Caroline Haythornthwaite – Networked Learning Practices

We were delighted to welcome Caroline Haythornthwaite to CIC, as part of her Australian research visit. Over 30 UTS staff joined her in a workshop in which she engaged us with the concepts and tools of Social Network Analysis for networked learning, as summarised below.

Networked Learning Practices. This workshop provides an opportunity to work with and examine networked interactivity in support of networked learning. The workshop will review theoretical perspectives, such as social network analysis and collaborative learning, that inform analysis and implementation of communication practices associated with contemporary computer media: blogs, wikis, online discussion, social networking, and twitter. These practices range from the dissemination and exchange of information, to new practices for teaching and learning, to team and community building and maintenance, supporting outcomes of information access, learning, group cohesion, and the development of social capital. This workshop will focus on learning, but considering this as more than classroom or education based teaching, but embracing instead the wider range of formal and informal interaction that supports knowing and doing in the 21st century. This workshop will explore new means of connection in support of information exchange, knowledge construction, group cohesion, and learning. Details on workshop process and activities will follow closer to the date.

Bio: Caroline Haythornthwaite is Director and Professor at SLAIS, The iSchool at The University of British Columbia. She joined UBC in 2010 after 14 years as a faculty member at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research focuses on how the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs) support work, learning and social interaction. She approaches this primarily from a social network analysis perspective. Her interests include e-learning, learning analytics, social media, computer-mediated communication, and online crowds and communities.