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Stanford Study: Student Writing

November 22, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment

Writer“Today’s kids don’t just write for grades anymore. They write to shake the world.

Moreover, they are writing more than any previous generation, ever, in history. They navigate in a bewildering new arena where writers and their audiences have merged.

These are among the startling findings in the Stanford Study of Writing, spearheaded by Professor Andrea Lunsford, director of Stanford’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric. The study refutes conventional wisdom and provides a wholly new context for those who wonder “whether Google is making us stupid and whether Facebook is frying our brains,” said Lunsford.

The five-year study investigated the writing of Stanford students during their undergraduate careers and their first year afterward, whether at a job or in graduate school.”

Read full study.

Filed Under Academic Research, Learning, Social Media Tagged With E-Learning, Facebook, Writing

Learner Love/Hate Relationship with Virtual Worlds

November 21, 2009 By drbexl 2 Comments

Second Life“Ask a learner who has been in a virtual world what they think and you may hear that they love that they get to explore new places and meet new people. Ask another and you might hear that they hate feeling disoriented or even nauseated. These individual anecdotes can be lively, funny and curious—but they are not a basis on which to make decisions about whether your organization will undertake a virtual world learning project. As part of a recent project, I had the opportunity to survey nearly 300 students who had just participated in a constructivist learning experience in Second Life (SL)  –to learn what they loved, hated and would like to see changed. In this article, we’ll explore what a large number of real learners have to say about their experience learning in a virtual world.”

Read full article.

Filed Under Learning, Social Media Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning, Second Life

Facebook for Education

November 20, 2009 By drbexl 1 Comment

Facebook

“Facebook has been making many inroads into education over the last few years. Many institutions are using Facebook sites to publicize events on campus, as well as to aid in their recruiting.

As well, many students, instructors and administrators are using a number of Facebook applications for a wide variety of academic purposes.

Recently we’ve been examining a number of Facebook apps that are relevant for educational use. We’ve assembled a small list of 20 facebook apps here and are happy to have others add additional apps to the list that you’ve found helpful.”

Find list of applications.

Filed Under Learning, Social Media Tagged With Apps, E-Learning, Facebook

Second Life in Education

November 15, 2009 By drbexl 2 Comments

Professor Joosten‘s work in Second Life in education, with accompanying blog. Well produced video, with a good idea of the rationale for the project, and what students are likely to get out of  Second Life which they are not able to get in “the real world”.

Filed Under Academic Research, Learning, Social Media Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning, Second Life, Virtual World

9 Great Reasons Why Teachers Should Use Twitter

November 13, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment

In a couple of week’s I’m giving a bit of a heads-up on the possibilities of using Twitter within education. I use it extensively to source information within e-learning, but am looking for more generic information to apply, and thought this was an interesting start!

Twitter

What’s the point of Twitter? Why should educators get involved? What difference does using Twitter make?

Here are some answers that you might like to share.

  1. Together we’re better: a virtual staff room
  2. Global or local: you choose: potential to reach an international audience
  3. Self-awareness and reflective practice: sharing best practice / challenges/ the educator’s journey
  4. Ideas workshop and sounding board: Share ideas and get instant feedback, and constructive criticism.
  5. Newsroom and innovation showcase: Keep up with current affairs, both news and with the latest developments in a specialist field – often being one of the first to know. Avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’ by working smarter/sharing ideas. “Pay It Forward”
  6. Professional development and critical friends: a powerful network available ‘all the time’, not just at break-out times between training sessions. Take time to find the right people to follow. A source of healthy debate, without losing days in development time/large amounts of cash, and gain the courage of your own convictions.
  7. Quality-assured searching: Trust the people you follow, and as your network gains a critical mass, often a more reliable source of information than Google, and offering up to the minute information on time-linked trending topics.
  8. Communicate, communicate, communicate: “Expressing yourself in 140 characters is a great discipline.”
  9. Getting with the times has never been so easy!: It’s what the students are using, and therefore we also should. “Twitter is anything but complicated”, and plenty of websites offering help on how to get started.

Read full blog entry, and also the great comments below it, where others give their ideas for using Twitter within education. It may be rather schools focused, but it’s important for Universities to know what schools are doing so that we can start from where the students are familiar!

Filed Under Learning, Social Media Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning, Ideas, Rationale, Twitter

Next-gen PhDs fail to find Web 2.0′s “on-switch”

November 12, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment

On Switch“A three-year study by the British Library, Researchers of Tomorrow, is tracking the research behaviour of doctoral students born between 1982 and 1994 – dubbed “Generation Y”. …

Interim results, released to Times Higher Education, show that only a small proportion of those surveyed are using technology such as virtual-research environments, social bookmarking, data and text mining, wikis, blogs and RSS-feed alerts in their work. This contrasts with the fact that many respondents professed to finding technological tools valuable.”

Read full story in the Times Higher Education.

This is something I’d love to see changed. Although there is a lot of protest against the demonstrable ”impact” of research, I personally feel that research so far as possible should look to be a collaborative effort, building upon the work of others (rather than re-inventing the wheel), and disseminating that work as far as possible. Web 2.0 offers great possibilities, and I look forward to implementing a number of them at the University of Winchester.

Filed Under Academic Research Tagged With Blogging, E-Learning, Research, Twitter, Web 2.0

Higher Ambitions: The Future of Universities in a Knowledge Economy

November 11, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment
e-learning
33 The continuing development of
e-learning is a vital element in
supporting improvement of
teaching and the student experience
and in enabling the personalisation
and flexibility that students and
employers expect. We will empower
our universities to be world
leaders in the growing market in
transnational education based on
e-learning.
34 Whilst the performance of our
institutions in transnational
education and online distance
learning is already impressive,
we need to build on this to ensure
that we remain a global leader.
Our aspiration is to ensure that UK
courses are the first choice for
international students who want to
study but who do not want or are
unable to travel. We will therefore
build on the international reputation
of the overall “British Brand” of
higher education, and on distance
learning at institution level, to
ensure our strategic investment in
digital higher education supports
this existing area of strength.
35 HEFCE have established an
impressive taskforce to help take
forward the aim of helping UK
higher education remain a world
leader in online learning and grow
its market share by 2015. The Task
Force is chaired by Lynne Brindley,
Chief Executive of the British
Library, with representatives at
senior level from the private and
public sector, including Microsoft,
Apple, the British Council, HEFCE,
Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC), and Universities
UK. The BBC has agreed to advise
the task force as and when
appropriate. The taskforce met for
the first time in September 2009.96
It will identify opportunities for
investment and innovation within
HIGHER AMBITIONS | Engaging with our communities and the wider world
92
96 The members of the taskforce are: Dame Lynne Brindley (Chair), Chief Executive, British Library; Professor Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor, Open University; Steve Beswick,
UK Director of Education, Microsoft; Professor Philip Garrahan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University; Professor Sharon Huttly, Professor and Dean of Studies,
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive, HEFCE; Mike Munn, Director for Higher Education for UK and Ireland, Apple; Don
Olcott, Chief Executive, The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education; Professor Sir Tim O’Shea, Principal, Edinburgh University and Chair of JISC; Professor Gilly
Salmon, University of Leicester; Professor Rick Trainor, Principal, Kings College London; Kevin Van-Cauter, Higher Education Adviser, British Council; Martin Williams,
Director, Higher Education, BIS; Professor Caroline Gipps, Vice-Chancellor, University of Wolverhampton; Richard Halkett, Director of Strategy and Research, Cisco;
Subroto Mozumdar, President of Higher and Professional Education, Pearson Education Ltd; Aaron Porter, Vice President (Higher Education), National Union of Students;
John Widdowson, Principal, New college Durham and Chair of Mixed Economy Group. Advisor: Judith Nichol, Knowledge Partnerships Manager, BBC
and between universities and
colleges, and with the private
sector, in the development of online
learning, including the building of
critical mass. Through HEFCE the
Government will be prepared to
provide seedcorn funding on a
competitive basis for universityprivate
sector partnerships which
will strengthen our market position.
36 We believe that, in a rapidly
expanding global market, institutions
based here have a unique
opportunity to provide education
in many different forms. The UK’s
advantages in research and teaching
are supported by our established
strengths in both accreditation and
educational publishing. The potential
to develop international education
through partnerships with
broadcasters and internet service
providers is considerable, and in our
view will shape and strengthen the
higher education sector over the
coming decade.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Logo

Extract from the report published 4th November 2009

e-learning

33 The continuing development of e-learning is a vital element in supporting improvement of teaching and the student experience and in enabling the personalisation and flexibility that students and employers expect. We will empower our universities to be world  leaders in the growing market in transnational education based on e-learning.

34 Whilst the performance of our institutions in transnational education and online distance learning is already impressive, we need to build on this to ensure that we remain a global leader. Our aspiration is to ensure that UK courses are the first choice for international students who want to study but who do not want or are unable to travel. We will therefore build on the international reputation of the overall “British Brand” of higher education, and on distance learning at institution level, to ensure our strategic investment in digital higher education supports this existing area of strength.

35 HEFCE have established an impressive taskforce to help take forward the aim of helping UK higher education remain a world leader in online learning and grow its market share by 2015. The Task Force is chaired by Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library, with representatives at senior level from the private and public sector, including Microsoft, Apple, the British Council, HEFCE, Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), and Universities UK. The BBC has agreed to advise the task force as and when appropriate. The taskforce met for the first time in September 2009.96

It will identify opportunities for investment and innovation within and between universities and colleges, and with the private sector, in the development of online learning, including the building of critical mass. Through HEFCE the Government will be prepared to provide seedcorn funding on a competitive basis for university/private sector partnerships which will strengthen our market position.

36 We believe that, in a rapidly expanding global market, institutions based here have a unique opportunity to provide education in many different forms. The UK’s  advantages in research and teaching are supported by ou established strengths in both accreditation and educational publishing. The potential to develop international education through partnerships with broadcasters and internet service providers is considerable, and in our view will shape and strengthen the higher education sector over the coming decade.

Read the full report (115 pages), or Executive Summary (20 pages) published by the Department for Business, Information and Skills (PDF), and also an interesting blog in response.

Filed Under Learning Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning, Employability, Government Policy, Higher Education

JISC E-Learning Fair

November 5, 2009 By drbexl 2 Comments

rsc-logo

Many of those at the JISC E-Learning Fair were from FE, but there was also a lean towards HE, and I (in my role as Blended Learning Fellow at the University of Winchester) picked up a lot of useful information, and got to meet others working in the local(ish) area who will be useful contacts.

Please note that I am in process of deciding best forum for such information within the University: Moodle, a Blog, but for now, here we are. (Reflecting upon blogging, etc. at events)

Stephen Sheedy, Queen Mary College, Basingstoke
Stephen set the tone for the day with an amusing but thought-provoking mix of material. He indicated that we shouldn’t be talking about major changes which are likely to affect learning and skills – as they are already happening.

Discussing the history of communication, it was demonstrated that we used to have a small circle of friends/family, and were introduced into a broader world by adults (particularly parents/teachers), but that now ‘younger people’ are entering the global world without adult guidance.

Student Expectations?

  • Global (Used creating their own YouTube videos, and expecting a quick response – from anywhere in the world!)
  • Responsive (Used to rapid response/feedback, 3 week guarantee “too long”)
  • Flexible (Used to having more than one starting point)
  • Interactive (Looking for a relationship of trust, staff/student partnership: The teacher has a role of leader, but needs ‘distributed leadership’)
  • Often facile or trivial

Students need a guide to the terrain. Our job is to let them know where the paths are. We need to know what is known and the options for exploration..

What do Teachers/Lecturers need to know with Web 2.0?

  • Determine the appropriate reach of a forum.
  • Establish protocols for partnership.
  • Security/Safeguarding
  • Inclusion (not everyone can afford the technology, so minimise it’s impact)
  • Identify the quality of the information.
  • Insist on nobility of purpose (not a space for compliance)
  • In using the space, students become better contributors to society (NOT just a box of skills), and live it better.

What’s important for institutions to know?

  • Encourage staff involvement
  • Invest in awareness/equipment
  • Security/safeguarding
  • Monitoring (not primary purpose)
  • Inclusion.

The Committee of Enquiry into the Changing Learner Experience Sir David Melville, Chair of Lifelong Learning UK, spoke before lunch about the report launched in March 2009 (which he indicated was probably already out of date, because of the speed of change within digital learning).

The study was investigating the influence of Higher Education on the “Google Generation”:

  • The impact on their experiences and expectations
  • Their use of social networking
  • Their adoption of new technologies
  • Developments at schools, colleges, campuses, including institutional developments.

The most recent study started in March 2008, dealing with 15/16 year olds, we’d now find the same proportions outlined in the study applying to 12/13 year olds.

Some Findings:

  • A 2007 Study and a 2008 Report found that most students had been exposed to “push” technologies (i.e. top-down), and especially valued face-to-face contact.
  • Late adopters are learning first, knowing that they have to be ‘equipped for the real world’.
  • There is evidence that students ARE using social networking for L&T, especially for enhancing group work. A key question is what is the nature of that space, and who controls that space.
  • There was a strong feeling that Facebook was a “private space”, that these shouldn’t be used formally, that students could set up their own Facebook groups if they desired, and that staff could only be invited in by the students.
  • CLEX investigated:
    • Areas of Web 2.0 usage
    • Institutional drivers
    • Issues encountered and responses
    • Perceived advantages and disadvantages
    • Prospective developments
    • European angle also considered, and the UK is far more developed than other countries because of the JANET network.
    • Discussed with: Practitioners, users of FE/HE, futurologists.
  • CLEX found:
    • Use of Web 2.0 is ubiquitous from the age of 12.
    • New technology is different, but is it better?
    • There’s been a patchy take-up from staff even when there is a strong drive from management (tools can take a long time to use properly, and VLEs don’t always help)
    • Students are not yet demanding change, but note not yet.
    • Critical/evaluative skills are a deficit area and likely to get worse (e.g. “The 10 Second Researcher”: Google/Wikipedia facilitate “shallow research”. ) It’s hugely important that we find ways to impact deep research.
    • New skills that technology can foster for future workplace demands.
    • Staff time and support issues are critical.
    • It’s not just familiarity with the technology, but where they fit strategically.

The full report can be found here.

JISC: Joint Information Systems Committee
JISC were of course much in evidence at the event, offering a number of resources under their newly formed “shop window” of JISC Advance (as they look to combine best practice across the varied services):

Sessions Attended:

BBC Motion Gallery
Licensed subscription service to BBC/other broadcaster moving imagery on topics such as Current Affairs, Sport, Natural History, Medicine, Geography, The Arts.

  • Based upon institution size, the most expensive licence will be £1000 per annum (instead of an average £12pp/pa addition to the licence fee) for a minimum of 3 years.
  • 35,000 clips available, with a further 1000 added weekly. Access is via Shibboleth or IP range. Once downloaded, images can be used in perpetuity.
  • The service is described as being safer to use than YouTube, with less likelihood of sidetracking.
  • Researchers have carefully constructed metadata, and each clip has been assigned a unique URL. Site can be searched by season, date, minute, etc. and played upon QuickTime or Windows Media. Clips can be re-edited offline, so that only the appropriate segment is available (rather than having to fast-forward).
  • Free 30 day trials are possible.

British Universities Film & Video Council
Presenting “BoB“, a shared off-air recording and media archive (under the ERA licence).

  • Everytime someone records a programme it’s available to all, and is archived.  16,000 have already been recorded. Works well even on 3G connect.
  • To choose to record, there’s 7 day catchup available, on every channel on Freeview.
  • Programmes are likely to be available 1-12 hours after the programme airs.  The quality is less than that of iPlayer, but suitable for lecture theatres.
  • The capturing of subtitles is still in progress, largely due to IP issues. Embedding is also not entirely straightforward due to authentication issues.
  • Clips can be “clipped” to use specific elements. Playlists can be created for specific courses, and linked from Moodle. Designed to be used WITHIN the VLE, not to replace it.
  • Provides access to NewsFilm Online.
  • Costing around £400 per annum.

Sally Betts, NIACE “Making the Most of Moodle”
Sally introduced us to a number of tools which can be integrated with Moodle, and which she has used, including:

CityBit: Southampton City College Benchmarking System
In a bid to move towards e-maturity with their Moodle based VLE, Southampton City College have developed a benchmarking system, with Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, which they will shortly be making available to the Moodle community at the end of November. The badge appears on every course, but is only seen by staff, who use it as a development tool.

  • Bronze is awarded when the site is used as a repository
  • Silver is awarded when the site demonstrates interactivity
  • Gold is awarded when there’s a clear collaborative learning experience (more Web 2.0)

Badging can be automatically applied monthly, but manual moderation of the process is also possible.

A number of other stands were also at the Fair:

  • Ja.Net (UK Education and Research Network)
  • KeyTools (Assitive technology and ergonomic computer equipment)
  • PFGlobal (ePortfolios)
  • ClickView Live (Streaming from TV, Video, DVD, etc to computer)
  • Broadchart (Licensed streaming music: I should have asked the sales guy what were the benefits over Spotify)
  • ERA (Educational Recording Agency)
  • TxtTools (Texting Services)
  • VLE Support (including eTracker for FE)
  • Ergo (ICT Solutions)
  • Khipu (Networks, but thanks for the water bottle)
  • Streaming (School Radio Stations/Video Libraries)
  • IDXtra (Swipe Card systems)
Filed Under Academic Research, Event, Learning Tagged With E-Learning, JISC

Digital Media: Mainstream Curriculum?

November 2, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment

iPhone“Under the new curriculum, students would be expected to work with a range of digital media, including computer simulations and audio-video productions.

‘Digital-based media now need to be channelled into the mainstream of academic knowledge production and distribution,’ the paper says.

Professor Fuller added: ‘It’s becoming the most important way in which knowledge is transmitted and produced in society today.’”

Read full story in the Times Higher Education.

Filed Under Academic Research, Digital Living, Learning Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning, Twitter

Questions of Cost and Usefulness dog E-Learning

October 31, 2009 By drbexl Leave a Comment

“E-Learning (@ in a box)Many academics see e-learning as “expensive and time-consuming”, a survey has found.

About half of university staff polled believe that learning technologies are popular with students but only a small proportion of academics are embracing them.

In the survey of 125 university staff conducted by IMC (UK) Learning Ltd, a learning technology company, just 14 per cent of respondents recorded lectures and made them available online, 27 per cent thought that e-learning saved money and 18 per cent thought it saved time for teaching staff.

One respondent, an external examiner for a university that offers distance learning, said e-learning technologies required just as much effort as face-to-face teaching. “I don’t believe that simply making a DVD of a talk-and-chalk lecture is satisfactory,” he added.”

Read full story.

Filed Under Learning, Times Higher Education Tagged With Blended Learning, E-Learning
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