Title: Comparison of tagging in an educational context: Any chances of interplay?

Authors: Riina Vuorikari, Hans Poldoja, Rob Koper

Addresses: Open Universiteit Nederland (1), P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands; European Schoolnet, Rue de Treves 61, 1040 Brussels, Belgium. ' Tallinn University, Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia; University of Art and Design Helsinki, Hameentie 135c, FI-00560 Helsinki, Finland. ' Open Universiteit Nederland (1), P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands

Abstract: Web-based tagging systems for educational resources allow users to associate free keywords with resources. This paper first studies similarities and differences of tagging systems that are an integrated part of learning platforms, and then introduces a case study on teachers| use of social tagging tools. Analysing more than 20,000 teacher-created tags from five platforms, it was found that even if the tagging system designs differ, more than 30% of the posts were shared through tags between two or more platforms. Thus, tags can create interplay not only between the users and their tools, but also between diverse learning platforms.

Keywords: educational resources; tags; folksonomies; metadata; web-based tagging systems; repositories; knowledge sharing; reuse; free keywords; interplay; social tagging; learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTEL.2010.031263

International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 2010 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.111 - 131

Published online: 27 Jan 2010 *

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