= KPa ‘NOWLEDGE PRACTICES LABORATORY TRIALOGICAL LEARNING A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS January 2010 Information Society ‘Technologies SCIENTER® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our thanks to the whole KP-Lab project team whose partners shared their ideas with us and provided us with their input and feedback. Particular thanks goes to Sami Paavola and Jerry Andriessen for their valuable input concerning trialogical learning in different contexts. Without their help and advice, we would not have been able to compose this handbook. We would also like to thank Simona Feletti for all her work on the layout of this book. Disclaimer: The content of this document does not necessarily reflect the view or legislation of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor the project partners or any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of the information in this document. & SCIENTER Page 2 of 62®KP-Lab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK... CHAPTER 2 THINK TRIALOGICAL OR THE GENERIC PROCESS MODEL FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING. HOW TRIALOGICAL LEARNING EVOLVED = BACKGROUND... ‘TRIALOGICAL LEARNING PROCESSES — VISUALISED AND EXPLAINED... ‘SO WHAT IS INNOVATIVE ABOUT TRIALOGICAL LEARNING? = ‘TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN A NUTSHELL— 8 Basic IDEAS. CHAPTER 3. TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING ‘THE KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT (KPE) sss Different “views” for different purposes... (CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE ARTEFACTS vss. Document management. 23 wiki 23 Note Editor 24 Sketch Pad 25 Comment and Semantic Tagging, 5 Visual Modelling (Language) Editor. PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES. ToDoToo! 29 Calendar. ns senna 30 Chat - One-to-one and context-bound 31 Map-IT and Meeting Management Tool (M2T) 32 MANAGING SOCIAL RELATIONS AROUND SHARED OBIECTS.... Group management 35 Forum 35 Group email & SCIENTER Page 3 of 62®KP-Lab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers CHAPTER 4 TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN ACTION OR A PROCESS MODEL FOR TEACHERS ....38 ‘TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO IN TEACHER EDUCATION vssststcunstatansieutinenestnanensnes 38 Context 38 This scenario demonstrates. sv sooner 39 Learning Objective 39 Activities, 40 Tools 4B MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDENT TEAM WORK AND A REAL CUSTOMER... 44 Context. Ab This scenario demonstrates. sa onl Learning Objectives Aa Activities 45 Tools. AG TTRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN OTHER PEDAGOGICAL SETTING 8 CHAPTER 5 DESIGN YOUR OWN TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SYSTEM 49 BEFORE STARTING: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS A TEACHER? sn eoninnaneneneneneneneninnnines 49 DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING rs ssese soontnnanennnnanenenaneninnsse SO RECOMMENDATION AND ACTIVITIES TO PLAN YOUR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO ssssnatenesnees 52 ‘A CHECKLIST FOR YOUR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO... 62 & SCIENTER Page 4 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK If you are teacher working in higher education, teacher training, or professional networks and you want to prepare your students for the challenges of the knowledge society ~ then this handbook is for you You already know just how important this preparation is, and you are certainly not alone - this concern is shared across the globe. Here is what others have had to say on the matter. “Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime. Information development was slow. The life of knowledge was measured in decades. Today, these foundational principles have been altered. Knowledge is growing exponentially.”* “[..] various changes in modern society form [are characterised by] 1) _ the rapid development of new technology which has formed and is all the time forming qualitatively new possibilities for distributed interaction and collaboration 2) the pressure to create~ and learn deliberately to create — new knowledge and transform existing practices in various areas of life, and 3) the complexity of modern society which requires people to combine their expertise to solve emerging and often unforeseen complex problems.”* “Our students have changed radically. Today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”* You might be working with digital native learners, who are used to receiving information quickly from multiple multimedia sources, who prefer learning that is relevant, instantly useful and fun. Even if your students are not digital natives, and were born before, say 1980, George Siemens (2004). Connective: A Lasrning Theory far the Digital Ags. ralBeticlas/connectivismahtm accessed in October 2004 Sami Paavola, Ritva Enestrom & Kai Hakkarainen, Trislosical Aporoach as a New Form of Mediation. ln: Moen, A. Merch, A, and Paavola, S, (Eds). Collaborative Knowledge Creation: Practices, Tools, and Concepts httpi//unm. kno wledaenractices info/wik/index php 7title-Handbook on Trialogical Learn ‘Accessed in October 2010 Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(3), 2-2. wow marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky920-9%20Djgital%20Na tives, %20Digital%20|mmigrants920.220Part1 pdf ‘Accessed in October 2010 & SCIENTER Page 5 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers they will be working in rather different, even unrelated fields of life-time as members of a society were learning and working are not any longer separated. Bearing this concern in mind, you might want to read this handbook, which suggests teaching practices that address the types of challenges faced by students today. You might want to read about how you can facilitate the creation of new knowledge that is collaboratively shared and developed further by your students in and beyond your classroom. The purpose of this handbook is to introduce innovative pedagogical principles and practices that can be used for advancing new knowledge in different contexts, The Trialogical Learning Approach has been developed within a project called KP-Lab; an acronym for Knowledge Practice Laboratory. During the project's life cycle theories, tools, practical models, and research methods were developed to deliberately advance the ways in which knowledge is created and that help to transform knowledge practices in education and in the workplace. This initiative received funding from the European Union for 5 years starting in 2006. A large multinational team of experts in pedagogy, knowledge management and software development which included both researchers and technologists tested and applied trialogical learning in various settings including universities, workplaces and informal learning contexts in order to carry out research into new forms of collaboration and knowledge advancement. An important goal of this initiative was to provide models that can serve as useful tools for teachers/educators, empowering them as professionals in the development of learning environments. These models were intended to support the work of teachers and trainers when guiding their students in rich technological learning environments. This handbook is a concrete outcome of this long-term commitment. Another output is an online environment designed to suit collaborative knowledge advancement, called the “knowledge Practice Environment (KPE)”. You will learn a more about KPE later on in this handbook. But before talking about tools, you will first read in Chapter 2 about some of the concepts and theories that underpin the Trialogical Learning Approach as well as some of the ideas that are central to an understanding of what constitutes trialogical learning. This chapter includes a model of typical trialogical learning processes. At the end of this chapter, basic features of the approach are listed, so if you want to jump directly to the chapters dealing with tools or practical examples in educational contexts, we suggest you first read the final section in Chapter 2, Trialogical learning in a nutshell - so you have at least a basic grasp of what this approach entails. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to technological tools that support trialogical learning activities for three purposes: coordinating processes, managing social relations around shared objects, and elaborating on knowledge artefacts. & ScIENTER Page 6 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Two cases studies in which trialogical learning is put into practice are described in chapter 4, In this chapter you can find out more about how teacher students in the Netherlands deepened their professional knowledge and how a multidisciplinary course in project management in Finland used trialogical learning to provide students with a learning experience that enabled them to acquire sophisticated knowledge creation and management skills Chapter 5 has been tallored to meet your needs as 4 pedagogical practitioner. With practical recommendations, some activities to work on and a checklist, it will help you to design your own trialogical learning scenario for your learners. Let’s get started, & ScIENTER Page 7 of 62®KP-Lab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers CHAPTER 2 THINK TRIALOGICAL OR THE GENERIC PROCESS MODEL FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING HOW TRIALOGICAL LEARNING EVOLVED - BACKGROUND Before presenting some examples from different educational contexts that employ the Trialogical Learning Approach, this section will provide some background to the approach and will introduce some basic notions and concepts that will help you to better understand this innovative approach to enhancing knowledge creation and management in a learning context. If you are more interested in practical examples, then feel free to simply skip this chapter and move directly to chapter 3. Two existing approaches to learning are important for understanding the background to trialogical learning, these are Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning. Inquiry-based learning is learning that is organised around questions, finding explanations, theories, and scientific information in the cycle of deepening inquiry, discussion, and reflection. Page 8 of 62®KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Constructing saVorking Theories Creating the Context Ciitical Evaluation Refocusing Tnguiry jenerating = Subordinate Questions Figure o} Inguiry-Based Learning from Hakkarainen, 2004) Project-based learning (PBL) is learning that takes place when learners work on a complex real-world authentic question or problem and try to come up with answers and solutions in a collaborative process of investigation over an extended period of time. This kind of learning also requires inquiry but furthermore something new is created, One form of PBL is Design- based learning, where students learn about content while designing an object or prototype, and this form has the potential to dramatically increase student learning by incorporating design experiences into the study of science. Typical steps involve: describing the current situation, identifying needs, developing criteria, generating alternatives and making choices, creating a prototype and evaluating/reflecting on the results*. Students work co-operatively and actively on multidisciplinary tasks. Another concept that constitutes the foundation of the trialogical approach is the knowledge creation metaphor of learning. To understand this metaphor let's first refer to two well known metaphors for learning against which is should be considered. First, the Knowledge acquisition metaphor which describes the effort of @ single learner who individually internalizes a body of knowledge; this metaphor comes closest to the folk theory of mind, Hokkarainen, K. (2003). Emergence of progressive inquiry culture in computer-supported collaborative lerning Learning Environments Research, 6(2), 199-220. ‘Those steps are taken from a scheme by Mehalik, M. ML, & Doppelt,¥, & Schunn, C.D. (2008). Middl through design-based learning versus scripted inquiry: Better overall science concept learning and equity gap reduction Journal of Engineering Education, (2), 7-85. pit & SCIENTER Page 9 of 62 school science® KPLab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Secondly, a different concept of learning is described by the social participation metaphor, here learning is viewed as a process in which a group of people collaboratively appropriate a body of knowledge.” Without the need to make @ wide-reaching conceptual analysis of different models and terms used’, it is important to present the knowledge-creation metaphor —_which represents a new understanding which has evolved with the rapid changes and demands of today’s society as already discussed in the introduction, — This metaphor is made more tangible given the increased availability of technology which is designed to support human learning; technology that offers quick and easy access to up-to-date knowledge and provides tools for knowledge sharing and creation, which is not constrained by geographic proximity. One of the core ideas which is central to the trialogical approach is that commonly created artefacts (see Box 1) are at the center of activities. These artefacts are modified and commented on iteratively in trialogical learning, The trialogical learning approach suggests organizing work and learning around those artefacts. This idea of learning is considered to fit well with current ideas about workplace learning or organizational learning, networked learning or the learning that takes place in open source community (See figure below). ‘This distinction is introduced by Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), #23. Recommended further reading: Peavola, S, Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2008). Models of innovative learning ‘communities and three metaphors for learning btto://urw. helsinki i/behav/valinnat/2006/valintakoskysyrnvkset06/AikuiskasvatustiedeMO06 sinsistotekstidf ‘Accessed in October 2010 & SCIENTER Page 10 of 62Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers The squlsion pardeipation ‘metaphor ‘mctaphor — “moclopicl” within. “atopic” ind apres ‘wrtion ‘reston speapaer ialgica” developing Aeaborave aed objects td Figure 6): Three metaphors of learning “Speaking very generally, the acquisition perspective, (represented in this diagram as the acquisition metaphor) focuses on knowledge and knowledge structures in learning and processes of learning within individuals’ minds. The participation perspective (represented in this diagram as the participation metaphor) emphasizes the meaning of social practices and activities as bases for learning. And the knowledge creation perspective focuses on analyzing the processes whereby new knowledge and new mediating objects of activity are collaboratively created, whether in schools or at work."* ‘An new understanding of learning as described above has its roots in research work related to Knowledge Building which is a rather new discipline as compared to pedagogy and instructional design, which examines the processes people use in creating ideas, and solving, in a sustained way, knowledge problems by modifying and commenting collaboratively upon each other's’ ideas, often with the use of external means and support mechanisms. This field has largely emerged in business administration, library and information science and management studies. S. Paavola, L.Lipponen, and K, Hakkarainen. Models of Innovative Knowledge Communities and Three Metaphors of Learning’. Review of Educational Research, 74(4)'557-576, 2004. Page 573 & SCIENTER Page 11 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Within the field of knowledge management 2 number of practices have been developed ‘that provid input to the Trialogical Learning Approach, e.g. setting up communities of practice, learning networks, sharing best practices and knowledge mapping’. These are all different ways to support knowledge creation processes in organisations that provide methods for making implicit knowledge explicit for the use of the whole organisation. Much of this discussion has emerged in the business world and is linked to experiences related to business management processes. In the Trialogical Learning Approach, researchers aim to further develop these collaborative knowledge creation processes. Furthermore, cultural historical activity theory, also called cultural historical psychology, also plays a role here. This is the theory that builds on the idea that human activities are mediated by artefacts and tools, used and modified by succeeding generations of human beings and grounded in practical, everyday activities. The Trialogical Learning Approach takes these ideas on the meaning of practical and tool mediated processes further in the context of learning practices particularly related to knowledge creation with the help of new digital technology. Ideas and concepts originating in the field of Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) also feed into the Trialogical Learning Approach as @ way to understand collaborative learning and knowledge advancement in a technology-rich environment. A central idea of this field of research and practice is that the quality of learning is different when working in pairs or groups. The group activities require a higher degree of self- evaluation and meta-cognition and create a situation in which even the more knowledgeable group members benefit from working collaboratively. Technological tools are designed in order to scaffold learning and to support the articulation of thought by individual learners for the benefit of the entire group”. [An short overview on knowledge management practices i offered at utp /anw. skyrme,com/resource/kmbasis.htmPractices accessed in October 2010 ‘Miyake, N,, 2007, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, in R. Andrews & C. Haythornthuaite, " Elearning Research," London: Sage Publications, & ScIENTER Page 12 of 62®KP-Lab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers TRIALOGICAL LEARNING PROCESSES — VISUALISED AND EXPLAINED Let us now turn to the Trialogical Learning itself. The term describes all those forms of learning where people are collaboratively developing and transforming concrete “objects” in a systematic fashion, The focus on shared objects is set to foster shared epistemic agency (see Box 3). There are a number of processes which typically occur during a trialogical learning. These processes are illustrated in the model below (Figure c). It is a generic model in the sense that it visualizes the core trialogical learning activities. The model does not imply that these occur in a strict and pre-defined order, the specific order in practice depends on the particular domain and educational setting where they are applied (see chapter 4). Page 13 of 62®KP-Lab Nd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers External communities and organisations DEVELOPED © —> EXISTING KNOWLEDGE ARTEFACTS: KNOWLEDGE —— EXISTING PRACTICES: ARTEFACTS/ ‘TRANSFORMED _ xe ~nkdon media ‘SHARED OBJECTS (og version, tts, plans nots, Fractoes processes) earns ra Ene Figure c): A generic model for the trailogical learning process. ‘As can be seen in the graphic, there are six concrete activities that occur in technology mediated processes which are all centred around working on shared objects. The activities are divided into two different groups (blue and green) to highlight two parallel but closely interlinked processes. They are separated to emphasise the role of both sets of processes in trialogical knowledge creation activities: a) One process (blue) of trialogical learning is the collaborative work for developing knowledge artefacts. Learning trialogically means that the goal of the collaborative activity is “not [only] to learn something (i.e., to change, or simply add to their own mental states) but to solve problems, originate new thoughts, and advance communal knowledge. In other words, their goal is to create new & SCIENTER Page 14 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers knowledge and add the value of conceptual artefacts.”"" b) The other parallel process (as shown above in green) is linked to the transformation of common processes and practices supporting this work Let us go through each one of the processes. A ® ig real purpose and need for creating new knowledge / for transforming practices A central starting point is that the learning community aims at producing knowledge artefacts and learn practices which have “real” use, that is, something which is not made just for the purpose of the specific learning context (like an exam or an essay to be checked by the teacher) but which can be reused later on. Connected to this element is the re-use of previously produced knowledge artefacts and practices (see process F) B_ framing questions and epistemic challenges / common process organization This is a kind of a brainstorming phase for the overall knowledge creation challenge and for the ways of organizing the process. It often requires a variety of different activities and tools rather than more elaborate work with knowledge artefacts but should already produce some concrete outcomes with which the group can work (notes, sketches, idea lists, outlines etc), C_ Drafting and versioning knowledge artefacts and solutions / process plans and models Very early on participants are encouraged to start drafting concrete knowledge artefacts which are meant to be early versions of the final products. The core idea of trialogical learning is that these drafts are then concretely elaborated and versioned by participants throughout the process. Some of these knowledge artefacts are meant to function as a means for the final end products. Similarly, process plans (process models, task definitions, responsibilities, timetables, milestones, etc.) are drafted and elaborated by participants during the process for deliberate organization and monitoring of shared activities. S. Paavola, L.Lipponen, and K, Hakkarainen. Models of Innovative Knowledge Communities and Three Metaphors of Learning’. Review of Educational Research, 74(4)'557-576, 2004. Page 561 & ScIENTER Page 15 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers D__ Examining and reflecting on produced knowledge artefacts / enacted practices Both knowledge artefacts developed and enacted practices are constantly scrutinized and evaluated during the process in order to ensure the quality of the knowledge artefacts produced and practices enacted. The participants critically evaluating the overall status of the knowledge artefacts that have been produced and the activities and practices which have been conducted. Appropriate technology can provide support for this in the form of various views into the shared virtual working areas and analytic tools. There should also be room for presenting alternatives, questions, conceptualizations, visualizations, links, tags, ete. in relation to things which have already been developed. ing produced knowledge artefacts / process models and practices Knowledge artefacts and practices are meant to be used later on (by others or by participants themselves later on). They must be finalized and explained for that purpose, F Reusing knowledge artefacts / practices This element has a double role in the model. On the one hand, in the starting phases of trialogical knowledge creation processes, existing knowledge artefacts and practices are utilized as building materials and models for new development, On the other hand, a central aim of trialogical learning is to produce reusable knowledge artefacts and practices, meaning that the participants’ knowledge creation and development work has a real meaning for other people in the future. & ScIENTER Page 16 of 62® KP-Lab jolene Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers SO WHAT IS INNOVATIVE ABOUT TRIALOGICAL LEARNING? — During our introduction of trialogical learning and its scientific roots, we hope you have been able to spot several innovative aspects about this approach: "The extent to which it supports advanced knowledge creation processes which merge project realisation tasks with acquiring sophisticated knowledge creation skills, in other words, learners are supported in advancing their knowledge creation skills while realising practical real-life knowledge creation projects. = Its contribution towards overcoming polarities (dichotomies) that still exist in the background of many approaches to learning, for example, between individualistic learning vs. social approaches to learning, tacit knowledge vs. explicit knowledge, conceptual knowledge vs. practices by emphasising collaborative work for creating and developing artefacts and practices together. "The way in which it supports both idea-driven work with epistemic artefacts (in line with inquiry learning) and organised work for developing processes, communities and practices around these artefacts (in line with project-based learning). = The manner in which it provides the means to analyse what is happening in iterative, long-term collaborative work which includes jointly versioning, commenting and developing artefacts with knowledge artefacts. + This approach actively promotes the teaching of knowledge practices that are needed in modern knowledge work; e.g., working in teams, planning and developing products jointly for later use, reflecting and developing one’s ways of working. = The way in which it has facilitated the creation of a set of technologies which not only support mediation and reflection but also enable researchers to measure the impact of mediation and reflection on the knowledge creation process. * This approach focuses on changing practices which means that the artefacts that are produced and the practices that are modified are re-usable outside the narrow pedagogical confines of the research setting. "This approach has been piloted with KP-Lab technology in several higher education courses and contexts and been the subject of considerable research effort. This effort has led to the creation of a significant evidence-base related to innovative knowledge creation practices. & ScIENTER Page 17 of 62® KPLab ad Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN A NUTSHELL — 8 BASIC IDEAS This chapter presented the cornerstones of the Trialogical Learning Approach to you; it explained how to think trialogically in a general sense without making reference to examples in the classroom, or more generally, in the teaching and learning domain. Before moving on to chapter 3 and to describing some examples of its application in reablife, let us summarize the main ideas. SCIENTER Page 18 of 62®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers CHAPTER 3 TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING The Trialogical Approach emphasises a specific approach to learning which takes place when a group of individuals works together and collaboratively advances each group member's knowledge through collaborative ways of creating and developing knowledge artefacts. In the previous chapter we argued that trialogical learning builds this recent idea about learning, which fits particularly well with technology-rich learning environments. Its novelty is to view the learning process from the knowledge creation perspective focusing on innovation and transformation of knowledge practices. A precondition for working trialogically is that every user can share his knowledge in a common space to develop collective knowledge by creating new means and new awareness, enriching both the group and the subjects. This process is possible with a specific set of tools to create, transform and elaborate knowledge and sharing ideas and individual means that foster collaborative work and high-level responsibility for the knowledge creation processes. ‘The KP-Lab project developed technological tools to facilitate this kind of learning This chapter aims to describe the main tool that supports you as teacher to advance individual as well as group knowledge: the Knowledge Practice Environment. The following sections are meant to be a straightforward guide to help you getting acquainted with tools that allow students to work collaboratively ~ although being in different place - and advance individual and group knowledge. THE KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT (KPE) An efficient collaborative environment requires an integrated structure in which it is possible to provide certain functionalities to sustain a collaborative work with shared common objects". It should not rely on fixed folder structures or hierarchical presentation of the content. Instead the KP-Lab project set out to develop an integrated offer, i.e. one platform to support collaborative knowledge creation, a modular, flexible, and extensible ICT system that supports pedagogical methods to foster knowledge creation in educational and workplace settings. KPE users are able to build collaboration environments by creating and configuring the means, as opposed to operating in predefined structures, of the common practice. The software is designed to mediate various aspects (epistemic, pragmatic, social, reflective) of collaborative work in an integrated way which can be called “multimediation”. KPE is structured to help a group of learners to 2 htto-/vus kp lab org/tools/knowledge-practices environment, accessed in October 2010 & SCIENTER Page 19 of 62fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers * Plan, organize and coordinate processes, ie. support task allocation, creation of common appointments and events, to do lists = Manage social relations around shared objects, i.e. allowing for chats and comments specifically on documents, graphs, schemes developed by the group and to support the creation of a common vocabulary in the learning domain. * Create, transform and elaborate knowledge artefacts, i.e. building, elaborating and sharing knowledge artefacts and to achieve the collective goals. KPE is designed to provide specific affordances for joint development; concrete, epistemic objects as will as for planning, organizing and reflecting on relate tasks user networks (see Markkanen et al. 2008). The software can be adapted to various practices, and is suitable and useful in various domains of knowledge thus enabling end-user appropriation. It provides a shared knowledge space with versatile tools for developing and managing knowledge artefacts, organizing processes and people, and reflecting on practices from several perspectives. The virtual environment includes a set of integrated tools that: ‘+ working spaces with realtime and history-based awareness + wikis + comment and chat function + semantic tagging and search to working with the shared knowledge objects. Different “views” for different purposes The KPE Shared Space enables viewing the knowledge objects and their relations from different perspectives. There are four main views to support the first three dimensions of trialogical activities (see above), namely the content view, the tailored view, the process view and the community view. Mi. Lakkala, S.Paavola,K. Kosonen, H. Muukkonen, M. Bauters & H. Markkanen “Main functionalities ofthe Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE} affording knowledge creation practices in education” In: Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Practices - CSCL2009 Community Events Proceedings. & SCIENTER Page 20 of 62*®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Figured): ‘Main tools and features of KPE Content, process, community and specialised view each come with various tools and functionalities to enable versatile and flexible creation, connection, organization and reflection of the material in Shared Space. These tools are highly integrated in these main Views to enable object-bound development as well as flexible connection and organization of all information related to the knowledge objects, processes and people concerned. Let us now have a closer look at these different views. & SCIENTER Page 21 of 62®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE ARTEFACTS A central view in KPE for working on knowledge artefacts is the Content View. This view allows for creation and uploading of content items intoa shared space, free visual arrangement and linking of content items and other objects, as well as filtering of items based on metadata and tags. Content View in KPE Learners can arrange their created artefacts in a mind map like fashion to demonstrate their relation towards each other. These artefacts can range from word and excel documents, pictures and wikis. The workspace view allows for easier reuse of these new knowledge artefacts due to the availability of information related to the evolution of creation process of objects which provides a base to the group of learners continue to work to increase this new knowledge, facilitating users’ work,'* The tools available in the content view are designed to increase the active role of all learners, which can lead to higher motivation and shared responsibility in an iterative process aimed at achieving common goals in an efficient collaborative way. The main tools available on KPE to creating, transforming and elaborating knowledge artefacts are: 4 htto-/vum knowledgoractices info accessed in November 2010 & SCIENTER Page 22 of 62®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Document management Document sharing allows you to upload your files or other media content in a common space where all the members can access, view or download the materials. The tool works like a common library in which it is possible to store, manage, found and exchange resources for the groups knowledge advancement. Document management is the key to offer a resource environment where all learners can upload drafts, pictures, links, media, maps and notes about tasks to make them accessible to all team members. Documents can be exported to Google Docs; the functionalities can be summarized as: = Export a document = Share a document with other Google accounts = Search a text in all the documents present on the Google Docs Wiki Wikis are web pages that allow anybody to edit, add, remove or change the content in a quick and easy way, with an interface similar to a word processing software. Wikis are a very efficient tool for collaboration based on the fundamental idea of sharing knowledge with each learner being able to contribute to the content creation and thus playing an active role. Moreover, they enable the exchange of ideas and they facilitate group interaction BEE Figure e): Wiki page inside KPE Wiki SCIENTER Page 23 of 62®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Wikis are an extremely flexible tool because they reside on the web; therefore they allow many people to work on the same document from different places at different times. Moreover, on the wiki pages itis possible to add links to other resources. In a wiki you and your learners can add or correct a content that already exists, but it is also possible to create new texts without changing the structure of the site. The KPE wiki has a page history function which allows learners to see the evolution of their work over time, making progress visible to all group members. Wiki document can be added as content item in the Content View which offers the possibility to access the same wiki document from Shared Spaces. It is possible to link to ages in other work spaces that you are member of.* The basic functions related to a KPE wiki are: = Add, editing, deleting a wikipage = Commenting on wikipage + Attach a file and adding links Note Editor The Note Editor is an editor that enables writing and/or editing of a simple text object, referred to as a note object, without the need for an external application. The basic idea is that it would be used for easy idea construction and elaboration. The note editor is linked to the “note” object in that it is the manner by which a note's content can be edited/modified. The idea behind the note editor would be that it is not a replacement for applications such as MS Word, but rather a very simple editor that is tightly integrated into the already existing Shared Space tool. —_ rovers wom 0 5 htto://2d mobile evtek fi/help/index pho/KP-Environment Wiki, accessed in October 2010 & SCIENTER Page 24 of 62®KP-Lab fener rer Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Figure fi: Opening the Note Editor from within the Shared Space With Note Editor user can directly write their ideas and thoughts as content items in a shared space, without the labor of creating and uploading an external text file (Furnadziev, Tuchoumatchenko, Vasileva & Lakkala). All members of a space can open and edit the crated notes and view their previous versions. Furthermore, users can open manly notes simultaneously for comparison and integration, and link notes to other content items in the Content View. The implementation of Note Editor in KPE is a simple but powerful tool for collaborative knowledge creation.’* Sketch Pad” Sketch Pad tools provides the functionality for drawing simple graphics (squares, circles, triangles, lines, arrows, free drawing; with colors and with simple editing commands) with texts added in between for sketching and white-boarding purposes. It is similar to the Note- editor (and Vocabulary editor) visually. Functionalities have also similarities to the Note editor, so that these two are easy to be used side by side (with Note-editor the user can externalize ideas as text notes and with the Sketch pad with graphics). With this tool users can make simple sketches to support brainstorming and externalizing ideas with figures and short texts (while, for example, planning a structure for a text document, or planning upcoming tasks and work in a group). The tool does net contain too much functionality but only basic ones for making simple sketches, and moving and copying them in the whiteboard kind of an area. Simplicity means that editing is not as advanced as in more specific drawing tools but the power of this tool is in its easiness of use. Users can undo at least the last drawing/editing operation. Drawn images can be saved as content items into Shared Space (with metadata), Comment and Semantic Tagging The KPE system relies on the ontological representation of the shared space and its knowledge artefacts, as well as the users’ actions, which include commenting and tagging activities. Semantic tagging allows learners to describe items with non-hierarchical keyword or terms. Learners can create free text terms during the on-going phase of knowledge elicitation. The tagging lists can be personalized by users. Creating their own way of structuring the developed artefacts, they also make previous work related to some specific subject easier to find for other learners. * Mi. Lakkela, SPaavola,K. Kosonen, H. Muukkonen, M. Bauters & H. Markkanen “Main functionalities of the Knowledge Practices. Environment (KPE) affording knowledge creation practices in education’. In "Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Practices - CSC12009 Community", 2009, ISLS, p. 297-306. ISBN 978-1.4002-8598.4 KP-Lab, deliverable 06.6 M33 specification of end-user applications — Drawing Too! (Sketch Pad), October 2003, & SCIENTER Page 25 of 62*®KP-Lab EO ilgica Lcing-A Rando for Teacher [vee gl = pa damit Ben Tots = = ane Ba = — —— = “ES Vie ones Saearnonst x Pack iat ie aes Fgueg Ais afaasfomonenig Figures An expla tps oo structured vocabulary s presented to the user Comments are a way of expressing opinions, posing questions, discussing different positions and viewpoints and even influencing the directions of @ discourse. Comments are an important type of users-produced contents and represent the most informal and dynamic part of the discourse that users carry out on knowledge artefacts. Shae eme amet | =a Figure Aslice of the KPE Comment arrows Figure j: Opening the comments generates with labels represent named relationships between the comment threads view where people can read, objects while tiny notes with a circled number depicts create a new thread or reply to existing comments* the numberof total comments attached to each knowledge artefact. * Locora, A. and Scapolla, AM. and Grignari,D, (2009) Semantic Annotation and Tagging in the KP-LAB environment: mining the learning and knowledge dynamics. In: V International Conference on Mulimdia and ICT in Education (rm 1CTE2009), April 2009, Lisbon, Portugal Semantic Annotation and Tagging in the KP-LAB environment: mining the learning and knowledge dynamics. & SCIENTER Page 26 of 62KP-Lab Sd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers Comments can by displayed in a collated fashion which will help as teacher you as you could receive a feedback of the ongoing activities as well as a feeling of the group progressions and dynamics. Visual Modelling (Language) Editor The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is an extension to the basic functionalities offered by the KP-Environment and allows users to create, share, use, and update various kinds of diagrams that depict the relationship among concepts and ideas. The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor allows users to work collaboratively on visual models with explicitly defined semantics. Think of visual models as diagrams that symbolize the relationship among concepts and represent the structural pattern of knowledge. The relationship between the concepts in the map is described with links or key words to visualise the connection and denote the construction of the ideas. Figure kj: Visual Model Example Creating concept supports learners to develop shared meanings of tasks, concepts, procedures, and strategies. Thus, collaborative concept maps allow to share individual skills and tasks with the group, contributing to common knowledge development **. Producing such maps with a group of learners fosters discussion about the concepts and collaboratively elaborated reasoning, thus improves the processes of co-constructing meaning as well as supports critical thinking among learners. ® Ahmad Khamesan & Nick Hammond "Synchronous collaborative conceat mapping via ic: learning effectivness and personal and Interpersonal awareness " Concept Maps: Theory, Methodology, Technology, Proc. of the First Int. Conference an Concept Mapping A.J. Cafias, J.D. Novak, FM. Gonzalez, Eds, Pamplona, Spain 2004 & SCIENTER Page 27 of 62® KPa Sd Trialogical Learning -A handbook for Teachers For each model the learners can choose from a set of predefined visual languages which provide them with various types of nodes and links that can be used in a model. Such nodes and links allow the learners distinguish, for example, between variables, resources, actions and goals relevant to a pat lar project. Learners can create their own visual modelling language based on specific domain-ontologies in a visual format. Making the semantics of visual models and conceptual maps transparent to the user provides @ basic means for scaffolding collaborative modelling activities and allows for systematic comparison of both models as well as the language used. PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES In a collaborative knowledge building process organising and planning of group efforts play an important role. Every learner should be able to participate in this process, keeping in mind that roles can change from purely “executing” a given task or its coordination. The KPE allows for involving everyone during all parts of the knowledge building process, encouraging the participation of all the group and increasing responsibility, ownership and motivation. KPE’s process view enables learners to plan tasks and processes in a chronological manner as well as to monitor how the required tasks have been accomplished. Process View provides the user interface and a set of functions for describing and planning knowledge processes (in ‘terms of tasks, their relationships, resources, and responsibilities). ** ® tor Avan knowledaorectices info accessed in November 2020 > Mi. Lakkala, .Paavola,K. Kosonen, H. Muukkonen, M. Bauters & H. Markkanen “Main functionalities ofthe Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE) affording knowledge creation practices in education’. In "Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Practices - CSC12009 Community", 2009, ISLS, p. 297-306. ISBN 978-1.4002-8598.4 & SCIENTER Page 28 of 62