MSG Instant Messenger: Social Presence and Location for the "Ad Hoc Learning Experience"

Abstract

"Elearning2.0" promises to harness the power of three of today's most disruptive technologies: social software, elearning, and Web2.0. Our own work in this disruptive space takes as a starting premise that social networking is critical for learning: finding the right person can be more important than 'scouring the web for an answer', particularly when hand-holding or other explanatory services are required. Moreover, it 'feels good' to know that others are around! With this in mind, we have taken our older BuddySpace tool, and created a new tool we call MSG, which is simpler, available as Open Source, and integrates cleanly with a number of other services, including Moodle and Google Maps.Editor: Patrick McAndrew (Open University, UK).Reviewers: Robert Schuwer (Open University, NL) and Patrick McAndrew (Open University, UK).

Keywords

• social presence
• location
• elearning
• social networking
• presence
• enhanced presence
• presence discovery
• Openlearn
• BuddySpace
• MSG
• innovation