JISC

Overview

Clinical scenarios will be developed and applied using Twitter. Tweets’ will highlight the deterioration or improvement in a patient’s condition. Learners will feed back and vote on appropriate courses of action, based on the evolving symptoms. The project recognises that learners of the health professions need basic knowledge to function in the clinical environment, but they also need the ability to be self-motivated learners and problem-solvers to respond to the rapidly changing demands of heathcare consumers and providers.

This project (ScaLe) is aimed at producing reflective practitioners equipped with the tools for self-directed learning, knowledge synthesis and critical reasoning.

Aims and objectives

This project will explore the usefulness of ‘microblogging’ (Twitter) as a means to scaffolding learning and engaging students in critical thinking.

Specifically, the project will:

• Develop an understanding of the types and levels of interactivity (peer-to-peer; learner-to-instructor)
• Evaluate learners’ experience in engaging with microblogging 
• Investigate the effect microblogging has on the pedagogic delivery model intended and the learning proceses experienced by the students
• Help understand what constitutes sound educational practice with microblogging; and 
• Derive a sense of the future direction of microblogging in teaching and learning
  

Project methodology

The project team will review user logs and responses (quantitative value) which will elicit information on whether learning has been ‘achieved’ (i.e. if a diagnosis has been correctly identified). Further qualitative data-gathering – via on-line forums, focus groups or interviews will attempt to gauge the depth of feeling toward the new learning environment.

Anticipated outputs and outcomes

 The project will

• Stimulate teaching staff to think about new levels and types of interactivity
• Help teaching staff think about alternative methods of formative assessment
• Help the post-16 education community better understand any emerging learning styles associated with the ‘new learner’
• Help realise any potential in microblogging (especially its impact on mobile learning)
• Help information and library staff better understand how information sources are exploited in microblogging (e.g. RSS feeds) 
• Stimulate institutional decision-makers and teaching staff to think beyond the institutional VLE

 Ouputs

• Report, self-evaluation tool-kit, conference presentations and articles