Gill Robert's Profile

Hello. I have been working with Ultralab for more than 10 years, initially as a school based teacher researcher in Nortel's Learning in the New Millenium project. I was then seconded to be an advisory teacher for the Tesco-sponsored SchoolNet2000 project and then joined the Talking Heads project as an online community facilitator. When talking Heads was eventually handed over to NCSL I became a Learning Facilitator for Ultraversity.

Trained as a maths teacher I was interested in the learning potential of the first microcomputers in schools (RM's 380z) and joined the ICL-CES project in 1982 to write computer awareness materials for 11-13 year olds. When CES was taken over by Acorn Computers I became their Information Officer, demonstrating our materials to teachers and advisers throughout the British Isles. In 1984 I went back to school, as the IT co-ordinator in a Surrey school; later I took on the TVEI co-ordination as well. In 1991 I became deputy headteacher in a Berkshire school in which I developed the link with BNR, Nortel's R&D branch.

I spent 1995-7 in Botswana, training teachers to infuse ICT into junior secondary schools.

I achieved my MA (Ed) with the Open University in December 1999 and am currently working on my EdD thesis.

I am particularly interested in how (and whether) meaning is negotiated between community members engaging in  online dialogue and am impressed by the writings of Etienne Wenger, Richard Winter and Steve Fuller.

You can view my COS profile here.