H807-12B - Case studies of elearning Innovation WEEK 2 ACTIVITY
Tuesday, 31 Jan 2012, 07:11
Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Jonathan Turner, Saturday, 11 Feb 2012, 10:07
Introduction - I have decided to choose one example from each of the stated purposes on the JISC site, i.e. assessment, portfolios, technology enhanced learning environments and learning resources and activities.
1. E-assessment - University of Glamorgan
Interesting - one of the purported aims was to improve Ss engagement with learning, an ambitious aim for an asessement tool given that they usually have the opposite effect???
Main focus - Giving feedback to Ss on their progress, I wonder does this mean this is software to give the feedback or do we still need teacher intervention?
Most clunky phrase - "impacts of their personal development" (gimme a break!)
Let's get to the nub - turns out that after quite a bit of ambitious description it's a test bank!!! Multiple choice blah blah blah. The FEEDBACK is
"a score for the test, a summary of the questions asked and the student answers to those questions and an explanation of the correct answers"
Conclusion - it will save the teacher some marking and the explanation of the answer would be useful, but essentially on the surface I don't see anything fundamentally innovative in the architecture of the learning process.
2. E-portfolio - Sheffield Hallam University
Interesting - as a "personal development planner" it potentially addresses an interesting area, i.e. why we are learning something.
Main focus - It's an e-portfolio where you stick in all your work individually and as a group and get feedback on it from the tutor.
Most clunky phrase - "engaging incoming students with the learning context". Do they really mean context? Don't they just mean learning???
Let's get to the nub - it's like a paper portfolio but with the advantages of being in a much easier and richer formatt to manipulate especially for those of us who are organizationally challenged
Conclusion - It seems to use the technology advantageously, but I don't see how the technological aspect is as yet part of the pedagogy of the design.
3. Technology enhanced learning environment - University of Glasgow
Interesting - Although it used something as grandiose sounding as a VLE (Moodle), the aims were in fact modest and did not smack of the hubris that such projects can suffer from
Main focus - to deliver course material to Ss, improve communication and reduce photocopying
Most clunky phrase - Clunk free!
Let's get to the nub - It says what it is and is what is says!
Conclusion - this type of modest and doable aim, seems to be a the kind of project that will have a longer shelf life than many of the projects, maybe this is because I have studies with moodle and know that it works fine...
4. Learning resources and activities - Swansea University
Interesting - It uses podcasts for archaeology Ss to look at sites and listen to expert commentary. This is contrasted with the traditional route of looking at black and white photos. It seems that again we have an example of technology informing pedagogy and not just providing another way of saying what we can say using traditional means.
Main focus - As stated this is a bank of podcasts for Ss to be able to look at Greek ruins
Most clunky phrase - "project has a focus on student-centred learning, encouraging a collaborative experience by using Podcasting with undergraduate (BA) and postgraduate (taught MA) students" HHmmm, student centred, tick, collaborative learning, tick!!
Let's get to the nub - This looks like a pretty cool way of looking and learning about ruins without having to go to Greece
Conclusion - I guess this project will be time consuming and costly, but if the designers are confident that no new delivery method will come along in the next couple of years which make this technolgy redundant then this could be a good long term learning tool
H807-12B - Case studies of elearning Innovation WEEK 2 ACTIVITY
Introduction - I have decided to choose one example from each of the stated purposes on the JISC site, i.e. assessment, portfolios, technology enhanced learning environments and learning resources and activities.
1. E-assessment - University of Glamorgan
Interesting - one of the purported aims was to improve Ss engagement with learning, an ambitious aim for an asessement tool given that they usually have the opposite effect???
Main focus - Giving feedback to Ss on their progress, I wonder does this mean this is software to give the feedback or do we still need teacher intervention?
Most clunky phrase - "impacts of their personal development" (gimme a break!)
Let's get to the nub - turns out that after quite a bit of ambitious description it's a test bank!!! Multiple choice blah blah blah. The FEEDBACK is
"a score for the test, a summary of the questions asked and the student answers to those questions and an explanation of the correct answers"
Conclusion - it will save the teacher some marking and the explanation of the answer would be useful, but essentially on the surface I don't see anything fundamentally innovative in the architecture of the learning process.
2. E-portfolio - Sheffield Hallam University
Interesting - as a "personal development planner" it potentially addresses an interesting area, i.e. why we are learning something.
Main focus - It's an e-portfolio where you stick in all your work individually and as a group and get feedback on it from the tutor.
Most clunky phrase - "engaging incoming students with the learning context". Do they really mean context? Don't they just mean learning???
Let's get to the nub - it's like a paper portfolio but with the advantages of being in a much easier and richer formatt to manipulate especially for those of us who are organizationally challenged
Conclusion - It seems to use the technology advantageously, but I don't see how the technological aspect is as yet part of the pedagogy of the design.
3. Technology enhanced learning environment - University of Glasgow
Interesting - Although it used something as grandiose sounding as a VLE (Moodle), the aims were in fact modest and did not smack of the hubris that such projects can suffer from
Main focus - to deliver course material to Ss, improve communication and reduce photocopying
Most clunky phrase - Clunk free!
Let's get to the nub - It says what it is and is what is says!
Conclusion - this type of modest and doable aim, seems to be a the kind of project that will have a longer shelf life than many of the projects, maybe this is because I have studies with moodle and know that it works fine...
4. Learning resources and activities - Swansea University
Interesting - It uses podcasts for archaeology Ss to look at sites and listen to expert commentary. This is contrasted with the traditional route of looking at black and white photos. It seems that again we have an example of technology informing pedagogy and not just providing another way of saying what we can say using traditional means.
Main focus - As stated this is a bank of podcasts for Ss to be able to look at Greek ruins
Most clunky phrase - "project has a focus on student-centred learning, encouraging a collaborative experience by using Podcasting with undergraduate (BA) and postgraduate (taught MA) students" HHmmm, student centred, tick, collaborative learning, tick!!
Let's get to the nub - This looks like a pretty cool way of looking and learning about ruins without having to go to Greece
Conclusion - I guess this project will be time consuming and costly, but if the designers are confident that no new delivery method will come along in the next couple of years which make this technolgy redundant then this could be a good long term learning tool