E-Winter School Dubai Women

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E-Winter SchoolDubai Womens College

• A Blended Online Remedial English Course

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Introduction

• What?
• Who?
• Why?
• How? (Distinguishing Features, Examples)
• The Story So Far.
• Into the Future

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What?

• A full time, 17-week, blended on-line remedial
  English language skills and development course,
  making intensive use of online quizzes,
  assessments and writing tasks.
• Blended A combination of on-line and
  face-to-face learning.

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Who?

• Students who did not pass Semester One English at
  first attempt.
• Participants include Business, IT, Health
  Science, Paramedic Communication Technology
  students.
• Students Who Have Challenged out of Foundations
• Douglas McPherson and Kevin Kempin. (Ushers)

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Why?

• To offer students a college option, as opposed to
  sending them to an external education provider.
  Thus, to improve retention rates.
• To maintain/improve language skills.
• To build confidence and ability for Semester 1
  re-entry.

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How? Distinguishing Features

• Initial orientation week, focusing on information
  and file management
• Daily, on-line tasks with non-negotiable
  deadlines
• On-going, cumulative assessment
• Coverage of the main skill areas (Reading,
  Listening, Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing)
• Focus on weaker areas Writing and Grammar
• Zero-tolerance for error with controlled
  writing, (main area of weakness).
• Opportunity for freer writing. Exchange with
  Japan
• LOAF Approach.
• Little Often And Focused Limited Output And
  Focused.

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Daily, On-line Tasks With Non-Negotiable
Deadlines

• Extrinsic motivation is important.
• Students compelled to work on a daily basis
• Deadlines set on the computer
• Tasks, (quizzes and submissions) were not
  available after 6.30 PM.
• Phone and email support available until 6.30 PM
  daily.

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Focus On Weaker Areas Writing And Grammar

• Insistence on students learning meta-language,
  (grammatical terms). Support for this provided
  by Tense Buster software, (installed on the
  students laptops), and the HD1 English Website.
• Intense process writing. Students unable to
  proceed until they had perfected previous
  writing, (in some tasks)
• Students asked to log areas of weakness.

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Zero-Tolerance With Controlled Writing

• Sentences earn marks only if totally error free.
• Error free means no mistakes in grammar,
  punctuation, or spelling. Sentences must also
  convey meaning.
• Green sheep sleep furiously, 0 marks.
• Students, in some tasks unable to proceed until
  previous writing fixed, and errors identified.

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Exchange with Japan

• A bulletin board exchange with students at
  Ibaraki University in Japan. Students paired.
• Publication Standard Students, research and
  process write until writing is error free, then
  post on bulletin board. -Tightly controlled.
• Free Response Students expected to respond to
  their partner in Japan, ask and answer questions.
• Exchange hosted on a different site, Dougies
  Online Learning, site

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LOAF

• Focus on quality not quantity.
• As skills grew so did output controlled growth.
• Builds confidence.

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A Typical Week.
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Controlled Writing.
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Points to note.

• Extrinsic Motivation is important.
• Expectations of students need to be explicit,
  clear and understood.
• Work load high/designing, teaching, marking,
  mentoring as we went /one week ahead.
• Japan exchanges with Japan to continue.
• Student grade book in WebCT CE very cumbersome.
• Backup your course regularly

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The story so far

• Students have shown clear improvement, especially
  in work habits and writing skills.
• Feedback overwhelmingly positive from both
  students and faculty.
• Positive interest and feedback from other
  colleges and other institutions.
• High retention rate 29/31 students, as opposed
  to 5/31 in the previous year.

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Student Feedback

• There are many things that helped me to learn in
  this semester. For example, the reading, grammar,
  responsive writing, etc, but the most thing that
  really helped me is the grammar and the writing.

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Student Feedback 2

• We learn many things in this course, such us my
  grammar had improved because we did a lot of
  quizzes and also the teacher had taught us when
  we have to use the tenses. Moreover, my spelling
  had improved and I learnt a lot of a new
  vocabulary. Last of all, I think that from this
  course I had improved immensely especially in
  weakness skill writing.

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Student Feedback 3

• This course helped in developing my writing and
  grammar. Recently I realized that i am using new
  vocabulary words I had never used it before.

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Outcomes

• E-Winter School Graduates are Successful.
• Various Spin-off Courses.

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Success Rates DWC HD1 Deferred Students

• 2003 31 Students Deferred and Sent to Outside
  Providers
• 6 Returned to College
• 2004 31 Students Deferred and Enrolled in
  E-Winter School
• 30 Returned to College
• All are Successful
• 2005 42 Students Currently Deferred and Enrolled
  in E-Winter School

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E-Winter School Students Retention
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Spin-off Courses

• Afternoon Endeavors Working, PM Students
• Writing and Reading Support Programs, for
  currently enrolled At Risk Students
• Section 1
• DWC HD1 WebCT English General Resources
• Japanese Exchange

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Key Strategies Leverage

• Use of HD1 Website as Repository
• Use of Respondus to Create Quizzes, Once, Publish
  to Many Sites
• Database Model Learning Objects

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The Future

• E-Winter School graduates are flagged and their
  future results monitored.
• The E-Winter School will be repeated next
  semester. Our primary aim is to leverage what we
  are doing, and to do it better.
• We are looking at ways of enabling other colleges
  to access and use these course.
• Incorporation of a greater multi-media component,
  not in terms of the actual interface, but in
  terms of stimuli and learning object. Question
  Stems and Feedback. E.g.. Rosetta Stone.
• Vista Key Weakness in Grade Book

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Any Questions?

• Doug, Douglas Dougie McPherson
• douglas.mcpherson_at_hct.ac.ae
• 04 2089 557
• Kevin Kempin
• kevin.kempin_at_hct.ac.ae
• 04 2089 507
• This PowerPoint display available on E-Winter
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