SocialLearn is recruiting
For these initially short placements we’re anticipating internal OU staff as the most likely candidates, but get in touch whoever you are if this interests you…
The SocialLearn Project
The SocialLearn Project is a strategic university initiative under the “Freemium” priority, investigating the intersection of social networking, collective intelligence, adaptive platforms and web business models to connect people with resources for learning (covering informal<->formal) and sensemaking in epistemic communities (covering amateurs<->pros).
The closed beta test version of the platform will be live shortly, with public launch end of the year. Public beta signup/blog/twitter: www.open.ac.uk/sociallearn
Vacancies
We have several short term positions available as consultancies or secondments over some/all of the period Jul-Oct, with the possibility that they may be extended. These are ideal for highly motivated staff looking to contribute and learn from one of the most exciting projects in the University.
* Research Associate (Learning and Pedagogy)
* Research Associate (Web Analytics/Recommendation Engines/Semantic Web)
* Developer (Web Analytics/Recommendation Engines/Semantic Web)
Research Associate: Learning and Pedagogy
Research associated with the Closed Beta test will address the question: ‘Is this a pedagogically sound, enjoyable and achievable model for social learning?’ Relevant data will include system analytics (including Google Analytics), questionnaires, interviews and records of participant observation. The research associate will focus on analysis of the quantitative data provided by the system analytics. More broadly, the role will include consideration of how in future this data can be selected, combined and presented in order to benefit users of the SocialLearn system. The post therefore requires experience of quantitative analysis as well as some familiarity with social networking and learning theory. It will be of particular interest to researchers who enjoy developing creative approaches to the use of system analytics.
Research Associate/Fellow and Technical Developer (Web Analytics/Recommendation Engines/Semantic Web)
These two posts are designed to build the university’s capacity in areas critical to the future of socio-semantic computing. As the platform generates vast amounts of data on user activities, interests and social networks, we will need to mine these both for business purposes, and to provide a coherent user experience through very large social and resource networks. You will bring doctoral/postdoc level research expertise and/or technical development skills to help develop this capability, which might include the fields of data mining, social recommendation algorithms, and semantic learning technology.
Please contact me or Joel Greenberg (Technical Director: j.greenberg at open.ac.uk) with a CV and cover letter to discuss consultancy, or secondment from an OU department (which will of course need to be in agreement with your manager).
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