The Giant Head

Louise did a great job today with the exec workshop, as did Ellie and Danny. I just typed my fingers to a frazzle and fiddled about with gadgets. So it is only fitting that we see her here being saluted, as a Giant Head of e-learning by Smodge. Are we well known for e-learning, this picture was taken last week at the Blackboard European Conference, so what do you think?

there are points available for the origin of the phrase "giant head"

Paul asks 'What shall we do next?'.

(We need to expand the learning beyond the classroom)


Exec's asks - 'What do you need from us'

- We need some sort of channel to get all of our information and help out.
- Louise says we can do so much more with the student portal.
- Heightened level of awareness

Q - How 'cutting edge' are we?

A - We are at the front of innovative technology and e-learning but the question is 'What can we now do with it?'. We need to push this into the SHU branding and promise more.

An exec gives his oppinion about e-learning and quotes paul and louise by saying ..'E-learning takes the door off the classroom'

Q - Should we evolve into e-learning becoming a default for learning/ Do we have a choice?

A - Paul explains the advantages of using electronic methods for learning. He questions how long staff who are not willing to move forward with tecnology will last in this day and age.

Q - What support do we offer in relation to using blackboard.

A - We offer alot of support to Staff (24hr Helplines, e-learning advisors). Louise tells the execs about a need for a basic level of IT skills so that we can work forwards instead of backwards.

'E-mail is for old people'

Paul demonstrates the LTI - LTA blog and explains that he is using the blog instead of posting out E-mails to everybody in the LTI.

Louise gives the execs the opportunity to ask any questions. Ill post the questions and answers given unless somebody ask's me one...

Paul introduces the blogging activity and explains that the execs have unwittingly been involved in the blog and demonstrates it to them showing a number of your comments.

Ellie introduces herself and presents a slideshow which displays her views about the student perspective and the problems/ issues facing shu.

Activity 2

The teams discuss which of the three perspectives they have chosen and explain what they would be looking for when coming to Sheffield Hallam University in terms of First Contact, Induction & Orientation, Support & Administration, Learning & teaching and Assessment.

what students expect

this was a group activity, I will put the file up later of the activity itself, and they were asked about what students wanted from induction and first contact. Answers included:

personalised support
flexibility of elearning (backed up by f2f), this was mentioned by all of the groups, not in a "clinging on to the human side of things..." but not far off
quick turnaround of assessment
interactive information about the city and the university
a key to all the anachronisms that we use
LTA - how flexible is everything?
technology can help in every way possible, with a significant look

The case studies used in this session might be good to do in the LTI

The Quiz results:

Winners: Liz Winders, Clive Macdonald, Philip Garrahan, John Palmer

Wooden spoon: Diana Green, Kevin Bonnett, Sylvia Johnson

The teams

Quiz

The four teams of three answer a series of questions based on the future of e-learning.

The Quiz...

The Exec have now started doing the quiz, and there is definitely an air of concentration - but then again we have told them that it is competitive!

Ellie's presentation

What do students want and expect from e-learning?

• The perception is that everyone uses computers routinely for purposes not connected with learning.
• So IT skills are not only required by future employers, but also to function efficiently in other areas of life.
• It is expected that the university will invest to make the most of technology to benefit students, in terms of allowing them to develop transferable IT skills, and in providing the optimum learning experience for their particular course.
• Students are not allowed to fail to acquire the skills and knowledge required for their course, so it is not acceptable for staff to lack the skills and knowledge to use this technology to teach the course, or for predictable mistakes to occur.
• Students do not want e-learning to replace other forms of learning – it is not a substitute for face-to-face contact with teaching staff.
• Students want the maximum result from the minimum effort – as far as possible the e-learning environment should be a one-stop-shop which functions consistently and works reliably.
• Students do not distinguish between areas of the service provided – problems (e.g. with individual blackboard sites, timetabling, IT failures in exams or coursework) will all be lumped together as problems the university has failed to avoid.
• Students very quickly learn not to trust a system if it lets them down frequently in minor ways, or occasionally in major ways.
• If a university is perceived to lack the history or prestige of other universities it is expected that it will make up for (or benefit from) this by providing modern cutting edge services that are reflexive and not hampered by tradition or bureaucracy.

Problems with Blackboard from the student perspective

• Lack of understanding among staff of the purpose of areas in Blackboard sites, leading to inconsistency (e.g. lecture notes variously posted in Course Documents Course Materials or Resources).
• Lack of systematic use of Blackboard, or organisation of folders/items within areas of Blackboard, affecting ease and efficiency of navigation.
• Staff’s general lack of basic IT skills and experience that they could use to make Bb easier to use (e.g. checking that links work and setting them up to open in a new window).
• Staff’s lack of specific skills in using Blackboard, especially more advanced features (e.g. wikis, discussion boards, blogs etc.) so they don’t notice when they have set them up wrong, or know how to fix it.

Issues for academic staff

• They are always pressed for time.
• They have to prioritise and don’t seem to be consistently allowed or encouraged to make e-learning a high priority.
• Some staff are scared of using Blackboard because they lack the necessary skills, but this does not reflect their value to students as lecturers/tutors.
• They need to be allowed the time and resources to develop IT skills in general, and Blackboard skills in particular.
• Some staff are suspicious of the purpose of Blackboard – they are worried it will remove the scope for individual teaching styles, and may be a “slippery slope” towards replacing face-to-face teaching.
• They need to be encouraged to use the basic areas of Blackboard sites consistently, but to develop their own ways of using Blackboard for their course and style of teaching.
• There is a need to negotiate a strategy for Blackboard use between the staff within a course/module, which fits within certain requirements but is acceptable to staff and appropriate to their course. The course leader should be encouraged to support and coordinate staff in this.

The Quiz

Here is the quiz the executive are doing if you fancy having a go...

University Executive

Future of e-learning workshop – Quiz

In small teams, answer the following questions - you have 10 minutes to answer all 12. Use the technology available to you and consider strategies that make the best use of the team's time and skills. The first 4 include hints to get you started. After 5 minutes you will have the option to "buy" more hints, either:

· up to 3 further hints (chosen randomly) - each hint will cost you 1 mark off your total score

· or you can buy 1 hint to a specific question for 2 marks

There is a prize for the winning team.

1. What is the name of Sheffield Hallam’s virtual learning environment? 1 mark (hint: discussion paper or site)

2. What is the first picture you see if you enter “Sheffield Hallam University” into flickr and who shared it?
(hint: www.flickr.com) 2 marks

3. According to one of the student quotes, what did using the Discussion Board lead to the student doing in town?
(hint: discussion paper) 1 mark

4. What is information fluency?
(hint: site new learning styles) 1 mark

5. What two “technologies” does the Horizon Report tip for adoption in one year or less? 2 marks

6. How many people in the room have with them a phone that can take a picture? 2 marks

7. According to Wikipedia when was the last time Sheffield Hallam was “In the news”? 1 mark

8. What topic was discussed in the last Sheffield Hallam LTA podcast? 1 mark

9. Which US college produces the “Mindset list” and what has always been a verb to the class of 2010? 2 marks

10. How many residents were there is Second Life on 15 January 2007?
3 mark bonus – how many yesterday?!? 4 marks

11. Should Danni apply to do business studies at Sheffield Hallam? How many people responded to her? 2 marks

12. How many hits to the Sheffield Hallam Blackboard site on 25 December 2006?

1 mark

Total marks - 20

Welcome to the future of e-learning blog

This blog is to support the University Executive workshop on Monday 5 March 2007 (12.30pm to 2pm), enabling us to share what is going on inside and outside the workshop.