Personal Blogs

In Case Study 3 I looked at Simulation Gaming in Business from the University of Glamorgan. As I'm from a management background this took my interest, also I'm aware of the gaming approach used in many business programmes but was interested to view an innovative approach.

Firstly, the innovators looked for an alternative to the spreadsheet dominated financial gaming processes and looked to something that could be advanced in other subject areas [it has since been used in Nursing & General Induction].

The approach of this innovation is similar to that of the University of Swansea's Podcasting in Archaeology, in that they identified a learning need or gap and created an intervention to address this. In this case it was a common difficulty in conceptualising the difference between large and small businesses and how they operate. Like many elearning developers / innovators they were worried about motivation of both staff and learner.

The motivational worries seem unfounded and they received largely positive reposnse when learners were asked to compare this "gaming" approach to traditional case studies. Staff also presented a positive response to this intervention.

It is clear from this case study that this project was literally from "scratch" and required input from a large and varied team including student volunteers, over an extended period of time. The innovative nature of this project required this and it is anticipated in the future that role out would require less technical input and time commitment.

K

I'm delighted with this week's focus on case studies on elearning, following on from our discussions on innovation.

The first case study I looked at was on the use of Podcasting in Archaeology in Swansea University. I selected this case as I'm a big fan of podcasting in general, whether for entertainment, general interest or work. I have used podcasts in my Instructor role to add a "different voice" to the input.

Elizabeth Mullet has already analyzed this case study so I'll avoid repeating her detailed observations but rather focus on the potential and limitations of podcasting in this environment.

Podcasting with images was introduced to give a more engaging and personal input from the lecturers rather then the generic content that can be sourced from text books. The lecturers took advantage of their archaeological visits to sights of interest by recording images and adding commentary. In effect they were customising and personalising the learning experience for the learners, many of whom would not have had the opportunity to visit such sites.

What's interesting about this innovation is that it addressed and succeeded in improving on a lack of site recognition amongst learners. It is "learner-centred" and encourages collaboration amongst learners even on different courses. This has expanded into the faculty whereby they share with colleagues outside of their university.

It is clear that the podcasts create an element of "authenticity" to the learner environment and encourage reflection amongst learners. It is an opportunist innovation though, as the podcasts are created in tandem with site visits but what if there were no site visits or how can the same benefits be gained outside of this subject area. The case study also mentions learners have an interest beyond "PowerPoint", have published on-line themselves and have used web 2.0 technologies in their own assessed work. What if the audience were not so accepting of technology? possibly a more traditional learner would this innovation achieve the same level of success?

K