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/