Comparing use of Technology Enhanced Learning in an on-campus class and a distance learning classPamela McKinneyPamela McKinney &Sheila Webber

Information SchoolUniversity of Sheffield

TELfest, July 2017

University of Sheffield Information School

Pho

to: S

heila

Web

ber,

take

n in

Sec

ond

Life

(T

M)

Outline

• The module context

• Mapping the modules against Entwistle’s

et al. (2004) Teaching-learning

Environments model

• The principal TEL tools we use

• Example activity

• Student experience

• Conclusions

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The Information Literacymodules

• Face-to-Face (F2F) and Distance Learning (DL course new in 2015)

running in tandem

• Learning aims:

• understand from both theoretical and practical perspectives the

concepts of information literacy and information behaviour;

• develop their own information literacy and understanding of its

application to their future lives;

• compare different approaches to teaching and demonstrate

awareness of implications for adopting different approaches to

teaching and learning;

• understand how the information environment is evolving,

including both traditional and new media, and the implications for

citizens’ information literacy; and

• develop practical skills in searching, evaluating and presenting

information.

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The development of the TLE model

• ETL project Enhancing teaching-learning

environments in Undergraduate Courses

• 5 case studies in different disciplinary areas

• Gathered multi-institutional data and used

multiple data collection methods – from students

and from staff

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The Teaching-Learning Environment

Entwistle et al. (2004: 3)

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Subject knowledge & pedagogical beliefs

• Pam -Background as a learning developer working specifically to extend and develop Inquiry-based learning (IBL) at the university. Research intersection between IBL and IL

• Sheila – expertise in TEL and IBL – 2nd Life, MOOCs; research experience in phenomenography

• Have UoS teaching awards individually and as a team

• Our joint understanding of IL and what it means from a theoretical and practical perspective in different communities and landscapes

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What students are expected to learn and understand

• Desire to bring about conceptual change in students and not just “develop skills”.

• Develop a strong theoretical basis for their teaching

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Departmental and institutional influences

• Drive to extend the market and create a DL

alternative to f-2-f programme (financial)

• “Brand new” programme – freedom to design

and develop

• Institutional procedures & policies e.g. new

programme & module creation procedures,

assignment word counts

30/05/2017 © The University of Sheffield

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Validating bodies and academic community

• CILIP accreditation and Professional

Knowledge & Skills Base (PKSB)

• QAA subject benchmarks

• Professional views e.g. From employers and

alumni

• Research: Corrall & Bewick (2009); Wheeler

& McKinney (2015); Hornung (2013) McK

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Entry characteristics

• DL students mostly working while studying (only part time students)

• F2F more “just” students (but all had previous work experience in an information context)

• F2F students ¼ International; DL students 1/10 international

• Range of Undergraduate degree subjects (but we can’t see what they are on the student management system)

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Overall course design (linked with constructive alignment)

• Both modules share subject, sequence and assessment but the tools used to deliver and mediate the teaching are different in the F2F and DL versions of the module.

• 2 overarching strands – what is Information Literacy, what is Teaching & Learning

• Practical activities (e.g. use TEL tools, Dialog searching) that are linked to expected progress on assessment tasks

• Theoretical material dealt with towards end of module to ensure students have had teaching that directly relates to the assessment

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Overall course design (linked with constructive alignment)

• Front loading to cover more material at start to leave time for students to complete assessment at end of semester

• F2F class – focus on activity happening in the 2-3 hour class

• DL – focus on providing content and facilitating interaction that students can manage in their own time –synchronous activities

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• Assignment 1: create an annotated bibliography on a

topic negotiated with a tutor and reflect on how personal

IL has been developed through this activity.

• Assignment 2: Work in a group to design an IL learning

intervention (not assessed). Critically reflect on the

experience of designing and delivering IL teaching and

their personal development as teachers.

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Principal tools we use

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Principal tools we use

Flipped learning:

Echo360, Camtasia

etc. to record - for

both modules

One practice has

informed the other

(virtuous circle)

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Example activity: Reflect on an experience of finding information and identify the sources used

Face-2-Face

• Pre-session students asked to post to a Blackboard discussion forum.

• In the session students were given a short lecture and then asked to discuss their post with a partner or small group in the light of material covered on “Infomation Horizons”.

• Plenary discussion led by the tutor where individual’s experiences were discussed and points of interest or comparison were surfaced.

Distance Learning

• Pre-session (week) students

asked to post to Google+

group.

• A lecture was recorded with

audio & video components

and made available on the

VLE

• Students were encouraged to

reflect on their original post in

the light of material covered

on “Information

Horizons”

and post again.

• A short feedback

video was created

that discussed the

student posts and

this was also made

available on

the VLE

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student-used tools e.g. for activity: create a teaching intervention

Watch a prezi, do a

piece of reflective

writing

Powerpoint followed by “Connect Four” quiz

using http://www.classtools.net/connect/

(sample game above)

Tutorial using

Xerte apps,

including e.g.

drag and drop

“How to evaluate

relevance and

quality of the

Journal articles

when seeking

references for

research

assignment. “

“Our learning need

is to develop

reflective writing

skills and

understand the key

distinguishing

features of reflective

writing.”

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Helen Kiely's experience... (distance learner)

Photo of Helen Kiely: Sheila Webber McK

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"It’s eleven o’clock at night and I am sitting in bed with my

laptop balanced precariously on my knees. On my screen, a

PowerPoint document is undergoing rapid changes. Slide 3’s

pictures are moving around, citations are being added to

Slide 7, typos are being removed on slide 12 all at the same

time. Through my headphones I can hear my fellow students

chatting away about the changes we still need to make and

at the bottom of the webpage a chat browser adds more

comments to the conversation. One person says she will

have to go soon, it is nearly teatime in Hong Kong, while the

rest of us will soon be heading to our beds before it is time to

get up for work the next morning.

I never expected distance-learning group work would look like

this!" (Kiely and Dawson, 2017)

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Action research project

P2: “And so I do, we do now use more electronic

resources, and so having come across some of the

frustrations with them and being aware of them does allow

me to support them better and say, “Yes I know this will be

difficult,” you know, “These things can be, and maybe you

need to think ahead about how that’s going to work for

you.”

P3: But the fact that I did this module definitely sort of

changed my way of thinking, that you know, the fact that

you have Adobe Connect and you can see the lecturer and

you can hear them, and that you have a variety of

resources that you can look at in your own time as opposed

to sort of face to face, having to do it there, and that was

also quite good.”

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Conclusions

• Creative use of different platforms for learning worked well for both cohorts

• Being in-work allows students to more immediately contextualise their learning through discussion and observation

• "Virtuous circle" in terms of working with 2 cohorts - ideas from one feed into the other; iterative and continuous

• TEL tools provided by university (e.g. Google suite) very useful, but still need technical support to use wide range of tools effectively

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Sheila Webber

Information School

University of Sheffield

s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk

Twitter: @SheilaYoshikawa

http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/

http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/

Orcid ID 0000-0002-2280-9519

Pamela McKinney

Information School

University of Sheffield

p.mckinney@sheffield.ac.uk

Twitter: @ischoolpam

https://www.slideshare.net/PamelaMcKinney

Orcid ID 0000-0002-0227-3534

References

• Corrall, S. & Bewick, L (2009). Developing librarians as teachers:a study of their

pedagogical knowledge. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 42(2), 97-

110.

• Entwistle, N., Nisbet, J. & Bromage, A. (2004). Teaching-learning environments and

student learning in electronic engineering: paper presented at Third Workshop of the

European Network on Powerful Learning Environments, in Brugge, September 30 –

October 2, 2004. https://www.academia.edu/3426418/Teaching-

learning_environments_and_student_learning_in_electronic_engineering

• Hornung, E. (2013). On your own but not alone: One person librarians in Ireland and

their perceptions of continuing professional development. Library Trends, 61(3),

675-702.

• Kiely, H. & Dawson, L. (2017, February 27). Group work – experiences and advice

by Helen Kiely and Lorna Dawson. [blog post]

https://lihnnclinicallibs.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/group-work-experiences-and-

advice-by-helen-kiely-and-lorna-dawson/

• Wheeler, E. & McKinney, P. (2015). Are librarians teachers? Investigating academic

librarians’ perceptions of their own teaching roles. Journal of Information Literacy,

9(2), 111-128. McK

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