Barbara WatsonKate BoardmanJuliette Pavey

Learning Technologies TeamIT Service

http://www.dur.ac.uk/ITS/ltteam/

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

Overview Durham University Online - duo Evaluations of whole Evaluations of parts Conclusions

University of Durham 670 academic and 280

academic-related staff 9400 undergraduates

and 2400 postgraduates Founded in 1832 Research led Split campus MIS – outsourced to

Unisys Learning Technologies

Team (LTT)

Durham University Online - duo Software: Bb 5 Level 1 version 5.5 Hardware: PC running Linux Staff: 3 LTs (advertised for

another) with 1 responsible for duo http://duo.dur.ac.uk with username

duoguest and password duoguest

Uptake of duoEstimated use by Xmas 2000

Actual use by Xmas 2000

Current use at Xmas 2001

200 students3 departments

4286 students21 departments211 modules

10,000 students700 academics700 modules

Evaluations of whole of duo Quantitative and qualitative Analyse factors such as faculty and

year of study Data collected from students and

staff in all faculties and both campuses

Staff – April 01 (n = 91) Students – May 01 (n = 793) and at

the end of some modules

Students: Overall, how do you rate the contribution duo has made to

your learning?

4.3

32.2

50

8.94.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

%

excellent good average poor very poor

contribution

Staff: Overall, how do you rate the effectiveness of duo as a learning

resource?

25

55.6

15.3

2.8 1.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

%

excellent good average poor very poor

contribution

Staff: Has duo affected your approach to teaching?

18%

69%

10% 3%

my basic approach changing in part because of duo

basic approach not changed, but can do certain things better

minimal potential for change

can't teach as well when I rely on duo

Staff use of duo features 70% or more - announcements, course

information, course documents, email 43 - 47% - staff information, assignments,

bibliography (14.5% link to OPAC) 35% use external links, 21% group pages,

25.6% calendar 15 - 18% use discussion board and tasks

and 20 - 27% hope to in future 9 - 12% - virtual chat, digital drop box,

quizzes, surveys and BB resources and 9 - 16% hope to in future

Reflect current ways of teaching

Collis, University of Twente:

“instructors are most likely to begin by choosing aspects of a system that reflect their current ways of teaching, and then gradually move to new instructional approaches and new features.”

What enhances teaching and learning in HE? Dependent on the quality of the

parts which make up the LE eg content, communication, assessment

Dependent on how the use of the LE is integrated into the curriculum

Parts - lecture notes Is it good practice to put lecture

notes online? Depends on what the lecturer does

with them Jack Wilson, Rensselaer

Polytechnic Institute, USA - keynote at ALT00

Parts – animations Aims and objectives

Convert existing paper based materials in module into web based materials to be delivered through duo

To include: Supporting information, including a glossary of

terms Interactive exercises Animations to aid the understanding of the

geological processes Incorporate quizzes to test understanding of

topics

Development Conversion of black and white poorly

scanned images to coloured diagrams created using Fireworks

Introduction of animated diagrams created in Flash to aid the understanding of geological processes

Interactive exercises to enable students to test their knowledge and understanding

Evaluation 70% had a preference for learning with

web-based materials or a combination of both paper and web

42% felt that the animation was useful in aiding their understanding of the processes

56% felt that the interactive exercises were either very or quite useful in terms of gaining a greater understanding of the topic

Evaluation 91% felt the materials were a useful

resource in terms of revision 81% stated that because of the resource

the amount of note taking in the lecture had either reduced or they no longer took notes but were able to listen and understand

88% would recommend that similar web based supporting materials should be developed in other modules

Parts – online discussions – PCGE Sport Final assessment showed that there had

been increased communication Number of communications and speed of

response had resolved any issues between the lecturer and the students

Greater sharing of information, such as lesson plans, between students in a digital format

Students also increasingly linked their work with Internet based sources eg government

Parts – online discussions – PGCert - Sydney Synchronous and asynchronous

discussions between course participants from Durham and academics taking a similar course at the University of Sydney

Both groups had a similar first assignment - exchange ideas and experiences

Parts – assessment Evaluated 3 courses using assessment

Economics (Level 2) Microeconomics 2 revision quizzes to test essential knowledge

from Level 1 Economics (Level 1) Economic methods

weekly equations quizzes to consolidate knowledge in compulsory introductory module

Physics (Level 1) Astronomy for All weekly revision from lectures for non-

physicists

Parts – assessment

Assessment evaluations Preference for combination of web-

based/paper materials:67% (Econ 2) 64% (Econ 1) 81% (Phys)

These short quizzes help me consolidate my learning/gain greater understanding:88% (Econ 2) 88% (Econ 1) 97% (Phys)

These quizzes are a useful resource in terms of revision:83% (Econ 2) 93% (Econ 1) 89% (Phys)

Assessment evaluations duo and the materials in it [as a

learning resource] have ‘greatly assisted my learning’ (‘assisted my learning’):

Economics Level 2 = 39% (61%) Economics Level 1 = 21% (69%)Physics Level 1 = 22% (78%)

Assessment comments “I think the DUO system is a very good

complement to the course. It makes me study little by little, and forces me to get a better and deeper understanding of the subjects. It is also beneficial from the teachers point of view I guess, since it enables monitoring of answers, thus revealing what students in general understand and do not. I think for me (an international student), the possibility to revise the lectures in writing gives me a better chance to understand the English from the lectures that I did not completely understand at first. Therefore it improves my English as well.”

Dissemination Why – academics to gain ideas

from each other Teaching and Learning Forum Developing a good practice course

in duo Workshops Academics sharing courses see

each others materials

Putting the parts together Enhance learning if the parts

enhance learning

Why have an LE? Initial evaluation of LE with NELE

led to 3 choices Commercial Build your own Use multiple systems eg WebBoard

for discussions, QuestionMark for assessment

Advantages of a single system/portal Easy access to material relevant to

you (not have to worry about finding different web or paper resources)

Stickiness

Get a new measuring stick?“What we are most interested in

regarding learning as a consequence of using technology often can’t be measured in the short term or without different approaches to measurement. Measure what can be measured, such as short-term gains in efficiency or increases in flexibility.” (Lesson 16, Collis)

Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Yes? – but how to prove it

References Collis, B. and Messing, J. (2001) Usage,

attitudes and workload implications for a web-based learning environment, Association of Learning Technology Journal 9 (1)

Collis, B. (2001) Flexible Learning in a Digital World, London, Kogan Page