Being objective: communities of practice and the use of cultural artefacts in digital learning environments

Hopes, David (2014). Being objective: communities of practice and the use of cultural artefacts in digital learning environments. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

[img]
Preview
Hopes14PhD.pdf
PDF - Accepted Version

Download (4MB)

Abstract

Over the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in the volume of digital content created from museum, library and archive collections but research on how this material is actually used, particularly in digital learning environments, has fallen far behind the rate of supply. In order to address this gap, this thesis examines how communities of practice (CoPs) involved in the supply and use of digital artefacts in the Higher Education sector in the UK interact with content and what factors affect this process. It focuses on a case study involving the digitisation of Shakespeare collections used in postgraduate research, and the testing of use in a range of different learning environments. This produced a number of significant findings with implications for the HE and cultural sectors. Firstly, similar patterns of artefact use were found across all users suggesting there are generic ways in which everyone interacts with digital artefacts. However, distinct forms of use did emerge which correspond with membership of particular communities of practice. Secondly, members of a CoP appear to share a particular learning style and this is influenced by the learning environment. Finally, the research indicates that a mixed method for analysing and measuring use, piloted and tested in the case study, is possible.

Type of Work: Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)
Award Type: Doctorates > Ph.D.
Supervisor(s):
Supervisor(s)EmailORCID
Chapman, HenryUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Grosvenor, IanUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Licence:
College/Faculty: Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Arts & Law
School or Department: School of History and Cultures, Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology (CAHA)
Funders: Arts and Humanities Research Council
Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > C Auxiliary sciences of history (General)
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4050 Electronic information resources
URI: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/5344

Actions

Request a Correction Request a Correction
View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year