Reading Source:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321500148X
The preparation reading this week was a journal article published by Austin, Hunter et al based on the research completed to ‘promote community cohesion and assesses the role that information and communications technology (ICT) can play to encourage collaboration within a social psychology framework.’
The article first informs you about past efforts used to try encourage community cohesion. The various methods initially stated were ‘Integrated education’, ‘Common curriculum’ and ‘Shared education’. All three of these efforts I believe made positive strides towards the goal of community cohesion as Niens et al (2013) states ‘while the curriculum has had the effect of making a difference to pupils’ attitudes, there was considerable added value for both the pupils and teachers when contact was part of joint study of the curriculum.’ After exploring other means to aid community cohesion, the use of technology was considered more recently. This effort seemed to be very positive as ‘the most recent research indicated that even a year after the contact came to an end, pupils were reported as displaying more tolerance than matched pupils who had not been involved (Austin, Rickard, Austin, Smyth, & Grace, 2014).’
The rest of the article discusses the epartners program that used past efforts to build upon the progress linking schools through technology made. The program ‘was set up by the Ulster University in 2013–2014 as a partnership between the School of Education and the Department for Widening Access.’ The main program used throughout this study was Fronter which is a Virtual Learning Environment. From my own research into Fronter I learnt ‘East Barnet School were the first secondary school in the UK to actually adopt a VLE and have been using Fronter as the chosen Virtual Learning Environment platform since Autumn 2006. Fronter has been acknowledged as a leader in its market, and one of only 10 Learning Platform Service Suppliers to be certified by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) in the UK.’ http://www.eastbarnetschool.com/parents/fronter-vle/
The outcome of this study found that many of the children did not find issues with working collaboratively with their peers of different backgrounds or religious beliefs. As Barber & Cooper (2012) states, children do not come to school with one set of experiences, differences in social and cultural background influence the amount of exposure a child has to computers and the internet. The sectarianism in Northern Ireland was not apparent as some people associated with the study may have believed. Overall, the four broad conclusions drawn from this study are as follows:
‘First, the use of technology, while not without some technical problems, can be used effectively as a link between schools.
Second, a strong focus on non-contentious areas of the curriculum has been shown to engage both teachers and pupils at a level that is not threatening and can provide a valuable platform for genuinely collaborative work which has clear academic value.
Third, the support of the churches and a range of other stakeholders in the epartners program has provided a valuable building block for further work.
Finally, the use of ICT with university student support offers a highly cost-effective means of harnessing existing resources, both human and technological, to address a problem which is a drain on the public purse and a barrier to community cohesion. At a theoretical level, it adds a further element to our understanding of the types of contact that are likely to be productive within the framework of the contact hypothesis. In that sense, although the focus for this piece of research is in Northern Ireland, we hope that it has resonance wherever the negative effects of separate and parallel lives can be mitigated by purposeful contact.’ In support of this, Selwyn argues “many psychologists would now share the view that learning is a profoundly social process” (2011:76).
Through further research and reading I found this YouTube video from Bill Hunter (one of the authors of the source article) which is very informational about online learning and community cohesion.
References:
Austin, R., Hunter, B. & Hollywood, L. (2015) Computers in Human Behaviour, Supporting community cohesion through ICT: The epartners programme in Northern Ireland, Londonderry: Elsevier Ltd, accessible here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321500148X
Barber, D. & Cooper, L. (2012) Using New Web Tools in the Primary Classroom, London: Routledge
East Barnet School (2017) accessible here: http://www.eastbarnetschool.com/parents/fronter-vle/
Hunter, B. (2014) Bill Hunter – Online learning and community cohesion, YouTube video, accessible here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJpqS6Py4uc
Selwyn, N. (2011) Education and Technology, London: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
Hi Josh, your focus on this article expresses the importance of computing in bringing communities communities together and your comment on the importance of VLE highly valuable. Do you think the support staff aided in the use of these effectively?
I think all the support staff and university students aided in the process of making the project a success as the authors mentioned how useful they were.