Pete Bradshaw
I work in the field of education, as a teacher at Nottingham Trent University. My main roles are as strand leader for Applied ICT on the PGCE Secondary programme and year tutor on the undergraduate ICT programmes. My current research, towards a PhD is in the field of validity of assessment. Other roles include leading the School of Education's newly-formed (Nov 06) e-learning group, working as a tutor on postgraduate programmes including the PGCHE and as a member of the School's Academic Standards and Quality Committee.
I am a member of the committee of the Association for IT in Teacher Education (ITTE), a member of Naace and an associate of the Higher Education Academy. I am a member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust expert panel for ICT and was part of the team consulting to AQA/C&G on the 14-19 Specialist Diploma in IT (Spring 2007).
This page is for listing publications and linking to research. Alternatively, you may wish to see an academic CV, which can be found on the COS site
Previously I worked at Ultralab, specifically researching in the fields of online learning, community and use of ICT (information and communication technology). I was part of the team that developed Ultralab's online undergraduate degree for people in full-time employement, and led the the Masters' programme offered there.
e-mail: pete.bradshaw@ntu.ac.uk
Some publications:
A resource for the ICT Tutors website.
This resource looks at the developments of the 14-19 curriculum in England and how they impact on the work of ICT teachers and teacher trainers. It considers the underlying aims of the government led changes and the subsequent implications.
Online resource by John Woollard and Pete Bradshaw, April 2007
ICT and Numeracy Across the Curriculum
An article for the ICTAC file, March 2007.
"In teaching ICT we have become used to the twin strands of ICT the subject and ICT across the curriculum (ICTAC). Similarly teachers of mathematics have become used to the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) and its constituent Numeracy across the Curriculum (NAC). In this article I shall consider the relationship between ICT and the National Strategy for NAC."
Weblogs, PhDs and Google-generated concept lists
An article written for the ITTE newsletter, Spring 2007, reflecting on the process of doing a PhD. In particular issues of using a weblog and the way in which links to the log might help generate a concept map of my reading.
Use of electronic tools with students on work placement
Slides from a presentation made to the 9th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference at NTU, March 2007. The session was part of the work-based learning strand and looked at the use of disucssion forums, web logs and wikis with students on PGCE and undergraduate programmes.
Slides (ppt) by Helen Boulton and Pete Bradshaw.
An article written for the ITTE newsletter, Autumn 2006, reflecting on my transition from a mainly online teacher to a mainly face-to-face one.
"This article is a reflection on my first year ‘back in the classroom’ and on my journey. A journey that was in the opposite direction to many of those that are the subject of research with a host of tips and strategies published in books and articles. Where is the writing on returning from the virtual world?".
Leonie, Tom and I were asked to write a response to a piece in the JIME publication about Gord McCalla's ecological model of the web, developing the idea of the semantic web.
We explored his notion of "how the ecological approach shows promise not only to allow information about learners actual interactions with learning objects to be naturally captured but also to allow it to be used in a multitude of ways to support learners and teachers in achieving their goals. In a phrase, the approach involves attaching models of learners to the learning objects they interact with, and then mining these models for patterns that are useful for various purposes.
We examined this in the light of what it is that makes engaging and therefore delightful learning using technology. Our message is that the best learning is active and collaborative and that the practitioner / student voice provides insight and dynamism, and deserves to inform and direct the discourse.
Thus the ecology is focused on the participant's preferences and interventions, not just on the data and information in the web.
Anderson, T. and Whitelock, D. (2004). The Educational Semantic Web: Visioning and Practicing the Future of Education: Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2004 (1), Special Issue on the Educational Semantic Web. ISSN:1365-893X [www-jime.open.ac.uk/2004/1]
Across the continents - online community conferences as a mechanism for school improvement
The notion of building a learning community is central to building bottom up school improvement initiatives. Relatively little has been written about the role of online communities as a mechanism for school improvement and less about communities that transcend national boundaries. This small-scale research, undertaken in one such conference, looks at the potential outcomes and conditions for success.
Paper delivered to ICSEI conference, Rotterdam.
Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell, Ian Terrell... January 2004.
Developing Engagement in online community: lessons for HE
This paper provides an account of the development of online communities for students engaged on master’s level programmes, doctoral research and continual professional learning in online learning communities. It considers the ways in which the engagement of learners, and their consequent participation, is seen to be dependent on several factors - the learners' perception of purpose, their sense of identity and trust, framing of learning activities, interventions from learning facilitators and tutors and the information architecture of the learning space.
Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell, Ian Terrell (2005) Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 42, 3, August 2005, pp 205-215.
Asynchronous v synchronous communications (AND not OR)
An investigation into the nature of online learning in the context of NPQHA overview of communications amongst staff at Ultralab. Presented to the Anglia Polytechnic University's Learning and Teaching symposium ... March 2004
This paper investigates and analyses the nature of learning in an online environment for specific professional development programme undertaken by school leaders, by analysis of their own perceptions of their learning and of their behaviours as self-directed learners.
A dissertation for the award of MA in Education. Pete Bradshaw.... Sep 2003
Online Communities for School Leaders
A powerpoint presentation given to the VCI Conference, London. Pete Bradshaw and Stephen Powell... June 2003
Using online communities to enhance learning
A powerpoint presentation given to the First OCLC Conference, National College for School Leadership. Pete Bradshaw, Carole Chapman and Alison Gee... March/April 2003
Virtual communities and professional learning across a distributed, remote membershipThis report outlines the development of the NPQH and Bursars online communities from 2000-2002. It compares and contrasts community developments. Strategies for online tutors are explored. The report was commissioned by the National College of School Leadership (NCSL).
Pete Bradshaw, Carole Chapman, Alison Gee... 2002
This paper explores ways of using virtual communities to develop professional learning in these communities of practice. We discuss our work in the context of education and formal and informal learning communities of school leaders and explore how the lessons learnt have general application. We present a model for professional learning through online collaboration and communication, and look, in particular, at the concept of time and its effects in the virtual community.Pete Bradshaw, Alison Gee, Stephen Powell, presented to Virtual Communities Workshop, University of Navarra, Barcelona... Dec 2002
Work on the new model of the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) was undertaken by ULTRALAB following a government review by Dame Patricia Collarbone. The aim was to provide a flexible and agile course suited to a professional body who would need to cope with the anticipated educational change of new century. The mode of delivery of the new course was delivered to be online. The new NPQH courses started in January 2000.
This paper, presented to BERA 2001, sets the context for the development of Virtual Heads, the online element of NPQH and describes the structure of the online element. It also documents some early indications.
The Paper Carole Chapman, Alison Gee, Pete Bradshaw... 2001
Online Communities and ICT across the Curriculum
An article written for the publication ICTAC File October 2006
“Our online community provides a dynamic forum for you to discuss current topics and concerns with the wider education community.“
This quote is taken from the Teachernet website, but could be claimed to apply to any number of education sites. Increasingly, online content is being complemented by with opportunities for readers to interact with each other or participate in debate. This article will look at the proliferation of such ‘online communities’. It will consider how they might be used to support teachers and school managers, how they might be most effectively used and how ‘virtual’ communication complements and overlaps with the ‘real world’. Finally it challenges the very notion of this dichotomy.
This
book chapter looks at the work of a team of remote workers and how they
have developed into a Community of Practice (CoP). It explores the roles
that technology and communication methods have in the formation and development
of the community. In telling the story of the progression from a team
of individuals to a CoP, the chapter provides a practical guide to others
wishing to do the same.
The team and community on which the chapter is based is one of some 20 people working remotely for Ultralab. The work of the team is online facilitation for the National College of School Leadership (NCSL). The team meet together approximately four times a year, using an online community space, the Facilitators’ Forum, as their day-to-day working space.
Chapter 16 of Knowledge Networks: Innovation through Communities of Practice edited by Paul Hildreth and Chris Kimble and published by Idea Group Publishing . Hard cover ISBN: 159140200X. Soft cover ISBN: 1591402700
Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell and Ian Terrell , published Jan 2004
Online Communities - Vehicles For Professional Learning?
The use of online communities for professional learning is an emerging field, particularly in education in the UK. Do the benefits claimed for their use manifest in learning gains, when considering the school improvement agenda? How far are we able to turn the rhetoric into some form of reality and how are we trying to do that?
This paper reports findings from our experience with online learning communities in three contexts. The first relates to the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) and National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Talking Heads Community, which has been established over the last two years. The second involves online learning programmes such as the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH), which we have supported in collaboration with the NCSL. Lastly, the third context is our work on online masters levels programmes in a University.
The paper, presented to BERA 2002, Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell, Ian Terrell... 2002
A similar paper, focussing on the practical implementations and developing an overarching conceptual model was presented to the Sept 2002 Teaching and Learning Conference at APU.The paper and the model, presented to APU, Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell, Ian Terrell... 2002
A further paper was also presented in a modified form, with the NCSL, to a web-based online TCT Colleges conference, in October 2002.The paper, presented at the online conference, Pete Bradshaw, Stephen Powell, Ian Terrell... 2002
Intermediate GNVQ Information and Communication Technology Options (Longman GNVQ Intermediate)
Chapters
written on spreadsheets and databases in a text to provide all the support
students need for the Intermediate GNVQ ICT Optional Units.
This text, written by experienced lecturers who were involved in writing
the specifications, uses case studies to put information in context and
assignments provide the opportunity to show portfolio evidence
Longman; ISBN: 0582368669, published 2001
Vocational A-level Information and Communication Technology (Longman Vocational A-level)
Chapter written on System Installation.
This Vocational A-level text gives the most comprehensive coverage to help students succeed in the first Vocational A-level award, tailored to reflect the content and approach of the new specifications. It contains an abundance of activities to encourage students to express their skills to their full potential.
Longman; ISBN: 0582357098, published 2000