Adventures in on-line learning: from campus practical to transnational Master s programme

1. Adventures in on-line learning: from campus practical to transnational Master�s programme Phil Rees School of Geography, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

2. Outline of presentation Masters in Geographical Information Systems Face to Face Masters in GIS: Leeds On-line Masters in GIS: Leeds UKEU On-line Masters in GIS: Leeds & Soton WUN On-line Masters in GIS: Leeds, Soton (& PSU) Example Module Materials (Census Analysis & GIS) Lessons DIALOG-PLUS Project: Digital Libraries in the Classroom Nuggets and their sharing Collaborative learning activity design Undergraduate on-line learning (Earth Observation) Academic Integrity nugget Lessons Sharing Programmes using SHIBBOLETH

3. Face to Face Masters in GIS: Leeds Started by John Stillwell, Steve Carver in 1996/97 with variety of programmes, aimed at different professional fields 11 months degree: Semester 1, 4 compulsory modules Semester 2, 4 optional modules Summer, thesis Recruits 15-25 students per year Students pay their own fees & living expenses (UK), overseas students have national scholarships Stable market, lots of competition around the world Our strengths: applications rather than science Challenges: keeping up with new technology

4. On-line Masters in GIS: Leeds Developed 2001/2 by Graham Clarke and Myles Gould out the Masters in GIS for Business and Service Planning Used Leeds Virtual Learning Environment, �Bodington�, that grew out of Biosciences (Andrew Booth, Jon Maber), now supported by central Learning Development Unit Lecturers converted F-to-F modules to on-line format and tutored distance students (big ask, extra load, only geographers who used GIS prepared to do this) Hired GIS job share (Linda See/Andy Evans) to work on programme

5. UKEU On-line Masters in GIS:Leeds & Southampton To market the course worldwide and to develop more interactive learning we needed funding Agreed a contract with UK e-Universities (UKEU), a company set up by Higher Education Funding Councils in partnership with Sun Systems. Loaned �500k to be paid back over 7years with interest and 55/45 fee split UKEU built their own software platform from scratch (potentially v.g. but flakey) Their marketing organisation was not good and failed to deliver students The project was killed by HEFCE and the platform turned off Because they breached our contract the �500k loan became a grant that is helping us develop the next phase

6. WUN On-line Masters in GIS:Leeds, Soton (& PSU) In the UKEU Masters in GIS we partnered with the University of Southampton (David Martin, Mike Clarke) We are continuing this partnership in a relaunched degree, hosted on Bodington for now (later also on Blackboard, Southampton�s VLE) and re-badging it as the World Wide Universities (WUN) Masters in GIS WUN is a consortium of UK, US and Chinese Universities that promotes joint research and teaching Our entry cohort is 15 students (with virtually no advertising)

7. WUN Masters in GIS We are negotiating for Penn State to join the WUN Masters (they would provide a module to us, they would take two modules, to begin with) We have two cohort entries a year and each module might run in two of four quarters, but there is the potential to start four cohorts a year and let students take two modules a quarter Four modules passed = Certificate in GIS (can exit) Eight modules passed = Diploma in GIS (can exit) Thesis passed = Masters in GIS Takes 3 years; will develop fast track of 18 months Directed by Linda See (SL), teleworking from London

8. GEOG5105 Census Analysis and GIS:Module History Masters in GIS Optional Module 2002/3: Face to Face materials converted into on-line distance learning optional module by Phil Rees (4 students) 2003/4: US partner nuggets added and UK nuggets revised to use 2001 Census materials, delivered by Phil Rees and Helen Durham with help from Stephen Matthews and Steve Weaver (4 students); Materials delivered April-July 2004; students complete work July 2004-October 2004 2004/5: Module will be converted for use in Leeds/Southampton Masters in GIS; stable in terms of materials, to be delivered by Linda See and Helen Durham (4-8 students)

9. Example Module Materials: Census Analysis & GIS Table 7: Ethnicity diversity scores for Birmingham wards

11. On-line Census Atlas Matrix shows maps are available for six geographies for the 8 census variable groups. Each group contains a number of variables - 86 in total. Variables can be mapped for Census years 1971-2001 and change-over-time can also be displayed. In total just under 2700 maps are produced �on the fly� in this resource. A CHCC unit/D+ nugget is being developed to support users of the resource Paper in AREA

12. GEOG5105 Census Analysis and GIS:Student Experience 2002/3 no major problems, all students delivered good work, with few extensions; all students used UK Census materials in their exercises and projects 2003/4 3 of 4 students found the work challenging (there were numerous requests for extensions and additional help, and 1 dropped out having completed 5 of 6 assignments). Although material was omitted to make way for additional US census material, the module may have become overloaded. 1 student used US Census material for his module project (he lived and worked in Illinois); 2 students used only UK census data in work related projects; the student who dropped out intended to compare the rental housing markets of a US and UK city

13. Retail Decision Support Systems (GEOG5091M) � �Shopping Model�

14. Lessons/Reflections Considerable investment needed (time, staff: developers, tutors), your powerpoints and F-to-F documents are not good enough Taps into the professional at work market Sometimes useful to solve campus timetabling problems Needs face to face or telephone tutorials depending on distance Many more extensions/suspensions for students and hence complexity of student degree programmes (need F-T admin) Students prefer PDF packaging to interactive on-line units (because of telecommunications costs and unreliability, and because of working convenience) Interactive discussions work if they are summatively assessed and carefully monitored by tutor

15. DIALOG-PLUS Project: Digital Libraries in the Classroom (2003-6 funded; 2006-8 embedded) This project aims to: Introduce e-learning materials into the UG curriculum Connect that learning to growing digital libraries of resources supported by funders and others; leave e-learning materials in digital libraries for others to use Connect faculty at different institutions and different countries in a shared endeavour and so improve practice/broaden teaching horizons Evaluate the success of different experiments in e-learning

16. DialogPLUS

17. Access Grid meetings

18. Nuggets and their sharing I proposed the concept of nugget in the project proposal as a set of exchangeable e-learning materials We spent time at first in trying to understand how this was different from a learning object Learning object is simply too restrictive and closed a concept A nugget is elastic: part of a lecture, a practical or a whole module Last month David Dibiase proposed the following definition

19. Characteristics of DialogPLUS �nuggets�

20. Characteristics of geography �nuggets�

21. Characteristics of geography �nuggets�

22. Cp. �Nuggets� and �learning objects�

23. Project inventory spreadsheet

24. Collaborative Learning Activity Design This was again proposed by David Dibiase of Penn State We started a CLAD at our Santa Barbara meeting Aim: to develop a set of nuggets that would fit into PSU, Leeds and Santa Barbara modules CLADers: David Dibiase (PSU), Katherine Arrell (LU), Helen Durham (LU), Mike Vergeer (UCSB)

25. Concept mapping for lesson development

26. Nugget components

27. GEOG2750 Earth Observation and GIS of the Physical Environment: Module History BSc in Geography (Face to Face UG module) 2003/4: Lectures written by Stuart Barr (who moved to the University of Newcastle after the module) 2004/5: Developer and Tutor: Louise Mackay, who converted the half module into on-line units and tutored the module from distance (Tokyo). Note the GIS part is taught as Face to Face module Large class: 60 students (cf. 21 students took Upland Catchment Management with a Leeds based tutor) Some anxiety among students and School Management about lack of face to face contact. I arranged for Louise to fly to Leeds to provide a face to face set of revision tutorials for the class in the final week of the module (6-10 December 2004). Karen Fill (Education, Southampton) did an evaluation of student and tutor experience

29. Teaching Geog2750 distance learning nugget material Leeds EO nuggets and all distance learning resources for the Geog2750 module can be accessed from the Leeds University VLE: Lecture material: complete weekly lecture (1 lecture = 1 nugget) Practical material: handouts, data-sets, assessment sheets Discussion and FAQ room: a room for class discussion, postings and frequently asked questions Lecture MCQ test: assessment tests for each lecture Topic resources: additional learning material to elucidate the principles introduced in lectures

30. GEOG2750 Earth Observation and GIS of the Physical Environment:Distance Based Learning Evaluation The tools for engaging with the on-line tutor were under-used: the FAQ/discussion board room or student to tutor emails Students reported �shyness� about using the discussion because it was not anonymous Most emails were about administrative matters (e.g. assignment requirements, deadlines or demonstrator marking) Louise: �undergraduates may not be suitably independent to engage with a distance learning course� Expectations need to be carefully managed (�I did not pay my fee for a distance course but for a face to face course�) Further evaluation of the module is being undertaken by Karen Fill based on student evaluation questionnaires and a focus group held in the final week of the course There is an unseen exam in January 2005 on the material

31. Academic Integrity nugget This is a nugget which has travelled and evolved Started in Penn State (David Dibiase) as prerequisite quiz and supporting materials in Angel VLE Imported by Sam Leung from Penn State and adapted for use on Geography�s web site Imported by Andy Nelson from Soton and adapted for use in Leeds and Geography Helen Durham will oversee its embedding in the Leeds curriculum at UG1, UG2, UG3, Masters and PhD

32. The Leeds AI nugget http://feathers.leeds.ac.uk/data/andyn/integrity/index.html 1 What is Academic Integrity? 1.1 The University of Leeds Declaration of Academic Integrity 1.2 Examples of violations of Academic Integrity 2 What is plagiarism 2.1 How does the School of Geography deal with plagiarism and cheating? 2.2 How do I avoid charges of plagiarism and cheating? 3 TurnItIn� software 4 Citations and references 4.1 How do I cite the work of others correctly? 4.2 Examples of referencing styles for different publications 4.3 EndNote� software for references and citations 5 Quoting and paraphrasing 6 Summary 7 Test of Academic Integrity 8 Useful links and further reading References

33. The Leeds AI nugget

34. The Leeds AI nugget

35. The Leeds AI nugget

36. The Leeds AI nugget

37. The Leeds AI nugget

38. Lessons/Reflections: Students Students are comfortable in the use of on-line learning in a distance Masters (otherwise they would be on F-to-F programme). They want reliable, linear materials but with plenty of activity (I�m not sure they are ready for concept maps). Undergraduates are not so comfortable. �I paid for a face to face course not a distance course.� (This may simply be a natural reaction to an innovation.) David Dibiase: we should justify at least one on-line module to UGs as a preparation for life-long on-line learning after leaving university

39. Lessons/Reflections: Staff Very difficult to share nuggets within modules/courses Easier to share generic material (e.g. Academic Integrity) We need to learn how to share students (have our students do a course or two at another institution as part of their degree)

40. Sharing Programmes using SHIBBOLETH We are engaged at Leeds in experiments with this new software for linking users and resources at different institutions JISC is funding dozens of such experiments with the software (another Digital Libraries project has already usedit to connect LSE students with a Columbia U course)

41. What is Shibboleth? http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/ It�s an Internet2 project to develop architectures, policy structures, practical technologies, and an open source implementation to support inter-institutional sharing of web resources subject to access controls Key concepts within Shibboleth include: Federated Administration. The Identity Provider (origin) campus (home to the browser user) provides attribute assertions about that user to the Service Provider (target) site. A trust fabric exists between campuses, allowing each site to identify the other speaker, and assign a trust level. Identity Provider sites are responsible for authenticating their users, but can use any reliable means to do this. Access Control Based On Attributes. Access control decisions are made using those assertions. The collection of assertions might include Identity, but many situations will not require this (eg accessing a resource licensed for use by all active members of the campus community, accessing a resource available to students in a particular course). Active Management of Privacy. The Identity Provider (origin) site, and the browser user, control what information is released to the Service Provider (target). A typical default is merely "member of community". Individuals can manage attribute release via a web-based user interface. Users are no longer at the mercy of the target's privacy policy. Standards Based. Shibboleth will use OpenSAML for the message and assertion formats, and protocol bindings which is based on Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) developed by the OASIS Security Services Technical Committee. A Framework for Multiple, Scaleable Trust and Policy Sets (Federations). Shibboleth uses Federations to specify a set of parties who have agreed to a common set of policies. (A site can be in multiple Federations, though.) This moves the trust framework beyond bi-lateral agreements, while providing flexibility when different situations require different policy sets. A Standard (yet extensible) Attribute Value Vocabulary. Shibboleth has defined a standard set of attributes; the first set is based on the eduPerson object class that includes widely-used person attributes in higher education. Key concepts within Shibboleth include: Federated Administration. The Identity Provider (origin) campus (home to the browser user) provides attribute assertions about that user to the Service Provider (target) site. A trust fabric exists between campuses, allowing each site to identify the other speaker, and assign a trust level. Identity Provider sites are responsible for authenticating their users, but can use any reliable means to do this. Access Control Based On Attributes. Access control decisions are made using those assertions. The collection of assertions might include Identity, but many situations will not require this (eg accessing a resource licensed for use by all active members of the campus community, accessing a resource available to students in a particular course). Active Management of Privacy. The Identity Provider (origin) site, and the browser user, control what information is released to the Service Provider (target). A typical default is merely "member of community". Individuals can manage attribute release via a web-based user interface. Users are no longer at the mercy of the target's privacy policy. Standards Based. Shibboleth will use OpenSAML for the message and assertion formats, and protocol bindings which is based on Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) developed by the OASIS Security Services Technical Committee. A Framework for Multiple, Scaleable Trust and Policy Sets (Federations). Shibboleth uses Federations to specify a set of parties who have agreed to a common set of policies. (A site can be in multiple Federations, though.) This moves the trust framework beyond bi-lateral agreements, while providing flexibility when different situations require different policy sets. A Standard (yet extensible) Attribute Value Vocabulary. Shibboleth has defined a standard set of attributes; the first set is based on the eduPerson object class that includes widely-used person attributes in higher education.

42. What is Shibboleth? It provides a standards-based link between existing online services to identify users from different institutions authenticate users with a single sign-in authorise users and grant permission It allows institutions to transparently share secure online services access restricted digital content Because only information (attributes about the person requesting authentication) is exchanged, the Shibboleth system allows institutions with different technology architectures and security systems to easily collaborate without using proxies or managing thousands of external or transitory accounts. Because only information (attributes about the person requesting authentication) is exchanged, the Shibboleth system allows institutions with different technology architectures and security systems to easily collaborate without using proxies or managing thousands of external or transitory accounts.

43. How it works The link is on the School of Geography DialogPLUS server and the particular page is a �target� page behind the Shibboleth system. 1 The student navigates to the page, but since the page is behind shibboleth the must first identify or authenticate themselves via a WHERE ARE YOU FROM service. 2 As far as the user is concerned this is just a web page with a drop down list of institutions. 2a In this example, the student chooses the University of Leeds as the WAYF option. 3 The WAYF service bounces the user over to the Leeds VLE site where the student, which requests that the uses login as they would usually do to access other online material for their course. 4 The users logs in, but 5 instead of being directed to resources in Bodington, their log-in credentials are sent back to the Shibboleth target. At the same time the target now knows who you are (the authentication part is complete) but still does not know if you have permission to access the resource (authorisation). 6 The target requests some attributes about you from the origin based on your log in (student ID, name, courses you are enrolled in). 7 The origin responds with the required attributes (student X taking course Geog999) and 8 the student is redirected automatically to the resource The link is on the School of Geography DialogPLUS server and the particular page is a �target� page behind the Shibboleth system. 1 The student navigates to the page, but since the page is behind shibboleth the must first identify or authenticate themselves via a WHERE ARE YOU FROM service. 2 As far as the user is concerned this is just a web page with a drop down list of institutions. 2a In this example, the student chooses the University of Leeds as the WAYF option. 3 The WAYF service bounces the user over to the Leeds VLE site where the student, which requests that the uses login as they would usually do to access other online material for their course. 4 The users logs in, but 5 instead of being directed to resources in Bodington, their log-in credentials are sent back to the Shibboleth target. At the same time the target now knows who you are (the authentication part is complete) but still does not know if you have permission to access the resource (authorisation). 6 The target requests some attributes about you from the origin based on your log in (student ID, name, courses you are enrolled in). 7 The origin responds with the required attributes (student X taking course Geog999) and 8 the student is redirected automatically to the resource

44. How it works From the users perspective, it is simple Navigate to the (target) resource Asked to choose a login site Directed to that (origin) site to login Redirected back to the resource So although the process looked rather long winded, the only stages in the process that are unusual for the user, are the Request to choose a familiar VLE site to log into And then once they log in to that VLE site, they are bounced back to the original resource rather then entering their VLE siteSo although the process looked rather long winded, the only stages in the process that are unusual for the user, are the Request to choose a familiar VLE site to log into And then once they log in to that VLE site, they are bounced back to the original resource rather then entering their VLE site

45. How it works From the resource managers perspective It�s secure Control of information Links between different technologies Easy to add other Shibboleth services Authentication is scalable For the resource manger there is no need to manage different lists of users or thousands of external or transitory accounts. For the resource manger there is no need to manage different lists of users or thousands of external or transitory accounts.

46. Adventures in on-line learning: reflections Really the route we travelled was from transnational Masters Programme to UG campus practical on-line Student expectations on learning delivery are high and rising, but we have to manage expectations carefully We need to skill up ourselves so that we can easily prepare new e-learning materials where relevant (this may be a cohort replacement process)