JISC

 

Personal Learning Portal Pilot: Sharing Learning Resources (Wayne Barry and Glenis Lambert)

Canterbury Christ Church University has historically provided a wide range of online support materials and services aimed at supporting a diverse range of students via centrally provided web sites. Recent projects, such as the JISC funded Personal Learning Portal Project (PLPP), have focussed on supporting students in those graduate skills that students tell us they find challenging. In some cases, these have resulted in low achievement especially at the transition stage from FE to HE. The large number and wide variety of resources available has led to a perception by students that not all information found was authoritative or relevant to the student’s own course of study.

We have carried out an evaluation of the way in which students access our online support and other electronic resources, and have found that these findings support those of EDNER (Formative Evaluation of the Distributed National Electronic Resource) Project (2002) and Johnson et al, 2001. This has lead to a re-examination of our resources. Based on student feedback, the University has investigated the delivery of learning objects embedded into the student’s learning experience via a VLE, in such a way that the bank of resources can be easily searched and objects easily retrieved.

The use of databanks of objects, such as Jorum, has raised issues of search and retrieval. The problems associated with metadata creation are well known (Currier et al, 2003, Ryan and Walmsley, 2003) and accentuate the difficulties staff and students experience when using database searches.

This case study describes a project which delivers learning objects for both staff and students via W2 search techniques. The loss of narrative and structure in resources which are repurposed as learning objects, and issues of contextualisation of individual items have been addressed in the way in which found objects are returned and described to the user. Although the initial architecture of the resource is simple it should be capable of developing to take advantage of the next generation of search technologies such as those which use topic maps, at a later date. The resource is capable of dynamic change based on input from users and should serve the needs of the digitally literate student as well as those who are not natives of the digital world.

 

The evolution of WebPA, a online peer moderated marking system, at Loughborough (Melanie Bates)

This paper describes the evolution of a paper-based self and peer-assessment tool into a web-based system called WebPA at Loughborough. Peer assessment or peer moderated marking has been introduced to the assessment process of group assignments in order to address the issue of unfairness of the same mark awarded to all group members.

Academics at Loughborough have engaged paper-based peer assessment as part of the assessment of group projects since the late 90s. Paper-based peer assessments, however, proved a great burden on their marking time. This led to seek out a solution in initially a simple computerised version of peer assessment and then a web-based system PASS (online Peer Assessment System) developed at Engineering Education Centre (currently engCETL). This web-based system has then been rewritten based on tutors’ feedback funded by the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund (TQEF) and a new system was launched with a new name, WebPA, which has become available to all departments at Loughborough.

Two leading academics’ joint efforts to improve the system have resulted in their being awarded the Academic Practice Awards and acquiring a small scale funding to investigate various aspects of WebPA. These efforts have also provided new momentum for WebPA to develop into an institution-independent tool. In order to further improve and share the web-based system with other institutions, the ‘WebPA project’ was launched in October, 2006, funded by JISC.

Since its launch, WebPA has had a great impact on peer assessment in group work across the institution. The benefits of the online system have been recognised and praised by an internal review. This paper discusses the way the combined efforts of academics, learning technologists and innovators have produced WebPA and its impacts on teaching and learning at Loughborough. The rationale for the university-wide implementation of WebPA, challenges faced, scope for further development and transferable features for successful implementation of the system are discussed.

This study will be of interest to both practitioners and theorists of peer assessment and educators interested in introducing group projects to their curriculum. Based on the findings of the initial study, the project intends to carry out wider implementation of the self/peer assessment system since the software will become ‘open source’ for other interested institutions to use by late 2008.  

 

Personal technologies and the future of learning (Helen Beetham and James Clay)

Despite increasing expenditure on computer equipment and services, institutions are still under-prepared for the demands of the next generation of ‘digital natives’ [1]. Most learners now have access to personal devices such as mobile phones, iPods, mp3 players, portable video players and digital cameras, laptops and PSPs. Many also have extensive skills in the use of social software, in networking, and in sharing information online. What impact are these developments having on learners’ experiences when they arrive at college or university? How are learners personalising the technologies they are offered by their institutions, and how do they integrate them with their own devices? How are their social and technical skills being transferred to the demands of learning? And how can institutions exploit the personal technologies and skills that their learners are bringing to the classroom?

This session offers a dialogue between two perspectives on the role of personal technologies and the future of learning. Helen Beetham, Consultant to the JISC e-learning programme, will offer a learners’ perspective based on findings from a series of recent studies and video case studies funded by JISC [2]. James Clay, ILT and Learning Gateway Manager, GLOSCAT, will offer an institutional perspective, based on his research into the use of mobile devices for learning and his experience of embedding mobile devices college-wide. Participants can expect to learn about recent research into learners’ experiences and about the developing uses of personal technologies for learning. At the same time they will be encouraged to share their own ideas and expertise as we debate how personal technologies will shape the learners – and learning institutions – of the future.

[1] Marc Prensky (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’, On the Horizon 9 (5)

[2] See http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning_pedagogy/elp_learneroutcomes.aspx

 

It takes a bit of imagination... (Steve Bond, Andrew Wodehouse, Samuel Leung, Iain Wallace)

This workshop will adopt a scenario planning approach to ask participants to engage in some forward thinking around the implications of different approaches to institutional transformation.

The implementation of new technologies to support learning and teaching is sometimes led by a combination of external agendas and institutional strategic drivers, for example quality assurance, widening participation. Sometimes it is 'bottom-up', through learners or teachers adopting technological developments, which are subsequently institutionalised, for example pod-casting, blogging. Quite often innovative change in practice is started by individual e-learning champions, perhaps with the help of development grants. Too often though, this development work is not embedded within institutional practice. We would argue that developments led by real pedagogic need offers a strong basis on which to really embed within and transform institutions.

The workshop will present some innovative technological developments which answered specific pedagogical needs across a number of disciplines: Humanities, Geography, Design Engineering and Anthropology. These were led by academic teams, involved partnerships across and between institutions, demanded new teaching models and approaches and were intended from the outset to be embedded within institutional practice. The Digital Libraries in the Classroom Programme aims to improve and enhance the learning experience of students through innovative technical approaches with digital content. The four projects have all demonstrated that the integration of digital developments into core curriculum practice can have a significant impact on student achievement, institutional structures and practices. All four projects, The Spoken Word (Glasgow Caledonian University), DialogPLUS (University of Southampton), DIDET (University of Strathclyde) and DART (London School of Economics) involved collaborations between UK and US universities.

DIDET will describe how a system comprising a learning environment and digital repository is being embedded into the Design Engineering teaching and learning. We map out the issues that have been encountered, how these have been overcome and how they will affect other departments or institutions as such tools are scaled up and rolled out. These issues are categorised as technological, pedagogical and cultural and include the adequate provision of support, creating a critical mass of resources, ensuring quality and integration with other technologies. Successful embedding and sustainability requires that senior managers reflect on these key issues at a departmental and/or institutional level before implementation.

At GCU the focus for Spoken Word was on the practical demonstration of the implications and potential for learning of a remote electronic library extremely and extensively rich in culturally significant multimedia: the archives of the BBC. We consider the degree to which one significant objective - the embedding of the developments generated in the project – appears to being realised. We describe the reactions of major stakeholders to the attempts of the project team to raise institutional awareness of developments and pursue a strategy to induce change.

In DART we aimed to change the teaching of undergraduate anthropology using learning technology where appropriate, but concentrating on ways in which academic staff can use the technology to bring their research and research experiences into the classroom. We have developed various tools for use in the classroom. We found that when reuse of a tool occurs, often considerable modifications are made for each use both to content and design. Therefore when thinking about the reusability or re-purposability of a tool, account needs to be taken of the expectation that learning design changes as well as content changes will occur and that in many cases what might at first appear to be 're-use' is, in practice, closer to a 'new' use.

The DialogPLUS project brought together geographers, educationalists and learning technologists from the universities of Southampton, Leeds, Pennsylvania State and Santa Barbara to work collaboratively on the creation, deployment and evaluation of innovative learning resources. A variety of rich digital assets were embedded in online activities to enhance student learning, knowledge, and skills. An online toolkit to guide the design of learning activities was developed and trialed by the project team. The new learning activities were integrated directly into course units supported by Virtual Learning Environments within each institution. Many have also been contributed to JORUM. Project outcomes included approaches to sharing students as well as resources, and considerable impact on institutional elearning strategies.

 

Using Communities of Practice to develop educational technology literacy in tertiary academics (Thom Cochrane and Giedre Kligyte)

A case study of how a communities of practice (COP) model transformed a group of IT phobic tertiary academics into educational technology evangelists; how the ‘technology steward’ guided the group in an investigation of the educational potential of various social software (web2) and elearning technologies; and the culmination of the COP in a two hour workshop presentation by the group on their journey and outcomes. Finally, how the model is now being used on an institution-wide basis for developing educational technology literacy in tertiary academics.

 

Progression - Supporting Lifelong Learners (Grainne Conole)

With the rise of web 2.0 technologies and the hype surrounding the potential of rich online environments such as Second Life, more than ever before technologies are being put forward as offering the potential for real change and pedagogical innovation. It is the social and interactive affordances of these new technologies that are particularly generating excitement and the ways in which they might enable new peer-to-peer student communication, collaboration and interaction. This suggests that perhaps we might now be at a turning point. This paper describes some of the findings which have emerged from a JISC-funded learner experience project, an in-depth case study exploring students' experiences of e-learning. The project provides empirically grounded evidence of students' actual use of technologies. The project captured in-depth case studies across a range of disciplines. The main research questions addressed were: How do learners engage with and experience e-learning? How does e-learning relate to and contribute to the whole learning experience? Data was captured using an online survey, audio logs and interviews. The findings provide valuable empirical evidence of how student perceive and experience technologies and raise fundamental questions about how institutions are (and more importantly should) be supporting the learning process.

 

The Use of Wikis to engage FE students (George Corfield)

This short paper which will include evidence of the innovative use of interactive resources in post-16 learning contexts, centres on groups of students tackling assignment work in a collaborative way using wikis as the focus of their outcomes.

The projects surrounding the research involved two diverse groups of FE students; a group of BTEC National Diploma Travel & Tourism students developing "holiday destinations" and a second group of Chemical Technology Foundation Degree students working on an assignment in collaboration with a local employer.

The use of a wiki to engage the students in collaborative work was initiated in order to encourage group dynamics but also to test the ease of use of such social software tools and consequently its relevance to FE teaching and learning. The study involved FE staff members who were non ICT literate and this created a number of issues in using Web 2.0 techniques. The project manager was involved in raising awareness of eLearning methodology and the way staff could blend technology into their teaching and learning strategies.

The study also explored the value of the wiki approach in engaging external users such as local employers (in the case of Foundation Degrees) and possibly other institutions (in the case of Travel and Tourism). A range of wiki tools were evaluated and an assessment of their use developed in order to propose a future direction for social software acquisition in the future. Issues such as using RSS feeds like YouTube, MySpace etc have been problematic and a solution will need to be developed if the college is to take full advantage of the developing internet community.

The use of wikis has proved to be interesting but early indications demonstrated that students enjoy such tools in a social environment but are less than enthusiastic to engage with the software in a learning environment. Traditional teaching and learning methods have become acceptable to both staff and students and the introduction of a wiki culture, allowing freedom of content development, was less successful than anticipated. However the project appears to conclude that wikis have a place in FE but its implementation is not necessarily advantageous to all vocational areas.

 

Promoting Good Practice and Highlighting Innovation (David Cornforth)

JISC infoNet aims to be the UK's leading advisory service for managers in the post-compulsory education sector promoting the effective strategic planning, implementation and management of information and learning technology.  Whether you are a senior manager leading institutional strategy or you are working in the field of systems, processes or e-learning, we have resources that can help you improve the support for, and quality of, learning and teaching in your institution.

Our comprehensive range of resources includes core infoKits promoting good practice and the faster-changing applied infoKits addressing current concerns.  Underpinning core infoKits can help you manage change in your institution from both a top-down (strategic) angle as well as bottom-up (operational).

By linking together and building on outputs from its Development Programmes, JISC and its services are building up a portfolio of resources to assist institutional mission in Supporting Lifelong Learning. JISC infoNet offers an expanding range of content in this area.

As well as online resources we also have a number of publication available to order and workshop events to complement the materials.

 

Institutional transformation through the use of ICT (Mike Docker and John Guy)

Where have we been, where are we going and what is holding us back?

The further education sector in the UK operates in a more regulated environment than higher education. Most institutions in England will be inspected by Ofsted or a similar body every few years and the vast majority of qualifications offered by FE institutions in the UK are provided by large examination boards operating under a national regulatory framework [1]. This environment naturally has an effect on how easily innovations, particularly in assessment, can be introduced.

In our paper we look backwards at some of the initiatives involving the innovative use of ICT we now see to have been transformational in our institution and forwards to other ICT-based initiatives we are in the process of implementing in the hope of achieving further transformation. We attempt to draw lessons from our successes (and failures) that may help to explain why the College was recently rated by Ofsted as being 'outstanding' and which we hope will be of relevance to other institutions as they seek to achieve institutional transformation themselves.

Initiatives that we consider in more detail include:

• the development of the College’s acclaimed student information system and the strategic decision taken in 1999 to put a computer in every classroom and every staff office to maximise its effectiveness;
• the steps taken to develop an open, experimental and reflective culture at the College including the benefits ensuing from the visit in 2000 of all the teaching staff at the College to the BETT Educational Technology Show at Olympia [2];
• the development of the College’s dual-purpose e-Assessment and e-Learning Centre and its use for large-scale on-screen examinations, which so far have involved up to 80 candidates at-a-time but could accommodate up to 140;
• the development of a system, which we call Invigilator Pro [3], for conducting electronic invigilation during supervised coursework examinations where candidates use standard office software on normal networked workstations.

Finally, we reflect on the pace of change in the development of e-Assessment in the further education sector and ask "what is holding us back?"

[1] The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, QCA, in England, www.qca.org.uk and other comparable bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

[2] See www.bettshow.com

[3] See www.farnboroughsfc.ac.uk/ip

 

Staff support for e-learning: a new type of partnership (Angie Donoghue and Liz Aspden)

The introduction of e-learning has resulted in the need for changes to the way staff are supported in the development of their learning, teaching and assessment (LTA) activities. This paper will look at Sheffield Hallam's approach to supporting e-learning at scale within a team that includes system administration, pedagogical advice, resources advice and troubleshooting support. Specifically it will focus on a co-sourced approach to Blackboard support which began in October 2006, and the implications of this for campus-based development staff.

Sheffield Hallam adopted Blackboard as its institutional virtual learning environment in 2001 as part of a pedagogically driven project, and its underlying support model has evolved over time to ensure consistent, coherent, comprehensive and timely. In 2006 we recognised the opportunity to address the needs of an increasingly diverse learning and teaching community, and to offer a clear, flexible, and accessible process for accessing Blackboard support. Staff are now able to access a comprehensive Knowledge Base of guidance and resources through a familiar interface, as well as getting phone-based and online support 24/7. Alongside this 'Tier 1' support are Sheffield Hallam staff with expertise in a range of areas who are able to pick up and address more specific problems.

This new process has brought with it a range of benefits for the configuration of our support. For example:

• It reflects and supports the multi-disciplinary good practice to which we aspire. The integration of library staff into this support mechanism has proved valuable in many ways both in terms of resource integration as well as staff support.
• It consolidates guidance into a consistent and coherent structure, offering ease-of-use for staff.
• It has enabled on-campus staff to concentrate on developing the pedagogical aspects of their work.
• Shared ownership of the guidance material and support data enables us to identify support needs, leading to a holistic and tailored development approach.

This paper will review and expand on the issues above from the perspective of Educational Development and Information Services staff.

 

Changing the way we think and work by using Mind Genius (and other similar Concept Mapping Tools) in education (Dave Foord)

The principles of Mind Mapping ®* were laid down by Tony Buzan, and the use of coloured pens, flipchart paper, OHTs or whiteboards to produce Mind Maps ®* – or the numerous derivatives (concept maps, brainstorms, thought showers …) have been used by most people in education for many years.

Electronic tools like Mind Genius have for many allowed them to recreate these ‘paper-based’ resources electronically, but Mind Genius can do more than that – it can actually change the way that people think and work, it can save staff and students time, it can improve the quality of written materials, and can help students to gain deeper understanding and learning, and for many learners (in particular those with dyslexia) – it increases accessibility. All in all, it is one of the most powerful, and yet underused tools within the educators ‘toolbox’.

This presentation uses a Mind Genius created map to show some of the possibilities of Mind Genius and other concept mapping software.

*The terms ‘Mind Mapping’ and ‘Mind Maps’ are Registered Trade Marks of The Buzan Organisation Ltd – more details can be found at http://www.buzanworld.com/

  

Developing an ePortfolio culture from the early years (Elizabeth Hartnell-Young)

This paper will consider ePortfolios from the learners' and the audiences' points of view, incorporating purposes, processes and useful tools. It will include examples from recent research done in the UK and Australia into the impact of ePortfolios on learning and the development of 21st century literacies. The presentation will involve participants acting as an audience for mini-ePortfolio presentations, and making judgements about what is communicated through ePortfolios at different points on the lifelong learning journey.

 

Blogging for beginners.  Tangled weblogs as spaces for transformational stories of lifelong learning (Julie Hughes and Emma Purnell)

This short paper, and eportfolio, will consider the development of critically reflective practitioners within online communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991, Wenger et al 2005) of pre-service teachers and Foundation Degree students utilising the blogging tool within an ePortfolio. The case study will focus upon groups of new teachers and Foundation Degree students at the University of Wolverhampton and their use of weblogs as transformational lifelong learning spaces in the transitions into HE and the workplace.

Blogs, as web communication tools, and community landscapes are well established. However, their use as a technological learning space within professional programmes such as Teacher Education within the United Kingdom is under theorised and under examined.  This paper will contribute to this debate by considering how a reflective community may be created, fostered and exploited.

Wenger et al's (2005: 1) recent work focuses upon 'communities... and the technologies they use to create a sense of togetherness.' This work offers an interesting and important extension of the community model by exploring how communities and technologies may shape each other. Following Wenger leads us to question explicitly the role of the technology, the ePortfolio and weblog, as fostering and supporting the community and their reflective practices.

As a Higher Education teacher who is actively seeking to exploit technology as a community-learning tool, Wenger's work offers exciting multiple readings of the 'everyday use' of technology in learning. The vital emphasis upon the community and technology as 'experienced' offers an opportunity to explore the relationship and mediations as participant.

The use of a community of practice model to promote reflection is fraught with tensions and this paper will consider and illustrate how a community might reflexively understand the tensions inherent within their community and within their use of technology.

 

Transforming Learning Methods and Spaces (Brian Irwin, Helen Rodger, Liz Aspden)

This paper will address the issue of how evolving use of technology in education is impacting the use and design of physical learning spaces. Specifically, it will build on previous work (eg, Aspden & Thorpe, 2003) that explored the impact of virtual learning on the physical environment, and acknowledge recent developments in social uses of technology such as blogs and wikis. We will look at some specific case studies of the use of Web 2.0 technologies at Sheffield Hallam, and then discuss how the findings from these might influence staff and student perceptions of the physical learning environment and how it has changed curriculum aspects and learning situations at the University.

Outside education, web 2.0 applications are increasingly widely used to create social spaces; living, growing communication networks for sharing, showing and collaborating. Within the University, the introduction of web 2.0 technologies (wikis and blogs) starting in 2005 gave rise to a more student-centred model for e-learning among some academics.

Wikis and blogs help encourage a culture where students generate, connect and publish the content that feeds into their learning and, as Holmes et al suggest, even the learning of future students (2001). Does this more student-centred approach have further implications for the way that students think about their physical learning spaces, and how does the university need to respond/adapt to this changing environment? The development of learning spaces forms a key area of priority for Sheffield Hallam, as the University is engaged in an extensive programme of new build and refurbishment projects. The paper will discuss the key challenges and questions arising from the case studies in thinking about the physical learning spaces.

References:

Aspden, L. & Thorpe, L. (2003) Designed for learning? Students' views of their learning environments. E-Learn 2003: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, Phoenix, USA.

Holmes, B., Tangney, B., Fitzgibbon, A., Savage, T, & Mehan, S. (2001). 'Communal constructivism: Students constructing learning for as well as with others.' Proceedings of SITE 2001, Florida [Online]. Available at: https://www.cs.tcd.ie/publications/tech-reports/reports.01/TCD-CS-2001-04.pdf (Accessed: 5 March 2007).

 

A blended approach  (Fiona Jennings)

In academic year 2006/07 the Access to Science lecturers were confronted with delivering an evening course in one year that had previously taken 18 months, effectively halving the delivery time and radically altering the delivery model. It was agreed that a more progressive and innovative blended learning approach was the way forward.

To achieve this transition some face-to-face elements of the course were linked to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which throws up some interesting problems related to staff training, the ability of the learners to use IT effectively and to ensure that they have regular access to internet enabled technologies. It was at this point that the first challenge was addressed; if the VLE was to be successful then work loaded onto the system must be dynamic, accessible, fit for purpose, fun and interesting; did the staff have the necessary IT skills to deliver on-line? As a result training was given to staff in the use of Course Genie, Pod Casting, Blogs, Wikis, text messaging, discussion boards and media this ensured that all learning styles were accounted for and that learners would be addicted to the VLE once they had left the classroom.

The next hurdle was to introduce the learners into this new system of study and it was agreed that at enrolment students must be informed that they would have to access a PC every week if they were to achieve their learning aim.

One of the main advantages of introducing blended learning has been the fact that learners can access lectures that they have missed as a podcast is added to the VLE each week. This can also be used for content reinforcement and as aide memoirs for revision. Another advantage has been the formative testing facilities, which the VLE marks automatically and enters the grade into a gradebook in order that the lecturer can track student progress and the students can monitor their own learning. Collaborative learning via the discussion board has allowed the group to support each other and the private blog between the tutor and learner has allowed the tutor, John Earland, to give personalised information, advice and guidance. The blog has also given the tutor a great insight into the individual learning processes. The VLE has allowed learning on demand, anytime or anywhere.

Future implications include the ability of learners to use IT effectively and to ensure that they have regular access to internet enabled technology. The tutors need to become facilitators of the course rather than a deliverer of subject content and learning. Do they get timetabled for the administration of the VLE or do management think that all the work is on line therefore they can be undertaking other duties? The responsibility for learning the theory is shifted from the tutor to the learner as it relies on them accessing the theory through the VLE if they are to succeed.

This paper looks at the lessons learnt from this process.

With the course no longer running over the long summer break, retention has improved above the national benchmark, and at the end of the academic year when achievement figures are known, Middlesbrough College will be able to evaluate the impact of blended learning and decide whether to make changes in the mode of delivery of other courses. Peer mentors have been introduced into each group to support at risk learners. The VLE has helped with the move from a traditional paper-based environment to having all course notes available on line. This has been a great help in the shift towards a nearly paperless environment which Middlesbrough College is moving towards in September 2008 when the 4 campuses move to a single site and space for storing documentation is reduced. The VLE has also housed a key resource for all curriculum coordinators. This has been very successful as it can be audited remotely and this has been formalised and will be rolled out across the college for use academic year 2007/08 once again reducing the need for storage space for files.

 

How can you pilot lifelong learning? The experiences of the JISC distributed e-learning regional pilot projects (Mark Johnson and Sarah Davies)

In 2005, JISC funded a number of projects which took a regional, cross-institutional and collaborative approach to supporting lifelong learners and facilitating progression. The motivation for this was the recognition that many people cannot move house to study due to their work or personal commitments, and may engage in a wide range of formal and informal learning in their region at different times in their life, perhaps being involved with more than one institution concurrently.

Any e-learning systems or tools which aim to support these learners in the longer term need to be usable across different institutions or into the workplace. However, if these tools are to attract funding and become embedded in teaching practice, they also need to meet the needs of teachers and institutions. There has been a vast increase in the use of Web 2.0, user-owned tools during the life of the projects (2005-2006/7), offering a different set of opportunities and challenges from the traditional, institutionally-provided technologies, and some of the projects have found that the use of the Web 2.0 technologies has better met their needs.

This session reports on the collected experiences of these projects, covering their successes and challenges in the following main areas:

• facilitating progression by using a range of technologies to support progression decisions and application to higher education, including the use of role models and visualisation of life paths, and reflections in e-portfolios;
• using and sharing online resources to supporting non-traditional learners in study skills development;
• using e-portfolios and related tools to help lifelong learners reflect on their skills and present them to admissions staff and employers;
• working with a wide range of other institutions within their region.

The projects had a challenging remit: to pilots new technologies or systems that meet the needs of lifelong learners within what was originally a 12-15-month time span. Although many projects saw benefits over that timescale, the greater win for lifelong learning, and the rationale for tools which aren’t just institutionally based, inevitably comes from longer-term user needs. This was recognised by those learners who recognised the potential of the technology to support them, but were unwilling to invest time in something that might not be sustained: how you can pilot lifelong learning? 

 

Re-using Multi-Point Videoconferencing Modules as Learning Objects in Collaborative e-Learning Discussions (Niki Lambropoulos and Nicos Minaoglou)

Nowadays, the Internet has eliminated time, space and cultural borders. In constant flux, it creates new hybrid environments where basic concepts about the society, education, trade and enjoyment have been challenged, changed and expanded. The use of ICT in Education, and e-learning in particular, has been questioned as regards quality, efficiency and effectiveness. One of the reasons may be that e-learning has not reached its potential yet. Despite educators’ objections and reluctance to e-learning, they all agree that one of the effective pedagogical models is collaborative learning, in this case, collaborative e-learning.

Videoconferencing is one of the tools to enhance adult learners’ life long learning and collaboration. Multi-point videoconferencing can be used on three levels: videoconferencing as a synchronous tool for real-time interactions between participants; video on demand; and re-use of videoconferencing modules. In this presentation, modules extracted from a videoconference were used as learning objects in collaborative discussions, following a particular collaborative e-learning schema, and supported by tools that organise and structure collaborative e-learning for vicarious learning. In this way, the educators have taken advantage of synchronous and asynchronous collaborative e-learning approaches using videoconferencing.

The case study was conducted during the ‘Project Management’ online course hosted in Moodle and supported by the Greek School Network (GSN). The main aim was to enhance Greek teachers’ professional development and life-long learning in authentic and situated educational practice. The research questions were related to: the use of collaborative e-learning in multi-point videoconferencing and associated tools; vicarious learning; and the impact of videoconferencing on teachers’ professional interactions from a life-long learning perspective.

There were 128 participants in the study, 7 e-tutors, and 121 Greek teachers. Data were collected using qualitative and qualitative approaches, log files, the associated tools, and social network analysis techniques. The results indicated the effectiveness of the proposed management of social interactions and collaborative e-learning approaches. Additionally, it was evident that videoconferencing enhanced adult learners’ social interactions, exchange of experiences, and supported long term professional relationships as part of informal life-long learning activities. Lastly, the necessity of close communication and collaboration between all stakeholders in e-learning was identified as the main factor for the successful implementation of the initial idea.

 

Exploring the use of PEDESTAL: an institutional teaching and learning repository service to enable the sharing of resources and expertise (Steve Loddington)

The Rights and Rewards Project (funded under the JISC Digital Repositories programme) is undertaking research and development into ‘blended’ Institutional Repositories containing a variety of research and teaching materials. Currently at Loughborough University, there are a number of IT systems for the sharing of research and teaching outputs, these include a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), an Institutional Repository (IR) containing research outputs and a publications database. PEDESTAL is a demonstrator teaching and material repository service, which aims to provide new opportunities for sharing teaching resources and expertise amongst academic’s within institutions.

Unlike other systems that exist nationally, such as the JORUM repository (www.jorum.ac.uk) PEDESTAL adopts a more informal approach to the sharing of resources. Many systems and repositories that exist at present are structured around subject areas, whereas, PEDESTAL is structured around people i.e. users. Whilst existing institutional systems and associated business processes have been taken into consideration, so too have the needs of the users. A user-centred approach was adopted which heavily informed the design of the repository. In addition to a personal profile each member of staff is able to upload materials and discuss a range of teaching issues. These comments can form valuable content for other users of the service in addition to uploaded resources. Movements in the social software and web 2.0 arenas also played their part to provide new opportunities for sharing within institutions.

Significant challenges have been faced in the form of obtaining sufficient buy-in from crucial stakeholders including academic’s, support staff and senior management. Barriers have also been faced whilst aligning the aims of PEDESTAL to the wider institutional strategies for research, learning and teaching.

The key aspects of the PEDESTAL blended repository environment are demonstrated. The use of Web 2.0 and informal sharing within an institutional setting are explored.

 

Supporting a lifelong learning agenda (Robin Mason)

This presentation will focus on several technologies with the potential for supporting learners throughout their formal and workplace learning. E-portfolios are one such technology and Web 2.0 networking technologies will also be discussed. Despite the growing popularity of these technologies, there are pedagogical and organisational issues surrounding their use. For example, should educational institutions own and manage these technologies for students, or should learners be left or allowed to use whatever systems they choose? What about interoperability and sustainability over time? More significantly perhaps, will learners be willing to use 'leisure' technologies for learning? The presentation will address these and other issues.

 

Groundhog day again? (Terry Mayes)

Twelve years ago [1] I suggested that, despite the regular predictions of transformational change brought about by technology, only when we finally acknowledged the true nature of learning would we escape from the cycle of raised expectation followed by disappointment.  Since then we have seen several waves of renewed optimism, and we do seem much closer to the goal of understanding learning. The social, vicarious and identity-based nature of learning has been properly acknowledged, and e-pedagogy is driving much of the development. Yet, while it is possible to talk now about the real enhancements to our learning environments brought by a proper emphasis on dialogue and feedback it is still hard to describe our mainstream use of these tools as genuinely transformational. Yet perhaps this is how the revolution comes: creeping up without you noticing when things really changed – incremental, bottom-up, evolutionary.  Groundhog Day may be a metaphor that encourages the wrong view of transformation.

Nevertheless, today, as the recent DEMOS report ‘TheirSpace’ [2] makes clear, the way that many young learners are communicating and creating their own media digitally, does feel transformational. Perhaps we have simply been looking in the wrong place. In this presentation I will invite consideration of whether social software-led participatory, mobile, peer-negotiated learning offers the first truly transformational paradigm. In doing this I will point to the current context of support and encouragement for e-pedagogy to spearhead institutional change. There has never been a more fertile ground for development, at least in UK post-compulsory education. I will point to the Higher Education Academy/JISC Benchmarking and Pathfinder Programmes, the JISC emphasis on pedagogy-led design and the learner experience, the Scottish e-learning Transformation Programme, and the Scottish QAA enhancement themes. In each of these a common thread can be discerned, of empowering and engaging learners to become digitally literate, to create their own learning materials and personal environments, and to use technology to more deeply understand, and better to negotiate, their own learning. In Wenger’s evocative phrase [3] , learning is taking on the quality of ‘horizontality’. The technology is encouraging transformation through the power of pooling lots of individual learning experiences. The presentation will ask: is this finally transformational?

[1] MAYES, J.T. Learning Technology and Groundhog Day, In W. Strang, V.B. Simpson & D. Slater (Eds.)Hypermedia at Work: Practice and Theory in Higher Education. University of Kent Press : Canterbury (ISBN 0904938 57 3) 1995

[2] H. Green and C. Hannon, Their Space: Education for a digital generation downloadable from http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/theirspace

[3] WENGER, E. (2005) Learning for a small planet: a research agenda, available at www.ewenger.com/research

 

  Understanding the prospects for transformation (David Nicol and Steve Draper)

The Pew funded 'Program in Course Redesign' in the USA has demonstrated that it is now possible to redesign large university courses to be delivered more cheaply yet with higher learning quality. This appears to reconcile the strategic interest of managing costs in the face of expanding participation in HE, with the tradition in educational technology of seeking improved learning through new methods. However, such course redesigns have not yet spread widely in the US and no cases have been reported in the UK context, where the conditions are also somewhat different. Whether the Pew approach is applicable to a UK context is explored through a detailed comparison of the Pew funding program with a similar project, REAP, funded under the Scottish e-learning transformation programme along a number of dimensions. Issues are raised with respect to the following:

• the focal target for transformation,
• the different drivers for change
• the role of money in stimulating change
• the level at which interventions are focused (e.g. course, institution)
• the value of collaboration,
• the measurement of change
• embedding change
• disseminating innovations.

This paper should be of interest to managers at institutional and national level as well as to academics interested in changing their approaches to teaching with technology.

 

Survey tools, focus groups and video as a means of capturing student experience and expectations of e-learning (Dave O'Hare)

This paper examines at how the experience and expectations of students’ e-learning has been captured as part of the University’s participation in phase 1 of the HEA/JISC led e-learning benchmarking (ELB) exercise. The University has recognised the importance of placing the students at the centre of the e-learning experience and have adopted this as a criterion in the ELB exercise. The methods employed to capture student experience were:

• A University wide survey
• Small focus groups

A preliminary assessment of the results from the survey is underway. It is intended that a full analysis of the data will inform other University wide strategic activities being undertaken at the same time, these being the ‘Student Experience’ project and the ‘Curriculum Fit for the Future’ (2007) review. An evaluation of the results will be compared to the findings of previous JISC learner experience projects LEX, LXP, TESEP.

The analysis will be used to establish a series of recommendations that will provide the organisational and pedagogic contexts and processes required for the embedding of e-learning alongside the development of methodologies which will allow student input into the development and deployment of educational technology.

The process of capturing student experience has given the University an increased knowledge and understanding of student views on e-learning from which models of student participation and mechanisms for student input on educational technology can be derived.

The University is at the beginning of a process that as it becomes more established will make students important stakeholders in e-learning. This is very much seen as an ongoing method of capturing student input. It forms part of the University’s e-learning Pathfinder bid and has been given strategic credibility by the institution as part of the wider ‘Student Experience’ project. The now aim is to move to the next stage of development where students actually influence the nature of their learning environment, resources and materials.

 

Using ePortfolios to support the personal and academic development of higher education students (Karen Pinney and Jane Edwards) 

This paper considers the use of ePortfolios to support lifelong learning in the context of a one-year pilot programme to support 31 full-time, first-year undergraduate degree students who were actively involved in online personal tutorials using the PebblePad ePortfolio tool at Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies (BCFTCS).

Recognising the importance for all students of recording and reflecting upon their progress and achievements, and coupled with the increased pressure faced by educational institutions to facilitate individual pastoral tutorials, this study investigates the possibility of online tutorials supporting or replacing face-to-face sessions. This mode of interaction will also enable more flexible access to tutorial support for the non-traditional learners and part time students by providing an asynchronous communication medium that is available at times to suit individuals rather than requiring attendance at restricted points in time or locations.

The outcomes of the study are focused upon two main areas: to investigate the potential contribution of ePortfolios to the undergraduate tutorials and to explore student and tutor perceptions of using the ePortfolio to support the tutorial process.

The PebblePad ePortfolio package was chosen as an innovative and user-friendly means by which students could take ownership of their own learning and personal development planning (PDP) and also to communicate with their tutor and others within their learning community. The functions available on the e-portfolio system facilitate self-reflection, self-assessment and personal action planning. Although PebblePad was not specifically designed to be used for the purposes of online tutoring, the functions can be tailored to individual students and allow the package to be used in a way that supports both personal and academic development and the pastoral tutoring requirements of the institution.

Key findings from the study were that students perceived the use of PebblePad for online tutorials as providing more opportunity for interaction with tutors, to be more convenient and more interesting than traditional face-to-face tutorials. However some students reported a lack of motivation to participate in online tutorials and indicated that they would be more likely to miss these than a face-to-face tutorial because of the perceived personal involvement with the tutor. Staff raised issues of time required to operate the online tutorials, the importance of full training for staff and students and commented on the quality of the tutorial support offered.

 

Lost in transformation? Caught in the web of change (Jane Plenderleith and Veronica Adamson)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that this is a period of sustained and rapid change in the tertiary education sector in the UK. Since the early 1990s, the themes of transformation and renewal have been endemic as the sector has had to develop to take account of the drive to mass higher education, changing student demographics, expectations and needs. Recent development initiatives have formalised the concept of transformation as both a result of and a driver for the use of technology for learning, teaching, assessment, research and all other areas of institutional business.  With a development trajectory from VLE usage to MLE implementation to PLE provision, through a profusion of blogs and wikis to the chaos of Web 2.0, the world of educational technology seems to be spinning ever faster. The information age is answer-rich, but question poor. The development community is finding it ever more challenging to avoid being driven round and round in a vortex of technological change, and to consolidate the role of technology as an enabler of transformation rather than the transformational end in itself.

This short paper will review the role of transformational change in major development initiatives with particular reference to the HE Academy Benchmarking exercise and Pathfinder programme (as a major implementation initiative for the HEFCE e-Learning Strategy) and the Scottish Funding Council’s e-Learning Transformation programme. It will present the case against a technologically determinist view of transformational change whereby e-learning developments are caught in a web of change for change’s sake. It will argue that sustained and positive change requires an incremental approach that embraces the potential of technology to enhance the core values of tertiary education and its role in the world, including quality enhancement and standards of provision, consistency of approaches, and the value and currency of learning in personal, societal and economic terms.

 

Barriers to mainstream adoption of Second Life for teaching (Andy Powell)

 This late addition to the programme will be a live discussion forum (in Second Life) in plenary and small groups (limited numbers, 3 groups of 10), looking at what barriers exist to the more widespread uptake of Second Life for teaching in UK institutions. The intention will be to assess the barriers and make suggestions for what, if anything, needs to be done to remove them. This will be followed by a 'conventional' discussion in the main conference environment.

 

Design for learning: an online workshop (Paul Riddy, Graham Lewis, Mark Childs)

The JISC funded EDIT4L project is exploring the use of the DialogPlus toolkit (DPT) and the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) individually and in tandem for designing, creating and delivering applications which support learning. Focussing on the needs of teaching staff, key objectives are to investigate how these tools can support the development of pedagogic design skills; what is needed for the successful implementation and application of the tools; and their usability, quality and effectiveness. Our introductory workshops for teachers involve them as ‘e-learners’, as well as introducing them to appropriate concepts and tools they can use to design both on- and offline activities and instantiate e-learning activity sequences. We also capture their feedback on the workshop content and the two main tools.

As part of the JISC Online Conference 2007, we propose to invite participants to undertake a similar workshop. They will view an introductory PowerPoint presentation, use DPT to design a learning activity and (optionally) create and run the activity as a LAMS sequence. Online support for participants will be provided by the EDIT4L team, who are split between Southampton and at the University of Warwick. The team will also gather feedback about the workshop and the tools formally, using an online form, and informally in a conference related blog.

The EDIT4L team have been faced with competing agendas, partly arising out of rapid change in our local organisations. One of the major challenges has been to elicit management support for the embedding of such workshops in the initial certification and continuing professional development programmes for teachers in our own universities. A secondary aim of our proposed showcase will be to encourage discussion of this issue; to gather instances of both success and failure in embedding an introduction to e-learning in the mandatory training of new teachers in higher and further education; and approaches to updating the awareness and ‘e-skills’ of teachers as they progress in their careers.

 

Lifelong Learning and Widening Participation in HE in Developing Countries – The Challenge for e-Learning (Chris Smith and Maria Rodriguez-Yborra)

Ever since the publication by UNESCO of Faure’s ‘Learning to be – the world of today and tomorrow’ (1972), in which lifelong learning was proposed as a ‘master concept’, nations both within and beyond Europe have been striving to promote the concept, with varying degrees of success (Smith, 2002). In 2001 the concept again gained prominence with the European Commission’s declaration: ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’. With e-learning and the move to digitise knowledge becoming ever more prevalent, so at last the prospect of lifelong learning and widening participation can become a reality.

However, whilst these days it is the norm in the Northern and industrialised nations of the world for households to have computers and virtually unlimited access to the internet, it is a quite different story in the developing countries of the world. With poor infrastructure, connectivity and bandwidth problems, many countries are finding it difficult to prosper in this new e-learning age. Yet it is precisely such countries which stand to benefit most in terms of wider accessibility to knowledge. If this ‘digital divide’ is not to become insurmountable, strategies need to be put in place to maximise the available technology for widening participation. As UNESCO (2005) state ‘Everyone should have the necessary skills to benefit fully from the information society.’

With education being a central strand in the international community’s drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), donor community projects can be seen as a means to bridge the digital divide. In the UK for example, a range of initiatives have recently been introduced, largely funded through the Department for International Development (DFID), to address issues related to the MDGs. Essentially these initiatives involve establishing educational partnerships between UK educational institutions and educational institutions in developing countries to develop innovative strategies that seek to address the MDGs. As UNESCO (2005) again state: ‘ ICTs can contribute to achieving universal education worldwide, through delivery of education and training of teachers, and offering improved conditions for lifelong learning…’ With organisations such as the ‘African Virtual University’ ; the ‘Global Development Learning Network’; and ‘Open Learning Systems Education Trust’, for example, having recently been established, principally serving African nations, it is clear that technology is now becoming even more synonymous with education. But education is not just about technology, and as far as lifelong learning is concerned, there must be another dimension. In order for learners or indeed knowledge itself to ‘make a difference’, particularly in developing countries, learners need to be part of a wider professional group, either in the same workplace or in related organisations. The technology can act as an enabler for groups of working professionals to gain, exchange and develop knowledge not only for personal development but for the greater good of the organisation, community and region.

The University of Bolton has several years experience of delivering ‘traditional’ programmes off-campus in developing countries. However it now has new programmes scheduled for delivery, under the initiatives described above, that will significantly increase the use of e-methods for programme delivery. Under one such initiative, our intention is to create cadres of ‘learning professionals’ in the workplace who can, by their proximity and roles, act as change agents within their respective institutions. Although the learners will be work-based and use on-line tools for some programme delivery, cadres from different organisations will come together for a series of residential sessions in which knowledge and experiences will be shared through the medium of a range of modular programme inputs. This paper seeks to explore some of the practical issues that are likely to be faced when incorporating a blended learning / e-learning approach into a Masters distance programme. By reflecting on past experience the authors will also suggest ways in which an optimum learning outcome can be achieved using a combination of these approaches in a developing country.

 

Support of Work-Based Learning and Employer Engagement (Mark Stiles, Fleur Corfield, Richard Benefer) 

Successful support of the work-based learner is as much dependent on the creation of the right courses and learning opportunities and supporting those involved in facilitating the learning experience as it is on the quality of the direct support given to learners. Colleagues in the Staffordshire University Regional Federation (SURF) have been running Foundation Degrees since their inception and have learnt much about the impact of employer engagement on the relative success or failure of individual courses. The JISC SURF WBL-Way project is focussing on the support that employers need to sustain their engagement and the needs of work-based mentors and FE tutors in the design, creation and delivery of WBL in Foundation Degrees, building on the work on supporting WBL learners carried out by the earlier JISC SURF WBL and SUNIWE projects. This session will discuss the issues around supporting WBL and employer engagement and invite participants to get actively involved in their further clarification. Mark Stiles will lead the session with support from SURF, FE and project colleagues.

 

From bruised to enthused: tackling the challenges of championing online learning for personal and institutional change (Keith Smyth, Andrew Comrie, Liz Foulis)

Authors: Keith Smyth (Napier University), Andrew Comrie (Interactive University), Liz Foulis (Lauder College), Douglas Greatorex (Edinburgh’s Telford College)Julie McCran (Edinburgh’s Telford College).

The need for institutions to evolve in order to meet the major challenges of our rapidly changing educational sector is now well established. So too is the role that technology can play in helping to meet these challenges by extending classroom activity, improving opportunities for collaborative learning, and providing students with increasing control over what, when, and how they learn.

However while we rightfully hold up examples of innovative technology-enhanced education from within our institutions, whose strategic visions will invariably have a focus on blended and online learning, the reality is that many practitioners are still mainly using the VLE as a materials repository.

There are many reasons why the promise of technology is not fully realised by our institutions, with time, space and resources to help practitioners innovate being one common barrier. This and other factors underline the tensions that exist between the wider recognition of the need for innovation in the areas of teaching and technology, and the reality for the practitioner facing this prospect. Another dimension is added if we accept that technology and students are changing faster than most institutions will be able to cope with, unless institutions become more innovative about their own transformation process.

Funded by the SFC as one of their six e-learning and institutional transformation projects, TESEP (Transforming and Enhancing the Student Experience through Pedagogy) is a collaborative FE-HE initiative that recognises these tensions, and which has developed and employed a range of strategies across the partner institutions to tackle the difficult challenges to be faced in this area.

The challenges include:

• Helping practitioners understand the pedagogic principles that can underpin a truly learner-centred technology-supported experience
• Finding staff development models that are sensitive to a diverse range of practitioner needs, and that provide support as and when it is needed
• Recognising that IT literacy is not the same as online learning skill, and that students need proper orientation to any blended or online learning
• Securing a commitment to e-learning at all levels of an institution, and making this visible to everyone involved in transforming teaching practice
• Respecting that each individual practitioner needs to begin innovating at a place that is comfortable for them, while encouraging them to go further
• Aligning the innovation being championed with key institutional strategies

Through reflecting on the successes of the TESEP project and the lessons learned, and using video narratives and case examples, this paper aims to tell a warts and all story of how the above challenges can be met in striving for genuine transformation of the teaching and learning experience.

CeLLs – Collaborative e-learning in Life Sciences (Martyn Ward and Wendy Nightingale)

Project Aims – who are we and what do we want to achieve?

• CeLLs is one of the projects funded by the Scottish Funding Council e-learning Transformation Programme.
• It was established as a collaboration between the Scottish Colleges Biotechnology Consortium (Forth Valley, Adam Smith, Bell, Dundee and James Watt Colleges), Napier University, The University of Dundee, The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and The Interactive University Ltd (IU), a not-for-profit commercial company.
• The major aim is to create and share core online materials for early-years (SCQF Levels 7 & 8) learning and teaching in Life Sciences to facilitate transformation to a more student-centred approach to learning and a blended approach to teaching.

How will the project lead to institutional change? The presentation will explain

• How the vehicle for change is the shared curricular content developed by the academic partners in cellular and molecular biology.
• How the creation of e-learning objects will help academic partners change the way that learners learn and teachers teach. In Colleges, a combination of e-learning and tutorial support for core material will permit greater focus on laboratory based learning and the development of technical skills. In Universities, contact time in formal core lectures will be reduced in favour of student-centred e-learning. There would then be a shift of emphasis towards activities such as learning support tutorials, formative assessment opportunities, skills acquisition etc. Overall, we seek to change the emphasis of delivery from teaching to learning.
• How institutional change will only follow if the project outputs offer flexibility of use. Only then will institutions be able to embed the objects according to their own prevailing curriculum and ethos.

Where are we now? The presentation will show

• How pilot learning objects are being introduced in session 2006/07
• How learning objects will be used in future
• Early results from pilot student and staff evaluations
• Links to sample on-line learning objects
• An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our approach and the lessons learned