Teacher Trainers- The Virtual Learning Environment Community

8/14/2019 Teacher Trainers- The Virtual Learning Environment Community

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Teacher trainers: the virtual learningenvironment community

Background to case-study

This case-study highlights the impacts ontrainers practice within the Leeds Trinity andAll Saints (LTAS) higher education institution(HEI) which conducts both primary andsecondary teacher training. Leeds Trinityreceived TDA funding for information andcommunications technology (ICT) in initialteacher training (ITT) projects each year from200405 to 200708 (four years in total).

The funding was used to provide laptops fortrainees, video capture and analysistechnology and, latterly, the introduction of avirtual learning environment (VLE). Thisfunding constituted a significant resource forthe ITT programmes at Leeds Trinity.The VLE was developed over quite some

time, having initially being developed in theirschool-centred initial teacher training (SCITT)and then transferring across into the Bachelorof Education (BEd) and postgraduatecertificate in education (PGCE) courses.

Impact

This case description looks mainly at theway the introduction of a VLE hasimpacted on trainers practice but alsolooks at trainees practice, trainers, and

the sustainability of the project in terms ofdepth, scope and transfer of ownership.

Scope: how do you get a critical mass ofpeople participating in the programme andchanging practice?

Depth: how do you position the projects toimpact on the classroom environment andchallenge different contexts, beliefs andattitudes?

Transfer of ownership: how do youencourage participants to take ownershipof the technology and intervention?

View: the video case-study.Download: the full research report; the execsummary.

Impacts on trainers practice

The main use of the virtual learningenvironment (VLE) was as a means of tutors

extending their sessions so that they offeradditional resources to trainees. This meantthat trainees could learn outside and inaddition to scheduled learning time, andthat the locations for learning were extended.This resulted in a more inclusive andpersonalised agenda in terms of studentslearning.

One of the main impacts was the change inhow the curriculum was offered. Thepedagogy of trainers became more blendedand connected different learning contextsincluding the school, the HEI and at home.

I can introduce things through a podcast sothat I can point them to resources and theycan be opening them up as I am talking aboutthem. Its new to me how these students work its very different to how I studied. Im tryingto make these things more accessible forthem.

The project illustrated a movement from atechnology chasing a solution (in terms ofimproving communication) to a core piece ofwork within which teaching and learning founda way of developing and improving itselfbecause of the affordances within thetechnology. The innovation became moreeffective in this case when it was more closelytied to the core business of the organisation.


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There was a widespread engagement withVLE as a means of extending andpersonalising taught sessions,wherepractitioners developed their understanding ofthe best ways to develop blended learning.This was done by a softly, softly approach to

embedding the technology.

We did it a bit like osmosis. We didnt force iton people, but in our own minds we wereclear we were not going to say: Do thisbecause its good for you, but rather: This iswhat it can do for you, and then people cameto us.

The VLE also allowed practitioners to developtheir subject specialist teaching. For example,it allowed a tutor on a short course

(geography) to provide a range of extensionmaterials for trainees.

When I started it was very much documents,links, useful resources. Over the last twoyears Ive been able to extend and it really isa much more integral part of my module forgeography. Last week I gave them a web-based task that was linked to the VLE butalso an environmental quiz to get themthinking about things, and then actuallymaking use of that for the session, as well

and feeding into things I want them to dooutside the session.

Trainers developed their existing pedagogyby using the VLE and engaging more closelywith trainees.

Ive been doing it for a number of years(using the VLE). Its interesting how over thelast couple of years it has taken off a lot more.Part of it is the Facebook culture a lot ofpeople are used to doing that sort of onlineinteraction. Theyll get onto the VLE and talkto their friends about going out and theyllupload a few lesson plans and moan about acertain class, all on the VLE.

Additionally, staff could access each otherswork anonymously and then request supportto do something similar, facilitating knowledgetransfer and development of materials withinthe VLE.

Impact on trainees

The changes in programme delivery providedadditional access and support to maturestudents for out-of-hours study, so they couldfit learning into and around their domestic

responsibilities.

The extended materials also improvedtrainees subject specialist knowledge inliteracy, PE, geography and assessment.

Trainees were able to get anonymous andinstantaneous feedback when they usedonline assessments. Tutors could identifyareas that were a common problem andtarget these in their sessions.

Using the VLE among trainees allowedadditional peer and tutor support onplacements in the following ways:

Trainees were able to e-mail requests and thetutors could direct them to particularresources on the VLE.

Pastoral tutors can keep an eye onstudents materials and interactions, evenwhen they are not the link tutor.

Trainers can also push out new policies andoverall communication can be quicker andmore responsive.

Trainees used threaded discussions overtheir placements mostly on issues around ICTusage, but linked to issues such as classroommanagement. They also pooled ideas andresources about specific subjects.

Impacts on schools and pupils

This was limited within this project other thanby exposing trainees and therefore pupils to awider range of ICT technologies over theircourse.Some trainees reported being frustrated atthe levels of technology within schools. Someprimary schools have not invested in ICT orare too tied to the QCA scheme, which isrelatively limited. This can frustrate students.

The students do feel a little hidebound by the

structures that exist in school.

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How it was done

The key innovators had a vision of how toembed the VLE within the organisation andfor use by trainers.

This initially grew out of the educationdepartments perceived needs and was thendriven forward by two entrepreneurs withclear roles. One dealt with the overallarchitecture and the other dealt with the moreimmediate problems faced by staff.

A high level of institutional support was crucialand formed by the ICT experience of keyleaders and managers.

The development was enabled by the relative

size of the education department in relation toother parts of the college.With over25 percent of the students in the college, thedepartment was able to reach a critical massof users, which led to the innovation beingadopted by the institution.

Key points were:

The innovators maintained control over theVLE implementation and dealt with objectionsby the internal ICT support team.

I have had strong battles with IT services,and I think that is partly because they haveexpertise in ICT but not expertise within ICT ineducation.

A direct connection or utility was in evidencefrom the outset. The VLE was directedprimarily at trainers and how it could benefittheir practice.

The concept of sharing developments wasbuilt into the ethos of the VLE design. Bygiving staff enrolment keys that controlledaccess to their materials in their areas andthen allowing them to give these to others asa means of allowing them to decide who seeswhat, led to a sense of ownership of thewhole blended learning developmentprocess.

Different subject teams were targeted eachyear so that a critical mass of users grew up

gradually.

The subject specific issues of tutors weretargeted for development rather than moregeneric issues such as communication.

Impacts in terms of sustainability

Depth: how do you get it to impact onclassrooms and in different contexts,beliefs and attitudes?

Scope: how do you get a critical mass ofpeople trying this out and changingpractice?

Transfer of ownership: how do you getpeople to own the development?

Depth

There were several project characteristicsassociated with the depth of the impact ofthe project, which were mostly positive.

Staff were able to view data on the use andinteraction with the different aspects of theVLE, thus they were able to monitorengagement as to the usage of their ownresources and discussion groups. In turn thismade them able to see why some areas weregetting more engagement than others, and sopractice in blended learning strategies was

transferred more easily.

Over time there was a movement from arepository of course materials to greaterinteractivity and extension materials, videoclips, etc. This illustrated the versatility of theVLE and made it not only worth a visit butalso a showcase for evolving blendedpedagogies.

The notion of development that was bothprivate and shared a sort of social

constructivism by proxy (without the affectivefactors of being seen to need help) waseffective in sharing and developing practice.For example, e-learning advisers who werenot members of the teacher team could beasked for support and advice on materialdevelopment.

The key idea, which enabled sharing forusers, was also fundamental to this process.

They (trainers) dont have to go up tosomeone and say: Can I have a look at whatyou are doing?


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Depth in terms of extending to schools, asmentioned above, was a little moreproblematic due to the lack of investment oruse of ICT in schools, which sometimesfrustrated trainees.

Scope

The project team employed several strategiesto gain a critical mass of users within theorganisation. They:

targeted different subject teams each yearso that a critical mass grew up gradually

encouraged students from other years totake part in the debates and they alsoadded materials they had developed andfound

used the ICT tutors as editors of materials he looks at the materials and helpsremove those that are superfluous

developed informal mentoringarrangements where more experiencedstaff supported others, and

moved from a role as innovators withintheir own courses to expansion throughincremental roll-out across teams, and

broadened the scope of use from anoriginal 12 to 3,400 users.

Transfer of ownership

The ethos of the project that started from thepoint of view of trainers needs in terms oftheir core business teacher educationdelivery and how this could be augmentedwas crucial to the VLEs adoption.

In addition the incremental model, movingfrom developing one or two areas to othersand using peer mentors, was also important.

Coupled to this was the content and practice-sharing facility, which allowed content to bedeveloped and reviewed privately withrecourse to expertise if required, and wasreally effective in transferring ownership.

In addition,theencouragement of staff toselect how they wanted to use the VLE wasalso effective, rather than presenting apreconceived model. In fact this is similar tothe way in which social software is used. Forexample, the first motivation for using

Facebook might be to keep in touch withfriends or family but extra utility, dependingupon personal interests, is available.

Thinking/discussion points

VLE implementation requires carefulconsideration of different stakeholder needs.A range of functionality will allow forunexpected uses to develop that complementthe initial or primary purpose of theimplementation. Users will shape the learningenvironment and bend it to their ownpurposes and needs, using its affordances asa tool for their own context.

Are trainers OK with digital engagement? Ifthere is a gap between trainers and trainees

use, how will you make engagement fortrainers and trainees purposeful?

What kinds of assessment modes other thantext should a VLE support?

How important is it to:

understand the digital habits of learnersbefore planning an ICT-based intervention,and what impact might this have on thesuccess of your project?

focus on issues that were directlyassociated with trainers core pedagogicalinterests?

How do you develop a climate of practicesharing and mutual trust within thedevelopment of a VLE?

How far do you think that this is fundamentalto its success?

What is the main driving force or purpose forVLE development in your context?

Should a VLE always have a primary purposeor driver for engagement? Do all users needan individualised driver?

How does proximity to practice affect VLE usefor different stakeholders?

Can a VLE serve functions of quality

assurance and trainee development?

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Things to readBarnes, C, and Tynan, B, 2007, The Adventures of Miranda in the Brave New World: Learning ina Web 2.0 Millennium, ALT-J, 15:3, 189 - 200http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687760701673568

Bayne, S, 2004, Smoothness and Striation in Digital Learning Spaces, University of Edinburgh,

United Kingdom, pp 302316, doi: 10.2304/elea.2004.1.2.6.www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=1784

Boyd, D, 2007, Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics inTeenage Social Life, MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning Youth, Identity, andDigital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham), Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.

Becta, 2008, Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning 200814 Becta.http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=37348

Shurville, B, ICT-driven Change in Higher Education: Learning from e-Learning in OrganisationalTransformation and Social Change, volume 3, issue 3, July 2007, pp 245250

Stiles, M J, 2007, Technology Supported Learning? Tensions Between Innovation, and Controland Organisational and Professional Cultures. Organisational Transformation and SocialChange, volume 3, issue 3, July 2007

Stiles, M J, Death of the VLE a Challenge to a New Orthodoxy, Serials, vol 20, no 1, 2007, pp3136. Available from http://serials.uksg.org/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0953

Traxler, J, 2008, Learners Should We Leave Them to Their Own Devices?Bectahttp://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&catcode=ETRE_0001&rid=14148

LinksTDA http://www.tda.gov.uk/TTRB http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/Becta http://www.becta.org.uk/nextgenerationlearning.php JISC http://www.jisc.ac.uk/Innovation Unit http://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/education-experience/next-practice/learning-futures-next-practice-in-learning-and-teaching.htmlDCSFhttp://search.dcsf.gov.uk/kbroker/dcsf/dcsf/search/search.lsim?qt=ict&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=dcsf&ha=1121Educause http://www.educause.edu/node/720?time=1237309753 Futurelab http://www.futurelab.org.uk/

Training and Development Agency for Schools151 Buckingham Palace RoadLONDONSW1W 9SS

www.tda.gov.uk

Publications line 0845 6060 323TDA switchboard 0870 4960 123

TDA 2009
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687760701673568http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=1784http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=37348http://serials.uksg.org/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0953http://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&catcode=ETRE_0001&rid=14148http://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&catcode=ETRE_0001&rid=14148http://www.tda.gov.uk/http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/http://www.becta.org.uk/nextgenerationlearning.phphttp://www.jisc.ac.uk/http://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/education-experience/next-practice/learning-futures-next-practice-in-learning-and-teaching.htmlhttp://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/education-experience/next-practice/learning-futures-next-practice-in-learning-and-teaching.htmlhttp://search.dcsf.gov.uk/kbroker/dcsf/dcsf/search/search.lsim?qt=ict&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=dcsf&ha=1121http://search.dcsf.gov.uk/kbroker/dcsf/dcsf/search/search.lsim?qt=ict&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=dcsf&ha=1121http://www.educause.edu/node/720?time=1237309753http://www.futurelab.org.uk/http://www.futurelab.org.uk/http://www.educause.edu/node/720?time=1237309753http://search.dcsf.gov.uk/kbroker/dcsf/dcsf/search/search.lsim?qt=ict&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=dcsf&ha=1121http://search.dcsf.gov.uk/kbroker/dcsf/dcsf/search/search.lsim?qt=ict&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-8859-1&sc=dcsf&ha=1121http://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/education-experience/next-practice/learning-futures-next-practice-in-learning-and-teaching.htmlhttp://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/education-experience/next-practice/learning-futures-next-practice-in-learning-and-teaching.htmlhttp://www.jisc.ac.uk/http://www.becta.org.uk/nextgenerationlearning.phphttp://www.ttrb.ac.uk/http://www.tda.gov.uk/http://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&catcode=ETRE_0001&rid=14148http://emergingtechnologies.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=etr&catcode=ETRE_0001&rid=14148http://serials.uksg.org/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0953http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=37348http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=1784http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687760701673568

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Teacher Trainers- The Virtual Learning Environment Community