effective learning & teaching using the vle
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Effective learning & teaching using the VLE. Janet Macdonald, OU in Scotland OU in Ireland Staff Development Conference 8-9 May 2009. Agenda. Learning with technologies: past and present Learning in a tutor group Using VLE tools to support tutor group Learning in wider communities - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Effective learning & teaching using the VLE
Janet Macdonald, OU in Scotland
OU in Ireland Staff Development Conference 8-9 May 2009
Agenda...
1. Learning with technologies: past and present
2. Learning in a tutor group
3. Using VLE tools to support tutor group
4. Learning in wider communities
5. Tutor communities
1985
Access issues in 1985
“The telephone I used was in a shop
belonging to a friend and in addition to
poor connexions I was constantly
interrupted by customers shouting their
orders.”
I don’t use telephone tuition – I don’t think one can learn a great deal in a cold draughty phone
box on a wet night
2000
2003
Text messages…
“Text messaging from mobile phones was invented about
1995 and has become extremely popular in some circles
because it is cheap, unobtrusive and private.
Users enter messages pressing 2 once for ‘A’, twice for
‘B’, three times for ‘C’ and so on. Not all of us are
comfortable with the medium…”
2003
2008Grassroots Video Collaboration Webs Mobile Broadband Data Mashups Collective Intelligence Social Operating Systems
2007User created contentSocial networkingMobile phonesVirtual worldsNew scholarship Multiplayer educational games
2009
Mobiles
Cloud computing
Geo-everything
The personal web
Semantic aware apps
Smart objects
“We build on our strengths!”
Thinking about intentions…
2. Learning in a tutor group
Types of interaction
Tutor with individual
Tutor with group
Formal Assignment feedback
Tutorials
Informal Individual needs Keeping in touch
Macdonald, 2006
Individual support: assignments
In my feedback I wanted
to raise her confidence in
her own ability and point
her in the direction of
improving – particularly
with analysis of the course
materials.
Individual support: pastoral
...Peter was asking me to be
flexible about his TMA
submissions since he’s been
posted to Afghanistan –
obviously I’ve said that I will be
flexible but if he could try and
let me know if any are going to
be really late.
Group support: participation & engagementSaturday's tutorial was attended
by 7 students, 2 of them
first-timers. Now emailing
handouts to non-attendees. I
feel guilty if I don't do this and
rather resentful having to
do it at all. Whether my efforts
are as beneficial as I fondly
imagine is hard to tell and takes
us back to the question of what
factors influence student
learning.
Tutoring individuals and groups
• Individuals
Assignment feedback yes, but…pastoral support also a
significant part of tutoring
• Groups
Yes in theory but…participation and engagement is
problematic– Which students are we supporting?– What are we trying to achieve in tutorials?– Is there a case for better integration with course
design?– Do online tools help?
3. Using VLE tools to support the tutor group
For more go to:
http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/vle-choices
http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/vle-choices
Types of interaction
Tutor with individual
Tutor(s) with group
CT/other unit designed activity
Student with student
Formal Assignment feedback
Learning activities
Collaborative projects & peer assmnt
Informal
Individual needs
Keeping in touch
Course wide
groups
Peer support; social networking
Elluminate
An online book of good practice in tutor groups (wiki)
Wednesday, May 23, 2007e-learning publications and conferences If you work in the school sector, you might be interested in a new publication by the UK's agency BECTa: Emerging technologies for learning (volume 2)[…] However prospective H809'ers might also be wanting to take a step back to ask questions such as...How strong is the evidence for claims? Are alternative explanations possible? […]
posted by James Aczel at 11:11 am 0 comments
Keeping in touch (blog)
Sharing info with your group
(portfolio)
Enhancing assignment feedback and feed forward
(audio clips)
4. Learning in wider communities
A “running commentary” (course forum)
Sunday: 38 messages / 9 threads:Three separate messages saying they wished they had found this site before!... Of course there are two elements – people surely need the help but could we cope if everybody actually came on?
Monday: 41 messages / 6 threadsI note that two of the threads are the same – in fact the same questions have been asked and answered already many times…that prompted me to set up a FAQ…
(Jo Haycock, Diary of a moderator, PILS)
Help with some difficult concepts (quiz)
Revision and exam prep• http://kzx100studysupportrevising.pbwiki.com/?pwd=Dd
8JrWBf7g
Revision support (wiki) F Harkes, TOP
Model answers (forum or wiki)
Teacher: How would you answer this question?
StudentsThat’s tricky.
Here’s my attempt
That’s great. I might also have
added….
(Macdonald, 2001)
Advice from alumni (wiki)
Library designed activities for searching resources
(quiz etc)
Peer support (Facebook)
Peer mentoring (forum)
“The fact that the mentors had been on the course
recently was invaluable as was the fact that it was a
Scottish group and I scheduled a date in my diary to log
on and check it out as a way of easing myself into the
first few weeks of study”
Scottish Peer Support: DD100 & K101 (2007 and 2008)
5. Tutor communities..
Online tutor communities keep you sane..
“…a great way to get in touch with other [tutors], to keep
in touch with the course team about things that we need
advice about, or for us to give our own views and
feedback. It’s also a great way to share a smile and a
joke occasionally… many of us work in far flung
places…so it’s good to feel part of a body of people from time to time.”
(Macdonald & Hewling, 2008)
Use of blogging for tutor reflection in PET projectSharing experiences of tutoring
(Promoting Effective Tutoring Project, 2007-8)
Sharing examples of good practice
Sharing good practice on tutoring History (Macdonald & Black, in press)
Talking Point is coming soon…
Learning Development Team
OU in Scotland
http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/LearnDevDist/