Students Motivation and Assessment in e-learning or Experimental teaching through the application of UEL Plus

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Students Motivation and Assessment in
e-learningor Experimental teaching through the
application of UEL Plus the need for greater
engaging tools for students and a buying-in
method of encouragement.

• Understanding Consumption and Production , Level
  One, Core Module, Blended.
• Marta Rabikowska Maxine Newlands

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Students Motivation and Assessment in e-learning

• Blended learning a Face off with Facebook
• Knowledge Production through communication
  teaching beyond the class room.
• Empirical evidence of research Key themes from
  our research
• Pedagogical solutions
• New learning and teaching habits
• Conclusion e-portfolio

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The original aims of e-elements on the course

• To engage the students with module content and
  the cohort. (discussions, blogs, chats).
• To supply additional aids and resources for
  independent learning and team work (UEL platform)
• To enhance their critical skills through flexible
  modes of communication-i.e blogs and discussion
• To enable self-reflection on the learning process
  (blogs)
• To motivate students learning through a
  formative assessment on UEL (tutors replies to
  blogs)

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At present main two approaches in using ICT
Kember and Kwan 2000

• Storing knowledge produced by the tutor and
  making it available to the student (teacher-
  centred)
• Communication encouraging a dialogue beyond the
  class ( learner-centered)
• In both approaches the class-based habits and
  methods of teaching and learning are transplanted
  on a VLE.

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Our objective Knowledge production through
communication beyond the class

• Critical Constructivism learning through
  mutual influence and constructed meaning. Hoffman
  1998xii
• Knowledge is the product of our linguistic
  practices and social institutions that are
  specifically instantiated in the interactions and
  negotiations between others Mills162

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Methods

• UEL Blogs (formative assessment)
• Each week students were asked to self-reflect on
  the lecture material
• Discussion Boards (forum)
• As a tool for communication between the members
  and organising their presentations

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Problems 73 technical
Data collected from questionnaires implemented in
April 2008 (designed by module teaching team)
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Other problems mainly lack of relevance and
engagement
Data collected from questionnaires implemented in
April 2008 (designed by module teaching team)
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Other problems cont.

• Problems with digital divide among the cohort
• Staff engagement was uneven and motivation for
  spending time online after work was in decline.
• Evidence shows a need for extra staff training on
  all three modes design, build teach.
• Altogether VLE teaching is perceived as an
  obstacle rather than facilitator.

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On the other hand

• Some evidence of relational communication and
  self-reflection
• Students do learn from each other (blogs,
  discussion comments) beyond the classroom
  (constructivist learning)
• Student self-discipline themselves seeing others
  doing it (organisational skills).
• Tutors react to the students questions and
  suggestions and adjust the material and modes of
  delivery accordingly.
• Students feel more responsible for the course and
  become the knowledge producers.

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Two pedagogical approaches converge

• Repetitive/transmissive. In Distance Education
  it is an Industrial Model based on economy of
  scale Argyris and Schon (1978) single loop
  organisational learning
• Knowledge is evoked not analysed
• Content of VLE is transplanted to essays and
  classes in form of ready-made patterns.
• The use of e-tools is descriptive today the
  lecture was about.

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Analytical, independent learning

• Building knowledge from individual responses and
  reinterpreting it on a level of generalisation in
  a wider context than that identified in the
  class.
• Filtering knowledge critically and demanding a
  different angle of interpretation, mainly
  adjusted to a personal situation.
• Producing new knowledge in relation to doubts and
  questions expressed by others.

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Factors motivating the analytical approach

• Interaction with others they have to be online
  with no major technical problems. Silent
  students become more active.
• Inspiration by tutors case studies provided in
  response to the current questions (through blogs
  and discussions) and exchange for case studies
  from the students (social learning Kirkwood and
  Price 2006)
• Using online content produced by the students
  back in the class.
• Tutor support. Bridging life and academic
  environment

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Facebook Culture and UEL

• Facebook
• Easiness
• Constant connection (mobile phones, laptops)
• Building up an individual approach
• Exchange with wider spectrum of people
• Responsiveness
• Own content
• Responsibility for own presence and content

• UEL Plus
• Underdeveloped/ Technical problems
• Higher percentage of peer review
• Lack of ability to personalise
• Lack of Individuality
• Ethical issues- students may feel they are unable
  to fully express opinions
• Data Protection

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Analytical approach enhanced by Facebook method?

• Or a shift to the new learning and teaching
  habits (social conceptions of learning and
  assessment Kirkwood and Price 2006)
• Response to the changing higher education
  environment and students needs.
• Questioning the classical teaching methods (from
  the tutor to the student) and academic structures
  and policies double loop Kirkwood and Price 2006

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Double loop

• Double loop learning involves questioning the
  underlying goals, strategies and assumptions to
  identify the governing variable(s) (20063)
• Kirkwood and Price (2006) Adaptation for a
  Changing Environment Developing learning and
  teaching with information and communication
  technologies, International Review of Research in
  Open and Distance Learning, 7(2) 1-14.

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Pedagogical results before technology

• Facebook approach as a cognitive challenge
• For enhancing critical skills on a blended
  course a VLE can contain lots of different,
  individually adapted e-learning tools combined
  with face2face methods.

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Our proposition

• One block of lectures and seminars in which
  online resources will be used in the class.
  (relevance and consistency)
• Assessment an e-learning portfolio - combination
  of emails, blogs, discussions, chats, group
  schedules, creative work, research,
  self-reflection. Ideally a software should be
  designed and adapted on the course.

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Limited use of the institutional VLE UelOpening
to other, individually tailored tools instead.

• UEL will provide
• 1.a common discussion platform (synchronous and
  asynchronous) which will reflect all other forms
  of communication and exchange (with appropriate
  links)
• 2. Personal blogs for those who want to run them
  and use the tutors support.
• 3. Weekly guidelines and self-assessment
  exercises which will support a development of the
  portfolio for those who need them.

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Final e-learning portfolio (or a PDP)

• Will include all evidence of communication across
  all means during the semester in a reflective
  order.
• Reflective order a form of the portfolio which
  will document the way of thinking about the
  material and its relevance for the student.

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E-PORTFOLIO

• Adoption of faceBook culture
• Uel Tools, discussion, blogs and chat
• Wikipedia
• Dreamweaver
• Increase student role in negotiating a learning
  plan

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Technology innovations do not in themselves lead
to improved educational practices

• Kirkwood , A.,and Price , L.(2005) Learners and
  Learning in the 21st Century What do we know
  about students attitudes and experiences of ICT
  that will help us design courses? Studies in
  Higher Education 30(3) 257-274.
• Laurillard, D. (2002) Rethinking University
  teaching (2nd ed.) London Routledge
• Bostock, S.J. (1997) Designing web-based
  instruction for active learning in B.H.Khan (ed.)
  Web-based instruction (225-230) Englewood Cliffs,
  NJ.Educational Technology Publications
• Sept , J. (2004) The Stone Age in the Information
  Age in W.E.Becker and M.L.Andrews (eds.) The
  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in higher
  Education (47-80) Bloomington, IN.Indiana
  University Press
• Prosser, M.,Trigwell, K.,and Taylor , P. (1994) A
  Phenomenographic study of academics conceptions
  of science learning and teaching, Learning and
  Instructions 4(3) 217-232.
• Schön, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner
  How professionals think in action, New York
  Basic Books