Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Barbara Watson Kate Boardman Juliette Pavey Learning Technologies Team IT Service http://www.dur.ac.uk/ITS/ltteam/

Overview • Durham University Online - duo • Evaluations of whole • Evaluations of parts • Conclusions

University of Durham • 670 academic and 280 academic-related staff • 9400 undergraduates and 2400 postgraduates • Founded in 1832 • Research led • Split campus • MIS – outsourced to Unisys • Learning Technologies Team (LTT)

Durham University Online - duo • Software: Bb 5 Level 1 version 5.5 • Hardware: PC running Linux • Staff: 3 LTs (advertised for another) with 1 responsible for duo • http://duo.dur.ac.uk with username duoguest and password duoguest

Uptake of duo

Evaluations of whole of duo • Quantitative and qualitative • Analyse factors such as faculty and year of study • Data collected from students and staff in all faculties and both campuses • Staff – April 01 (n = 91) • Students – May 01 (n = 793) and at the end of some modules

Students: Overall, how do you rate the contribution duo has made to your learning?

Staff: Overall, how do you rate the effectiveness of duo as a learning resource?

Staff: Has duo affected your approach to teaching?

Staff use of duo features • 70% or more - announcements, course information, course documents, email • 43 - 47% - staff information, assignments, bibliography (14.5% link to OPAC) • 35% use external links, 21% group pages, 25.6% calendar • 15 - 18% use discussion board and tasks and 20 - 27% hope to in future • 9 - 12% - virtual chat, digital drop box, quizzes, surveys and BB resources and 9 - 16% hope to in future

Reflect current ways of teaching Collis, University of Twente: “instructors are most likely to begin by choosing aspects of a system that reflect their current ways of teaching, and then gradually move to new instructional approaches and new features.”

What enhances teaching and learning in HE? • Dependent on the quality of the parts which make up the LE eg content, communication, assessment • Dependent on how the use of the LE is integrated into the curriculum

Parts - lecture notes • Is it good practice to put lecture notes online? • Depends on what the lecturer does with them • Jack Wilson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA - keynote at ALT00

Parts – animations • Aims and objectives • Convert existing paper based materials in module into web based materials to be delivered through duo • To include: • Supporting information, including a glossary of terms • Interactive exercises • Animations to aid the understanding of the geological processes • Incorporate quizzes to test understanding of topics

Development • Conversion of black and white poorly scanned images to coloured diagrams created using Fireworks • Introduction of animated diagrams created in Flash to aid the understanding of geological processes • Interactive exercises to enable students to test their knowledge and understanding

Evaluation • 70% had a preference for learning with web-based materials or a combination of both paper and web • 42% felt that the animation was useful in aiding their understanding of the processes • 56% felt that the interactive exercises were either very or quite useful in terms of gaining a greater understanding of the topic

Evaluation • 91% felt the materials were a useful resource in terms of revision • 81% stated that because of the resource the amount of note taking in the lecture had either reduced or they no longer took notes but were able to listen and understand • 88% would recommend that similar web based supporting materials should be developed in other modules

Parts – online discussions – PCGE Sport • Final assessment showed that there had been increased communication • Number of communications and speed of response had resolved any issues between the lecturer and the students • Greater sharing of information, such as lesson plans, between students in a digital format • Students also increasingly linked their work with Internet based sources eg government

Parts – online discussions – PGCert - Sydney • Synchronous and asynchronous discussions between course participants from Durham and academics taking a similar course at the University of Sydney • Both groups had a similar first assignment - exchange ideas and experiences

Parts – assessment • Evaluated 3 courses using assessment • Economics (Level 2) Microeconomics • 2 revision quizzes to test essential knowledge from Level 1 • Economics (Level 1) Economic methods • weekly equations quizzes to consolidate knowledge in compulsory introductory module • Physics (Level 1) Astronomy for All • weekly revision from lectures for non-physicists

Parts – assessment

Assessment evaluations • Preference for combination of web-based/paper materials: 67% (Econ 2) 64% (Econ 1) 81% (Phys) • These short quizzes help me consolidate my learning/gain greater understanding: 88% (Econ 2) 88% (Econ 1) 97% (Phys) • These quizzes are a useful resource in terms of revision: 83% (Econ 2) 93% (Econ 1) 89% (Phys)

Assessment evaluations • duo and the materials in it [as a learning resource] have ‘greatly assisted my learning’ (‘assisted my learning’): Economics Level 2 = 39% (61%) Economics Level 1 = 21% (69%) Physics Level 1 = 22% (78%)

Assessment comments • “I think the DUO system is a very good complement to the course. It makes me study little by little, and forces me to get a better and deeper understanding of the subjects. It is also beneficial from the teachers point of view I guess, since it enables monitoring of answers, thus revealing what students in general understand and do not. I think for me (an international student), the possibility to revise the lectures in writing gives me a better chance to understand the English from the lectures that I did not completely understand at first. Therefore it improves my English as well.”

Dissemination • Why – academics to gain ideas from each other • Teaching and Learning Forum • Developing a good practice course in duo • Workshops • Academics sharing courses see each others materials

Putting the parts together • Enhance learning if the parts enhance learning

Why have an LE? • Initial evaluation of LE with NELE led to 3 choices • Commercial • Build your own • Use multiple systems eg WebBoard for discussions, QuestionMark for assessment

Advantages of a single system/portal • Easy access to material relevant to you (not have to worry about finding different web or paper resources) • Stickiness

Get a new measuring stick? “What we are most interested in regarding learning as a consequence of using technology often can’t be measured in the short term or without different approaches to measurement. Measure what can be measured, such as short-term gains in efficiency or increases in flexibility.” (Lesson 16, Collis)

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? • Yes? – but how to prove it

References • Collis, B. and Messing, J. (2001) Usage, attitudes and workload implications for a web-based learning environment, Association of Learning Technology Journal 9 (1) • Collis, B. (2001) Flexible Learning in a Digital World, London, Kogan Page

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?