The Marginal Syllabus: Mediating Educator Learning via Web Annotation

• In Event: Emerging Technologies and New Media for Situating Learning Environments

Abstract

Digital media practices have challenged how educators pursue professional learning. This paper suggests one approach to educator learning in contemporary learning environments can be mediated by web annotation. Annotation may be defined as adding new information to a source text, and is commonly associated with book marginalia, text highlights, and written discourse between readers and authors. We draw upon theories of intertextuality to frame web annotation as a means of gathering together people, texts, and interpretive meaning to coordinate social practice. We then introduce a web annotation environment - the Marginal Syllabus - that mediated educators’ self-directed and peer-supported learning. Finally, we present a case study of the Marginal Syllabus, highlighting how intertextual web annotation practices mediated educators’ professionally-relevant learning.

Authors

• Jeremiah Holden Kalir, University of Colorado - Denver

• Francisco Perez, University of Colorado Denver