The learner experience

Institutional change

Online teaching practice:

Re-designing for learning

departmental negotiation

interviews

initial call contact meeting follow-up Carpe Diem

Observation

Feedback

Key Adelie figures

To 30 May 2007:

• 13 Carpe Diems run (4 more planned)

• 70 staff reached, including 4 subject librarians

• 11 departments

• 2 Barefoot e-moderator courses run, involving 20 staff (2 more scheduled)

DisciplineCarpe Diem Participants

LevelOn campus

studentsDL

Company Law 5 UG    

Modern Languages 5 UG    

Geology 4 UG    

Occupational Psychology 5 PG    

Criminology (2 groups) 10 UG & PG    

Education (2 groups) 14 PG    

Media Studies 6 PG    

Institute of LLL 4 PG    

Labour Market Studies 6 PG    

Inter-Prof Education (Medicine) 6 UG    

Medical Education Skills 5 PG & CPD

Total 70  

Other indicators of impact• Increased visits to the Media Zoo.• Multiple e-learning consultations addressed to the Adelie team, from

several disciplines.• Teams approach Adelie, rather than the other way round.• Raised awareness of affordances of learning technologies.• Raised awareness of tutors’ ability to harness the technology to help

them meet goals.• Teams work together on course design, as opposed to ‘contracting out

the writing of modules’.• Every team valued the time spent together over two days highly,

especially for planning.• Working towards a product is useful and challenging: a set of focused e-

tivities, ready and running on Blackboard by the end of day 2.• ICT upskilling, including Blackboard skills and Web 2.0 technologies.• Adelie impacts on teaching practice generally, not just “e”.• Teams do new things as a result: they review their own practices and

explore new ways of doing things.• Enhanced national visibility of this Pathfinder project.

Participants’ understanding of teaching and learning: (1) “the course will teach itself”

Content is king. Teaching and learning a secondary consideration.

Transmission of information highly valued.

Poor knowledge of teaching strategies.

Little understanding of learning processes.

Students’ work viewed as an end-product.

Participants’ understanding of teaching and learning: (2) “the course is taught, not delivered”

Teaching and learning aims made explicit.

Knowledge that tutors have to intervene as teachers to achieve the teaching and learning goals.

Knowledge of learning processes and a variety of teaching strategies.

Knowledge understood to be constructed, not transmitted.

Formative assessment.

E-tivity type

FeaturesEvidence from Carpe Diem

Essay in hiding

New technology, old method. Long task.A typical beginning: “read the chapter and make notes…”

Single answer

The output is a right answer, with no extension, elaboration or opportunity for sharing of ideas.

An online multiple-choice, matching exercise or crossword.

Fuzzy rhetoric

The e-tivity may aim at collaboration but its design leads to confusion.

“Critically appraise the following article”.

Fit for purpose

Each feature or online tool is used effectively for what it does best, maximising engagement and focus.

A range of e-tivities designed by some of the course teams.

E-tivity types

E-tivities & assessment

Links between e-tivities & assessment

Rationale Tutors' actions

1

Output of e-tivities is (part of) the assessment.

All e-tivities designed to be assessed. May replace essay.

Assessed after submission.

2

Two sets of e-tivities: compulsory and optional.

The former to carry a proportion of grade and may replace essay. The latter not formally graded.

Assess compulsory e-tivities. Some e-moderation and monitoring needed.

3

E-tivities are optional, but their output clearly builds towards an assessed assignment.

E-tivities designed to align the development of ideas and content with the requirements of a subsequent assessed assignment.

Formative feedback as part of sustained e-moderation is paramount.

4E-tivities are optional (not assessed).

Keen students given opportunity to learn more.

E-moderation optional but key to maximise learning opportunities and do justice to contributions.