extending the university 'community': integrating research, learning and community...
DESCRIPTION
In this seminar I explore the challenges facing universities when trying to live up to their commitments towards community engagement and the transformation of the social, cultural and economic environment in the regions they serve. I focus on how the University needs to extend beyond the confines of its campuses and the importance of the curriculum being adaptable to respond to external drivers. I draw on two participatory arts and media projects that I led on behalf of UWS to highlight the opportunities and threats that exist when the University takes its research and learning activities outside the lecture theatre or seminar room - physically and virtually. I will stress that whilst universities rightly focus on the delivery of formal, accredited learning they can also make a significant contribution to their constituencies through the realm of informal learning and the production (and circulation) of open educational resources. I will talk about two externally funded practice-research projects that included significant internal stakeholder involvement across UWS. The first of these is citizenrelay, a project that made an impact on the practices of the University by recruiting students as producers of content, providing them with opportunities for volunteering and other paid employment and that brought about discussion of curriculum changes as a result. Second, I will focus on an ongoing project, Digital Commonwealth, which takes UWS staff and students outside the boundaries of their traditional practice by working with community groups and organisations in the regions around our four campuses and beyond to deliver formal and informal learning in the fields of creative practice (songwriting, filmmaking, creative writing), journalism and community development.TRANSCRIPT
Extending the University 'community': Integrating Research, Learning and
Community Engagement
Professor David McGillivraySchool of Creative & Cultural Industries, UWS
@dgmcgillivray
Me - Predominantly a researcher with interests in event and digital cultures - Also Joint Faculty Post Holder with Centre for Academic Practice & Learning Development (CAPLed) - Chair of Student Experience Learning & Teaching Forum (SELT) - Interested in ‘practice-led’, ‘practice-based’ research & wider L&T benefits
External drivers - Teaching and learning in ‘public’ - Changing learning environments - not always on campus:
- Social/digital media bringing outside in - Emergence of porous institutions - ‘Mobile’ pedagogies: esp in creative/media education - External funding pressures: making R & KE work for staff/students
Internal drivers - ‘Situated learning’: in creative practice - Embedding UWS in (learning) communities (of practice and place) - Employability/WRL: real world experiences - Extension of research into online and social media ‘communities’ and event cultures (http://www.creativefutur.eu/)- Challenging orthodoxy of the University (estate) as the predominant space of learning
CASE STUDY 1: #citizenrelayJournalism, events, creative
practice60 reporters
Smartphones & flip camsMobile newsroom (a
minibus)June 2012 Olympic Torch
Relay
Small, alternative or citizen media offers space for the digitally empowered citizen to break stories, become media makers
and storytellers of the now
digital tools permit flattened hierarchies, enabling citizens to participate in leisure cultures (e.g. mega events) to subvert
controlled narratives and create alternative, localised readings outside of
commercial media platforms
The theory
#citizenrelay used a hybrid media environment,
including blogs and social media, to mobilise,
organise and discuss issues pertaining the
Olympic Torch Relay in real time
Integrated media
Partnershi
p
Alternative Learning Spaces
Open data
Connectedness
Localit
y
Curriculum lag
Curriculum lag
Knowledge gaps
Industry standard
Flexible curriculum
Outcomes:
- Generated public engagement- Generated conversations (digital media/literacy/policy, research impact) - Generated reputational capital (inside/outside)
Case study 2: Digital
Commonwealth (@DigCW2014)
Building on strong
foundations
Creative response to the Commonwealth(Games) from across Scotland, involving diverse range of individuals/communities
Community media clusters-community media cafes and digital storytelling workshops
Schools programme - in-school digital storytelling workshops with primary and secondary learners in Scotland’s 32 local authorities
Creative voices- documentary film, creative writing and community songwriting around UWS campuses
DigitalCommon
Wealth
DigitalCommon
Wealth
Themes
Place - local, national, international, virtual
People- diversity, migration, participation
Culture- language, art, music, film, literature, sport
- Exchange- common-weal, values, learning
Project principles
‘common-weal’
Common (s) purpose
Ownership
Collaboration
Sharing Accessibility Archiving
Embedding Faculty
Employing students/gradu
ates
Informing curriculum
Piloting OER & Open Badges
Research ‘impacts’
Practice impacts
Concluding thoughts- If strategic, opportunity to bring University closer to its constituencies- Curriculum needs to be flexible enough to permit student involvement- Knowledge exchange/transfer can be more than a third leg venture BUT requires detailed planning- Sustainability of collaborations/partnerships vital but resource intensive- Institutional rhetoric needs to be backed up with appropriate systems and support
Thank you & questions
[email protected] http://www.citizenrelay.net
http://www.digitalcommonwealth.co.uk