Use of Personal Learning

Environments by Security

and Investigation

Professionals

Preparing for Presentation to thePersonal Learning Environments Conference

Berlin, July 11, 2013

A.E. (Tony) RatcliffeUniversity of Leicester

Overview

• Getting it ready

• The content

Getting it Ready

• Acceptance process, full paper, 8K

• Template

• Shepherding and other review

• Presentation

• Publication

The Content

Introduction

• Certification and ongoing learning after hiring

• Missed opportunities – collaboration, online tech

• Security management is one

• Network and collaborate f2f, some online

• Corporate security roles

Literature

• Informal, non-formal, and formal learning

• Personal learning environments and personal

learning networks

• Digital literacy skills

• Communities of practice and online affinity spaces

Research Question

• How are security management and investigation

professionals using personal learning

environments (PLEs) and digital literacies for

work-based learning and, in particular, continuing

professional development?

Research Design

• Exploratory, global

• Test instruments, but more to inform main study

• Qualitative description methodology, to provide a

“straight description of phenomena”

(Sandelowski, 2000)

• Reach large numbers followed by personal

interviews with small number

Sampling plan

• Non-probability, convenience, purposeful

• Requests posted in 13 discussion groups

• From 67 completed questionnaires, 11 interviews

Tools

• FluidSurveys

• Skype

• f5

• Dragon Dictate

• NVivo 9

Ethical Considerations

• University Research Ethics Code of Practice

• Association of Internet Researchers (guide)

• Other literature

• No issues of concern, posting for participants

• Moving forward, ethical issues to be addressed

later

Results

• 137 accessed questionnaire over 20 days

• 67 completed questionnaire

• 35 willing for interview

• 17 countries

• 91% male; 9% female (1 not specified)

• Under 35 - 1, 65 or older – 3, 35-64 - 62

• Canada (36%), UK (22%), USA (10%), Australia (7%)

Results

• 10 Skype or Skype to telephone interviews

• 1 email interview

• 21 to 78 minutes

• 6 guiding questions

Analysis

• 2 major themes

• Online activities

• Online challenges

Online activities

• From questionnaire

• Read group/discussion messages, 67%

frequent, 31% infrequent

• Respond to discussion messages, 96%, but 76%

infrequent

Other activities

Asked them about:

• Starting discussion topics

• Starting discussion topics by linking to an

article, story, etc.

• Writing blog posts

• Posting updates on Twitter, Facebook, or other social

media

• Gaming such as World of Warcraft

• Activities in a virtual world, such as Second Life

Response

• The highest participation by activity was

29%, providing regular updates on social media

Asked to identify other

activities

• Email

• Work related research

• Course work including research, online study portals, podcasts, course discussion boards

• Online training programmes for software and products

• Skype for overseas contacts

• Webinars, webcasts, and podcasts

• Virtual conferences

• YouTube for research including conferences and speakers

• Educational programming from Khan Academy and iTunesU

• News from local, national, and international sources

• Reading

• Restricted professional forums or sites

• Internet communities

• Language learning

Other Activities cont.

• Completing professional certifications

• Mentoring

• Solving client problems beyond own experience

• Sharing organisation knowledge with the public

• Maintaining currency in relation to industry trends

• Relationships with learners when teaching within online course platform

• Finding hard copy text books to order, preferring over e-books

More Activities Identified in

Interviews

• Presentations from BrightTALK and TED Talks

• Global communication

• Making learning continuous, even after the course ends

• Accessing the opinions of many people, from different sides of an issue

• Course learning from anywhere

• Email distribution lists, as frequent as several times daily

• Using videos from YouTube when teaching subject area in which instructor does not have expertise

• Text alerts of major happenings before the news

Challenges with Online

Activities

• Current methods adequate, no need for online to

develop network, lack of need for information

feeds

• Concern with being accountable, ie to HR

• Security

• Privacy

• Authenticity

Conclusions

• Consumers more than contributors

• Concern with activity level to justify being

communities of practice

• Participatory culture missing

• Failed to identify those who ARE participating and

contributing

Future Research

• Main study for PhD

• Focus on identifying demonstrating collaboration

and sharing

• Seek examples of those using PLE as a Zone of

Proximal Development