Robert graduated in June 2005. He had already begun his new posting as Manager, Educational Informatics, Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital at The University Health Network.
Profile
[KMDiary 2003 Issue #3]:
KMDI Graduate Fellow Robert Luke is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE/ U of T. Robert's dissertation examines government policy, access to and accessibility of networked services, and digital literacy within Community Learning Networks (CLNs). His study investigates the accessible design of information and communication technologies (ICT) and how ICT-enabled knowledge systems can generate and sustain social cohesion, communities of practice, and lifelong learning within community technology centres.
His research involves a conceptual analysis of what it means to learn online within the socio-cultural conditions of technology use; this conceptual work will be compared with a case study of a CLN to draw attention to the differences (or similarities) between theory and practice. The lessons learned from this research will buttress the construction of evaluation rubrics for CLNs, particularly as this relates to issues of access, accessibility, and the social dimensions of technology. Knowledge media can be truly accessible only when guidelines such as the World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines are implemented within the initial design. Roberts research will measure how these guidelines, when put into practice, affect the design of online learning programs, as well as their eventual use, within community technology centres.
In exploring issues of access and accessibility, Robert's study is formulating a theory of Open Source Learning (OSL). OSL refers to the free and open exchange of information and knowledge that can benefit communities (learning communities, communities-of-practice) and foster social cohesion. Community-based learning organizations can make use of open source tools for the design of online learning applications. Knowledge constructed within open environments and communities of practice is part of an ongoing interactive and iterative process within the social contexts particular to time and place. The emergent digital citizen in Canada can either be helped or hindered. Much depends on the commitment to access to ICTs, and the concurrent design of accessible media. An examination of the intersections of both knowledge and media design within CLNs will add to the growing body of work that seeks to understand the social dimensions of technology, and the implications of policy aimed at encouraging its use.
In addition to his thesis research, Robert also works at the Adaptive Technology Research Centre at the university. He participates in several funded research activities that are building online tools for people with disabilities. These include The Inclusive Learning Exchange (TILE) Project, and the Canadian Network for Inclusive Cultural Exchange (CNICE). Robert is also participating in research initiatives that are developing eLearning tools. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a large, inter-institutional funded project that is examining team-based healthcare and the provision of eLearning environments to support TeleHomeCare (see The Virtual Water Cooler). The eLearning environment being built as part of this project will use ePresence, KMDIs interactive webcasting system.
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