Week 1 activities

Webinar 0 and 1 ..... stimulating the little grey cells......

Really great having the live webinars cast via #YouTube.

I decided to follow up some of the links shared so here they are.

Digital literacy, what they are and how to attain them...
http://www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/courses-development/current-projects/pride-project.html

The Eight elements of digital literacy are key to this project -http://digilitpride.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/making-sense-of-the-8-elements-of-digital-literacy/

3E Framework
http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/vice-principal-academic/academic/TEL/TechBenchmark/Pages/Introduction.aspx

A model of ELT at DMU
https://celt.our.dmu.ac.uk/support-using-technology/elt-key-documentation/a-model-of-elt-at-dmu/

Evaluating digital services: a Visitors and Residents approach
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/evaluating-services/









A further area of digital literacy is 'digital health literacy', as 'patients' and 'health care professionals' we are increasingly reliant on the www for accessing and providing health information, booking health appointments and ordering prescriptions. We are increasingly exposed to innovations in 'ehealth', 'tele health and care', recent live cast of surgery via GoogleGlass . Many of these are aimed at improving health or the opportunity to manage our own health more independently.

But when do our health providers check our digital health literacy? or our ability to use the technology or our confidence and trust in the technology?

I recently attended a conference day for DISCOVER Skills For Carers an exciting initiative to equip carers with digital literacy for health.

Visit http://www.discover4carers.eu/      http://moodle.discover4carers.eu/

Research and innovation in this area is increasing globally, overcoming geographical boundaries and widening access to health information and care.


Links:

http://digitalhealth.dh.gov.uk/

W.H.O. Health literacy and health behaviour - http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/7gchp/track2/en/

ocTEL 2014

Back for more!  

Activities 6.1, 6.2, 6.3

Activity 6.1: Reading and reflection

Refer back to activity 6.1

Read pages 5 – 25 of Effective Assessment in a Digital Age (JISC, 2010), then consider the following questions.

• How does your assessment approach(es) align with the four teaching and learning perspectives (page 11)?
• Each of the activities oifs focussed on Associative perspectives with the subject/practice expert providing feedback to the students so they can develop their expertise in each delivery of the activity.
• How does your assessment approach(es) align with the twelve REAP (Re-Engineering Assessment Practices) principles of effective formative and feedback (page 15)?
• Broadly these opportunities were of a formative nature, however there were minimal marlks awarded to encourage completion of each part of the learning activity (a discussion point in itself).
• Colleague 3 actively encouraged students to respond to their blog postings and has a dialogue with each student within the blog. C1 and C2 were primaily one way feedback to student with no follow up.
• How would you describe your assessment design from the manager’s, practitioner’s and learner’s perspectives (page 17-22)?
• The manager would probably be encouraged by the use of the institutions technology to develop skills of staff in ditital teaching and assessment, this is part of the institutes vision and strategy. Stability and equity are key drivers. They are also interested in student satisfaction in their online assessment experience. 
• The practitioner in these scenarios, like the opportunity to access the students work remotely and to distribute feedback within the task. They did not express efficiency in work load as they were still reading and marking each contribution,. A quiz of technology administered test would present different workload demands.
• The learner, might view the technology as useful for their access off site. Potentially they could engage in the reflection and critique activities and review their feedback at a time  which suited them. They wer developing skills accessing and using the technologuy which are transferrable and feature within graduate attribute profiles.

Activity 6.2: Evaluation and review

Please visit the forum to read my contrubution 

Activity 6.3: Discussion

• What is your own experience of feedback (either as a tutor or as a student) in technology enhanced or online programmes?






• From a student perspective my experience is very limited. Feedback during the MOOC has yet to arrive, probably my fault as I am behind in the work but I had hoped there would be at least one person in the course team following up snails like me.

• How can we ensure that students engage with, and act on, in a timely manner the feedback provided?
• Should we be striving to ensure students engage with feedback, if they own and are responsible for their learning isn't it up to them whether they engage and if they do what the then action.
• I personally value feedback so need little motivation to seek and consider it. 

Activity 6 Timely, Effective Assessment and Feedback

Timely, Effective Assessment and Feedback

Technology enhanced learning 

• How does the assessment align with the course learning outcomes?
• What kind of feedback would the learner receive and how would this contribute to her progress
• Which technologies would support this?

Several colleagues have adopted the use of CampusPack Blogs within Blackboard LMS to support students reflection on learning and their practice. The students are required to submit a blog posting to record their skill progression and reflect on their journey.

Colleague 1)  has created separate weekly blogs, each one a separate blog because they wanted to control student access and close and open the blog to permit marking activities. The learner recieves written feedback after each weeks blog. There is no clear progression between blog postings as skills can differ each week.

Colleague 2) has created separate blogs, there are four separate blogs three have prescribed themes for the student ro reflect with models/frameworks provided to guide reflection. The fourth blog the student decides from the three previous models/frameworks and then undertakes reflection on their theme. The student recieves feedback on the application of the model/framework to their reflective writing and on their skill in academic writing. The is clear progression between each blog for development of reflection skill and academic writing.

Colleague 3) created a course level blog and discovered that students were reluctant to engage in critical discussions on discuss challenging situations in their practice experiences in view of their peers, the postings presented were at a superficial level. (I can relate to this as I still find writing in this Blog a challenge at times, who is reading this?) We had to rebuild the blog so it was private reflection. The students were being assessed on their critical discussions and their academic writing.

Each of these colleagues had identified the reflection and academic writing within thir course objectives, neither had identified learning to use the blog tool as an objective. Students were given deadlines for work to be submitted so there was no distinction made between little and often or all at once submissions.

In each instance the Blog tool was not the appropriate tool for the activity.

C1 - will use Private Journal next time.

C2 - is likely to return to online assignment submission with feedback annotated on work 

C3 - still wants to use the blog tool and is considering face to face ice breakers to build student trust and ability to discuss critically in the online environment.

4. Producing Engaging and Effective Learning Materials

Look for a resource in an area which is important in your teaching in one of the following resource banks.

1. How easy was it to find a relevant resource?
2. How could you incorporate this resource into your professional practice?
3. Which source did you find more useful (and why) – the ‘official’ resource bank or the open search?
4. Are there any limitations to the use of your preferred resource for your learners (e.g. copyright licence; login requirements)?
5. Would your own students agree that the resource you prefer is accessible?

My primary role is to support academic staff with their professional development in relation to TEL so the resources I need must have the 'academic' voice. Staff have commented on the appropriateness of some resource which are aimed at the 'FE/HE student body' on previous occasions.

So I set out to search for resources which would be beneficial for  academic staff who are developing their own digital literacy skills. and focussed on "Lecture Capture".

Where available, I used the advanced search in each repository to try and locate sources only for my particular audience.

• Jorum (85 relevant )
• Merlot (nil)
• LearnHigher (nil)
• Higher Education Academy – Resources Centre (2)
• Open University – OpenLearn (nil)
• Re:Source (Further Education orientated) (nil)
• University of Nottingham’s Open Nottingham. (nil)

• YouTube (estimates 3880) 
• TED (nil)
• iTunesU (I don't have a iOS device)

1. Finding the resource - I did not have any problems with conducting a search however the filtering of results was variable. Jorum and YouTube provided the most appropriate resources, reviewing the abstracts to determine suitability was time consuming.
2. Once I have reviewed the results I selected the most appropriate resources and linked them as supplementary resources in the resource collection we are compiling for academic staff. The resources need to give examples of Lecture capture, or reinforce  'good practice'.
3. I found both sources useful however the software provider has branded examples on YouTube which are product specific (marketing style) but clear messages. Several YouTube are usable but as they refer to another institutions use some may struggle with feeling a connection with the resource. Were the other resource banks ‘official’?
4. Regarding limitations, Copyright legislation will be the main one as the resources are not NZ based so legislation is different. However providing access to the actual resources was not problematic.
5. I hope so.

These are a few of the resources I selected:

• Lecture capture - an introduction - http://dspace.jorum.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/10949/16121
• Lecture capture - the benefits - http://dspace.jorum.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/10949/16122

Activity 3.2: Active play

Game-based learning has grown as a form of TEL.

1. What do you think you could learn playing this game?
2. What (if anything) did you find engaging?
3. What (if anything) did you find demotivational?

Adventure: Lost in the City

1. Could learn observational skills working against the clock, mouse dexterity.
2. The story was intriguing, being set challenges and completing them in a given time frame.
3. The music was awful, I had to turn it off, the scree was difficult to resize in order to view in a size large enough for me to see the items. 

I used to enjoy the Lara Croft Tomb raider games on XBox when they first came out, I did the observation and thinking bit and my friend controlled the joy-pad. 

Not to be defeated I then tried.

Puzzle: Notpron

I managed to get to level 4 and then thought, why am I doing this? The information about the puzzle and hints were puzzles in themselves. If this were a course with those completion/success rates it would soon be axed.

1. Resilience, observation skills, not really sure as I didn't really
2. umm
3. The gambling adverts, Frustration out-weights the potential pleasure and feel good factor in solving the puzzle. My life is too short for this one.

Role play: Runescape

1. hand eye coordination, spacial orientation, following instructions, 
2. I have heard about Runescape and it is visually appealing and you can create the story and explore the virtual realm.
3. As a free game you have to subscribe :-(  I didn't want to create an account so I stopped there. Combat games don't really appeal to me so that would also be a demotivator.

Strategy: Westward

1. Follow instructions, hand eye coordination, turn taking, 
2. I quite liked the idea of journeying around the wild west, the graphics were al-right  the screen layout was logical, the prompts and instructions really helpful.
3. Once again the sounds, event muted were irritating. 

I do however value Simulation software, this is especially valuable in nursing where we need to replicate clinical scenarios for the students to rehearse and practise their response safely and educational games to develop knowledge and skills in a subject.

• Nursing educational games
• Game-based assessment of first aid and resuscitation skills
• Enjoyable learning: The role of humour, games, and fun activities in nursing and midwifery education
• A Digital Revolution: Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds in Nursing Education

Activity 3.1: Theories of active learning

Activity: Write a short discussion piece on how you would relate it to

• how you learn;
• your current practice;
• the design of Technology Enhanced Learning activities

Primarily I learn by doing and reflecting on what I am doing and have done.

My professional background is Nursing, RNLD (UK);  RN (NZ), so I am informed and influenced by nursing theorists as well as educational theorists. Where I am engaging with or delivering TEL, I am always mindful of the learning styles and preferences of others.

My current practice I move through Kolb's cycle,

• Initially undertaking the activity (spontaneous or planned) (DO); 
• I observe the impact my activity has on others, the environment, the technology and myself (Observe); 
• I consciously think and reflect in and on the activity,what is happening?  is the activity progressing as intended, anticipated, desired? (Think) I overlap here with reflecting in and on practice and often draw on the work of Professor Chris Johns [See: Johns, C (1995). Framing learning through reflection within Carper's fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of advanced nursing 22 (2): 226–34. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.22020226.x. ]
• Having considered my actions and potential outcomes I then plan my next action (Plan) and identify how I will determine its success. 

As a registered nurse I am accountable for my actions and omissions and must be able to justify my decisions, this extends into my academic professional life too.  I am shaped by my professional role identity and professional reputation. I acknowledge applying the same scrutiny to my adoption and use of technology in my own learning and acknowledge my 'biases' when I am assisting others with exploring and undertaking TEL.

When designing TEL activities I begin by asking the learner to identify their outcomes (plan) to become aware of what they want and need to do to meet their personal learning goals and map this against my intended learning goals for the TEL activity.
I include technologies and activities which provide the learner with the opportunity to actively participate and or create (do) e.g. produce an artefact, video, audio, text, image, discussion etc;
 offer encouragement to observe their activities or outcomes and the impact this has on others, environment etc e.g. reflective discussions, writing individual diary, journal blog etc;
 provide time and opportunity to think about the learning, this might be through personal reflective journals, asynchronous group discussions or blogs or face to face in person or through technology i.e. skype;
 and develop plan and revisit and refine the initial plan/ personal learning goals, as the learner engages with their learning I encourage them to plan.