Skip to content The Open University
Dr Canan Blake

Dr Canan Blake

Research Fellow

The Open University Institute of Educational Technology IET Academic Team

+44 (0) 1908654966

Profile

 I am a Research Fellow in IET and the co-convener of  Computers and Learning Research Group (CALRG). In addition to my research in the area of technology enhanced learning in several IET projects  I organise the annual conference for the CALRG and support group members in their research related activities.

Qualifications

PhD, Environmental Education, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

A Study on the Dimensions and Determinants of Environmental Attitudes

 

Associateship of King's College London, UK

Correlations between General and Specific Environmental Attitudes and Environmentally Desirable Behaviour-A Study.

 

MSc, BSc, Chemistry Education, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

A Cross-cultural Study Which Compares Environmental Attitudes of Turkish and American Cross-sections in Educational Settings

 

Teaching Interests

I am supervising research students Eunice Olakanmi and Koula Charitonos. Eunice's research is investigating the effect of using self-regulation prompts for science teaching in a CSCL environments. Koula's work is related to use of 'social software' for enhancing the museum learning experience.

Research Interests

My main research interest is technology enhanced learning. Within that broad topic I am interested in collaborative learning and interaction in computer supported learning environments, mobile learning, technology enhanced learning in science and in work places and open learning and o[pen educational resources (OER).

Current Research Projects

Recent Projects

PI Project

 

 

Mobile Clinical Learning

This project set out to review the potential of learning resources provided in PDAs linked to VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) and to investigate the ways in which clinical learning within two comparative institutions can be supported by using small handheld computers also called personal digital assistants (PDAs).Working with UCL CHIME and Ibn-i Sina Turkish Teaching Hospital mobile devices were distributed to clincians to support them in their work-based learning activities. A comparative mixed method evaluation of these mobile support mechanisms will support an international viewpoint on the use of mobile learning in a global arena. 

OLnet

OLnet is an international research hub for aggregating, sharing, debating and improving Open Educational Resources (OERs), taking the OU's expertise in researching the Open Learn initiative out to support research by and of the OER world. The aim of OLnet (Open Learning network) is to tackle gathering evidence and methods about how we can research and understand ways to learn in a more open world, particularly linked to Open Educational Resources (OER) but also looking at other influences. OLnet is funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation together with Carnegie Mellon University.

For more information see the project website at http://olnet.org/



 

Earlier projects:

Interloc

InterLoc is a joint project on collaborative argumentation, funded by JISC, between the OU and London Metropolitan University, and others. In the area of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning where the advantages of group working are widely recognised in the literature, researchers have tried to understand the particular characteristics of collaborative working which can make it an effective learning experience. This research examines how dialogue can be structured to support higher-order mental processes used within academic practice. In particular it investigates how collaborative argumentation can introduce students to academic practice.

An interface to support structured dialogue (using Internet Chat) has been implemented as an online computer-based tool and recent JISC funding has enabled further work to develop the software for more general use.

Researchers: Canan Blake, Eileen Scanlon and Simon McAlister, Andrew Ravenscroft from London Metropolitan University.

Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence

Several CALRG members belong to the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence which brings together European experts to share knowledge and to study and develop new concepts and methods for investigating the future of learning with digital technologies. CALRG members are involved in a project funded by Kaleidoscope on Mobile Learning in Informal Science Settings (MELISSA).

Recent technological developments mean that many mobile devices (such as SmartPhones) now have some of the functionality of personal computers as well as communication capabilities. This project is investigating what this means in the area of informal learning in Science; where, for example, learners might be using portable devices to support their interests in this area such as field work for amateur naturalists, geologists or in weather forecasting.

Researchers: Canan Blake; Gill Clough; Pascale Hardy; Ann Jones; Patrick McAndrew; Daisy Mwanza; Eileen Scanlon; Josie Taylor; Giasemi Vavoula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The University of Nottingham and the Open University are partners in a £1.2m project to help school students learn the skills of modern science. The three year project, funded by the UK ESRC and EPSRC research councils, is developing a new approach of 'scripted inquiry learning', where children aged 11-14 investigate a science topic with classmates by carrying out explorations between their classroom, homes and discovery centres, guided by a personal computer.

The aim is for children to understand themselves and the world in which they live, through a scientific process of gathering and assessing evidence, conducting experiments and engaging in informed debate. The handheld computers, monitored and supported by their teacher, will guide the students through the activities, which can change depending on the profile and input of each individual taking part. Their activities will be based around topic themes — Myself, My Environment, My Community — that engage young learners in investigating their health, diet and fitness, their immediate environment and their wider surroundings. These topics are key elements of the new 21st century science curriculum that requires children to reason about the natural sciences as a complex system and to explore how people relate to the physical world.

Other partners include: local secondary schools; ScienceScope, a company that develops school sensing and datalogging equipment; Nottingham Museums and Galleries; and Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre. The project has an international Advisory Panel to provide advice and support.

For more information see: http://www.pi-project.ac.uk/

 

 

Publications

Book Chapter
Jones, Ann; Blake, Canan and Petrou, Marilena (2011). Inquiry learning in semi-formal contexts. In: Littleton, Karen; Scanlon, Eileen and Sharples, Michael eds. Orchestrating Inquiry Learning. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, pp. 192–213.
Olakanmi, Eunice; Blake, Canan and Scanlon, Eileen (2010). The role of self-regulated learning in enhancing conceptual understanding of rate of chemical reactions. In: Dettori , Giuliana and Persico , Donatella eds. Enhancing Fostering Self-Regulated Learning through ICT. IGI Global, pp. 248–267.
Blake, Canan and Rapanotti, Lucia (2004). Usability evaluation of distributed groupware in distance learning. In: Akpinar, Y. ed. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Information Technology Besed Higher Education and Training. New York, USA: IEEE, pp. 500–504.
Conference Item
Adams, Anne; Coughlan, Tim; Rogers, Yvonne; Collins, Trevor; Davies, Sarah-Jane; Blake, Canan and Lea, John (2011). Live linking of fieldwork to the laboratory increases students inquiry based reflections. In: CSCL 2011: International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 04-08 July 2011, Hong Kong.
Scanlon, Eileen; Blake, Canan; Twiner, Alison; Collins, Trevor; Jones, Ann and Kerawalla, Lucinda (2011). Collaboration in communities of inquirers: an example from a geography field trip. In: 9th International Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Conference, 04-08 July 2011, Hong Kong.
Blake, Canan; Adams, Anne and Scanlon, Eileen (2011). Effectiveness of mobile learning across various settings. In: CAL Conference 2011, Learning Futures: Education, Technology & Sustainability, 13 - 15 April 2011, Manchester.
Blake, Canan; Adams, Anne and Scanlon, Eileen (2010). Using PDAs in healthcare settings. In: Proceedings of mLearn 2010, World Conference on Mobile and contextual Learning, Valetta, Malta. University of Malta,, 19-22 October 2010, Valetta, Malta.
Scanlon, Eileen; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Twiner, Alison; Mulholland, Paul; Collins, Trevor; Jones, Ann; Gaved, Mark; Littleton, Karen; Blake, Canan and Conole, Grainne (2010). Personal Inquiry: scripting support for inquiry learning by participatory design. In: Computer-Based Learning in Science, 7-10 Jul 2010, Warsaw, Poland.
Scanlon, Eileen; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Gaved, Mark; Jones, Ann; Collins, Trevor; Mulholland, Paul; Blake, Canan; Petrou, Marilena and Littleton, Karen (2010). The challenge of supporting networked personal inquiry learning across contexts. In: The 7th International Conference on Networked Learning 2010, 3-4 May 2010, Aalborg, Denmark.
Kerawalla, Lucinda; Scanlon, Eileen; Jones, Ann; Littleton, Karen; Mulholland, Paul; Collins, Trevor; Twiner, Alison; Clough, Gill; Blake, Canan; Petrou, Marilena; Conole, Grainne and Gaved, Mark (2010). Being a Geographer: the role of mobile, scripted inquiry in mediating embodied meaning-making during Geography fieldtrips. In: 9th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (mlearn 2010), 19-22 Oct 2010, Valletta, Malta.
Kerawalla, Lucinda; Scanlon, Eileen; Twiner, Alison; Jones, Ann; Littleton, Karen; Conole, Grainne; Mulholland, Paul; Collins, Trevor; Blake, Canan; Clough, Gill and Gaved, Mark (2009). Technological mediation of personal inquiry in UK GCSE geography: opportunities and challenges. In: CAL09 - Learning in Digital Worlds, 23-25 March 2009, Brighton, UK.
Collins, Trevor; Gaved, Mark; Mulholland, Paul; Kerawalla, Cindy; Twiner, Alison; Scanlon, Eileen; Jones, Ann; Littleton, Karen; Conole, Grainne and Blake, Canan (2008). Supporting location-based inquiry learning across school, field and home contexts. In: Proceedings of the MLearn 2008 Conference, 7 - 10 Oct 2008, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, UK.
Conole, Grainne; Scanlon, Eileen; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Mulholland, Paul; Anastopulou, Stamatina and Blake, Canan (2008). From design to narrative: the development of inquiry-based learning models. In: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (EDMEDIA), 30 June - 4 July 2008, Vienna.
Scanlon, Eileen; Jones, Ann; Collins, Trevor; Conole, Grainne; Gaved, Mark; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Littleton, Karen; Mulholland, Paul; Twiner, Alison and Blake, Canan (2008). Investigating personal inquiry: An activity theory approach. In: Proceedings of mLearn, 8-10 October 2008, Wolverhampton, UK.
Marshall, Christine; Issroff, Kim; Scanlon, Eileen; Blake, Canan; Holliman, Richard; Smidt, Samantha; Clough, Gill; Banks, Frank; Jones, Ann; Roche, Nel and Waycott, Jenny (2007). Investigating mobile science learning in workplace settings. In: CAL07: Development, Disruption and Debate - D3, 26-28 March, Dublin, Ireland.
Scanlon, Eileen; Banks, Frank; Blake, Canan; Clough, Gill; Jones, Ann; Holliman, Richard; Issroff, Kim; Marshall, Christine; Roche, Nel; Smidt, Samantha and Waycott, Jenny (2007). PDAS as workplace tools for science teachers. In: IADIS International Conference - Mobile Learning 2007, 5-7 July, Lisbon, Portugal.
Joiner, Richard; Scanlon, Eileen; O'Shea, Tim; Smith, Randall B. and Blake, Canan (2002). Evidence from a series of experiments on video-mediated collaboration: does eye contact matter? In: Computer Support for Collaborative Learning Conference, CSCL 2002, 7-11 Jan 2002, University of Colorado, USA.
Rapanotti, Lucia; Blake, Canan Tosunoglu and Griffiths, Robert (2002). eTutorials with voice groupware: real-time conferencing to support computing students at a distance. In: Proceedings of the 7th annual conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education, 24-26 June, 2002, Aarhus, Denmark.
Rapanotti, Lucia; Blake, Canan T. and Griffiths, Rob (2002). Voice groupware to support students at a distance. In: 4th International Conference on Environmental Education, 24-28 Nov 2002, Lugano, Switzerland.
Blake, Canan T. and Rapanotti, Lucia (2001). Mapping interactions in a computer conferencing environment. In: European Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (Euro-CSCL), 22-24 March 2001, Maastricht.
Rosewell, Jonathan; Thomson, Fiona and Blake, Canan (2001). The physical world: multimedia physics at a distance. In: Computers and Learning 2001: Learning across the ages - looking back and looking forwards, 2 - 4 April 2001, University of Warwick.
Journal Article
Kerawalla, Lucinda; Littleton, Karen; Scanlon, Eileen; Jones, Ann; Gaved, Mark; Collins, Trevor; Mulholland, Paul; Blake, Canan; Clough, Gill; Conole, Grainne and Petrou, Marilena (2011). Personal inquiry learning trajectories in geography: technological support across contexts. Interactive Learning Environments iFirst.
Gaved, Mark; Collins, Trevor; Mulholland, Paul; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Jones, Ann; Scanlon, Eileen; Littleton, Karen; Blake, Canan; Petrou, Marilena; Clough, Gill and Twiner, Alison (2010). Using netbooks to support mobile learners' investigations across activities and places. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 25(3), pp. 187–200.
Blake, Canan and Scanlon, Eileen (2007). Reconsidering simulations in science education at a distance: features of effective use. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 23(6), pp. 491–502.
Scanlon, Eileen; Blake, Canan; Issroff, Kim and Lewin, Cathy (2006). Evaluating learning technologies: frameworks and case studies. International Journal of Learning Technology, 2(2-3), pp. 243–263.
Scanlon, Eileen; Blake, Canan; Joiner, Richard and O'Shea, Tim (2005). Technologically mediated complex problem‐solving on a statistics task. Learning, Media and Technology, 30(2), pp. 165–183.
Jones, Ann; Blake, Canan; Davies, Clare and Scanlon, Eileen (2004). Digital maps for learning: a review and prospects. Computers and Education, 43(1-2), pp. 91–107.
Blake, C.T. and Scanlon, E. (2003). Enriching accounts of computer supported collaboration by using video data. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 11(2), pp. 5–13.
Blake, Canan Tosunoglu; Davies, C.; Jones, A.; Morris, E. and Scanlon, E. (2003). Evaluating complex digital resources. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 11(1), pp. 4–16.
Jones, Ann; Scanlon, Eileen and Blake, Canan (2000). Conferencing in communities of learners: examples from social history and science communication. Educational Technology and Society, 3(3), pp. 215–226.