As practitioners start to explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies in their assessment, learning and teaching (ALT) practice, it is critical that successful examples can be identified and shared to enable efficient and effective reuse in different contexts and to avoid reinventing the wheel. Such transfer of practice requires an effective representation that is intuitive to understand and use, strongly rooted in examples of successful practice and that makes explicit the aspects of the practice that have contributed to its success. The pattern language approach (Alexander et. al, 1977) offers such a representation but to date has not been widely adopted by educational practitioners.
The Pattern Language Network (Planet) aimed to:
develop a pattern language for the domain of learning through Web 2.0 technologies
develop a collaborative software platform to facilitate community based pattern creation and use, together with supporting methodologies for these activities
support and engage a community of practice to sustain the pattern activity in the longer term
to evaluate the pattern language approach particularly with regard to its impact on the development of learning experiences
contribute to the e-framework semantic wiki
disseminate successful practice in Web 2.0
Learning Design Focus:
Design Patterns, Design Narratives, Design Scenarios
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/usersandinnovation/planet.aspx