Phoebe: a pedagogical planner tool

1. Phoebe: a pedagogical planner tool Marion Manton David Balch TALL, University of Oxford

2. Phoebe: as a proof of concept • Basic concept: An online planning tool to guide practitioners working in post-16 and higher education in designing effective and pedagogically sound learning activities. • Instantiation of concept: A tool that propagates the principles of effective practice to as wide an audience as possible, by allowing them to develop new pedagogical approaches while still using the planning tools with which they are familiar. • Rationale: We believe that successful innovations in IT reflect, and build on, the ways in which users actually work, rather than requiring them to adapt their practices.

3. The design challenge “Maybe it’s going to be difficult to develop a single software tool kit that suits everybody’s preferences for planning learning (paper based, software or a mixture of both!) and maybe it could be useful to develop flexible software tools that support teachers through the ‘process’ and stages of designing for learning…” (Teacher in HE)

4. Design philosophy • Principles • Flexible routes through tool • Option to use familiar planning tools • Simple text output • Rationale • IMS Learning Design tools in limited use; output XML • Phoebe focus on people not systems

5. The Phoebe prototype • Phase 1: proof-of-concept tool • Open source, built on wiki technology • Now available for download • Supports planning for individual learning sessions • Functions • Guidance, advice and examples • Planning a learning session (not a course)

6. 2 modes of engagement with Phoebe • Reference only + optional note-taking (i.e. use ‘own’ tool for planning) • Creating all or part of a lesson plan (learning design) • http://phoebe-app.conted.ox.ac.uk

19. Tagging • http://phoebe-app.conted.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/wiki/PhoebeTagCloud • Currently tagged against links in content • Possibility of user tagged content and user tagged designs • Appealing to researchers, but less so practitioners

20. Evaluation conclusions • Very positive response from practitioners to overall vision • Saw applicability in context of initial teacher training and staff development programmes • Not sure if it would work as a self-teaching aid for “lone” practitioners who wish to explore D4L. • The guidance and examples appear to meet practitioners’ needs • In its present form it functions better as a resource with a note-taking facility than as a usable and useful tool for creating lesson plans. • There is considerable interest in the potential of Phoebe as a customisable community-owned tool.

21. Future directions • Resources in Phase 2 concentrate on making Phoebe more usable as a planning tool • Must be a place to see and work on Learning design as a whole • …although considerable effort is still needed to develop the content…

22. First ideas for Phase 2 • Very much first pass • Trying to find an elegant reconciliation between the content and functionality • Please let us know what you think…

23. Phoebe home A practitioner-focused environment to support design for learning ¶ Phoebe is a prototype online tool designed to encourage teachers in colleges and universities to explore new approaches and tools in their pedagogy. Why “design for learning?”“Design for learning” is an alternative perspective on practices traditionally referred to as course and lesson planning. It lays emphasis not only on the role of technology in learning, but also on effectiveness: creating designs for experiences that are motivating, enjoyable and productive for students and teaching staff alike. Phoebe brings together the key components of a learning design, prompts your thinking, allows you to record ideas and requirements, and makes it easy to cross-reference components as you design the activities that make up an individual learning experience, or session. Start a new design Edit an existing design Explore the guidance

24. Phoebe guidance Start or edit a design Contextual Information: The what, who, when and where of this learning session.>> Title and author | Course | Timetabling | Staff | Location | Health and Safety Curriculum Aspects: What is the purpose of this learning session?>> Aims and objectives | Learning outcomes | Typical misconceptions | Assessment | Prerequisites | Preparation by students | Teaching resources | Curriculum documentation The Students: How many? What are their particular characteristics?>> Numbers | Learning styles | Independence | Differentiation | Linguistic competence | Accessibility | Social skills | ICT skills | Transferable experience Your Teaching Approach: What approach(es) are you going to take in this session? Learning Activities: What are the students going to do?>> Find out about learning activities and sequences.>> Design the activities: Preparation by students | Main sequence | Assessment activities | Follow-up activities | Additional/alternative activities The E-learning Advantage: Find out how technology can enhance different forms of learning activity.>> What technology can I use for a particular activity?>> What can I do with a particular tool? Contingency Plan: What will you do if things don’t go as expected? Reflections on the Learning Session: What went well? How did the students react? What do you want to change?>> Personal impressions | Outcome for students | Quality of learning design Links to Resources: A glossary of terms, links to the Phoebe user documentation, a gallery of further examples and case studies, and a “portal” to a number of e-learning repositories and resource sites that you can search for yourself.

25. New design Add new section Title edit/delete/help Author edit/delete/help Location edit/delete/help … edit/delete/help Save

26. New design Clicked edit Title edit/delete/help Author edit/delete/help Location edit/delete/help Tags Save

27. Design A Clicked Help Option 1 Title edit/delete/help Author edit/delete/help Location edit/delete/help Tags Context: Location ¶ “The environment can affect what can be done in a session e.g. availability of breakout rooms, space for group work etc.” (FE teacher) Possible locations include: Face-to-face: Class/seminar room, laboratory, lecture theatre, field trip, workplace Online/distance: Audio, video, computer, simulator Mobile: Anywhere! (e.g. train, stationary car, airport lounge, in the field) If face-to-face meetings are involved (i.e. in a classroom, lab etc.): ¶ Where is the class to meet for the face-to-face sessions? Does the room need to be booked? Do you need any particular technology in that room? (See Resources in the Curriculum section for a list of technologies.) Does the technology need to be booked (and, if so, how long in advance)? Do you need to carry out a risk assessment? If online/distance or mobile learning is involved: ¶ What technology do students need? Do you need to inform them of these requirements? When? How? Do you need to make equipment available to students who don’t have their own? What is the procedure for doing this? Title and author | Course | Timetabling | Staff | Health and Safety | Contents page

28. Clicked Help Option 2 Context: Location ¶ “The environment can affect what can be done in a session e.g. availability of breakout rooms, space for group work etc.” (FE teacher) Possible locations include: Face-to-face: Class/seminar room, laboratory, lecture theatre, field trip, workplace Online/distance: Audio, video, computer, simulator Mobile: Anywhere! (e.g. train, stationary car, airport lounge, in the field) If face-to-face meetings are involved (i.e. in a classroom, lab etc.): ¶ Where is the class to meet for the face-to-face sessions? Does the room need to be booked? Do you need any particular technology in that room? (See Resources in the Curriculum section for a list of technologies.) Does the technology need to be booked (and, if so, how long in advance)? Do you need to carry out a risk assessment? If online/distance or mobile learning is involved: ¶ What technology do students need? Do you need to inform them of these requirements? When? How? Do you need to make equipment available to students who don’t have their own? What is the procedure for doing this? Title and author | Course | Timetabling | Staff | Health and Safety | Contents page Title edit/delete/help Author edit/delete/help Location edit/delete/help Tags Full screen

29. Development options • Continue using Trac for both content and functionality. • Continue to use Trac for content, but use another system for functionality: • A custom application using HTML, embedding Trac content via frames, or • A Firefox plugin. • Content and functionality in new system(s)

30. Questions and comments please

31. Contextual Information: The what, who, when and where of this learning session. • CO1 Title and author • CO2 CourseCU4,CU5 • CO3 Timetabling • CO4 Staff • CO5 LocationS1,CU6 • CO6 Health and Safety • Curriculum Aspects: What is the purpose of this learning session? • CU1 Aims and objectivesCU2 • CU2 Learning outcomesS5 • CU3 AssessmentA3 • CU4 PrerequisitesS5 • CU5 Preparation by studentsA1 • CU6 Teaching resourcesCO5 • CU7 Curriculum documentation • The Students: How many? What are their particular characteristics? • S1 NumbersCO5 • S2 Learning styles • S3 Typical misconceptionsS5 • S4 Independence • S5 DifferentiationCU2,S3,A2, A5 • S6 Linguistic competence • S7 AccessibilityCO4 • S8 Social skills • S9 ICT skills • S10 Transferable experience

32. Learning Activities: What are the students going to do? • A1 Preparation by studentsCU2 CU5 CU6 S5 • A2 Main sequenceCU2 CU6 S5 A5 • A3 Assessment activities CU2 CU3 CU6 S5 • A4 Follow-up activitiesCU2 CU6 S5 • A5 Additional/alternative activities CU2 CU6 S5 CP1 • Contingency Plan: What will you do if things don’t go as expected? • CP1 Contingency Plan A5 • Reflections on the Learning Session: What went well? How did the students react? What do you want to change? • R1 Personal impressions • R2 Outcome for students • R3 Quality of learning design • The following components form part of the “guidance” system only: • The E-learning Advantage: Find out how technology can enhance different forms of learning activity. • What technology can I use for a particular activity? • What can I do with a particular tool? • Your Teaching Approach: What approach(es) are you going to take in this session? • Learning Activities: What are the students going to do? • Find out about learning activities and sequences. • Links to Resources: A glossary of terms, links to the Phoebe user documentation, a gallery of further examples and case studies, and a “portal” to a number of e-learning repositories and resource sites that you can search for yourself.