I’d rather be a weaver than a blender!

In favour of structure ine-learning design

Paul Bartholomew

Faculty of Health

What am I going to talk about today?• My experience with two technologies:

– Microsoft Producer– Moodle

• Sharing some evaluation data

• How I have integrated these technologies into my teaching

• My approach to designing a learning experience

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Multimedia Lectures:Microsoft Producer content

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…a potted history of an example in practice

The Programme I Inherited in 2002

• Teaching methods were mostly didactic.

• Lots of information to transfer.

• Little time in the programme for knowledge construction.

• Expanding cohorts, 70, 90, 110 students

• Lecture theatre teaching environment represented a challenge.

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Student Performance

• Examination marks were OK

• Assignments were pretty poor:

» Little critical evaluation of literature

» Narrow reading

» Poor use of radiographic images

» Little critical evaluation of patient care pathway

» No real understanding of ‘the why’

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Desire to engagestudents in active

learning

Prime Driver

Students needed to be encouraged to be more proactive

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Active Learning

IndependentLearning

CollaborativeLearning

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Requirement to‘deliver’ information

(Self imposed)

We know they were ‘taught’ x,y,z!

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Finite classroomtime, under utilised

self study time(270 Hours)

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Evolving Technology

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Evolving TechnologyEvolving Technology

Requirement toRequirement to‘‘deliver’ informationdeliver’ information

Desire to engageDesire to engagestudents in activestudents in active

learninglearning

Finite classroomFinite classroomtime, under utilisedtime, under utilised

self study timeself study time

Enhanced Vocational / Clinical RelevanceEnhanced Vocational / Clinical Relevance(Perceptions)(Perceptions)

Clinical scenarioClinical scenariobased problembased problem

solving, supportedsolving, supportedby pre-viewedby pre-viewed

multimedia lecturesmultimedia lectures

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A Solution?

1. Students view the multimedia lecture in their (underutilised) study time

(Independent Learning)

2. Students are invited to attend for follow-up activities in the sessions liberated by shifting didactic content away from the ‘classroom’

(Collaborative Learning)

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Pilot 1• I needed to ensure that multimedia

lectures were effective in conveying information.

• I was interested to see whether deep as well as surface learning could be facilitated.

• Simple pre and post (multimedia lecture) test methodology.

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Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Student 6 Student 7 Student 8

Pre-material Surface Score

Post Material Surface Score

Pre-material Deep Score

Post Material Deep Score

Are multimedia lectures effective in conveying information?

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Pilot 2• I was interested to see a direct

comparison between students who had studied a multimedia lecture programme and a ‘fleshy’ one.

• This was carried out for an elective study day on radiological image interpretation – a lot of new but relevant material for the learner group concerned.

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Results

Results of interpretative skills after each of the delivery methods were very comparable with the ‘multimedia’ learners slightly outperforming the ‘fleshy students’.

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The Follow-up Sessions

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Examples of Follow-up Activities:

• Debriefs – ‘What didn’t you understand?’

• Generic and specific assignment support

• Exam Preparation

• Peer Supported Learning

• Clinical Scenarios – Make a diagnosis; Plan and justify a diagnostic regime

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The Results

• Examination marks were comparable to the previous year

• Mean of the assignment marks up by just over 5% compared to the previous year

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What have students said about the multimedia lectures?

• ‘It is a facility that I have returned to for reference after the exam when on placement and the fact that it is easily accessible makes this easy, even for somebody like me who is not particularly computer literate’

• ‘Because the lectures were supposed to be viewed beforehand, this meant that the corresponding classroom-based sessions were spent much more productively. Time was spent discussing the practical applications of the theory….I would definitely opt to spend more time on these activities which encourage active learning, rather than just taking notes on the basics which are now covered on the CD-ROM resource.’

• ‘The lecturer spoke a bit too quickly but I could pause him while I caught up with my notes’

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Wider Applications

• Multiple Sclerosis – resource disk

• Image interpretation training for A&E doctors (and other staff)

• Manual handling and resuscitation updates (theory)

• Video ‘with structure and control’

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A note on platform dependence..

• This is a Microsoft Product

• Disadvantages:» Mac compliance?» Doesn’t work with Firefox» Many media professionals use a Mac.

• Advantages:» Often a ‘turn key’ solution for staff» Windows familiarity» Free plug-in

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Other packages do exist that allow you to deploy this sort of technology…..

Using Multimedia Lectures with a VLE

• We have been able to marry this sort of content to our virtual learning environment – Moodle (albeit indirectly)

• However, I have chosen so supply my students with the video lectures on CD ROM – this gets around any bandwidth limitations of dial-up access.

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UCE Birmingham’s

Virtual Learning Environment

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Modular

Object-

Oriented

DynamicLearning

Environment

Open Source

Has allowed us to more fully support staff

Evolved with sound pedagogic principles at its core.

www.moodle.org

Tim

esca

leK

ey A

ctiv

itie

sPhase OneInnovation

Feb 2004 to

Aug 2004

Small Scale Pilot:‘Enhancing the Quality of Academic Programmes in HE’ (SSDD module on MA Education)

Active Experimentation by staff.

Test integration with Library and Student Records Systems.

Tim

esca

leK

ey A

ctiv

itie

sPhase OneInnovation

Feb 2004 to

Aug 2004

Extended Pilots:Up to 10 live Modules with students per Faculty and Central Servicesin the first semester and an additional 15 in the second semester.

Active Experimentation by Staff.

Phase TwoEarly

adoption

Sep 2004 to

Aug 2005

IT s

tand

ard

Tim

esca

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ey A

ctiv

itie

sPhase OneInnovation

Feb 2004 to

Aug 2004

Modules to exist within Moodle as required by staff.

Phase TwoEarly

adoption

Sep 2004 to

Aug 2005

Phase ThreeMainstream

activity

Sep 2005 to

Aug 2007Sys

tem

s ev

alua

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Stu

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exp

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nce

eval

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IT s

tand

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Tim

esca

leK

ey A

ctiv

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sPhase OneInnovation

Feb 2004 to

Aug 2004

All modules on all courses to exist within Moodle

Minimum level of content defined.

Phase TwoEarly

adoption

Sep 2004 to

Aug 2005

Phase ThreeMainstream

activity

Sep 2005 to

Aug 2007

Phase FourMandatory

activity

Sep 2007 onwards

Sys

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tion

Stu

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exp

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eval

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IT s

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Sen

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Designing with Moodle

Micro-design

The online learning experience is important.

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The importance of labelling

Is the ‘look’ of a course important?:

I really don't care how acourse looks - I just wantthe information

Though I would prefer acourse to look good, itwouldn't affect myengagment level

I think the look of acourse may wellinfluence myengagement level

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Designing with Moodle

Macro-design

There is no online learning experience……

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What makes it woven?For me, blended learning can pertain to any course design that makes use of both face to face teaching and learning and ICT supported teaching and learning.

What I mean by woven learning is that we can (and often should) design the online interaction pattern in a highly structured way, interleaving the virtual and ‘fleshy’ learning experiences into a single designed entity.

The order in which online resources and activities are presented and the instructions given to students that articulate these to the face to face domain is a key feature.

The following slide may help to illustrate this:

What makes it woven?C

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Virtual component

Time

Online task or resource

designed to support the previous or

next classroom session

Weaving Moodle into a Module

• Integral to the module – not bolt on support

• Broadened the interface with students – builds a richer relationship

• Each week follows the same woven pattern

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Appealing to students’ strategic nature

Articulating with the summative assessment regime promotes the

motivation required for full engagement (intrinsic follows extrinsic motivation?)

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Using formative quizzes summatively• The previous few slides demonstrate the quiz features of

Moodle.

• In my own teaching, I let the students know that one of the questions from each quiz WILL be on the exam – I just don’t say which one!

• This has the effect of motivating the students (albeit extrinsically) to engage fully with the quizzes.

• I use pop-up glossaries to give media rich feedback to their answers, thus continuing to ‘teach’ through this formative assessment.

• Students are ‘rewarded’ for full engagement with the module.

Scripted Forums – an exampleThis is a collaborative group activity. It is the responsibility of person 'C' in each group to start the discussion by offering an initial answer which students 'A' and 'B' will then critique.It is student 'A's responsibility to ensure that a final group response is available for marking by Friday November 26th - this should be the final posting in the online thread.Your collaborative answer will be marked out of 16. (this is to reflect 16 half marks in an exam situation).Final group answers will only be accepted and marked where all 3 students have made a contribution to the exercise through making a posting.

Question:A male patient attends on a stretcher from A&E with a lower limb injury. He has fallen from a ladder and the request form reads:"X-Ray left calcaneum ? fracture"Fully describe how you would radiograph this patient.

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Formative feedback is only given where all participants of the group have fulfilled their role.

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A good participation rate has been observed

2004 student feedback (n=59/92)

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• 93% of respondents agreed (or strongly agreed) that the CD ROM resource had helped facilitate their learning

• Where free text comments pertained to the CD ROM video lecture resource – 24 were positive and 3 were negative.

• 95% of respondents agreed (or strongly agreed) that Moodle as deployed in this module had helped facilitate their learning.

• Where free text comments pertained to the Moodle hosted module content – 23 were positive and 2 were negative.

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Moodle interactions

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A 2.4% rise in mean mark over the previous year

‘Moodle gave a set structure which was followed by both lecturers as

well as students. It gave some direction to a normally poorly

organised student. Loved the online tests / feedback’

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In favour of weaving – some thoughts

• When blending two things together it is sometimes difficult to predict the flavour of the resultant mix.

• A woven structure maintains the integrity of all the composite materials and uses this to create a structure that is more than the sum of its parts.

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• A woven structure can be tightly or loosely woven, rigid or floppy.

• If you don’t keep a lid on while blending – it can be messy!

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In favour of weaving – some thoughts

Want to know more about…..• Our e-learning design philosophy?

• UCE Birmingham’s use of Moodle?

We have a Guest access version of our

E-Learning in the Faculty of Health course available at:

http://hcc.moodle.uce.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=235

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