Blended Learning

This project uses the PebblePad e-portfolio to embed graduate attributes and their link to employability into three distinct degree programmes, spanning UG, PGT and PGR levels with links to professional practice where relevant. From these case studies it is hoped that the lessons learned and principals developed can be rolled-out wider within the University. For each strand the principal aim is to ensure our students graduate with awareness not only of their academic achievements in their chosen discipline but also of the core attributes, skills and abilities they have developed throughout their time at University – essential as they seek employment or move to further study. Student engagement is key element of this project as are links to the University’s employability strategy. This is reflected in the project team which includes the Students’ Association, members of the Employability Strategy Group as well as practitioners in the three areas.

How is it possible to evidence whether students are engaging with a course? What can be done to increase their level of engagement? Johnson (2010) states that the sense of community felt by students in online courses can be integral in determining the level of course completion and satisfaction. This research project aimed to investigate whether student engagement could be increased through the use of blogs to develop an online community around a course, and to establish the effectiveness of blogs at evidencing engagement. The research used a case study methodology to examine the CG Arts and Animation course at UCA Rochester. The research revealed that the course team had successfully developed a thriving online community involving students, staff, alumni and industry, helping the course to move from 100% dissatisfaction to 100% satisfaction in the National Student Survey over three years. An evaluation of the activity on the blogs concluded that a Community of Practice (Wenger, 1998) had developed around the course with clear benefits for both students and staff.

Background: The objective of this paper is to describe the results of systematic development of the basic studies in health management sciences (26 ECTS) at the Open University of the University of Eastern Finland. These studies have been developed by using blended learning and counselling methods. The students were between the ages of 30 and 55 and had different kinds of vocational degrees in health care. Blended learning and counselling methods enabled these professionals to study independently at any time and anywhere along with work. This report of the learning results is based on an analysis of e-learning diaries (n=81). Findings: Based on our analysis, e-learning turned out to be a significant form of social activity and learning. The adult students were willing to use virtual channels of communication for discussion, feedback and counselling. First of all, they attached a great value to communication with their colleagues. They discussed experiences and good practices of working life broadly. Consequently, their understanding of the diversity of working life was broadened.

There are many pressures on academics to ‘satisfy’ students’ needs for feedback, not least the inclusion of questions about feedback in the National Student Survey. In this paper we firstly investigate how a student cohort of approx 280 in a UK Business School perceives and defines feedback by using an questionnaires and group interviews. The initial research showed that firstly there were significant differences in views regarding both the preferred method and the relative value of different types of feedback. Secondly, feedback provided before the final summative assessment was perceived as more preferable than feedback after the final submission. Our findings suggest that student cohorts are not homogenous in their feedback preferences and that it is not resource efficient or effective for academic staff to provide detailed individual feedback to all students. Students should be offered a hierarchy of feedback on demand and some of the effort could then be reallocated from summative feedback to formative assessment and feedback.

This session will describe a JISC-funded project exploring the use of ‘Augmented Reality’ (AR) as an academic resource, enabling learners to interact and engage with biodiversity data on the University of Exeter campus, and offering new opportunities for blended learning. Augmented Reality technologies enable detailed, computer-enhanced layers to be added to the physical world, offering significant contextual and immersive learning experiences for a range of audiences, including undergraduate students. These technologies are predicted to become widespread in coming years (Horizon Report, 2010), offering a convergence-based approach to the geographies of learning – for example linking learning material to notable locations and the content that denotes their importance.

This paper considers the increased use of podcasting (over a four year period) on a large (320 plus students) under-graduate final year module. Online questionnaires were undertaken in each of the last three years of the study to ascertain the student's perception of the podcasting on their learning experience. The results show that in all of the three years most students believed their learning experience had been enhanced by the podcasting. Although the study investigated student results (coursework and examination) it is argued that attempting to correlate student results with podcasting is problematic. Given some universities are attempting to increase the amount of distance/blended learning they undertake (including initiatives such as iTunes U), and given their desire to enhance the student learning experience, this paper argues that more module's/universities should be using podcasting.

The Staff Knowledge Management Toolkit is an on-line service designed to help staff find and make best use of the wealth of our university's information resources collections and services. supporting both academic and professional staff, the new Toolkit guides staff through finding information sources relevant to their work. The toolkit is on StudyNet and contains up-to-date information, tips and links to help you find what you need quickly and effectively. Everything is in one place with clear step-by-step instructions, and there's one-click access to a range of sites.

Business students have historically found finance and accounting a very difficult subject area, and in particular, developing the skills and confidence to evaluate, and present a range of financial options. Students learning preferences have changed and with increasing demands on students’ time, the teaching team on the Managing Business Finance module recognised an opportunity to further support students in their learning with the selective use of podcasts. The Managing Business Finance is a core final level module on the full time business studies degree with a current enrolment of 121 students. The objective of the podcasts was to provide an opportunity for the students to learn in their own time and environment at an appropriate pace.

A guide from the School of Education at the University on how to improve your skills in digital photography.

A guide from the School of Education at the University on how to improve your skills in digital photography.

In recent years, HE institutions have undertaken numerous innovation projects funded by agencies such as the Higher Education Academy and JISC. It has been found that effective support to such innovation projects is essential to their success, particularly in ensuring sustainable innovation, embedding of new practice and ultimately, institutional enhancement. The Higher Education Academy and JISC have experimented with and evaluated different models of project support, through initiatives such as Pathfinder, the latest Academy enhancement work and a number of JISC innovation programmes e.g. Users and Innovation and Curriculum Design/Delivery One increasingly popular support approach is the use of the ‘Critical Friend’, often (but not exclusively) associated with CAMEL groups where projects come together in a spirit of open collaboration to share ideas/experience.

The Learning and Teaching Institute (LTI) at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) has been developing a series of curriculum design toolkits for academic staff, structured around strands of good educational practice and the prevailing priorities of the University, such as employability, assessment for learning and internationalisation. The toolkit is developed through the identification of research informed principles of good practice which form the basis for a set of diagnostic questions which help staff to self evaluate their current practice and curricula. The toolkit provides examples of a variety of teaching and assessment practices which can be used to meet the principles without impacting on the time available to deliver subject material. Each strand of the toolkit provides links into other development material and activities provided by the LTI. The idea is to facilitate rewarding practice and support a gradual development approach.

The Learning and Teaching Institute (LTI) at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) has been developing a series of curriculum design toolkits for academic staff, structured around strands of good educational practice and the prevailing priorities of the University, such as employability, assessment for learning and internationalisation. The toolkit is developed through the identification of research informed principles of good practice which form the basis for a set of diagnostic questions which help staff to self evaluate their current practice and curricula. The toolkit provides examples of a variety of teaching and assessment practices which can be used to meet the principles without impacting on the time available to deliver subject material. Each strand of the toolkit provides links into other development material and activities provided by the LTI. The idea is to facilitate rewarding practice and support a gradual development approach.

This presentation will be looking into the teaching method developed by the Institute for European Studies in Brussels, combining an e-learning tool- the E-modules- with face-to-face training sessions and webinars. The main aim is to analyse the three different components of this “blended learning” pedagogical approach, as well as the way they complement each other and to address a few of the challenges that have emerged from the experience of working with them so far. The E-modules are an e-learning platform that has been designed with the purpose of offering a structured and interactive way of learning how the European Union functions.

Within the UK Higher Education sector, there continues to be a significant discrepancy between learners’ generally positive experience of the teaching they receive at university and the subsequent assessment and feedback of their learning, with which they are far less satisfied (National Student Survey, 2010). Amongst University of Plymouth taught students there has been a measurable decline in the level of satisfaction with assessment and feedback within the past year. Assessment is recognised as being a powerful driver of learning (Biggs, 1999; Boud et al, 2010) and high-quality ‘actionable’ feedback is valued by students (Black and Wiliam, 2009) who would like it to be clearer and more timely (2010 National Student Survey). It is therefore difficult to overstate the importance of getting it right, in terms not only of the student experience of assessment and feedback, but also of the quality of learning and achievement of high academic standards.

University students want flexibility in their study options in order to balance competing demands of personal and professional life whilst furthering their education. To meet this changing need, since 2008, the Queensland University of Technology’s, Master of Information Technology (Library and Information Science) has been embracing a more student friendly learning delivery. The once face-to-face only degree now provides students the choice to mix and match online or face-to-face study options through online and face to face delivery. Blended learning has been instrumental in ensuring the success of this new direction. This presentation will discuss the preliminary findings from a study that explored the issues, challenges and opportunities faced by LIS academics when teaching in a blended learning environment. The study is one part of a larger project funded by a QUT Faculty of Science and Technology, Teaching and Learning Grant that will move from incremental innovation, towards institutional enhancement by establishing a ‘whole of degree’ approach to blended learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of QUT’s LIS teaching team.

As the first Keynote speaker on the first day of the 2010 International Blended Learning Conference, Professor Peter Bullen talks about his personal reflections on changing practices of the Blended Learning Unit. Professor Bullen goes through five main elements that allowed for the success.

Current Government policy states that all child care practitioners in every child care setting must have a degree level qualification by 2015. Early years sector historically do not find it easy to access HE due to lack of support and resources to study at Level 4. Students often feel unprepared for the level of academic work required at HE. Barnet College has 25 students studying Level 3 Early years. These are community based practitioners, working in village halls and community centres, they have few work based study resources and minimum internet access. They lack confidence in learning due to educational background and in 2009/10 there was nil progression from Level 3 to Level 4. In order to facilitate at least a 25% progression in 2010/11 a task driven mobile technology project was developed to scaffold study skills and enhance personalised learning, providing a taster for Level 4 learning.

Nursing demands critical thinking skills to respond effectively within a rapidly changing healthcare environment. The future nurse requires openness, creativity, skills of enquiry; knowledge, reflexivity and the confidence to further develop clinical practice (Gopee 2002; Knowles & McGloin 2007). Hence the nurse must evidence competence in academic skills and the research process. This presentation will discuss the implementation of an acute care module within a new adult nursing curriculum at University Campus Suffolk (UCS). This was the first time a module had been delivered in the adult branch using a substantial amount of e learning. The project design aimed to encourage the development of the critical thinking skill set. It aimed to empower, support and motivate the student to be a responsible, engaged learner.

As the second Keynote speaker on the second day of the 2010 International Blended Learning Conference, Dr. Martin Oliver discusses ideas about how to think about doing things (in education) a little bit differently. This interesting presentation (and approach) goes through what constitutes e-learning, face-to-face interaction in teaching and learning, and blended learning.

Dr. Norm Vaughan and Dr Marti Cleveland Innes were the joint second Keynote speakers on the first day of the 2010 International Blended Learning Conference. This trans-Atlantic presentation from the University of Calgary in Canada, discusses their view of blended learning, teaching presence, seven principles of blended learning, and a case study.

As the first Keynote speaker on the second day of the 2010 International Blended Learning Conference, this trans-continental presentation comes from the Univeristy of Queensland in Australia. Mark Nichols is an e-learning specialist, and discusses a number of different issues related to blended learning.