Abstracts

Classroom Capture: A Community of Practice

Jocasta Williams¹
¹University of Western Australia, Australia,²Echo360, Australia

The adoption of classroom capture technologies in higher education institutions is increasing (Gosper et al. 2008). This paper reports on a study undertaken in 2008 into a group of fifteen participating universities that have deployed large-scale classroom capture systems, conducting a critical analysis into this group's use of the technology and their gradual evolvement as an exemplary learning technology 'community of practice' (Wenger 1998).The study employed two key methodologies: a series of quantitative assessments into the technology's usage at each university and of each university's use of the community resources; and a qualitative investigation into the operations of the community group.The study found that, during one semester in 2008, the community of fifteen universities had classroom capture systems installed into over 600 lecture theatres, and recorded in excess of 52,000 classes which received almost 2.5million hits by students.The interactions and contributions taking place in the community during this period were driven by the members. The sharing of information and skills across the community, on an institution-to-institution level or collectively, resulted in significant pedagogic and operational benefits for all community members. From a teaching perspective, it enabled member universities to leverage classroom capture best practices learned throughout the community to promote more effective, innovative uses of the technology to support student learning within their home institution. In terms of systems administration, the knowledge-sharing in the community had an important impact on organisational efficiencies and productiveness, assisting in the employment of time-saving approaches, accelerating 'operational' learning through the sharing of differing procedural approaches, and avoiding repetitive mistakes through the sharing of problem-solving techniques.As a result of this study, a number of lessons were learned, particularly in terms of which community tools nurtured interaction and which tools did not. For example, linear discussions via an email mailing list were unpopular and relatively ineffective compared to social media tools like wikis which members feel encourage ongoing collaboration and offer superior accessibility and search features. This increased understanding of the community and its operations is already having a direct impact on the future developments for the community's framework, tools and resources.Gosper, M., Green, D., McNeill, M., Phillips, R., Preston, G., and Woo, K. 2008. The Impact of Web-Based Lecture Technologies on Current and Future Practices in Learning and Teaching. Australian Learning and Teaching Council. http://www.cpd.mq.edu.au/teaching/wblt/overview.htm (accessed May 17, 2009).Wenger, E. 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.