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Researching ICT in HE The role of evaluation in e-learning development Dr Jay Dempster

Researching ICT in HE The role of evaluation in e-learning development Dr Jay Dempster Head of Educational Technology Centre for Academic Practice. E-learning @ Warwick – destination or journey?. Drivers for change – the ICT in HE agenda Institutional practice

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Researching ICT in HE The role of evaluation in e-learning development Dr Jay Dempster

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  1. Researching ICT in HE The role of evaluation in e-learning development Dr Jay Dempster Head of Educational Technology Centre for Academic Practice

  2. E-learning @ Warwick – destination or journey? • Drivers for change – the ICT in HE agenda • Institutional practice • Warwick’s response – the e-(learning) strategy • Innovation and transfer • Learning gains • Teaching and learning practice • Initial e-learning developments • Evaluating innovation • Tutor and learner issues • Evaluating the e-learning strategy

  3. Drivers for ICT development in HE • Pressures facing UK HE: • widening access and increasing flexibility • dealing with more diverse students • funding stretch • globalisation and threat from competitors • greater demand for accountability • e-learning used by both distance and campus universities as a way of meeting the challenges

  4. HEFCE and e-Learning – the story to date • Infrastructure • Providing network, digital resources, research and development through JISC, Capital funding. • Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund • Institutional learning and teaching strategies • LTSN and project funding (TLTP, FDTL etc.) • National Teaching Fellowship Scheme • eUniversities • Exploration of wholly e-based learning including business approaches, interoperability, platform/services, international co-operation, global markets.

  5. Institutional practice • Change from ICT as background support • To embedding in learning and teaching • The pervasiveness of the Internet, Web etc and changing student and employer expectations. • Innovation and blending of approaches to learning and teaching • Wholly e-based learning

  6. Institutional embedding? • Once-novel practices becoming commonplace • Contrast with ‘innovation’ - as a shift away from traditional practices • Hannan & Silver, 2000 • A variety of different interpretations by academics • Harvey & Oliver, 2001 • Common features • Variation in focus • Distinction with ‘disseminating’ practice • Oliver & Dempster, 2003

  7. From innovation to embedding • Understanding context • Responding to innovation • Evaluating effectiveness • Embedding innovation Identifying roles, linkages, partnerships and cultures, languages, diversity Offering different opportunities to engage in professional and educational development Using development and research and evidenced approaches for informing strategy and planning Extracting success factors from new approaches to maximise the impact on practice

  8. Academic processes • Changing practices means changing thinking • New practices bring new thinking and vice versa (Trowler, Knight & Saunders, 2003)

  9. Post White Paper – Learning and Teaching Strategy • Integrate human resource strategies with learning and teaching strategies • Recognition and reward • Professional standards • Focus on flexible learning opportunities • Work-based learning • Distance learning • Credit and progression • Support developments in pedagogy including • Online learning • Blended approaches • Personal development support

  10. Impact of e-innovation on HE Most HEIs institutions: • are developing e-learning strategies • have done little work evaluating the impact of ICT on student learning • have a poorly developed strategic process for ‘embedding’ successful innovation

  11. Organisation & Direction Response to Innovation Institutional Thinking Support for Embedding Framework for institutional review Strategies Objectives Structures Engagement Investment Collaboration Evaluation Transfer Planning Staff development Support models Recognition & reward (Dempster et al., 2003)

  12. Evaluation of institutional practice • Emergent & evolutionary • Awareness & capacity building • Knowledge from L&T evaluation (R&D) informing decision-making • Systematic approach rather than ad hoc

  13. Capacity to evaluate • Where do you see a role for research in evaluating e-learning development in HE? • Institutional level • Individual level • Which mechanisms are used most effectively to improve L&T and e-learning practices? • Do you think ICT approaches need a different approach to other L&T development in HE?

  14. Learning gains inspiring, imaginative & transforming teaching & learning practices E-Learning ? =

  15. Potentially … • “The genuinely transformative nature of cyberspace lies not with access but with the potential for the production of knowledge and for new modes of collaboration and communication that can subvert and invert established authority relations, allowing the emergence of a democratising literacy.”Pedagogy, Politics and Power Stokes & Stokes, Computers & Texts, Ch.13 (1996)

  16. Potentially … • “The genuinely transformative nature of cyberspace lies not with access but with the potential for the production of knowledge and for new modes of collaboration and communication that can subvert and invert established authority relations, allowing the emergence of a democratising literacy.”Pedagogy, Politics and Power Stokes & Stokes, Computers & Texts, Ch.13 (1996)

  17. Realistically … • The interactive properties of e-learning are capable of creating a community of inquiry that is independent of time and space and with the combination of interactive and reflective characteristics that can stimulate and facilitate a level of higher order learning unimaginable to date. E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice, Garrison & Andersen,Ch. 5, p.53 (2003)

  18. Realistically … • The interactive properties of e-learning are capable of creating a community of inquiry that is independent of time and space and with the combination of interactive and reflective characteristics that can stimulate and facilitate a level of higher order learning unimaginable to date. E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice, Garrison & Andersen,Ch. 5, p.53 (2003)

  19. Ideally … “[Through new technology,] there will be a fostering of greater student/teacher interactionand the promotion of greaterstudent engagementwherever students are located. There will also be the opportunity to developmore instructional formatsandincrease information resourcesthrough use of the web. Such systems will provide staff with functions to help with theeasy management of courseswithout requiring major technical expertise; thus staff will be able tomanage and customisetheir course area from work or from home, via a web browser. Pages will beupdated regularly, and no knowledge of HTML will be required, either by academic staff or by students.” • Professor Diana M R Tribe, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Hertfordshire, Higher education futures, Learning in Law Initiative Conference 2002

  20. INFRASTRUCTURE E-LEARNING BUSINESS SYSTEMS e-learning steering group Web publishing VLE tools Access to resources Video/audio streaming Web conferencing Virtual reality Specialist tools Library management system Managed learning environments Computer assisted assessment Plagiarism detection E-learning web site E-learning support staff Time for academic staff Robust, fast networks Classroom technologies Warwick’s approach ITPC e-strategy Tools and resources Administration Infrastructure Support Finance and organisation

  21. ICT tools and resources IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING PRACTICES

  22. L&T strategy focuses on … • Student skills • Research-based learning • Evaluation practices

  23. ICT tools and resources • Web-based resources • Electronic libraries & databases • Multimedia resources • Productivity and analysis tools • Computer-based assessment • Streaming video • Integrated learning environments • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Student web publishing • Conferencing systems

  24. ICT tools and resources • Web-based resources • Electronic libraries & databases • Multimedia resources • Streaming video • Productivity and analysis tools • Computer-based assessment • Integrated learning environments • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Student web publishing • Conferencing systems CONTENT

  25. Content

  26. ICT tools and resources • Web-based resources • Electronic libraries & databases • Multimedia resources • Streaming video • Productivity and analysis tools • Computer-based assessment • Integrated learning environments • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Student web publishing • Conferencing systems OBJECTIVES

  27. Assessment • University driven to economise delivery of core courses across several programmes • Cultural history • Term 1: Lectures only • Term 2: Study Pack/Case Study • Term 1 to be assessed entirely by objective computer assisted assessment ! • Is CAA appropriate? • What problems do you envisage? • How might you assess Term 2 differently and why?

  28. ICT tools and resources • Web-based resources • Electronic libraries & databases • Multimedia resources • Streaming video • Productivity and analysis tools • Computer-based assessment • Integrated learning environments • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Student web publishing • Conferencing systems PROCESS

  29. Sharing • Process-based learning • Students upload assignment work • Present a public discussion to peers and tutor • Identify areas for further work/research • Publish the study process on the web site • Research-based approaches • Participate in follow-up research questions • Discourse with tutors & peers • Critical review of student & research work • Publish report and analysis • (Publish marked work)

  30. Italian translation work

  31. Lawdissertation work

  32. Interacting • Student groups in classroom • Students perform individually and as a group • Students discuss their performances • Guest lecturer/expert at a distance • Demonstrates and reviews performance • Discusses with group via videoconferencing and chat • Participate in follow-up research questions • Online learning activities (asynchronous)

  33. Telematic Performance • Susan Kozel (in Vancouver) • Four sessions April 2002 • MA Dance • 1st and 2nd sessions: students in IT room (video) • 3rd and 4th sessions: students at home, access via dial-up (video) (video)

  34. Integration • Problem-based activity • Student publishes an outline of proposed strategy for solving the problem • Available for tutor comment - feedback • Skills-based tasks • Use of databases and analytical tools • Research orientation and assessment • Critical review of papers • Comparison of scientific papers • Discussion of structure of a scientific paper

  35. Bioinformatics

  36. Virtual learning environments

  37. ICT tools and resources • Productivity and analysis tools • Web-based resources • Electronic libraries & databases • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Computer-based assessment • Student web publishing • Conferencing systems • Integrated learning environments • Multimedia resources • Videoconferencing • Streaming video Increasing dependence on ICT infrastructure & support for production, set up, delivery & maintenance

  38. ICT tools and resources Structured/ individual learning Tutor as expert Discursive/ reflective learning Tutor as facilitator • Productivity and analysis tools • Web-based resources • Multimedia resources • Streaming video • Electronic libraries & databases • Computer-based assessment • Integrated (virtual) learning environments • Videoconferencing • Discussion lists & newsgroups • Conferencing systems • Student web publishing

  39. Work (Research) - PROFESSIONAL EXPERT Networked learning Sharing and creating Publishing and commenting Open tasks Formation and generation of ... Discussion and debate Evaluating and reasoning Problem-based tasks Practice and simulation Applying and extending Resource-based learning Lectures and labs Closed tasks Knowledge and practice of ... Acquiring and absorbing Individual learning Learn (Train) - SUBJECT PRACTITIONER

  40. Tutor issues • Role of the tutor • Workload and time management • Visibility • Complexity of the task • Subject expert, facilitator, administrator, technical support • Online availability: student contact hours, virtual office hours • ‘Teaching teams’ • IT confidence & competence

  41. Integrating email into a lecture based module • Objectives • High student numbers reduced student interaction • Contact sessions too large to cover required material • Use of ICT to promote student-centred discussion • Approaches • Use of email to facilitate discussion & interaction • Weekly lectures maintained (passive) • Seminar style questions via email (active) • Observations • Flexibility & interactivity • Loss of the physical presence vs. removal of barriers • Delay in responding vs. time for reflection • High demands on staff time (FAQs, 450 emails!) • IT & communications skills, but not oral skills • Low techno-levels required. Poyton, D. Law Lecturer, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Linking Iolis to the Web, Journal of Information, Law & Technology Issue 3 (2001) http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-03/poyton.html

  42. Rethinking course design for integrated tools • Objectives • High numbers & volume of material • Produce flexibility in course delivery • Use contact time more actively • Approaches • Weekly contact sessions more flexible • Small block format for varying sessions & student participation • Online delivery of materials (incl. FAQs) • Group presentation tasks – F2F & online • Observations • Flexibility & interactivity (new study practices) • Student-centred sessions enhanced rather than replaced • More efficient use of student & staff time (45 emails!) • Balance of communication skills • ‘Cut & paste mentality’ & plagiarism • Higher techno-levels required & some training Poyton, D. (2001) ibid.

  43. Learner support issues • Learners may never meet tutors or students • Different time zones and culture • Lack of visual clues: body language, tone of voice, or immediate feedback • Learners manage their own time • Reliability and costs of the technology

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