Product development and evaluation

MirandaNet members have been involved in many evaluations of  digital products used in the classroom.

 The MirandaNet E-Journal Case Studies

MirandaNet Fellows and Scholars are encouraged to develop and publish their work online in our Braided Learning E-Journals. The complete list of published case studies continues to grow year by year. Any regional group, cluster or company can publish a series of case studies in a dedicated ejournal peer reviewed by MirandaNet Fellows. 

One example is the activities about interactive whiteboards. There are  several Fellows’ case studies that evaluate products.  Dr John Cuthell has also collated a resource in Seeing the Meaning that links with a number of themes on which he has worked for some years. These include Digital Tools for Visual Learning and Establishing evidence of the impact of interactive whiteboard use in teaching and learning.

Contact enquiries@mirandanet.ac.uk for details. Use the subject heading ‘publishing a Braided Learning e-journal’.

Some short case studies of current work follow:

The iCatalyst professional development programme

Bodhi community, India

Schools, clusters and regions are invited to look at this Bodhi case study in considering what kind of  bespoke change programme might be appropriate.

The aim of the iCatalyst professional development programme in the Maharastra region of India  is to establish with school leaders the changes that staff would like to make to   pedagogy in order to enhance learning and raise the achievement of the students. An important requirement is also the improvement of the English of staff and pupils – MirandaNet phonics experts are working with two pilot schools to develop a programme that will be run in all forty schools in this project. The programme includes exchange visits between English and Indian teachers and online learning in the MirandaNet Moodle platform. The teachers are presenting their action research results in London and Mumbai and publishing  on the Bodhi community website.

Events, conferences and unconferences

MirandaMods
Companies are invited to participate in the programme of events and conference run by MirandaNet each year. One distinctive model where a company representative can join in debates with educators is the MirandaMod. This is an informal, loosely structured unconference of like-minded educators who share ideas about the use of technology to inspire others. The MirandMod is often a  fringe event following or attached to a formal MirandaNet seminar/workshop or meeting. There is often  an International dimension to this event when as many as forty members join on line.  A transcript of the meeting is published as well as a collaborative digital map that is authored by the participants and provides a resource of the latest information on the subject in hand. Resources can be found under MirandaMods. Recent MirandaMods have been held at the BETT show, the Education Show, CAL11 and at a technologies conference at Korinthos in Greece. MirandaMods  can be held to explore the value of a range of technologies, their impact in the classroom and the theories about teaching and learning that are generated by their use.

Research

ICT Tools for Future Teachers
MirandaNet research is distinctive because practitioners are involved in judgements about products and practice. ICT tools for Future Teachers, for example, contains useful information for industry. In this  research project, Marilyn Leask and Christina Preston used  an innovative approach to concept mapping within a community of co-researchers in England (practitioners, academics, researchers, policy makers, pupils) making collaborative analytical judgments. Whilst the methodology can be applied to any topic it is particularly relevant for drawing on the knowledge of communities of practice i.e. groups with shared knowledge and strong shared interests.

The information about digital tools that the teachers provided is useful to senior managers, teacher educators and the software development industry. ICT Tools for Future Teachers ict-tools2009 The publication can be requested from enquiries@mirandanet.ac.uk.

Publications

Other MirandaNet research publications can be accessed from the Publications pages. These are all written to be accessible to teachers and senior managers. MirandaNet consultants are always ready to work with companies and charities on their research requirements.