Tuesday 30 May 2017

The LearningWheel: A Model of Digital Pedagogy


I was delighted to be invited by Deborah Kellsey and Amanda Taylor to write the Foreword for their book The LearningWheel: A Model of Digital Pedagogy. Having been a LearningWheel contributor on a number of occasions I was familiar with and a great admirer of Deborah's work (and have written about this previously).

The pair met through the inaugural Social Media for Learning in Higher Education Conference in December 2015 at Sheffield Hallam University. Deborah was there presenting a paper on the 'LearningWheel' and Amanda a paper on 'When Actual Met Virtual' which was about the use of book groups in Social Work education. A serendipitous mix-up in train journeys on their way home led to further conversations and the successful collaboration leading to this book. 


DESCRIPTION

Given the influence of digital technologies on the world at large education and educators are yet again being forced to consider their educational practices.  Not all educators have been socialised professionally to use technologies and therefore knowledge gaps exist.  This book adds to emerging conversations about the use of technologies to support and indeed replace traditional teaching methodologies in a range of educational settings.  It offers an example of innovative approach ‘LearningWheel’ to bridge the aforementioned knowledge gap and provides an opportunity for readers to engage with technologies for teaching and learning purposes.


Beginning with an outline of how technologies are shaping the learning landscape more broadly each subsequent chapter takes on a layer of the LearningWheel and sets it in context from a theoretical position. An example wheel is included in each chapter, as are stop and pause questions to prompt educators to engage with the content in a very real sense.  By the end of the book, readers will have had the opportunity to connect with the LearningWheel (VCoP) in the development of a Learning Wheel unique to this book.



BOOK REVIEW

Denise Turner has written a review of the book in Social Work Education. Amanda alerted me to the mention of my Foreword contribution. A welcome addition to my 'happy file'.  




BUY THE BOOK

You can purchase a copy of the book from Critical Publishing here:
http://www.criticalpublishing.com/the-learning-wheel