tion with visuals stored on the basis of it, team notes, text messages and learning objects. All these outputs were stored in channels created for the Mobile sum-mer events, open for public access and ready for use afterwards.

As they registered, the participants signed copyright agreements (appendix 3) allowing all outputs created during the summer schools to be published and used in e.g. the marketing of the next Mobile summer events. the outputs have been published on the Mobile path website.

Additional programme and the competition

the participants of Mobile summer events were offered a voluntary evening programme on two nights. the pro-gramme included sauna, barbeque and an outing to tor-ronsuo. the torronsuo outing included a guided tour and ended with pan-fried crepes. these evenings naturally provided the opportunity of networking in a relaxed at-mosphere.Figure 15. Crepes being pan-fried at the Torronsuo campsite.

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the programme following the first day of summer school had a large turnout. After the second day, most of the participants wanted to head home in good time, and the attendees in the evening consisted mainly of in-dividuals who were attending the network meeting.

The output of these days was plentiful: learning ob-jects, visuals, video clips and blog posts. from among all outputs, a jury selected three pieces for the partici-pants to vote for the winner. Voting took place through an electronic form. each year, the winner was a learning object compiled at the activity point of pedagogy.

the winner of Mobile summer 2011 competi-tion parhaat palat reppuun – backpack the best bits was the learning object on the basics of children’s

swings, the video clip (http://www.youtube.com/user/mobiilipolku11#p/u/2/sbpAbzjA4hM). in 2010, the winner was the learning object Avomobiilin mäkistartti – The Downhill Start of the AVO mobile (http://share.ovi.com/media/avomobiilit. oppimisaihiot/avomobiilit. 10043).

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

the participants of the event consisted mostly of voca-tional education teachers. in 2010, 77% of the employ-ers of the participants were either vocational schools or universities of applied sciences. in 2011, the number was 70%, indicating a slight spread. this shows that mobile learning is interesting for other levels of education as well.

Table 5. Employers of the participants of Mobile Summer 2011.

in Mobile summer 2011, 76% of the participants were present both days. in 2010, 79% were present both days.

FEEDBACK SUMMARISED

We asked for feedback on an electronic form immedi-ately after the end of the training. feedback was giv-en by 35% of the participants. We requested feedback concerning the training as well as the practical arrange-ments. the feedback for both events was very positive. the 2011 event received slightly better feedback than the 2010 event.

one question inquired into how the mobile imple-mentation worked in comparison with the traditional approach. in 2010, most respondents thought the mo-bile implementation to work as well as the traditional one, but in 2011, most respondents thought the mo-

bile implementation to work better than the traditional one.

the feedback is summarised in appendix 4.

NETWORK

one of the AVo project objectives was the establishment of an expert group for mobile learning. the group was formed by convening national experts. the Mobile sum-mer event was central to the expansion of the work of this expert group. the event helped extend the group into a network which could initiate national-level coop-eration. At the moment, this mobile learning network is active with the goal of inspiring educational institutions, firms, mobile operators and manufacturers to network and initiate joint projects in the field of mobile learning. the work of the mobile learning network will continue under the project Mobiilisti – Mobilely.

I am employed

in a comprehen...

in vocational upper...

in vocational adult...

in a university of...

at a university

as a private trader

i am a student

other

0 10 20 30 40 50

the respondents could choose more than one of the options so the percentage may exceed 100%.

in a comprehensive school or in general upper secondary education 3 4 % in vocational upper secondary education 14 17 % in vocational adult education and training 6 7 %

in a university of applied sciences or polytechnic 50 60 %

at a university 3 4 %

as a private trader 6 7 %

i am a student 5 6 % other 10 12 %

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require changes in attitudes and actions as well as in organisations’ work cultures in particular.

the transition to mobility requires the desire to learn, an attitude positive towards change and the will-ingness to learn about the benefits brought by new de-vice models. in addition to private individuals, this is also required of persons and bodies in decision-making positions in organisations.

the general view was that mobility sets users free of time and place. this may cause both positive and nega-tive effects for work and general time management. Mo-biles and mobility were described with three adjectives: current, situation-specific and personal.

in the following, we will discuss hAMK staff’s obser-vations regarding new ways of action brought by mobility, the learning of these, and also the possible challenges.

Attitude

the transition to mobile learning and working requires the desire to develop oneself and the desire to devel-op in what one is doing; it also requires an active ap-proach so that a change in the ways of working is made possible. As a human being and worker, one must fol-low constantly accelerating development cycles. in this phase, networks form the primary sources of support and information. the mobile office seems to be the meeting point for those who are interested in learning new things.

Additional challenges are brought by the general un-willingness to use mobile devices. the key issues pre-venting their use include the negative attitudes and even fears people feel towards technology and technical ap-paratuses as well as their lack of technical know-how.

Presence and sociability

Mobility creates the experience of presence regardless of place. for some people, mobility means a constant contact with the processes of work, learning and so-cial life. the doing and thinking are documented and they are as significant as their outcomes. Mobile tel-epresence is different from a face-to-face experience. Mobile telepresence may emphasise simultaneous ac-tions and their management. in the mobile telepres-ence mode, people transition quickly from one state to another – they may be present in a situation while documenting it.

in practice, mobility seems to signify different things to different people today. others increase their social contacts or give them a more private character through the phone and chats while others see the opportunity for assuming more independence or for avoiding physi-

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

the quantum leap experienced in technology and chang-es in the mobile field are most clearly manifest in the changes in the participants’ hardware. in 2010, most of the participants had nokia phones with keyboards, with the portion of smartphones at about 64%. in 2011, the portion of smartphones had arisen to 96%. Most par-ticipants had several devices. the number of Apple ip-hones and Androids had clearly increased. touchscreen devices formed a clear majority in Mobile summer 2011.

in 2011, the activity points had tablets that were not on the market the previous year. tablets were of interest to the participants, but they felt that is was essential to try and complete the assignments with their own devic-es. in that way, they would learn everything the way they would do it in the future. experimenting with borrowed devices inspired many to update their own hardware.

Mobility requires

changes in attitudes,

ways of action and

work cultures.

COSTS AND FUNDING

the total costs of the event were approximately 50 000 euros. the largest part of them was caused by the or-ganisers’ salaries for the time of planning and imple-mentation. some additional costs were accrued due to the building of the outdoors facilities for the event, e.g. tents and wireless networks. it was essential that the catering and accommodation services worked well, and also the closeness of the facilities to the idyllic Mustiala environment was important.

DISCUSSION

the personnel of hAMK university of Applied sciences involved with the project understood that mobility would

reports 2012 51

cal contact. new tools and work cultures enable pres-ence and also action in the time and place in which one happens to find oneself. Mobility as such would not seem to require or cause sociability any more than it requires or causes unsociability.

Personal issues

for an individual, mobility may mean the sensation of be-ing present in the moment, the possibility of spontane-ous action, distance presence, contributing something of oneself instantaneously, or the availability of informa-tion or other people. Along with these aspects come re-flections concerning identity, person and roles as well as the separation of leisure from work. one can be a mo-bile producer, expert, director, researcher and developer. simultaneously, mobile devices are highly personal. in addition to mobility, this issue is related to the more general issue of the establishment of professional web identities.

Outcomes, products and the doing

Mobile devices are used in different ways, and the out-comes differ. for some people, mobility means more talk than text; for some people, visuals and video clips have replaced text production whereas others use their tab-lets to churn out texts as long as those they used to write on their conventional desktops. however, the gen-eral view was that the number of outputs has increased but they are less refined in their form than traditional-ly. real-time instant appearance allows shorter editing time and less technical quality. in relation to people’s attitudes, this requires that they are ready to let go of unfinished, momentary work. Mobility is highly suited for all learning in which processes and tools occupy a sig-nificant role.

Technology, devices

A huge range of mobile devices is available today – and their price range is extensive as well. the expenses re-lating to the purchase and use of these devices may raise the purchasing threshold. neither do all organi-sations necessarily understand the benefits available through mobile devices.

the different operating systems and the differenc-es between the different versions of these applications are challenging for learning as they work differently. in-structions are either device-specific or so general that the performance of the actions becomes challenging. regardless, some pioneering spirits find the means to structure new uses, new instructions and new models that can be easily absorbed.

Expertise and learning

A smooth transition to a mobile world requires technical instructions and guidance, good hints and user support for us to learn the best uses and gain the best benefits from our mobile devices. We need practical examples of where and how we should make use of our mobile devic-es. Mobile devices, for example, allow the construction of learning objects in actual situations, the use of geo-graphical information while collecting pictorial data (e.g. mapping an area), and the communication with students and the supervision of their work when they are training at distance and cannot reach desktop computers.

our example, below, is the making of a herbarium in earlier days compared to the current possibilities avail-able through mobile devices. even today, school children use the old methods and gather their specimens from nature, taking notes concerning the finding location and finding date, drying and pressing them, finally mounting them on paper or cardboard. When the number of speci-mens suffices, they take the entire herbariums to their teachers for assessment. After assessment, it is typi-cal that herbariums are stored away and forgotten. Mo-bile devices make it possible to take pictures of plants and their locations, to have them supplemented with lo-cation data, and to promptly transfer the pictures to a cloud service that allows the public to view them on the map even the same day. More detailed information can be included with the specimens, which was not possible before – their habitats, possibly their toxicity, web links to relevant information about them, etc. the assess-ment of such pictures and data is easy via the web, and other herbalists are able to give their comments as well. herbariums that contain geographical information can be used in teaching, and somebody might be interested in visiting the finding locations to see the actual plants in their habitats.

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Daily activities are increasingly done mobilely and new ideas crop up naturally. instead of pen and paper, peo-ple use the snapshot and video functionalities in their phones to take notes. their daily schedules are avail-able to them via the web because web access is easy anywhere. their watches are not on their wrists but in their phones.

the owners of mobile devices do not seem to use them effectively. these devices are mainly used for speaking, text messaging and taking pictures. some people are comfortable with e-mail and navigating ser-vices but most features of smartphones and other mo-bile devices are not made use of in daily situations. nei-ther is mobility a natural part of studying today. Young people seem to consider the use of mobile devices more a game than proper work. usage habits change slowly.

In our view, technology is not a key issue: it is easy to learn to use these devices if one wants to do so. in terms of attitudes, this requires that we are able to ad-mit our incompetence, are ready to fail but try again, are able to find alternative solutions, to ask for help and to cooperate. With time, we improve in sharing our exper-tise and learn to learn together.

THE FUTURE

it seems that there is a mobile revolution ongoing and the mobile expert network established though the Mo-bile summer event is facing several years of active devel-opment work. this development work can be compared to that of online education. it has been going on for 20 years and continues even now. Mobility combined with social media services is the next step in online educa-tion, and it allows students the genuine opportunity to influence their learning processes as active participants.

events such as Mobile summer introduce the partici-pants to practical uses of mobile functionalities expand-ing their expertise and opening their eyes to their own development, practical experimentation and information sharing in their networks. in this way, awareness of the various practical uses of mobile devices can be made grow in different environments. the Mobile summer con-cept can be applied to expert-supervised municipal staff training and even to the introduction of the general pub-lic to the uses of mobile devices.

the mobile learning network is interested in organis-ing the Mobile summer event as an annual event. the network convenes every half-year. every second conven-tion takes place during Mobile summer. We have also discussed a joint appearance at the Digital competence and Learning conference.

CONCLUSIONS AND DEVELOPMENT

Mobile summer is an excellent example of how learning can take place anywhere. it also demonstrates how on-line cooperation can lead to success. Materials, visuals and video clips produced during Mobile summer have been made us of in e.g. Mobiiliopas – Mobile guide. if we combine our expertise we can gain synergy benefits and experience successes even on the international markets. the Mobile summer event domain is the www.mobiilikesakoulu.com; it is intended to be the uniting element for the individual event implementations and the entire network.

LINKS

Mobile Summer: www.mobiilikesakoulu.com Mobile learning network: https://sites.google.com/site/mobiilioppiminen/ Mobiilisti (Mobilely) project: www.mobiilisti.com

Mobile Summer 2012 will take place in Mustiala 21–22 May.

The mobile learning network will convene after the event on 23 May 2012.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: OrganisersAppendix 2: Text messages sentAppendix 3: Copyright agreementAppendix 4: Feedback summarised

Figure 16. Example: Putting together a herbarium by hand (before) and through mobile devices (today).

use the materials and location data in teaching

collect specimens

Dry and press

specimens

Mount specimens on paper, record specimens’

data

Allow teacher to grade the herbarium

store the herbarium

out of the way

take pictures of plants with geographical data included

transfer pictures to

a cloud service

place plant data and

pictures of plants on map

open as-sessment

and sharing in the web

Herbariums before

Herbariums today

reports 2012 53

APPENDIX 1: ORGANISERS

the following individuals put in their efforts to organise the event:

outi VAhtiLA, project managerMain coordinator and manager of the event, overall plan-ner, responsible for work division, material production, the recording of the event, the preparation of the re-quired technical platforms, training, web page construc-tion, participation in network meetings

johAnnA sALMiA, mobile expertprogramme planning support, coordination and arrang-ing of common planning activities, event marketing and communications, training material production, the re-cording of the event, training, web page construction, participation in network meetings

LiisA siiVoLA, project secretaryplanning of activities, planning and implementation of practical arrangements, handling of participant registra-tions, drafting invitations, making folders, creating web pages, reporting

AnniKA MicheLsonplanning of contents and activities, testing and devel-opment of contents and services, design and prepara-tion of materials, web page creation, concept definition, training, functioning as a local guide, feedback, materi-als production

rAuno LAineplanning practical activities, training, support, prepara-tion of the venue, feedback, testing

eero jAAKKoLAplanning practical activities, training, support, prepara-tion of the venue, feedback, testing, materials produc-tion

irinA sALMinen registrations, practical arrangements, support

LAssi puupponenplanning and implementation of practical arrangements, tents, other equipment and accessories, outdoors cater-ing, dismantling

tiinA sAArnioutdoors catering services

terhi thunebergtechnical support, testing, assisting with materials pro-duction

MArKo rAntAnenplanning contents and implementation of training, train-ing, network power, constructing and dismantling the training sites, testing the technical platforms

uLLA-MAijA Knuuttitraining, technical support

jAAnA nuuttiLAplanning training, training, materials production, partici-pation in network meetings

heiKKi peLtonieMiplanning training, implementation of an activity point, materials production

jAri MustAjÄrViplanning contents of training and activities, implement-ing the training, materials production

LottA LinKoplanning training, training, materials production, event marketing, reporting

juKKA niiniMäKi planning training, training, materials production, partici-pation in network meetings

pAsi siLAnDer Expert tasks: content ideas, planning and implementa-tion of contents, participating in joint planning sessions, production of shared materials (templates for common parts), implementation of training

pAsi MAttiLA Expert tasks: planning and implementation of contents, participating in joint planning sessions, implementation of training, arranging the hardware for the event.

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Antti sYVÄnen Expert tasks: planning and implementation of contents, participating in joint planning sessions, implementation of training, arranging the hardware for the event

MArKo MÄKiLÄExpert tasks: planning and implementation of contents, participating in joint planning sessions, implementation of training

oLLi KorhonenExpert tasks: planning and implementation of contents, participating in joint planning sessions, implementation of training, text message and feedback services, the technical environment

riittA Lehtinenplanning contents of training and activities, implement-ing the training, materials production

MiKA setÄLÄExpert tasks: implementing the training

KAtri nYMAnExpert tasks: implementing the training

otto LesKinenExpert tasks: implementing the training

petri KorpiExpert tasks: implementing the training

teeMu MiettinenExpert tasks: implementing the training

VesA ViLeniusExpert tasks: implementing the training

pAuLiinA MÄKeLÄExpert tasks: implementing the training

tArMo toiKKAnenExpert tasks: implementing the training

jouKo LinDroosparticipation in the planning of the event, planning the outing, materials production, functioning as a guide

Arto nurMeLAAssisting in the practical work during the event (trainee)

AnniKA MuurinAho Assisting in the practical work during the event (trainee)

iiDA rAsiLA recording the event, video clips and photography (trainee)

teuVo LAine Assisting in the practical work during the event (trainee)

jAn pippingsKÖLDconstruction of the facilities, tents, tables, benches

tiMo AhtoLAconstructing the facilities, tents, tables, benches

eijA noKioverall responsibility for catering services

LeenA suonpÄÄcoffee service at the oasis

MerVi VALtonenLocal communication and general support

MiiKKA ruusunen Expert tasks: implementing the training

toMMi sAKsAExpert tasks: implementing the training

rAiMo hÄLinenExpert tasks: implementing the training

juKKA orAVAExpert tasks: implementing the training

Anne-MAri jÄrVenpÄÄExpert tasks: implementing the training

peKKA pirttiAho Expert tasks: implementing the training

sAnnA eeVArecording the event, video clips and photography (trainee)

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APPENDIX 2: TEXT MESSAGES SENT

1. Confirmation of registration: “You are welcome to Mo-bile summer 2011. Your registration has been received. More information will be sent closer to the event. re-gards, AVo summer school staff”

2. Further information about Mobile Summer: “For more information about Mobile Summer 2011, please see: http://bit.ly/hD8qVL”

3. Movel instructions: “Greetings! Download the Movel application for the Mobile summer event by clicking the link http://mkk.movel.fi/get or use your web browser to get instructions from http://mkk.movel.fi to download the application for use in your e-mail.”

4. Welcome to Mustiala: “You are welcome to Mobile Summer. Address: Mustialantie 105, Tammela, map http://goo.gl/maps/t5fC. Please register in the old school building 9:30-11 am on 25 May.”

5. Reminder of the Torronsuo outing: “You are welcome to Mobile summer outing to torronsuo. We will meet in front of the old school building at 5:55 pm.”

6. Reminder of the copyright lecture: “The lecture ‘Ten questions on copyright’ starts at 1:30 pm, lecturing Tar-mo Toikkanen. Participate at the oasis or go to http://amk.adobeconnect.com/mobiilikesakoulu.”

7. Reminder of sauna: “You are welcome to have sauna and supper with Mobile summer. Women 7–8 pm, men 8–9 pm. sausages and snacks by the campfire. the rest of the evening at piippu.”

8. Thanks for participation: “Thank you for your partici-pation in Mobile summer. please do not forget to com-plete the feedback form: http://bit.ly/ka9s4B Have a mobile summer!”

APPENDIX 3: COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT

I agree to the following conditions:1. As a participant, i authorise the AVo project to use the materials created during the Mobile summer event; i also authorise their changes, alterations and inclusion into other materials.

creative commons is the most common licensing system for open contents. the cc-bY-sA condition re-quires that the author of the work is mentioned when the work is made use of and all derived works are published under the same open licence.

a. the right to use shall refer to any means of making use of the material in total or in part such as storing parts of it in a computer or other media, preparing new renderings of it through any method, playing or show-ing the material, or distributing pieces of the material through any means.b. the AVo project shall be authorised to use the materi-als and any ideas, information, principles and methods therein as the foundation for completely new materials.c. When copying or remixing the work with any works of others, the author of the work or the copied part shall be mentioned in accordance with good practice when the work is made available. users shall respect the moral rights of authors under copyright.

2. copyright and other intellectual property rights to the materials intended under this agreement shall belong to the author. the author shall make sure that no third-party materials are used.

3. the AVo project shall be authorised to grant rights to these materials to third parties including the right to alter the materials.

4. Authorising a party to use the materials shall not re-strict the author’s right to make use of them; nor shall such an authorisation restrict the author’s right to grant similar rights to others.

5. Materials produced during Mobile summer shall be transferred to an open data network where anyone will be able to view or download them.

in addition, the Mobile summer participants shall authorise the publication of materials (videos and pho-tographs in public access web services) in which they can be identified.

56 reports 2012

APPENDIX 4FEEDBACK SUMMARISED

Mobile summer 2010 and 20112010: 30 responses2011: 22 responses

Were you happy with the advance information you had about Mobile Summer?

Were the programme contents successful?

Was the programme implementation successful? Compared to traditional implementation methods, did the mobile implementation work:

Was it significant to you whether or not the mobile device was your own that you used during the event?

How useful was the training for your work?

Very satisfied

satisfied rather satisfied

rather dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied Very

successfulsuccessful rather

successfulrather

unsuccessfulVery

unsuccessful

Very successful

successful rather successful

rather unsuccessful

Very unsuccessful better equally well not as well

Very

signifi

cant

sign

ifican

t

rath

er si

gnific

ant

rath

er in

signifi

cant

Very

insign

ifican

t

Very useful

useful rather useless

uselessrather useful

reports 2012 57

Please evaluate success per oasis: Mobile learning and supervision (2011)

Please evaluate success per activity point:Mobile learning (2010)

Please evaluate success per activity point:Mobile supervision (2010)

Please evaluate success per oasis:Mobile production (2011)

Please evaluate success per oasis:Mobile tools (2010)/Mobile technologies (2011)

Please evaluate success per oasis:Social media

Please evaluate success per oasis:Copyright lecture

Please evaluate success per oasis:Future views

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

Very successful

successful rather successful

unsuccessful i did not participate

58 reports 2012

From where did you first learn about Mobile Summer? (2011)

If you intend to use mobile devices and applications in the future, in which situations do you see yourself using them? (2011)

elsew

here

Work Leisure studies other

Mobile

sum

mer w

ebsit

e

face

book

, twitt

er

Yout

ube

somet

u

AVo p

rojec

t com

munica

tion

hAMK

commun

icatio

n

other

inform

ation

sear

ch

thro

ugh a se

arch

eng

ine

e-mail

dist

ribut

ion lis

t

Adve

rtise

ment i

n a pa

per

colle

ague

reports 2012 59

Notes

60 reports 2012

reports 2012 61

WIKI PRODUCTION PROCESS

When wikis, i.e. social media and open content produc-tion tools, became more common in workplaces and schools, a demand was created for an extensive, con-stantly evolving wiki guide in finnish. in spring 2009, the AVo subproject under the university of tampere started the work to determine what sort of materials should be produced about wikis.

one of the key requirements was that the materials would remain after the project. therefore, it was neces-sary to consider the place for the materials from the viewpoint of their maintenance. neither did we want the materials to become outdated like so many static ma-terials posted in the web. it was also necessary that anyone would be able to participate easily in the produc-tion of these materials. through discussions with AVo members, the idea soon took shape that the materials

joAnnA KALALAhti, uniVersitY of tAMpere

Case: Wisdom in wiki production – peer production establishing

new forms of activity

This subproject report will describe the production process of the wiki book Viisautta wikin tekoon

– Wisdom in wiki production. We experimented with the wiki writing process and peer production

methods and also searched for solutions to the challenges we faced during our work. On the basis of

these experiences, we constructed the peer production model described in this report, ready for others

to make use of. Peer production is seen as one of the new ways of working often connected to the

larger Web 2.0 change. The project developed various tools and forms of activity to maintain the level

of work, e.g. regular reminders, encouragement and occasional web conferences of about two hours

each to produce materials simultaneously in different parts of Finland.

be placed in Wikibooks in http://fi.wikibooks.org/wiki/, which is open to everyone and one of Wikimedia founda-tion’s open content production projects, the best-known of which probably is the Wikipedia. it also seemed that it was not appropriate for anyone to work alone to produce materials that involved different competence areas and different types of expertise. instead, we felt we could gain more if we put together a group of individuals, all interested in wikis, who had the right kind of expertise.

Putting the group together

to support the wiki project, we put together a content developer team of 12 persons, consisting of representa-tives from educational institutions (universities and gen-eral upper secondary schools), businesses and public libraries. the objective of the team was to produce the first seed of the wiki guide in Wikibooks, with the intent

62 reports 2012

that anyone willing to participate in its production would be allowed to do so even at the beginning. the coordina-tors started putting together the team in june 2009 be-cause the work was expected to kick off in the autumn of 2009. experts interested in wikis were invited to join the core team. from the very first, the main principle was that these experts would produce the core contents for the areas in which they were interested and special-ised while they contributed to the contents originated by others. hints about persons who might be interested in joining were received from AVo project members and the university of tampere staff, and information was distributed also in the sometu network. the candidates were contacted and they received information about the project. even though it was not possible to pay any compensation for the work, all the persons contacted considered the work important as such and wanted to participate.

Working methods

Face-to-face collaboration: The activities started at the end of october in 2009 with a day-long face-to-face group work session in tampere. this kick-off meeting was organised because the group members did not know one another before the project and it was seen important to convene the team physically. We believed it would be easier to kick off the work when people were convened, sitting at the same table, communicating with more ease about the working practices and the starting points of the future wiki book.

the original idea was to start the concrete writing of the book during the kick-off meeting, but the schedules were too demanding for this to happen. the coordina-tors entered the basic wiki structure in Wiki books soon after the kick-off meeting, and the work started to pro-ceed rather fluently.

Online collaboration: Because one of the AVO ide-as was to work online as much as possible, and the members of the contents development team lived and worked in different towns, it seemed the most practi-cal solution to use web-based tools as far as possible in the wiki production process. the team was in favour of online collaboration when the working methods were agreed on in the kick-off meeting. for these reasons, or-ganising the work to take place via the web was natural. there were challenges, too – could we keep the team together and keep up the production process online?

Monthly online meetings: Monthly online meetings via web conferencing software formed the most con-crete working method. these meetings were supported

by weekly bulletins to team members, distributed via e-mail. We also used a wiki platform.

the project’s collaborative production sessions took place online once a month on the Adobe connect pro conferencing system. these meetings were scheduled with Doodle scheduler (http://www. doodle.com), a tool that made it relatively easy for even largish groups of people to find meeting times that suited at least most of them. the group members logged into the conferencing system at the agreed time and were connected to one another through audio and video (the video was not used much because it tended to disturb the audio connection) and could also communicate with the chat facility. the meetings were agreed to last for two hours because it was the general desire that the writing of the wiki would not take up too much of the participants’ time.

the first hour of each meeting was spent on the members’ status updates regarding their writing pro-cess together with the coordinators’ observations on the progress of the work. there were discussions on issues that had caused concern (structure and editing of the structure, goals, etc.). the second hour was re-served for working on the book. this took place so that the online connection was kept open for everyone to be able to send e.g. instant messages to others while pro-ducing contents. the team members were encouraged to use other online channels simultaneously and if they wished, to form pairs for pair work during these online group work sessions. in practice, this option was used rather little.

At least the coordinators felt that, regardless of the physical distance, this sort of work on a real-time col-laboration channel created a shared experience of work-ing simultaneously on a collaborative book venture. the contents of the book increased particularly much dur-ing the first collaborative session, and the participants presented some questions for one another during the work. the participants also have indicated that reserv-ing time in calendars to work on the book together was the right way to actually end up having time allocated for the work.

the coordinators summarised the online meetings and sent the summaries via email to all members of the production team. in this way, even those who were not present were informed of what was agreed on and done.

End-of-project meeting: In addition to the kick-off meeting taking place face-to-face, we also wanted the end-of-project meeting to take place physically, because we thought it would be easier to fine-tune the work sit-ting at the same table; we also thought it would be

reports 2012 63

easier to evaluate our work process in face-to-face con-versations. however, only a few people came physically to the end-of-project meeting – most participants chose to come in via the web. the team members knew one another well at this point of the process, and work pro-gressed without a hitch from distance.

final revision responsibilities were distributed among the members in accordance with the divisions in the ma-terial once the coordinators had presented all of the ma-terial and explained the missing and problematic parts that still required discussion among the team members. issues brought up by external assessors were also dis-cussed. in addition, the flow of the work process and the lessons learned were discussed.

the structure of the material was partially changed in the end-of-project meeting, and some contents were regrouped. there were certain sections still unfinished after the end-of-project meeting. the coordinators asked the experts knowledgeable in these areas to produce the materials within the publication schedule. then the coordinators handled the final touches to the materials and got them ready for print.

Wiki and weekly e-mail bulletins supported the work

even before the team convened, a site to support them was established on the project’s Confluence pages (http://wiki.eoppimiskeskus.fi/pages/viewpage.action? pageid=1804795). currently, these pages are publically accessible. When the wiki book was being produced, ac-cess required registration and log-in, but it was possible for anyone to register and then to edit the wiki.

the site was used for storing the materials produced while the team was in action. the site was also intended to offer the possibility to discuss, using the comments functionality, the structure of the book, the work process in general, and the ideas that ensued. At the end, the team did not use the site much at all. rather, the pages formed the coordinators’ bulletin board and contained information about future meetings etc. its use might have been encumbered by the need to specifically log into the wiki and its separateness from the actual work in Wikibooks. on the other hand, the page-specific dis-cussion forum in Wikibooks was apparently not familiar to the team members either; not much discussion at all was sparked during any distance work phase.

As desired by the wiki writers’ core team, the coordi-nators started producing weekly e-mail bulletins for the team, collecting in them general observations regarding the work and its progress. the weekly bulletins natu-

rally contained information of the online meetings and also the minutes of the previous meeting for informa-tion for those who perhaps were not able to be present. the weekly bulletins were wanted in order to keep the wiki work active in the participants’ minds regardless of all other commitments. on the other hand, from the coordinators’ point of view, the weekly bulletin brought regularity and rhythm to the work and to the monitoring of changes. the traditional e-mail channel seemed to work rather well.

At least the coordinators felt that,

regardless of the physical distance, this

sort of work on a real-time collaboration

channel created a shared experience

of working simultaneously on a

collaborative book venture.

Materials assessment at the end of the production process

near the end of the materials production, we asked some people external to the production group to read the ma-terials and to assess them using a specific form so that we could still make the required changes, should any fatal flaws be found. We had replies from four test read-ers, all of whom were familiar with wikis already. their feedback helped enhance the book at the very end of the production phase even though all of the suggestions could not necessarily be implemented at that time. it was considered a good development proposal that more visual elements be included in the book – there should be more pictures in it. requests from different readers concerning the use of free-form text and referenced text

64 reports 2012

seem to conflict. concrete examples were considered good. in the feedback, the quality criteria concerning the wiki book were seen to consist of whether the position of the book becomes established and whether it is en-hanced over time. We will see.

of the book had to be monitored and the parts had to be spotted that would not progress without the coordi-nators’ prompts for input. At times, it was necessary to approach certain experts directly for input into these parts, as some members were highly specialised in cer-tain areas. in this sense, it was important for the pro-duction team to know one another sufficiently. the pro-cess also demanded a great deal from the participants. With their generally busy schedules, a volunteer process like the wiki was put aside first if more pressing issues emerged. in the end-of-project meeting, we found out that surprisingly many members had guilt feelings for not participating more actively in the production process – and they had experienced them throughout the pro-cess. from the coordinators’ point of view, such feelings were highly unfounded: any input from any of the par-ticipants was significant for the success of the process.

According to our experience and the feedback sur-vey, we could list the following elements among the es-sential ones in a collaborative production process:

Resourcing of the work: When people are asked to join a team, it should be discussed what the expected input would be in terms of hours. on the other hand, it should be considered carefully which individuals are in-vited to join in the process, and how many people should be involved in it. too large a core team will encumber the start and slow down the formation of the shared idea of what the team will embark on; on the other hand, some people can be expected to drop out of the core team during the process which relies on voluntary participa-tion. people external to the core team should be asked to participate along the way even just for editing certain restricted items.

Establishing the grounds for the work (getting acquaint-

ed, agreeing on common rules): it is important to estab-lish common grounds for the work by a face-to-face meeting in those cases in particular in which the pro-ducers do not know each other in advance. the goals of the face-to-face meeting should include becoming ac-quainted with the others, discussing the object of the production in order to establish a common idea of it, agreeing on common rules and practices, and producing some concrete item to kick off the production process. coercion and sharing of responsibilities (and the extent of them) should be discussed and precise agreements should be made so that such matters would not cause any members to withdraw. in a voluntary peer produc-tion process like this, the borderline may be rather fine between voluntary work and compulsory work due to ac-quired responsibility.

Peer production consists of

dialogue between users and

producers, characterised by a

shared interest in the matter.

A ”READY” WIKI BOOK

the first version of the wiki book was finished when the work of the team ended. it was printed in an edition of 400 items and distributed at the itK interactive technol-ogy in education conference in hämeenlinna at the end of April 2010.

the reason for the paper publication was the need to disseminate information concerning the material as widely as possible in order to ensure its future life – the paper was not supposed to be a ready version in any way. because Wikibooks enables materials to be printed out, the idea was that anyone could print out an up-to-date paper copy of the guide when necessary. the target group for this material is not strictly restricted; instead, the primary idea was to produce basic materi-als on wikis to several target groups such as teachers, libraries and various organisations – ultimately for all citizens. the material can be made use of by everyone working with wikis and interested in their use.

the guide has had some life in it after the core team’s production process, but the monitoring of the changes shows that there has not been much of it. one of the reasons, we believe, is that people consider it dif-ficult to go and edit someone else’s text.

FEEDBACK AND EXPERIENCES FROM THE WIKI BOOK PEER PRODUCTION PROCESS

We might summarise and state that the wiki book peer production process was a rather successful experiment and a learning process. it required a great deal of work from the coordinators, and as stated above, forced them to take action to maintain the pace: the progress

reports 2012 65

Careful selection of work practices and tools: the se-lection of work practices depends on how distributed or local the team is physically and how much time can be allocated for meeting either physically and/or with web-based tools. it is essential to select tools for distance work phases that are sure to suit all members and can be used by every one of them, and that can maintain and visualise the team’s discussions and progress. it is also important to constantly evaluate how the flow of the work progresses with the selected tools and perhaps to select new tools and let go of some old ones if neces-sary. it was important that shared time was allocated for the work (online meetings). the participants felt that they produced most of their contributions for the book during these meetings.

Coordination and overall responsibility: the coordina-tors must monitor the progress of the work regularly and stay aware of the progress in the collaborated parts, in-cluding any possible problem spots, and they must un-derstand to involve the appropriate persons (also exter-nal to the core team) to produce parts of the text. it is important that they maintain a positive atmosphere and good motivation in the project. the coordinators must be ready to produce parts of some texts themselves and to combine loose bits into wholes; they must assume the responsibility of the structuring and coherence of the output if it seems that the materials will not other-wise form a coherent whole. this means that coordina-tors must be contents experts in the subject area.

Ending the work, assessing the work together: Accord-ing to our experience, even the end-of-project meeting was important for learning. it was actually only in the end-of-project meeting that the best discussions arose concerning the material, and in a way, it was frustrating to have to end the core team work at that point. one reason for discussion to spring up so late in the project was, probably, that at the end, there was a great deal of concrete material that had been worked and reworked quite extensively by then. it is easier to discuss some-thing that already is than it is to discuss something that is still coming. it may also be that shared experiences had united the team by this time and sharing ideas had become easy with acquaintance. structuring the shared learning and common experiences together was gratify-ing and it rewarded, in a way, the individual participants for their team efforts.

DISCUSSION

As we already have mentioned, the wiki materials were peer-produced. According to Auvinen (2009), peer pro-

duction can be defined to mean the creation, editing and enriching of digital contents by peers (i.e. people on the same hierarchical level). peer production consists of dia-logue between users and producers, characterised by a shared interest in the matter.

A general observation of ours regarding the produc-tion process was that at first, the framework was wider and we found the ways of working as we proceeded; this was the first experiment and we had no established work process model to rely on. At first, the participants worked on their parts rather independently or in pairs. As the work progressed towards the end, the coordina-tion of the whole demanded increasing attention, and someone had to assume the responsibility. the coordi-nators combed the wiki contents in more and more de-tail and edited them to achieve greater harmony. Writing conventions, the language and the removal of eventual overlaps were attended to. unfinished and empty sec-tions were brought to the attention of the team mem-bers and those who knew about these specific areas were asked to produce content for them.

until now, the quality of peer production has received only a little interest. one of the reasons for this, we be-lieve, is the fact that peer production is based on the free flow of information and all formal mechanisms can be considered to conflict with it. however, peer produc-tion requires structures that enable, support and control it efficiently. (Auvinen 2009.)

the quality of peer production in a wiki book produc-tion process can be studied from the points of view of contents quality and process quality. in addition, atten-tion can be directed to work methods that support the production of high-quality wikis.

one of the key elements in wiki quality management is the production of good contents. in view of Wikipedia articles’ assessment criteria, we can consider wiki con-tents quality criteria to include at least the following: • quality of the written materials• all facts have been verified, and• the sources are reliable.

in addition to content creation, active and thorough peer assessments are essential for wiki quality manage-ment. content quality is produced through the interac-tion of peer production and peer assessment. the peers producing a wiki assume different roles in the various phases of the production. in addition to content crea-tion, the continuous assessment and development of the contents are taken on by peers, and therefore, in-formation producers are information assessors at the

66 reports 2012

same time. peer assessment may include benchmark-ing (comparison to other sources), peer assessment (systematic content evaluation by peers), peer reflection (reflection with peers concerning the contents) and peer learning (learning and developing together through con-tinuous assessment). (Auvinen 2009, Viisautta wikin te-koon 2010. [Wisdom in wiki production]).

During our wiki production process, we conducted constant peer assessments but in a relatively unsys-tematic way. Due to the tight schedule, the contents produced by the others probably were not studied in much depth, but when the book was edited, all texts were improved as resources allowed. near the end of the project, we asked some people external to the pro-ject to assess the materials. the steadfast trust or even idealisation by some project members of certain experts involved in the project, expressed in the mem-bers’ feedback responses, actually may have prevented these members’ critical perusal of the materials and the respective improvements to them even though these members would have been capable of valuable input themselves. in this way, we may well call into question our view, mentioned earlier in this report, that the peo-ple involved in our wiki book production process were completely equal. but shared learning did take place, particularly during our discussions on the intended con-tent (on e.g. what is a wiki).

We also need to pay attention to the quality of the production process. the peer production process com-prises phases, the order of which may vary, or the phas-es may even be intertwined. A high-quality wiki peer pro-duction process should contain the following elements: • Benchmarking – the identification of good practices and the recognition of deficiencies• Content production – collaborative writing, for example• Validation – the use of experts, assessment• Editing – proofreading, translations, assessment etc.• Enrichment of the data – for example, adding new information• Updates to the content – correcting the given data, monitoring and maintaining the contents as time goes by

During this wiki book production process, we did not carry out a thoroughly systematic benchmarking pro-cess. for example, it might have been useful to com-pare ourselves to some other wiki production process. some members, according to their feedback, had pre-

vious experience of similar production processes and they undoubtedly compared the progress of this process to those. other production process phases were inter-twined throughout the process.

the production of high-quality wikis requires work methods, processes and tools that support the creation and updating of the contents. the support structures necessary in peer production include the following: • Practicalities, i.e. arranging possibilities and resources (management support, access to digital resources) • Forms of activity, i.e. organisational support for peer production, the principles and instructions concerning peer production and peer assessment • Processes, i.e. the setting up of practicalities to support peer production (e.g. agreed processes and workflows with appropriate support) • Tools to ensure effective, fluent collaboration. (Viisautta wikin tekoon – Wisdom in wiki production 2010, Auvinen 2009.)

processes supporting the production of high-quality wikis may include the work of various communities of practice that distribute good practices and experiences, the training and development of various parties, and the active communication and sharing of experiences among these parties (Viisautta wikin tekoon 2010 – Wisdom in wiki production).

When we evaluate our production process in the view of the support processes, we can see that there was much good but also much room for improvement. the participants in our wiki book production process had the support of their employers at least in the sense that they were allowed to participate. in practice, these tasks, ex-tra in their way and voluntary, were not quite properly ob-served in the time allocation of the participants, which manifested itself in the form of undue hurry and also in how the wiki production was placed second in the face of more urgent duties. Access to resources was ensured through our choice of production platform: Wiki-books, open to everyone. the feedback survey brought up a remark by a member that Adobe connect pro, used for the online meetings in which the wiki book was writ-ten, caused certain problems due to this member’s op-erating system which was not fully compatible with the application. if tools do not guarantee access for every-one, the production process may suffer. Work methods and principles as well as processes and workflows were developed and revised all along during the production process so they might not have been perfectly clear at

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every point. this was evident at least implicitly in some remarks given in the feedback survey. We finally found a relatively good combination of tools and work methods, described in this report, and also brought up certain de-velopment ideas for the future (such as replacing the e-mail bulletin by a blog that would prompt or redirect the user via email). one of our goals was to produce a smooth peer production process for this type of collabo-rative materials production.

there certainly were communities of practice availa-ble to support our work in wiki producers’ environments, but it was also important that our team functioned as a community of practice. it was actually only during the process that our team fully developed into a community of practice with its shared goals and other features typi-cal of such communities (see e.g. Wender, McDermott & snyder 2002, 12–14, 23–47). We can also speculate whether the emergence of the experience (if such ex-isted) of a community of practice required the under-standing and clarification of the various participants’ competence areas and working methods. one feedback comment suggested that the output might have been better if the participants had been more committed. this is probably the most difficult issue to be faced with if no community of practice exists at the beginning of the work but it is created specifically for the purpose; particularly difficult this is if the participants’ objectives and expectations are not equally demanding. When we asked if the participants knew one another in advance and what the effects of such acquaintances were, if any, one respondent expressed a sense of being left out as it first felt that all others knew one another and were familiar with the working method. this comment can also be seen to be interlinked with how important it is to create a sense of community, to learn to know the others, and to establish a relation of trust. these aspects have strong effects on how the community of practice is formed. in this project as well as in other projects, it was not possible to forge a community of practice, but it formed itself with time and the shared interest.

More attention could have been paid to training and developing the participants’ skills. We mentioned previ-ously that the platform on which we built our wiki was the Wikibooks on MediaWiki. All members were not fa-miliar with the use of the platform, nor were they familiar with the method of producing materials for wikis, such as the characteristics and markup language of wikis. it might have been useful to instruct the members in the use of MediaWiki and writing in Wikibooks. it could have

improved the end quality and encouraged the members to edit the texts more.

peer production quality was the topic for a briefing given by a representative of the respective AVo sub-project in the kick-off meeting of our project, directing the members to pay attention to quality-related issues. As the production progressed, it might have been useful to organise quality assessments to imprint quality-orien-tation in the minds of the members better. the coordina-tors felt that quality-related issues remained somewhat disassociated even though individual participants natu-rally constantly assessed their outputs as they produced them. the communication and sharing of experiences by the members was supported in many was during the wiki production process; the kick off meeting, the end-of-project meeting and the use of the first one of the two online meeting hours for sharing experiences were intended to emphasise precisely these aspects.

There certainly were

communities of practice

available to support our work in

wiki producers’ environments,

but it was also important that

our team functioned as a

community of practice.

social media, or Web 2.0 in the wider context, are discussed as aspects of an extensive change process. they are seen to be associated with a paradigm change in which assumptions regarding the nature of reality are altered with the emergence of social media. Wikis also are tools made available to us by the Web 2.0 change. on the one hand, tools can be considered meaningful as such, but on the other hand, the essential aspect can be seen to be the new forms of action that are enabled through the use of new tools. When we approach this is-sue through the activity theory and its view of activity as developing through the interplay of tools and methods,

68 reports 2012

we perhaps reach some essential elements of how tools and methods change the state of things.

this approach makes it possible for us to disassoci-ate ourselves from the extreme views of both technologi-cal determinism and social constructivism. instead, we can aim at finding the mid-point, a view that equally ac-commodates the impacts on technological development by technologies as such and by the ambient cultural and social factors. hearn et al call this the co-evolutionary approach, according to which technologies and societies develop together. on the conceptual level, this view is rather similar to the view of the activity theory concern-ing the development of activity. (Ahonen, engeström & Virkkunen 2000, 285–287; engeström 2004, 12–13; hearn et al 2009, 22–27.)

According to the first view, to over-simplify the matter, the situation exists in which either tools or practices are more advanced and require advances in the other. the argument that social media applications could not be fully utilised at the moment is based on the approach that considers tools to be more advanced than current practices. in this way, the pressure for change would fo-cus on the development of practices “up to the level of tools”. reasons for undeveloped practices can be ana-lysed in more depth and detail under the activity theory, but on the general level, we can understand these rea-sons to include users’ lack of information concerning sensible uses, their old practices limiting the (sensible) use of new tools, and their unawareness of practices most suitable for themselves as well as their unaware-ness of what social media could offer for them.

in view of the above, it is possible in principle to use wikis to replace traditional websites (similar to web 1.0) by restricting their permissions such as restricting editing to webmasters only and viewing to small target groups only. in such cases, wikis still function as one-way publication media and the only development in com-parison to traditional websites is the ease and speed of producing sites; the functionalities available are slightly more advanced (see e.g. the Wikispaces wiki that pro-vides many tools such as discussion in addition to text

tools). on the other hand, wikis can easily allow many us-ers to edit the site which makes the maintenance much easier. users might still be in charge of only their own narrow areas on the site, and, strictly speaking, still pro-duce content all alone. in the light of these examples, we can consider wikis as incremental improvements to earlier products; website creation is easy for everyone and the assigning of edit permissions is easier than be-fore. A more radical way to develop operative modes as if through innovation would be to change the production process in total. in such a case, the opportunities made available by wikis are genuinely made use of and pages are produced in collaboration so that content producers cannot be distinguished from one another, the contents being produced are placed in the focus instead of their producers, and in addition, the contents crystallise the expertise and skills of many parties (collective intelli-gence). this new form of activity is called peer produc-tion and its key enabler can be understood to be the emergence of the two-way web (Auvinen 2009).

the adoption of new forms of activity does not hap-pen easily. one of the key elements involved in the adop-tion is change. the adoption of social media such as wikis can be seen to constitute a change process aim-ing at renewal, one that requires changes to old forms of activity at the individual as well as the corporate levels. for example, the collaborative writing of wikis requires new attitudes towards texts of one’s own as well as to-wards those of others; it also requires the acceptance of a certain incompleteness which however leads to ever better outputs. Without going deeper into any change discussion we can state that the discussion concern-ing the peer production of wikis and the related forms of activity leads us back to the wide-spread long-lasting discussion on how change should be promoted in order to have people learn new forms of activity.

the production process of the wiki book Viisautta wikin tekoon – Wisdom in wiki productio would justify us in stating that we learn through practice, and one way that leads to change goes through practical experi-mentation. the large group of producers in our process had a great deal of different types of expertise, and as-sistance was always available. When the preconditions for cooperation are in place, we dare to ask and expose ourselves instead of searching alone for solutions to our problems. the responsibilities within the production pro-cess were distributed and nobody was required to carry a load that was too heavy. this wiki production process was experimental in nature, and many of the partici-pants joined with open, experimentation-oriented minds.

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therefore, everyone could knowingly experiment with the activities and practice the skills required by social me-dia: learn how it feels to edit someone else’s unfinished text, ask for assistance, give assistance, analyse one’s own view of what information and under which criteria is more correct and better than some other information, learn to tolerate the incompleteness on one’s own brief, sporadic contributions to the text, trust that someone

else will pick up from there, observe that the contents of the wiki truly grow during the project and each little contribution forms an important part of the whole. Along with the reflection of their own work and experiences and the shared reflection of lessons learned, the par-ticipants certainly almost automatically learned about their ways of making use of wikis as well as the feelings that the change and this new form of activity awakened in them.

SOURCES

Ahonen, h., engeström, Y. & Virkkunen j. 2000. Knowledge Management – The Second Generation: creating competencies Within and between Work communities in the competence laboratory. in Y. Malhotra (ed.) Knowledge Management and Virtual or-ganizations. (282–305). London: Idea Group publishing.

Auvinen, A-M. 2009. peer production of e-learning and the challenge of quality management. conference paper presented in eduleArn09 the international conference on education and new Learning technolo-gies, barcelona (spain), 6.–8.7.2009.

blanchard, A. l. & Markus, M. l. 2002. sense of virtual community – maintaining the experience of belonging. in system sciences, 2002. hicss. proceedings of the 35th Annual hawaii international conference on Volume, issue, 7–10 jan. 2002, 3566–3575.

cunningham, W. 2010. wiki history. Accessed 22 March 2010. URL http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiHistory

ellonen, h-K., Kosonen, M. & henttonen, K. 2007. the development of a sense of virtual community. international journal of web based communities 3(1), 114–130.

engeström, Y. 2004. ekspansiivinen oppiminen ja yhteiskehittely työssä (expansive learning and collaboration at work). Keuruu: Otavan Kirjapaino Oy.

Engeström, Y. 2001. Expansive Learning at Work: toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. journal of education and work, 14 (1), 133–156.

hearn g., tacchi j., foth M. & Lennie j. 2009. Action research and new Media. concepts, Methods and Cases. Hampton Press Inc.: Cresskill, NJ 07626.

Viisautta wikin tekoon (Wisdom in wiki production). hyvä wikimateriaali (good wiki material). 2010. Ac-cessed 12 August 2010. URL http://fi.wikibooks.org/wiki/ Viisautta_wikin_tekoon/hyvä_wikimateriaali

Wenger, e., McDermott, r. & snyder, W.M. 2002. cultivating communities of practice. harvard business Press: Boston:

Wikibooks. front page. 2010. Accessed 22 March 2010. URL http://fi.wikibooks.org/wiki/

Wikimedia foundation. front page. 2010. Accessed 22 March 2010. URL http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/etusivu

Wikipedia. 2010. wiki. Accessed 22 March 2010. urL http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

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in 2009, the educational Association of citizens’ forum organised four second Life for educators courses. the courses took four weeks each and they were implement-ed completely online. All courses included five sessions in second Life, and between these, the work took place in a Moodle virtual learning environment.

the practice-oriented courses gave the participants the basic skills and knowledge for teaching in second Life. the courses familiarised the learners with the us-er interface, basics of building in second Life, and the teaching aids available in that environment. in addition, the students got to explore second Life environments already in educational use and discuss activities and teaching methods suitable for this new environment.

in 2009–2010, Åbo Akademi Department of informa-tion studies arranged two specialist-level courses, sec-ond Life – the new dimension of training and education. the courses started with a day-long face-to-face meeting in order to ensure the basic second Life skills for all participants. After this, all meetings took place in the second Life virtual environment. the courses contained lectures, guest lectures, practical exercises, excursions

riittA LisKi AnD pÄiVi sVÄrD, eDucAtionAL AssociAtion of citiZens’ foruM sKAf; isto huViLA AnD KiM hoLMberg, Åbo AKADeMi

Case: Second Life − a virtual world in the

service of education

The project Open Networks for Learning (AVO) organised practice-oriented training

for people who train virtual worlds and experts who make use of such. On the basis of

feedback and research we can say that virtual worlds are highly promising, but they

are not everyday in teaching, yet. We have seen several successful projects and learned

a great deal about the potential of virtual worlds. We are clearly on the right path.

and individual projects during which the students were also tutored.

the goal of the courses was to treat the educational possibilities of virtual environments in some depth and to offer the participants the possibility to undertake indi-vidual projects which they could make use of in their own educational or other work later.

BACKGROUND OF SECOND LIFE IN EDUCATIONAL USE

the educational uses of 3D online digital virtual environ-ments have been studied for decades. still, it was as late as early in our millennium that typical office com-puters reached the level that enabled the presentation of real-time 3D interactive structured graphics in a man-ner that was sufficiently natural from the users’ point of view. second Life by Linden research, based in the united states, was different from all other virtual worlds that cropped up at the beginning of the millennium in respect of the user-oriented content production philoso-phy it applied. the freedom of structuring 3D contents in this virtual world, using the relatively simple modelling

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tools available in the customer application, differed sig-nificantly from all mainstream virtual worlds.

even though second Life was opened for users as early as 2003, the number of visitors started grow-ing significantly only as late as 2006. today, there are 60 000 – 80 000 users logged into second Life every moment of the day. the number of registered users is counted in millions, which makes second Life the larg-est and most visited non-narrative freely navigable vir-tual 3D world with adults as the most important user group.

for a long time by now, second Life has also been the most popular virtual world in education. it is actively used by more than 6000 teachers and 600 educational institutions all over the world. its users include organi-sations that educate and support learning, ranging from local schools to top universities. from the viewpoint of learning and teachers, second Life’s popularity can be largely explained by the features that made second Life popular in general. Like others, educators can make use of the relatively easy tools, the great freedom in implementing their own 3D structures and programmed functionalities, the relatively economical usage and li-cence fees based on virtual land ownership instead of the number of users, and the versatile communication and crossmedia features.

second Life has been considered particularly suited for distance education as it offers students the possi-bility to experience teamwork and team presence in a more concrete way than what they can experience during video conferences and in text-based online learning envi-ronments (holmberg & huvila, 2008). the teamworking and collaborative potential of second Life is increased through the fact that the environment supports the growth of social capital regardless of the sense of com-munity outside the virtual world (huvila, holmberg et al., 2010). the environment offers excellent opportunities to simulate and visualise various life-like learning situa-tions as well as opportunities for different types of role play exercises. the pedagogical possibilities of second Life can be extended to educational organisations exter-nal to formal education such as libraries, museums and various associations (huvila & holmberg, 2008).

in finland, second Life was introduced in the edu-cational sector more widely in 2008. in the spring of 2007, Åbo Akademi Department of information studies was the first university department to introduce this en-vironment to their use. in fall 2007 and spring 2008, the topic was discussed in several functions in the edu-

cational sector, and as the interest grew, in 2008, initi-ated by holmberg and huvila, there was the edufinland network established under the finnish eLearning centre to offer educational institutions the possibility of rent-ing virtual land. in 2011, there were 30 participants in-volved in edufinland in second-cycle educational institu-tions, universities of applied sciences, other universities and various other organisations in the field of education and culture. the number of individual teachers in the network at that time was over four hundred.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONSSecond Life for educators (Citizens’ Forum)

Baseline

in 2008, the first experiments in finland were being made in the educational uses of second Life. in that year, maintained by the finnish eLearning centre, the edufinland archipelago was opened for finnish educa-tional institutions and the first institutions rented land for themselves. public interest in this new tool and en-thusiasm about it were great. there was only a little ex-perience in finland of second Life in education and no second Life trainer training, open for all, was available. there was a great demand for such training.

the educational Association of citizens’ forum had operated in second Life since 2007 and used the en-vironment for internal online meetings. the staff was trained in the use of the environment, and in the autumn of 2008, they started training external parties also.

Course design and course contents

compared to other web-based and social media tools, the second Life virtual environment requires new skills of its trainers. Moving around in the environment is cum-bersome for the uninitiated at first, the user interface is rather complicated, and the logic of the virtual 3D environment does not open up very quickly. Leading a group in a virtual environment is surprisingly different from what it is in web conferencing software or class-room teaching. the system requirements provide an ad-ditional challenge.

to counterbalance these challenges, second Life offers us an experiential, immersing educational envi-ronment that allows us to make use of a multitude of opportunities for simulating and visualising different situations.

courses were designed to meet the challenges as

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well as possible and also to offer experiences for stu-dents that could not be implemented with other web-based tools.

each week of the four-week course had its own theme:• The theme of the first week was the basics of working in second Life. the students learned to move around, communicate, edit their user profiles and modify their avatars. no previous second Life skills were required for this course.• The second week introduced the participants to the basics of building in second Life. in the opinion of our trainers, it was essential to place building in an early phase like this because it helped users understand the operational logic of second Life and also gave them good skills for the use of second Life teaching aids and for building simple teaching aids themselves.• The theme of the third week was teaching aids and learning environments in second Life.• The fourth week was used for practicing the tools more extensively, and the trainees got practical instructions for how to start their own work in second Life as well as information about various networks useful for educators. During this week, there were, exceptionally, two second Life sessions; the latter of the two featured a guest lecture about the educational uses of second Life.

throughout the training, the overall theme was the shared reflection on the new opportunities second Life might offer for teachers and the issues that teachers should pay special attention to in order to make the tool best serve their teaching and their educational institu-tions. this theme was included in as many practical ex-ercises as possible.

Implementation of the courses

the citizens’ forum implemented four four-week cours-es in 2009, with Ms. riitta Liski, Designer, Ms. irma syrén, education Director, and Ms. päivi svärd, new Media trainer, in charge of the course design and im-plementation. ten to twelve students were admitted per course; the four courses had 43 participants in total. the students consisted mostly of teachers working on various levels of formal education and also in organisa-tions involved with other than formal education.

STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS OF THE SECOND LIFE FOR EDUCATORS COURSE (FROM MOODLE)

This course is divided into four one-week modules:1. basic skills2. basics of building3. teaching aids4. teaching aids, part 2, Ways for your school to get started in second Life.

the Moodle blocks are structured so that each week contains: • the assignments for that week• instructions after the meeting i.e. summaries of lessons learned during the meeting• additional information, if any.

study module #1 – basic skills in second Lifethis week, we will reflect on the new aspects we expect second Life to bring to our teaching and learn about some basic functionalities of Second Life: moving around, com-municating and modifying the appearances of avatars.

Many of the assignments will be carried out in sec-ond Life, after which there will be the opportunity for comments on the discussion forum; any questions pos-sibly set in assignments will also be discussed on the discussion forum. in addition, the discussion forum will enable questions in case something was left unclear.

Assignments/discussion forums: • Assignment #1.1 Introduce yourself• Assignment #1.2 How do you see Second Life now?• Assignment #1.3 First meeting in Second Life• Assignment #1.4 Try out what you just learned• Assignment #1.5 Modify the appearance of your avatar• Assignment #1.6 Draft a profile for your avatar• Instructions • Basic skills in Second Life • Basic skills in Second Life – quick start guide• Additional information and useful links• Second Life Knowledge Base• Edufinland.fi links to Second Life guides• Yadni’s Junkyard in Second Life• Fabulously Free in SL site

study module #2 – basics of building in second Lifethis week, you will learn the basics of building in second Life. We will reflect on where teachers might need these skills. in addition, you will be familiarised with sula pinta podcasts about second Life.

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Assignments/discussion forums:• Assignment #2.1 Second meeting in Second Life• Assignment #2.2 Try out what you just learned – construct a bulletin board• Assignment #2.3 Study different kinds of constructions and environments• Assignment #2.4 Sula Pinta Podcast• Instructions• Importing visual elements, building, starjunky’s note projector• Additional information and useful links• Ivory Tower Library of Primitives in Second Life• Edunation II sandbox in Second Life• EdTech sandbox in Second Life

study module #3 – teaching aids, part 1in the third week, we will learn to use certain teaching aids and study various learning environments.

Assignments/discussion forums: • Assignment #3.1 Third meeting in Second Life• Assignment #3.2 Practice what you just learned – create a powerpoint presentation• Assignment #3.3 Familiarise yourself with educational environments

• Assignment #3.4 What features do good Second Life teaching aids have?• Instructions• Summary of the third meeting• Angrybeth’s Education Tools• Additional information and useful links• Free and chargeable teaching aids and information for educators – the ict Library• Free teaching aids in Second Life – EdunationII• SLoodle – Second Life + Moodle• Xstreet SL – Second Life web shop

study module #4 – teaching aids, part 2 – Ways for your school to get started in second Lifethis week, we will learn about some new teaching aids and sources of information and networks for educators, and you will be informed of how you/your school can get started in second Life.

Assignments/discussion forums: • Assignment #4.1 Fourth meeting in Second Life• Assignment# 4.2 Visit the ICT Library and pick up some teaching aids• Assignment #4.3 Familiarise yourself with educators’ sources of information and networks

Specialist and presenter Mr. Teemu Moilanen, of University of Eastern Finland, Savonlinna Learning Centre, has flown the participants in for a lecture.

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• Assignment #4.4 Fifth meeting in Second Life• Instructions• Summary of the fourth meeting• Additional information and useful links• EduFinland archipelago website• SLED-Fin mailing list• Second Life areas for educators• Second Life Eduscape Blog, Linden Lab’s new blog on education• Second Life wiki• SL Educators mailing list – SLED• SLED Search• The Educators Archives• SLED Blog• Simteach wiki• ISTE island archipelago in Second Life

CAREFUL PLANNING PROVED IMPORTANT

implementing a course in second Life requires precise and detailed planning. We had to pay attention to many issues that we were unaware of initially. the citizens’ fo-rum trainer team spent a great deal of time on advance preparation and planning.

BEFORE THE COURSE STARTED

All potential applicants to the course were instructed to check before submitting their application that their sys-tem met the demanding requirements.

in good time before the course started, the partici-pants were instructed to create avatars for themselves

Audio functions have been tested and training is about to start. In the foreground, Päivi Svärd directs the work and the rest of the trainer team observes it in the background.

The participants are presenting their small-group outputs using the Note Projector tool.

During the first lesson, new experiences were gained through an introductory flight on a flying carpet.

The trainees are discussing in pairs and teachers are monitoring. The green cube shows the time remaining for discussion.

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and to install the software. Avatars are residents in sec-ond Life, or virtual figures whom their owners name and for whom the owners also specify the appearances. the participants also needed headsets.

because speech in second Life caused particularly many difficulties, we decided to test the audio individu-ally with each participant, meeting in second Life even before the course convened. this proved to be the right solution. Without these one-on-one meetings with the participants in which we checked the functioning of their audio and their audio settings, the first common second Life meeting might have been spent on resolving audio issues.

BEFORE EACH INDIVIDUAL MEETING STARTED

each 1.5-hour second Life training session was planned carefully. All planning sessions took place in second Life so that ideas could be tested and developed by the train-ers even in the planning phase. the work division among the trainers was agreed upon and detailed scripts and schedules were drafted for all lessons. there was flex-ibility incorporated into the schedules, there were back-up plans, and the least important issues were placed at the ends of the lessons.

students’ different capabilities for learning and also unexpected technical problems made it difficult to esti-mate the time required for the different parts of the les-

sons. our besetting sin was to include too much in each lesson, which caused the lessons to appear hurried.

if it was thought that the group should move from one second Life region to another during a class, the move had to be planned with care. taking a walk togeth-er in a virtual world is not as simple as in the real world. inexperienced users have difficulty following others and they easily get tangled in virtual bushes and various con-structions. in these situations, we used seats hauled by a trainer to move the whole group to another location in a handy way.

each trainer tested the required user interface fea-tures and tools in advance. We noticed that trainers needed several avatars with different permissions for action and use. if a trainer tested certain objects as the owner only, problems easily arose during class because students did not have sufficient permissions to use the objects.

the trainer team checked even familiar destinations in advance to make sure they were still operable and had not changed by the time of the lesson. When need-ed, new destinations were found that met the goals of the course curriculum.

We also had to consider the fact that the partici-pants needed small amounts of second Life currency, Linden Dollars, during the course. this issue was solved by one of the trainers giving the sufficient amount of vir-tual currency to the students, bought on the employer’s credit card.

THREE TRAINERS WAS AN ADVANTAGE

We were fortunate because we had three trainers. this may sound exaggerated because there were 10–12 stu-dents per course, but the solution worked well.

even during demanding activities during class, we were able to distribute the students into smaller groups and could also deal with those students who had techni-cal or other difficulties without all of the group having to wait for unreasonably long. in addition, we always had a stand-by person ready if a trainer had technical prob-lems – with audio, for example. With so many trainers, it was also easier for us to make sure that all students stayed with us when we moved from one place to an-other.

LESSONS WERE ACTIVITY-BASED

During a four-week course, we organised five 1.5-hour lessons in second Life. At the beginning of each lesson, we had to spend some time ensuring that all students had their audio operating properly. At the beginning of

The course took the participants to destinations that distributed teaching aids to educators free of charge. The participants practiced the use of these tools dur-ing class and when completing the assignments between classes.

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COMMANDMENTS FOR SECOND LIFE STUDENTS

On the second course, we switched viewpoints and the students reflected on the conditions for students’ suc-cess in Second Life training. It is easy to agree with these guidelines too.

INSIGHTS FROM THE TRAINING SESSIONS

The participants in the first course put together 10 commandments for Second Life trainers, in the order given in the picture. As trainers, we can fully agree with these commandments.

1. Practice a great deal • Practice your new skills with diligence. • Learn by doing, try again.2. Work together • Learn together, share experiences. • Explore with friends.3. Be brave • Move, wander and try courageously. • Present questions, ask for help.4. Be calm and patient. • Observe the situation and others in it. • Be polite, ask to be given the floor.5. Take time and use a peaceful place • Close your phone and the door to your office.6. Set your computer system in order • You need a good connection, a powerful computer and a headset - in working order.

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SECOND LIFE TRAINERS

1. Be calm and patient • Guide and instruct in a calm manner, repeat. • Monitor and observe the situation, ask and listen. • Proceed in pace with the group.2. Be clear • Give clear instructions whether you do it orally or in writing. • Use systematic terminology.3. Master the required technology • Practice, test and anticipate.4. Inspire • Be positive and encouraging.5. Be prepared for technical problems • Check and recheck in advance. • Reserve time. • Have a back-up plan.6. Learn, search and find • Find out about new things. • Keep track of useful places, things and practices.7. Network • Be open towards new people.8. Do not work alone • Share responsibility, use several trainers with clear work divisions.9. Consider group sizes • Keep the groups small if active participation is required. • Pair up the participants for assignments between classes.10. Have mercy on yourself • Learn from your mistakes: muck-ups are gifts. • You cannot help all possible technical problems.

1. Practice!

3. Be brave!

2. Work together!

1. Be calm!

2. Be clear!

3. Master the required technology!

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each course, it was agreed that during lessons, trainers and students alike would use their avatar names when speaking to one another and referring to one another. this was intended to reduce mix-ups and errors in the in-terplay of people who were unfamiliar with one another. by default, the user interface shows names above the heads of avatars, and it is also possible to check names in avatars’ profiles.

calm mind-sets were useful for instructors. We tried to give all instructions as clearly as possible and used as logical and systematic a terminology as we could. oc-casionally, we checked verbally that everyone was still onboard, and during activities, we concretely monitored how the avatars took their places and how the work pro-gressed.

the lessons were very activity-oriented and concen-trated on the practice of the user interface and the vari-ous tools. Long introductions were avoided, and even group discussions in second Life were rather brief. We wanted to use the second Life sessions for teaching practical skills as effectively as possible. opportunities for deeper discussion, reflection and questions were ar-ranged for the participants in Moodle.

for most participants, operating in a virtual world was completely new and lessons were very intensive experiences for them. We tried to include some experi-ential elements in all lessons that could not have been implemented on other platforms.

blunders and absurd situations happened often dur-ing the lessons. these situations brought zest to the course and made studying outright hilarious. in the new environment, both students and trainers blundered and stumbled, and we tried to learn from such situations re-membering the maxim “muck-ups are gifts”.

NEW SKILLS WERE PRACTICED THROUGH ASSIGNMENTS BETWEEN CLASSES

the use of second Life requires a great deal of individu-al practice; therefore, all training modules contained as-signments in which students could revise and practice the issues from the lessons during the interval between the lessons. these assignments included excursions to second Life destinations which would be interesting and useful from the future trainers’ point of view and also included familiarisation with various sources of informa-tion in the web. these assignments included the modifi-cation of avatars’ appearances: there is a limited num-ber of predefined avatars and they do not necessarily please all users as they are; it was also practical during lessons that avatars did not look alike.

there usually were two assignments per course mod-ule. they were completed in pairs. this proved to be a good practice and we had a great deal of positive feed-back about it. Working in pairs was easier and most of all, participants thought it more fun than lonely efforts in an unfamiliar environment. outputs from these assign-ments were posted in the groups’ classroom in second Life or reported on in the course Moodle.

MOODLE SUPPLEMENTED AND PROVIDED STRUCTURE

the functionality-specific instructions studied during les-sons, a great number of useful links and the assign-ments were all collected in Moodle. Moodle discussion forums were important for the courses because stu-dents could use them for feedback, questions and re-flection on issues that were not dealt with in class due to the shortage of time. the completion of the assign-ments was also reported on these forums.

Moodle supplemented the training that took place in second Life; information was easily structured sys-tematically in it, and materials could be collected in one place. A 3D virtual environment is not the best option for those purposes. the course Moodle was considered important and at the end of each course students ex-pressed the wish that Moodle would be kept open for some time after the course.

FEEDBACK AND MATERIALS COLLECTED DURING THE COURSESParticipant feedback

After each course, we collected participant feedback with a Webropol online survey. the surveys had 25 re-spondents.

the courses were graded as excellent by 52.1% of the respondents, as good by 42.7% and as satisfactory by 5.2% of them.

the total duration was considered good by 68% of the respondents and too short by 32% of them. the number of assignments satisfied the participants: as much as 92% thought the number of assignments ap-propriate, and only 8% thought them too many.

the quality of teaching and guidance was considered excellent by 84% of the respondents and good by 16% of them. the quality of the assignments was considered excellent by 56% of the respondents and good by 44% of them. the quality of learning materials and sources of information was considered excellent by 52%, good by 44% and satisfactory by 4% of the respondents.

the quality of the second Life learning environment

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was considered excellent by 36%, good by 52% and sat-isfactory by 12% of the respondents. the respective numbers for Moodle were: excellent 52.2 %, good 41.7 % and satisfactory 4.2 %.

the usefulness of the course for the participants’ own learning/work was assessed as follows: excellent 48%, good 44% and satisfactory 8%.

Free-form feedback

in the free-form feedback, the respondents analysed fac-tors helping or hindering their learning and the reaching of their goals, giving development ideas and improve-ment proposals for the organisers. italics indicate ed-ited excerpts from free-form feedback.

Factors helping the learning and the reaching of the goals

the good team spirits and the relaxed atmosphere dur-ing the courses were highlighted in the feedback. pair work during assignments also received a great deal of positive feedback:• Good team, humour and atmosphere that promote learning.• Working together with someone as a pair, I learned much more than i would have learned alone.• Pair work forced us to reserve the time for the assignments.• Working on the assignments with my partner was fun and helped solve the problems. We also clarified lots of other interesting problems together.

Working in small teams during lessons was considered good:• Three trainers attending almost all of the sessions made sure that all participants got the personal attention they required in their own levels.• Working in small teams made it easier to learn; the trainers had time to monitor us and listen to what we were doing.

the use of Moodle to supplement second Life was con-sidered a viable solution, and discussions in Moodle and second Life were rewarding.

the complete courses, i.e. the guidance in second Life sessions, how the subject matter was organised, the assignments, their levels, materials, hints and even links got steadily positive feedback; feedback was posi-tive also concerning the trainers’ professional skills, friendliness, active approach, feedback skills and their way of noting all participants individually.

• Guidance in Second Life was good, nobody felt too clumsy.• My learning was advanced by the appropriate phasing of the instruction, pair work, individual feedback, interaction with others and learning in a group.

Factors hindering the learning and the reaching of the goals

by far, the greatest factor hindering learning during the course was the students’ shortage of time, which had its impacts on how they completed their assignments, studied the materials and found time slots for their pair work. having two meetings in the last week of the course was also criticised.• Studying was very intensive, which had its good points. because the course was in the spring and required learning about a totally new field on top of one’s regular work, it was not possible to benefit from it fully. • Pair work was rewarding but it would have required matching schedules, so we occasionally only pretended to be working together.• May is very busy for teachers so there should not be more than one meeting per week. otherwise it is impossible to arrange the time for any homework that is supposed to be conducted in pairs.• The shortage of time is always the problem; this time i clearly marked the hours required by this course in my calendar, and it worked.

technical problems were brought up too, but they were not as significant as the shortage of time:• Audio problems frustrated me. There was no way to help them and they prevented me from attending the third session and some pair work as well.

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the differences in the students’ baseline skill levels and the pace of the training sessions were brought up:• Students of many different levels attended. I was a first-timer and had trouble keeping up with the others. on the other hand, this presented a good challenge and studying did not feel too easy at any point, nor was it frustrating.• The Second Life sessions sometimes felt too short because we were covering issues at such a quick pace. it was good that help and guidance were available in Moodle after each session.

DEVELOPMENT IDEAS AND IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS FOR TRAINERS

the suggested development ideas did not clearly bring up any wishes common to all respondents. Many of them were satisfied with the course as such and hoped for similar further training. some replies, again, empha-sised the shortage of time and asked for more slack in the schedule through e.g. a wider distribution of the training modules on the calendar.

the starting point for the courses was that the par-ticipants were expected to have previous experience of second Life or similar environments and they wanted to develop and expand their skills and expertise through project work and theoretical reflection. the course counted for 3 ects credits at the university. Despite the requirement of previous experience, we started the course with a day of face-to-face education to review the features and basic use of the second Life customer ap-plication.

Design and implementation of the course

the course consisted of two modules, the first one of which was used for familiarising the students with the theory and practice of second Life in education and training. During the second module, the students imple-mented their own projects under the guidance of the trainers, including project reports that were intended to expand on the skills acquired and observations made during the practical work.

in addition to the basic use of second Life, the first module included lectures and exercises in building and programming in the second Life environment, as well as an extensive review of the best practices of second Life in education in finland and elsewhere, and an in-depth review of the theory of virtual worlds in education. in addition, internationally known guest lecturers were in-vited to participate in instruction through second Life. During the course, we also went on excursions within second Life to see different types of destinations and environments relevant for training and education; some of the environments were those of educational institu-tions, some were otherwise useful from the point of view of learning.

During the project work, students received one-on-one tutoring and group instruction to support their project ideas. the subjects for the students’ projects covered a wide range from instruction in intercultural communication to the production of teaching aids for second Life instruction, the improvement of the inter-nal communication of a training organisation, and ex-tensive international cooperation projects. the key is-sues for the success of the students’ projects seemed to include the students’ enthusiasm and how specific and concrete the subjects were. the key issues also included how clearly the students’ teaching ideas were connected to certain features and possibilities of the second Life virtual world, possibilities that make sec-ond Life different from environments based on physical presence. typically, the routines relating to teamwork and international cooperation worked without any techni-

The strengths of

Second Life and other

virtual environments are

partly in the strong sense of

presence and partly in the

unlimited possibilities

they offer for users.

SECOND LIFE — THE NEW DIMENSION OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION – A SPECIALIST-LEVEL COURSE (ÅBO AKADEMI)

Baseline

in connection with the AVo project, the Åbo Akademi Department of information studies arranged specialist-level courses for advanced second Life teachers and trainers, second Life – the new dimension of training and education.

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cally demanding preparations, and the student projects also proved that relatively simple modifications in 3D en-vironments can enable the implementation of conceptu-ally demanding wholes that make full use of the special features of second Life. Virtual presence and the isola-tion of second Life from any reality based on physical presence contributed to projects related to entrepreneur education in which the starting point was to provide the participating students with certain foundations for es-tablishing businesses within the virtual world.

the head trainers during the course were Mr. isto hu-vila and Mr. Kim holmberg, the assistant trainerin the spring of 2010 was Ms. Katja hilska-Keinänen, and ap-pearances were made by a group of guest teachers, e.g. Ms. sheila Webber (ft, university of sheffield) and Mr. terry beaubois (professor, Montana state university). the practical implementation of the course was greatly facili-tated by the fact that all trainers had extensive experi-ence in second Life user training in various contexts and also knew in depth the field of second Life in education.

Experiences and insights

Many of the same questions were repeated during the courses. in accordance with the goals of the courses, the students succeeded in expanding their understand-

Discussion ongoing in the small group space of the Suomi ry archipelago.

ing of second Life in training and education in a way that helped them call into question certain assumptions relating to this environment and to the use of 3D vir-tual environments in general. it is a different matter to introduce an educational institution or organisation to a virtual world than to use this virtual environment pur-posefully in order to reach the goals of the organisation. on the other hand, the creation of learning situations in the second Life environment does not and cannot consist of modelling experiences and situations of the physical world, then transferring them as such to the new environment.

one of the course participants reflected on the con-cept of relaxing environment in his final report, com-ing to the conclusion that the definition of it was not a straightforward issue.

challenges for the learning situations were present-ed by the technical problems encountered as well as the baseline skill levels of the students. connectivity prob-lems for the participants (students and trainers alike) as well as stability issues with the customer application were regrettably common and clearly encumbered the development of virtual world education. these problems also demonstrate that the use of virtual worlds in edu-cation and training is a relatively recent phenomenon.

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CONCLUSIONS

Strengths of Second Life in education

in comparison with traditional text-based learning en-vironments and video conferencing applications, the strength of second Life is in the versatile functionalities, the visual aspects that resemble the physical world but exceed the limits of that reality, and the strong sense of presence experienced by students. students can be activated and their participation can be prompted with collaborative methods similar to those used in physical-world situations. organising small group work in second Life takes place naturally, because instructions for group formation can be given on the basis of visual reference points (such as sets of chairs or pillows and small group spaces).

this makes it possible for teaching to accommodate

worlds. even though second Life is suited for lectures and graphical presentations, its best features will re-main unexploited if nothing more is required than lec-tures and slides.

the experience of learning to know other people in second Life is very genuine. it supports team formation which seems to take place more easily in second Life than in traditional web-based learning environments. students often feel lonely in traditional web environ-ments because there is no synchronous communication among students and trainers. this occasionally leads to students dropping out. the strong sense of presence in a virtual environment may, in the best case, cause the number of drop-outs to decline, but we have no scientific proof for this claim yet.

in learning situations, second Life allows students and teachers alike the possibility to manifest their per-sonalities. on the other hand, the environment tends to raise surprising, comical and even absurd situations that could not be anticipated or planned by anyone. During class, the atmosphere is relaxed and full of fun when these surprises are assimilated flexibly and with humour. in practice, co-teaching has proved to be a vi-able solution: at any time, there is one active trainer with one or two support persons monitoring the situation in the background, providing assistance where needed. the roles of trainer and support person should circulate. teaching in second Life is intensive, and changing roles will help trainers retain their activity level and focus. role changes also make learning situations more var-ied. in activity-based situations, the use of co-teachers allows the students to be distributed into small groups.

the strengths of second Life and other virtual envi-ronments are partly in the strong sense of presence and partly in the unlimited possibilities they offer for users. in a virtual world, teachers can build, create, simulate and present matters that would be very difficult or im-possible in traditional classrooms. for this reason alone it is important that the possibilities of virtual worlds be studied and the best means be found for us to use these new environments in education.

CHALLENGES OF THE SECOND-LIFE ENVIRONMENT

the greatest difficulties in learning situations are relat-ed to technology: slow or breaking network connections, inoperable audio functionalities, and deficient computer capacities. At worst, a student or trainer cannot partici-pate in a lesson because there is no sound, the avatar will not move or the objects that were intended to be

Virtual worlds are

promising but they

are not everyday

in teaching yet.

different learners’ different ways of learning, particularly in the case that some traditional web-based learning en-vironment is used in addition to second Life. When the use of second Life is planned, the similarities between the virtual and the physical worlds form an advantage for the planning of instruction and the design of learning environments particularly at first, because both teach-ers and learners have limited experience of virtual en-vironments at that point. but when using second Life, one must be sensitive to the differences between these

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worked with will not appear on screen. insufficient basic ict and hardware skills may keep some people from par-ticipating in second Life training courses. in particular, audio adjustments in their computers have proved to be an area that many people do not master. such skills-related problems can be alleviated by specific support services and instructions, but it is more difficult to help issues related to external technical limitations.

in 2009, collaborative writing and showing the out-put to others was difficult in second Life. the situation has since improved with the emergence of media render-ing interfaces suitable for the display of web pages. the problem is not completely solved, yet, because second Life is used on various customer applications, some of which do not render media appropriately.

real-time speech in second Life is a key feature and supports the use of second Life as a learning environ-ment. however, the delay in sound reproduction and the lack of any visual signs indicating the intention to speak cause the problem of overlapping speech. At worst in a large group in particular, this may lead to some stu-dents’ unwillingness to participate in spoken commu-nication.

When planning training courses and schedules, it is necessary to observe Linden Lab’s service schedules and restarts of their servers. unfortunately, advance information about these is not always available. there-fore, trainers and students should discuss in advance the procedures to apply in the cases in which their envi-ronments shut down in the middle of a session.

Mastering second Life will necessarily require time. if an educational institution is planning to implement courses in second Life, it should be prepared to allow the respective trainers to spend enough time learning to know the environment and acquiring the necessary skills. the institution should also invest in sufficiently powerful computers and fast network connections.

EXPERIENCE ADVANCED THE DESIGNING OF BARRIERLESS SECOND LIFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

At the end of 2009, the citizens’ forum started plans for the purchase of a second Life archipelago of its own. the building plans for suomi ry., established at the be-ginning of 2010, were based on the experiences from these training courses. the space was wanted open without many obstructions to vision. sound-proofed, colour-coded rooms were built for small group work, and the moving from one space to another can be ac-complished with ease. All spaces were implemented

so that they are not too heavy to load. this was meant to minimise the problems experienced in learning situ-ations due to insufficient hardware capacity and slow network connections. the overall spatial design and all building were based on the purpose and the way of use of these spaces — they serve as a learning solution and a conference facility; excessive visual effects and showy structures were specifically not our starting point.

FINALLY

Virtual worlds are promising but they are not everyday in teaching yet. We must gain much more information on virtual worlds and their potential through research and experimentation before we can integrate them into our everyday teaching. We have seen several successful projects and learned a great deal about the potential of virtual worlds. We are clearly on the right path.

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the first of our cases is the basic education in the city of Kemi: pupils’ workstations were switched to a Linux thin client system. the second of our cases is the establish-ment of the educoss-mailing list to support the use of open source software, and the results obtained. the third of our cases describes the use of open source software in the Dream school project in the city of Kauniainen, with edu-coss as a collaborator. the actual development work was started in Kauniainen before the AVo project kicked off, so AVo had no active role in the working of Dream school. the similarity of interests and objectives as well as the fruitful-ness of the ongoing dialogue were the reasons why the writer of this report visited the online educa 2011 confer-ence in berlin to present the Dream school concept there.

What does the educational use of free and open source software (FOSS) entail?

the objective of educoss is to promote the use of open source software in education and learning. open source software means software that meets the criteria specified by the open source initiative1:

eLiAs AArnio, innopArK progrAMMes oY / eDucoss

Case: Educoss succeeded in

promoting educational uses of free and open source

software (FOSS)

Educoss refers to the educational activities of COSS ry, a Finnish Open Source Competence

Centre, promoting the educational use of free and open source software. This report will

explain briefly what this type of software is, and using three examples, describe some

practical activities undertaken as well as their outcomes.

1. the programme must be freely redistributable.2. the programme delivery must include source code

or source code must be freely available.3. the creation and distribution of derived works must

be allowed.4. the license may restrict modified source code from

being distributed only if the license allows the distribution of patch files and their source code. it may also be required that derived works, when redistributed, carry a different name or version number from the original software.

5. Any person or group of persons must not discriminated against.

6. no discrimination against fields of endeavour is allowed.

7. the rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed.

8. the licence must not depend on the program’s be-ing part of a larger software distribution; all rights related to the programme must remain even if the programme is extracted from the larger distribution.

1 http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoin_l%C3%A4hdekoodi#Avoimen_l.C3.A4hdekoodin_m.C3.A4.C3.A4ritelm.C3.A4

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9. the license must not restrict other software. the programme can be redistributed with other pro-grams that do not offer open source code.

10. License must be technology-neutral. no provision of the rights may be predicated on any distribution technology or user interface.

the most essential feature from the point of view of us-ers is that many of the rights that usually belong to the writer of the programme such as the right to copy, modify and distribute it, are now transferred to the users of the programme. This has the following consequences:1. there is greater freedom in the use, modification

and distribution of programmes.2. programmes are free of charge. When all people have the right to redistribute pro-

grammes, programmes become free of charge in practice. even though there is nothing prohibiting the sale of open source software, selling is difficult, because the same software is also available freely distributed and not subject to a charge. the free-of-charge distribution is the most common practice; the business models built on open source software are based on support and maintenance services, offering the software as a service, and also tailoring the software.

the concept of open source is relatively new. it was coined in 1998 to replace or supplement the older con-cept of free software. the concept of free software2, in-troduced by richard stallman, the founder of the free software movement in 1983, presented two problems. the word “free” means “free-of-charge” as well as “free-of-constraint” or “at liberty”. for this reason, people and parties who do not see or understand the significance and benefits associated with the liberties related to free software, as we listed them above, from the users’ point of view, tend to classify this sort of software as freeware. the fact that a programme is available free of charge does not mean that its source code would be available or that the other criteria regarding openness of source code would be fulfilled. therefore, when discuss-ing free and open source software, we pound on the difference between free-of-charge and free-of-constraint. As Stallman put it, ”’free’ as in ‘free speech’, not as in ‘free beer’”.

the other problem was related to the fact that many

people did not wish to emphasise the social-philosophi-cal meaning of the openness of source code but rather considered those aspects an encumbrance. there was a need therefore for a concept that would emphasise the point of view of software development. the source code of a programme is like the blueprint of a house. therefore, the coinage open source, seen as referring to the openness, availability and reuse of source code, was voted the best term in a 1998 conference3.

the free software foundation definition for free software is short:• freedom 0: the freedom to run the program, for any purpose• freedom 1: the freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish• freedom 2: the freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour• freedom 3: the freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others to give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes.4

from the users’ point of view, it is important to know that in practice, the concepts of free software and open source software are almost identical. the co-existence of these two separate concepts relates to history, organ-isations and personalities. it is quite justified to use the term free and open source software, foss, that unites these two traditions. the antonym of foss is proprietary software.

from the point of view of learning and education, the benefits of foss can be roughly seen as taking place in two levels: 1) the baseline level in which the freedom from cost of these programmes is the most essential benefit, and 2) the more advanced level in which the liberties acquired under the foss licence provide the actual benefits. Level 1 can be exemplified by the instal-lation of foss such as the firefox browser, Libreoffice package or the giMp image manipulation programme for all users in a school community. the second level can be exemplified by the use of Linux thin clients in finnish schools. this means that schools no longer use pc’s that run their operating systems on their hard drives. instead of internal mass memories, workstations start through the local network. the core components of the operating system are installed in workstations and appli-cations are run on central units that serve all users. the benefits include more economical maintenance costs, the accessibility of one’s own tabletop and settings at any workstation, and centralised maintenance: instead

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source 4 http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapaa_ohjelmisto

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of hundreds of isolated pc’s, we have a network with only one server or a cluster of servers to maintain.

CASE: BASIC EDUCATION IN KEMI IS NOW USING LINUX THIN CLIENTS

the work of educoss with the city of Kemi started when the project for to renew the it environment for the lo-cal basic education was first initiated. in my role as di-rector of educoss activities in autumn 2009, i met Mr. Antti turunen, who had implemented a trial project with Linux thin clients in the basic education in the city of Kemi. the main motive had been to introduce a system that would require only modest maintenance efforts and work on the current hardware platform, one half of which was over 7 years old5. the main problem in Kemi was that the old, heterogeneous hardware required a great deal of maintenance. the maintenance was centralised, but the age of the hardware pushed the failure rate up; in addition, the hardware was becoming too old and too weak to run newer, heavier operating systems and ap-plications. A solution was needed that would extend the lifespans of these old workstations and ensure more equal access to properly operating it resources for pu-pils in different schools. therefore, turunen had started tests with Linux terminal server project6, or the Ltsp system.

The underlying principle of LTSP is simple: There are no operating systems or applications installed on the hard drives of individual workstations. the clients start through the network and programmes are run mainly on the server. A client is like a window across the network to view the activities that are taking place in the server. the user experience is still identical to using a “regular” computer.

no resources were available for changing the pc stock for newer. Ltsp seemed to offer particularly many benefits for the user. turunen’s experiences of the tests were encouraging: all of the old hardware was made use of as clients in the new system, and the only new pur-chase was a server that cost approximately 3000 euros. turunen installed the test server without interruption in his regular work routines.

in autumn 2009, dialogue started between turunen and Aarnio. thoughts were exchanged e.g. on various implementation models, cost formation and technology. on 13 january 2010, a seminar was organised for the staff of the city of Kemi education Department concern-ing the use of free and open source software, with a spe-cial focus on the character of the Ltsp system. About twenty people attended from various schools, the de-partment of education and the it department.

After the meeting, work continued in the form of con-sultation and planning. to extend the Ltsp system to cover all of the basic education in the city was consid-ered an interesting challenge. once we knew that we were going to use Linux as our operating system, we had to verify the compatibility of the various AV systems such as document cameras and video projectors with Linux, and include the requirement in all requests to tender.

for others considering the acquisition of an Ltsp sys-tem, the most essential discussions related to whether maintenance services should be in-house or purchased externally. it was difficult to estimate the workload re-quired for maintenance. the first challenge is related to the fact that the test use of an Ltsp system is reward-ing and educational for technically oriented people. in-teresting work leads to the hours not being counted very carefully. the other factor is the Ltsp community that provides support and also a social reference point for those involved, creating a sense of belonging for them. in such an enthusiastic atmosphere, it is only too easy to underestimate the workload actually required.

the other factor easy to overlook when considering one’s personal efforts is that the whole should not de-pend on the skills of one expert. A system different from the mainstream should have maintenance routines op-erating even when the support person is ill or transfers to other duties. in addition, routine maintenance work is quite different from the comprehensive development of educational ict systems. it is necessary to ensure that working hours are not taken up by routine maintenance to the detriment of development work.

5 http://avoinkoulu.coss.fi/images/7/72/Antti_turunen_Avoin_koulu.pdf 6 http://www.ltsp.org/

The underlying principle of LTSP

is simple: There are no operat-

ing systems or applications

installed on the hard drives of

individual workstations.

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the project calculated the total costs for various im-plementation models in Kemi. the public procurement process was used to obtain offers for the maintenance of the system. two offers were received, one of which fell short on the requirements given. the bid was grant-ed to opinsys oy that offered a level of cost per worksta-tion significantly lower than what the previous model had shown. According to a memorandum by turunen, written in january 2010, the costs in the next five years from the old Windows-based model would have come up to 504 700 euros; the costs from an in-house Ltsp sys-tem, 388 300 euros; and an Ltsp system acquired as an external service, 342 510 euros.

the city of Kemi decided to purchase their Ltsp sys-tem from opinsys oy. At the time of writing this report, the first contract period is about to end, and Kemi is re-considering the situation. Despite the good points of the selected system, there have been certain difficulties. Windows is so much more common an operating sys-tem that some applications and accessories are availa-ble for Windows only. fortunately, also Linux-compatible alternatives exist. in addition, work station technology in the education department differs from that of other departments of the city. Active communication with the it department is required therefore, because the Ltsp system is not an isolated island. the system uses the city’s data network, for example. in Kemi, communica-tion did not work in all respects.

Due to the increased cost-effectiveness and central-ised maintenance, the number of workstations in Kemi is significantly higher than before. before the Ltsp system was introduced, basic education had 250 pc’s and gen-eral upper secondary education had 80. At the beginning of october 2011, the stock had increased to 425 clients in basic education and the same 80 remained in general upper secondary education7. the number of Ltsp clients is so large now that it may become more economical to organise their maintenance in-house in the future.

even after the introduction of the Ltsp system, the study of open source software has continued in Kemi. A project funded by the finnish national board of educa-tion, oppimisympäristö vaihtoehtoisessa käyttöjärjest-elmässä (A learning environment in an alternative op-

erating system), has been searching for a suitable Ltsp learning environment as of autumn 20108. A two-day seminar9 was organised in Kemi in connection with this project in october 2011, with 40 participants in person and more than 10 through the web.

Assessment

supporting the Kemi case was easy and simple in the sense that the technical groundwork was completed. supporting the cooperation that was already taking place across municipal boundaries consisted mainly of acquiring additional contacts and networking. on the local level, support consisted of providing expert help: even though expertise in Kemi was perfectly level with mine, they seemed to need an external spokesman who spoke the same language and could convince the locals that the Linux thin client concept, unfamiliar to most lo-cals, was not a weird idea dreamed up by a few eccentric individuals. Apparently, they became convinced.

the equipping of the syväkangas school succeeded well and the school has been very satisfied with the ict level and performance10. the process taught us that an Ltsp implementation should not be seen as an isolat-ed event. in addition to the over-enthusiasm mentioned previously, there is the danger that the implementation process be seen as an outsourcing process and there-fore good in itself, because outsourcing has the ring of effectiveness. unfortunately, a hurried outsourcing pro-cess usually makes matters worse than letting the cur-rent state remain would do. Whatever the implementa-tion model, the planning of the whole has to be allowed time, and even if the Ltsp system under way were the implementors’ pet baby, they need to remember that it has to be an integral part of its environment.

CASE: EDUCOSS MAILING LIST AS A PEER SUPPORT TOOL

even before the AVo project it was known that free and open source software were in active use in many schools. there was a particularly active community formed around Ltsp that used to arrange annual Ltsp workshop weekends11 with a very light organisation. the core team knew one another well and was active. com-munication took place through email among the core team, and a part of it scattered to various Linux forums in a rather sporadic manner. from the viewpoint of the educational use of foss, it would have been essential to have the communication take place in one forum.

in autumn 2009, social media had not yet become popular as the communication media for the masses. because everyone in the target group used e-mail as

7 http://koti.kapsi.fi/~elias/Keminseminaari/KEMI_peruskoulut_ja_ lukio_kayttavat_Linux_jarjestelmaa.pdf 8 http://edukemix.blogspot.com/ 9 http://edukemix.blogspot.com/2011/06/seminaari-kemissa- 5-6-10-2011.html 10 http://prezi.com/_m67r67mmz4b/syvakankaan-koulu-eduke mix-05102011/ 11 See e.g. 2010 workshop site http://wiki.ubuntu-fi.org/LTSP5_ ty%c3%b6paja_2010

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one of their daily tools, the core team decided to estab-lish a mailing list. innopark oy did not have one single server on which the popular Mailman mailing list man-ager software could have been installed. A natural part-ner was suomen avoimien tietojärjestelmien keskus – coss ry (centre for open systems and solutions) 12 that was already using several mailing lists. therefore, coss could offer the required technical platform free of cost. it was justified to use the coss system also because coss could be expected to continue in operation longer than the AVo project was expected to continue. if the list had been set up in a service rented on AVo funds, there would have been a problem at the end of AVo as to who would foot the bill and where the list and the related archives would be transferred at the end of the project. this is the typical fate of project-funded www-page ad-dresses and contents. As it is, the list continues in op-eration regardless of the fact that the project ended. the list was established in March 2009 13.

software-implementation of mailing lists makes it possible to establish public archives for list items. All archived messages can be read on www-pages. in addi-tion, users can subscribe and unsubscribe for the list in-dependently when, for example, their mailing addresses change, and adjust their settings for e.g. whether they wish to receive messages as they arrive or only in daily compilations. in view of communication, the greatest benefit from a public mailing list comes from the sub-scription page at a regular address which also gives the link to the list archives 14. information about subscrib-ing to the list and about its contents can be distributed through different channels.

the amount of traffic on our list has fluctuated great-ly. in summer when schools are out, there have typically been fewer than ten messages. on the busiest months, the number of messages has risen to more than one hundred 15. We do not have retrospective information about the number of subscribers. After the list was es-tablished, information about it was sent to Ltsp com-munities and many foss lists and forums, and if i re-member right, a little more than 40 persons subscribed to the list. At the moment of writing this report, there are 68 subscribers to the list.

the communication on the list has focused on Ltsp-related issues. this is probably due to the fact that after the list was established, it was advertised mostly among Ltsp communities. there have been a few other sub-jects. common to them all has been their high technical level. there have been no individuals new to the use of free and open source software, or at least they have not revealed the fact.

Assessment

the list has proved a good means of pulling together discussion about the educational use of free and open source software. email as a communication medium has probably been overshadowed by the more enticing social media. email messages do not get distributed on social media channels even though that would be pos-sible when public archives are used. the reason for this is probably our ingrained idea of email as a private form of communication.

the use of email as the daily communication tool is the smallest common denominator among the list’s subscribers. the highly technically oriented subscrib-ers do not seem to have stopped using the irc 16 as their principal social communication tool. Most teachers do not have the time and energy for many social media channels for their own communication. email, simply, still is the smallest common denominator. skilled email users filter their list messages into subfolders and read them at times that best suit them. in fact, this is one of the most important reasons for using good mailing pro-grammes. our foss activist group has occasionally dis-cussed whether the view of mailing programmes as inef-fective and burdening tools is simply not due to the fact that most of the commonly used email programmes do not feature these tools that would be so essential for ef-fective work.

on the other hand, tech-nology has surpassed mailing lists. sending various types of pictorial information and other attachments through mailing lists to a great number of recipients would be outright senseless. still more importantly, communication should be integrated to other work: a communication system should enable collaborative writ-ing and other work of that kind. A suitable tool would consist of a hybrid of wiki, web forum and email, fea-turing user-specific options for modifications and distri-bution in social media. however, it is essential for the solution to be implemented so that it would not contain

Email as a communication

medium has probably been

overshadowed by the more

enticing social media.

12 http://coss.fi/ 13 http://lists.coss.fi/pipermail/educoss/2009-March/002287.html 14 http://lists.coss.fi/mailman/listinfo/educoss 15 See e.g. October 2009 archives: http://lists.coss.fi/pipermail educoss/2009-october/date.html 16 http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC

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parts that could change or cease to exist at any mo-ment. therefore, the consolidation of various gratuitous internet services will not form any viable solution. the probability of extensive changes is too great.

CASE KAUNIAINEN DREAM SCHOOL: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AMOUNTS TO SERVICES PROCURED FOR LEARNING PURPOSES

As we mentioned, the AVo project had no active role in the actual output of Dream school. instead, the project worked with spreading the good practices and lessons learned in Kauniainen. this case description was written by a bystander well acquainted with the matters.

educators in Kauniainen have been interested in educational uses of information and communications technologies since the mid-1980’s. At the beginning or our millennium, the situation in Kauniainen schools was disquieting: most of the workstations were broken or waiting for service. there were so few workstations that it was difficult to use them in education – even pair work was difficult. the school department thought they could handle matters differently. schools and the school department wanted more say regarding the information technology they had to use.

the core of the Dream school concept is that school forms a structure that serves learning. Learners, i.e. pu-pils and teachers as their co-learners, are the subjects that form the reason of existence for the school and its structures. everything should be in the service of learn-ing. in addition to information, schools provide learners with skills important for them in their later lives. the Dream school concept is founded on the humanistic idea of man and the concept of sustainable develop-ment in its extended meaning. the school also pro-motes socially sustainable development as ecological.

NO UNDUE RESPECT FOR MACHINES

in our changing world, it is important to be able to search, understand, manipulate and combine informa-tion. information technology forms a tool for dealing with information. the baseline in Dream school in relation to information technology is to understand it as a tool in the service of learning. information technology is di-vested of all undue respect. the bitterness of it prob-lems experienced earlier led to a process of thinking, designing and defining how these schools wanted their it world to be, what they truly needed and wanted. it was known that acquisitions require clear ideas and clear descriptions of needs in order to succeed. the desire to improve the opportunities for educational use of infor-Development model for Dream School services.

In Dream School, the focus is on the learner (Allan Schneitz, 2011 Dream School).

The technical structure of Dream School services (Allan Schneitz, 2011 Dream School).

firewall

Dream School Cloud Services

Dream School Infrastructure

Dream School Platform

zee-core communicationLoad balancer system

Dream School Services

games

1 IP address out

Past Present

Teacher Students

Multiprofessional approach

Student

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mation technology also motivated the people involved to improve their procurement skills.

in Kauniainen, the people involved understood that it is better to build a comprehensive whole one piece at a time rather than try to specify a huge block to be procured at one go. their attention was also on how im-portant it is to work on the basis of the schools’ needs when the technical environment is developed. Many buy-ers trust that as long as they choose software in com-mon use, the various programmes will certainly be com-patible just because “everybody” uses them. but when we work with more care, we should divide our structures into smaller functional parts; in particular, if we choose to deviate from common bulk solutions, we need to make sure our backs are safe. We can make sure of our safety by demanding certain rights from our system ven-dors that guarantee our position and decision-making

LTSP workshop: LTSP workshop in Päivölä Folk High School in May 2010. In the background, pictures of workshops held in Kokkola, 2009, and in the Valamo Monastery, 2008.

powers, such as the right to modify and use the software in the cases of e.g. the vendors’ bankruptcy or essen-tial changes in their business strategies. A fictitious ex-ample sheds light onto the matter: The school is using software A and software b – these are, say, the learning platform and an application for practicing the vocabu-lary of a foreign language. the software vendors have made their products compatible. Let us imagine that the one or the other of these vendors becomes bankrupt. if all technical expertise and the rights relating to the bankrupted vendor’s software are held by the vendors, the school is left empty-handed. this situation can be avoided through the use of open source licences that al-low users to use and modify the software as they want. Businesses also use escrow agreements: if the soft-ware vendor becomes bankrupt or some other specified criteria are met, the client can have and use the source

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code. escrow agreements in connection with small pro-curement projects are expensive because they require expert work and time. open source licences benefit the client better: the right to have and use the source code is integrated into the concept.

the most modern aspect in the technology imple-mented in Kauniainen Dream school is the Dream school platform onto which all the separately procured elements can be integrated. When new items are ac-quired for the system, vendors are given the technical requirements to ensure that their parts can be seam-lessly integrated. When the client is the party originat-ing or controlling the technical description, the power of specifying the technical description is held by the client. the vendor is required to deliver a part that suits the whole and the common situation is avoided in which the client is left suffering from the unsatisfactory compat-ibility of the new part with the older parts. the interfaces and technical description of the Dream school platform are publicly available. this makes it faster and easier to provide potential partners with this information.

THE LINUX CLIENT SYSTEM WORKS SMOOTHLY

the Dream school workstations are Linux thin clients. the model is similar to that of Kemi. in Kauniainen, they compared various implementation models and decided upon the LTSP system for pragmatic reasons: the old pc’s could be made use of as clients in the new system. this is both cost-effective and ecological. As there is no operating system on the hard drive of any of these clients, the procedure in the case of a fault simply in-volves disconnecting the lines for the power, keyboard, mouse and monitor, connecting a new client in the place of the faulty one, pushing the on-button, and waiting the minute or two that it takes for the system to come back on. even inexpert people manage to change devices in five minutes. the headmaster of the Kasavuori school in Kauniainen explains the key feature in a thin client system, “it just works”. it does not matter to students whether their computers run on Linux or Windows. they just work. teachers quickly get used to the small differ-ences. in view of the user experience, it is essential for the users to be able to have their personally tailored desktops with all their contents available in any client machine, and also to have the same software and tools available for remote use from their homes.

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1. CORNERSTONES OF COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION IN THE AVO PROJECT

tiina front-tammivirta, Development Manager, the Association of finnish eLearning centre

Anne rongas, project planner,the Association of finnish eLearning centrehttp://opeblogi.blogspot.com

titi tamminen, Development Manager,the Association of finnish eLearning centrewww.eoppimiskeskus.fi/avo

2. AVO PROJECT MEMBERS’ DISTANCE COMMUNICATION TOOLS

joanna Kalalahti, project researcher,university of tamperehttp://avoimestitutkien.wordpress.com

3. SOCIAL MEDIA EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS EDUCATION

Ari-Matti Auvinen, Managing Director,hci productions oy

Kaisa honkonen-ratinen, project Manager,hci productions oy

4. “WE WERE SO OUT, OUT OF THE CLASSROOM – AND WE LEARNED!”

outi Vahtila, training Manager,hAMK university of Applied sciences

johanna salmia, project planner,hAMK university of Applied sciences

Annika Michelson, Lecturer,hAMK university of Applied sciences

Writers

Lotta Linko, Web communication officer,hAMK university of Applied scienceswww.mobiilikesakoulu.com

5. THE NETFOLKS – WEB-AGE CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPED AND TESTED NEW OPERATIVE MODELS

Antti poikola, Web facilitator,otava folk high schoolwww.mahdollista.fi

6. SECOND LIFE — A VIRTUAL WORLD IN THE SERVICE OF EDUCATION

riitta Liski, planner, Web education and communication,educational Association of citizens’ forum sKAf

päivi svärd, Lecturer, ict,educational Association of citizens’ forum sKAf

Kim holmberg, researcher, Åbo Akademi

isto huvila, researcher,Åbo Akademi

7. WISDOM IN WIKI PRODUCTION – PEER PRODUCTION ESTABLISHING NEW FORMS OF ACTIVITY

joanna Kalalahti, see item 2

8. EDUCOSS SUCCEEDED IN PROMOTING EDUCATIONAL USES OF FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (FOSS)

elias Aarnio, expert, free and open source software in education,innopark programmes oyhttp://educoss.blogspot.com

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isbn 978-952-67714-0-3 (paper publication)isbn 978-952-67714-1-0 (electronic publication)

Vibes in AVo open networks — Descriptions of the AVo project operation during 2008-2011 contains eight stories, each shedding light on the project’s practical implementation from a different angle. the report is intended for experts and anyone interested alike. the themes include open learning, open working cultures, social media and content production. in addition, the report touches upon virtual worlds and mobile learning devices for educational purposes as well as the use of free and open software in education and organisations.

the AVo – open networks for Learning project was implemented in 2008-2012 under the ESF Operational Programme in mainland Finland, axis 3: Active Citizen of the Open Learning environment. the project was funded by the centre for economic Development, transport and the environment in Lapland and coordinated by the Association of finnish eLearning centre. there were 11 member organisations.

AVO – Open Networks for Learning project reports

Oili Salminen & Tiina Front-Tammivirta (eds.)

Vibes in AVo open networksDescriptions of the AVo project operation during 2008–2011AVo reports 1/2012

Joanna Kalalahti:

on an open collision course challenges in combining the real and the virtual AVo reports 2/2012

Joanna Kalalahti & Riina Ojanen:

AVo ripples propagateopenness in sight, effectiveness studyAVo reports 3/2012