1. Mapping Social Media and Innovation in Legal Education
Michael Bromby: Discipline Lead for Law at The Higher Education Academy, Innovation Way, York Science Park, York YO10 5BR michael.bromby@heacademy.ac.uk @HEA_Law
Reader in Law at Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA m.bromby@gcu.ac.uk @m_bro
ABSTRACT FLEXIBILITY TRANSNATIONAL SOCIAL MOBILITY
TITLE: Flexibility of PACE looks at part-time learners who are taking Transnational education promotes teaching across national Social mobility and social inclusion is one aspect of ‘retention and
Mapping Social Media and Innovation in Legal Education longer to complete their programme. Flexibility of PLACE looks at boundaries within the UK or outside. This may be on a programme success’ which aims to promote access to the professions and
BACKGROUND:
learners studying whilst living at home or modular level; as a franchise or articulation model postgraduate study
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are seeking to improve the learning Advantages Advantages Advantages
experience, and teaching through novel means is one mechanism to achieve this Physical barriers to collaborative work are removed through online interactions Removes the need for visits / flying faculty to other countries to teach Social media can involve practitioners as participants or used as case studies
goal. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) supports 9 thematic areas to Work-load is set according to time availability or progression rate Promotes discussion of comparative issues from first hand experience Learners are increasingly equipped with or able to learn new skills
enhance learning and teaching practice across all disciplines, of which the
Disadvantages Disadvantages Disadvantages
following are priority areas for 2012/13: flexibility of pace and place,
Social groups are not maintained in the long-term as progression is not uniform Face-to-face and group cohesion can be lost over distance or over time zones Digital media literacy levels may be low or need augmenting for learning
transnational education, social mobility and inclusion [1].
Social behaviour is difficult to establish without prior face-to-face engagement Cultural and linguistic barriers can prevent or confuse social aspects of learning Institutional barriers may prevent external contribution to learning environment
OBJECTIVE:
Directions Directions Directions
This poster identifies areas of good practice where innovative use of collaborative
The considered use of asynchronous and synchronous activities for PLACE Economic pressures: creative institutions will develop new competitive models Online working and training platforms will demand experienced graduates
and interactive technology has been applied to legal education. The advantages
Interactions between year groups or module cohorts for PACE Performance indicators will augment distance learning methods Newer models of scholarship and curation of resources
and disadvantages of some current social media tools are explained briefly, and
evaluated for the purposes of improving the student learning
experience. Consideration is given to whether students are working
collaboratively or independently, synthesising new or evaluating existing Wiki Discussion Forum Twitter
materials, assessed formatively or summatively, and the level of both staff and
student engagement required. Group collaboration: contributions can be made anytime from anywhere Text-based: moderation can be time-intensive Fast paced, widely used by the legal profession: time investment needed
METHODS: Contribute to Wikipedia: [2] Correct, update or add new content to existing site Bulletin Boards: [10] Permanent resource for later revision; anonymous Q&As TweetCases: [16] summarise a case or principle therein in 140 characters
Online case studies, learning and teaching journals and conference papers were Create a resource: [3] Mass collaboration improves upon individual work International cohorts: [11] Blend participants from other HEIs online Question the Expert: [17] pose questions or survey via twitter as a class
searched to identify relevant examples of different types of social media, different Create annotated lists: [4] Notes indicate relevant of sources for coursework Reflection: [12] Reflective learning that scaffolds the classroom activities Twitter Fountain: [18] allocate a class hash tag for post-lecture Q&As
applications and the attendant benefits that were obtained.
RESULTS: Blog Podcasting iTunes U
The findings illustrate a range of social media tools that may be used to enhance
learning and teaching. By no means exhaustive, the results highlighted in this Voice or video: custom made or live recording of classroom activity Popular and accessible for most mobile devices: up-skilled staff needed
poster illustrate a range of tools and modes of use to support the thematic goals. Individual posts: can engage other authors and draw comments
Create content: [13] Video-conferencing and podcasting transnationally Taster Sessions: [19] individual lectures, promoting wider access and enrolment
e-Portfolios: [5] Personal development, reflection, demonstrate progress
CONCLUSIONS: Adopt/adapt: [14] Asynchronous audio offered to other law school students Keynote Speakers: [19] public lectures or keynotes speakers from events
Referencing: [6] Authoritative blogs? How to reference breaking news
A variety of methods exist which can enhance one or more of the thematic goals
identified, although few contribute significantly to all three. This would suggest
that a blend of different social media tools is required at present, dependent on the Horizon Learning Analytics
exact objective. iTunes U and Game-based learning appear to have sufficient
overlap but mainstream legal education is not yet fully developed to be supported Horizon Report 2012 identifies as 2-3 years from adoption:
by these methods. Horizon Report 2012 identifies as 2-3 years from adoption:
The use of web and social analytics to decipher meaningful trends such as
Game-based Learning: Transactional simulations have existed for some time
assessment predictions, curriculum gaps or needs, evidence of student
THEMATIC GOALS [7], but we are yet to move into open-ended , challenged-based collaborative
engagement during placements or teaching international cohorts [8]
games [8] for legal education
Flexibility
Horizon
Mobility Transnational Horizon Report 2012 identifies mobile apps and tablets as <1 year away:
Predominantly non-UK content, although increasingly UK universities are
moving into this market. May arguably be listed as Transnational in the future
as content is typically delivered within an institutional VLE at present
Examples of well-developed game-based learning institutions [9] Matching students for collaborative work by computer analysis [15]
REFERENCES
[1]. The Higher Education Academy (2012) “HEA Thematic Areas of Activity and Interest and Specific Priorities” [5]. P. McKellar et al (2008) Using e-Portfolios in Legal Education” UKCLE online resource [10]. R. Deazley (2003) “Biting the Bulletin” UKCLE online resource http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/enhancing-learning- [15]. http://blogs.library.duke.edu/dukelibrariesinstruction/2012/02/17/learning-analytics-library-instruction/
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/HEA_2012-13_Thematic_Areas_6Aug12.pdf http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/projects/past-projects/eportfolios/ through-technology/durham/ [16]. M. Jones (2012) “Courting Controversy: Introducing Twitter into Law Teaching ” BILETA 2012 Conference
[2]. N Witzleb (2009) “Engaging with the World: Students of Comparative Law Write for Wikipedia” [6]. M. Bromby (2010) “Web 2.0 and Unconventional Sources” Learning in Law Annual Conference 2010, Warwick [11]. M. Bromby (2009) “Virtual Seminars: Problem Based Learning in Healthcare Law and Ethics” JILT 2009 (3) Paper. See review by P. Maharg http://paulmaharg.com/2012/03/29/bileta-legal-education-1/
19 Legal Education Review 83 http://www.slideshare.net/ukcleslidespace/bromby-lilac10-slideshare [12]. T. Foley 9(2002) “Developing Electronic Discussion-Based Learning in Clinical Legal Education.” 6 Newcastle LawReview [17]. M. Bromby (2012) “Social Media & The Law Student” National Law Student Forum 2012
[3]. F. Davis & I. Loasby (2009) “I Love Legal History : web 2.0 and the Teaching of Law” 7(1) Journal of [7]. P. Maharg (2004) “Virtual Firms: Transactional Learning on the Web” Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 49 (10) 39 http://www.slideshare.net/HEA_Law/michael-bromby-social-media
Commonwealth Law and Legal Education 19 [8]. New Media Consortium (2012) “Higher Education Horizon Report” [13]. R. Friel (2005) “Special Methods for Educating the Transnational Lawyer.” 55 Journal of Legal Education 505 [18] J. Drummond (2012) Personal correspondence with author
[4]. M. Bromby (2010) “A Rather Tasty Annotated Bibliography” BILETA Conference 2010 Conference Paper, http://www.nmc.org/publications/horizon-report-2012-higher-ed-edition [14]. P. Martin (2005) “Cornell’s Experience Running Online Inter-school Law Courses—An FAQ.” The Law Teacher: 39 The [19]. S. Fodden (2011) “Law on i-Tunes U” slaw blog http://www.slaw.ca/2011/01/03/law-on-itunes-u
http://www.slideshare.net/mbromby/bileta-2010 [9]. http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/07/08/10-best-colleges-for-game-based-learning/ International Journal of Legal Education 70