Workshop - ECTEL

1. Fostering young smart citizens
through PLE for
projects.kmi.open.ac.uk/urban-inquiries
Alexandra Okada
Annika Wolff
Alex Mikroyannidis

2. Fostering young smart citizens
through PLE for
How do young citizens engage with
urban inquiries activities on Personal
Learning Environments (PLEs)?

3. Project’s Aim
to equip students to be able to identify and describe
problems or questions scientifically mediated by
social and personal learning environments (PLE)
Questions
What are the benefits and challenges
for developing “co-inquiry” projects?
What are the co-inquiry tools and strategies
useful for teachers and students?
Qualitative study – Initial pilot
5 researchers from Higher Education,
2 science teachers and a class
26 teenagers of a secondary school in the UK
4 lessons (1h30)

4. 1. Three inquiries:
a. Car Wars
b. Energy Consumption
c. Microclimate - Solar panels
2. Virtual ethnography
data production - 161 questions, 126 rates, 56 comments, 27 photos in weSPOT 14
photos in nQuire, 3 maps in LIteMap, 3 reports, 4 posters , 3 project videoclips, 4
lessons recorded, 3 events registered in weSPOT.
3. Data Analytics
Students and Group Participation during 4 lessons
4. Surveys - Pre and Post questionnaires:
a. conceptual knowledge x understanding
b. Nature of Science - Scientific Inquiry skills
c. Epistemic belief
d. Usability
e. Collaboration
d. Cognitive overload
Qualitative Study

5. Energy consumption:
a shorter shower
or banish blow-dries?
SCIENCE-IN-THE-NEWS
websites and video clips
OPEN EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
URBAN DATA
Science Communicators Science Educators Smart City
Researchers

6. MOBILE DATA COLLECTION
Data Inquiry + Visualisation
Storytelling
CO-INQUIRY PROJECT
Dilemma + Discussion
Questioning
COLEARNERS OUTCOMES
Argumentative Mapping
Scientific Report
Science Teacher
Learners & Technologists
Co-inquiry
community
Students
Smart citizens

7. What are the benefits and challenges for developing “co-inquiry”
partnerships?
• Collaboration in authentic scenarios
• Co-authorship in various publications
Students: 3 posters, 3 videos, 1 presentation
Researchers: 3 papers different perspectives
Technologists: Agile software development
What are the co-inquiry tools and strategies
useful for teachers and students?
• weSPOT Questioning: to create, comment and rate
• weSPOT analytics: to encourage participation/feedback
• nQuire spot-it: to collect, discuss & rate data (photo)
• Dilemma: to engage students in “Science-in-Society”
• Data Inquiry: to improve their scientific questions
• Storytelling: to increase understanding
• Group Discussion: to support a student-centered teaching
Challenges
- Some students were not focused to participate online
- Technology was sometimes disruptive
- A few students used weSPOT at home as their own initiative

8. Equipping citizens with knowledge and tools for
responsible participation in society, by being
able to develop evidence-based opinions about
risks and benefits of scientific innovations.
Source: European Commission Report
Responsible Research Innovation

9. SCHOOLS
STUDENTS
EDUCATORS
UNIVERSITIES
PROFESSIONALS
SPECIALISTS
SCIENTISTS
multi-disciplinary
research
RRI
co-Inquiry
data Inquiry
PLE
mobile devices
in/formal Learning
Smart citizenship
PARENTSPEER-Reviewers
Interviews

10. RRI
Science-in-Society
Knowledge
Scientific
Inquiry
Skills
Technology
Urban Inquiries - framework
Smart
cities
IBL
co-inquiry

11. City-school context
Collaboration
Energy
Consumption
Microclimatic
Design
Mobile Data
Collection TECHNOLOGIES
Learning Analytics
Domain Structure
Mind Mapping
Argumentation
Evidence-based report
Responsible
Research and Innovation
Renewable
Non-renewable Oil Gas Coal
Nuclear
Eco-Driving
CO2 Emissions
OPEN
SOCIAL
PERSONAL
Wind
BIG DATA
Sensemaking
Storytelling
Graphs
Data Inquiry
SimulationData analysis
Interpretation
Communication
Smart Citizenship
Scientific Dilemma
Socio-Scientific Issues
Science-in-the-news
Electricity Hydrogen
Biodiesel
Diesel
Petrol
Geothermal
Solar Panels
Energy Transfer
Heater
Games
Questioning
Voting Rating Commenting
Peer-review
Badge
Argumentative
Narratives
Tagging
Participatory Media
Electric
Cars
Group Discussion
Citizen Science
Fossil fuels
Water
Wave
Community-centric applications
Video
Fuel cells
Radiation
High voltage batteries
Conservation
Efficiency
co-Inquiry based Learning
Students
Engagement
Reflective
Practitioners
sensing approaches
Ubiquitous
constraints
Scientific
Literacy
OER
Information visualisation
colearning ecosystems
Educators Professionals
Parents

12. • N Komninos, M Pallot, H Schaffers Special issue on smart cities and the future
internet in Europe. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2013
• Buchem, I.; Pérez-Sanagustín, M. Personal Learning Environments in Smart
Cities: Current Approaches and Future Scenarios. eLearning Papers, 35,
November 2013.
• A J. Dewey. How we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking
to the educative process. Heath: Boston, MA, 1933.
• Okada,A.; Serra,A; Ribeiro, S; Pinto. S. Key skills for co-learning and co-inquiry
in two open platforms: a massive portal (EDUCARED) and a personal
environment (weSPOT) Open Praxis, vol. 7 issue 1, 2015.
• Ratcliffe, M., & Grace, M. Science Education for Citizenship. Open University
Press, 2003
• Vahey, P., Yarnall, L., Patton, C., Zalles, D., & Swan, K. Mathematizing middle
school: Results from a cross-disciplinary study of data literacy. American
Educators Research Association Annual Conference. April, 2006.
• Kinshuk, R. . Ubiquitous Learning Environments and Technologies. Springer,
2014
Contact:
Ale Okada
ale.okada@open.ac.uk

13. Questions
1. What are the role of technologies for co-inquiry and brokering
partnerships? Any example?
2. What are the strategies for mobile learning considering that
students cannot use their mobiles with internet in the school?
3. Do you know any project about partnerships for smart citizenship
among Universities, Schools & Professionals ? What would be the
drivers and catalysts for partnerships?