Mahara Upgrade Spotlight - Week 1

With the upgrade of UCS' Mahara happening on the 19th of November, we have decided to fill the following weeks with updates to what will be changing and highlighting new features.

This week we'll be looking a quite a small change but certainly an important one! Before when you used to click on 'Portfolio' you used to get a submenu when the page loaded and an option called 'Share' which would take you to your sharing page.

With the upgrade this has been made a whole lot easier to navigate, for starters all you need to do is hover over the menu item 'Portfolio' and a dropdown menu will now appear showing you all the available options, of which the usual 'Share' option has now been replaced with two separate options, one being 'Shared by me' and 'Shared with me' as shown in figure 1 below.

Figure 1

This will let you quickly navigate to either option and have a more clearer view of what you have shared and with whom.

The dropdown menus are also another feature that will come with the upgrade, this small but effective update will help streamline the navigation within Mahara.

An illustration of why and how you might flip your classroom

The following post outlines how I flipped my classroom session on the 25th October, for a lecture on IMDSCF003-13S1D (Communication and Study Skills). This post should answer the following questions;

• why did I need to flip my classroom?
• how did I do it?

There are a number of aims within my session which would mean it would be very difficult to cover the practical aspects within a 90 minute lecture. In particular, there is a peer assessed formative assessment task (500 words). The topic suites peer assessment as not only will students learn the skills associated with peer assessment (see Race 2006), but they'll also learn from each other in terms of case studies and application.

Given many of the students would not have any experience of peer assessment, and needed practical experience of applying the marking scheme to student work. It was important to dedicate time in the class for students to mark some examples. Therefore, to cover some key knowledge points I flipped the classroom as follows.

Pre-session Activity

The pre-session activity should take around 1 hour. The screenshot from LearnUCS illustrates my approach.

This model covered some knowledge transfer tasks (videos), gathering information from the students (quiz) and scaffolded reading (journal article).

I included a quiz (task 3) which was an open question which aimed to gather what social media people are currently using in their learning.

It could have been enhanced by better self reflection questions for the videos. This would give the students some scaffolding in terms of what they should take from the video.

Lecture-session

A key point within a flipped classroom model is to use the material in the pre-session activity within the lecture. This is strongly associated with the need to provide feedback and student motivation.

Therefore, I applied a number of approaches to encourage (sign post) a re-visit on the pre-session activity within their assignment. For instance;

• on one slide I included the names of those who had completed the pre-activity quiz (reference a big hands up), and on the same slide the percentage of the students who hadn’t logged in (easily identified using the LearnUCS Retention Centre).
• the next slide was a selection of response to the quiz question which I discussed within the framework of the question.
• I encouraged all students to visit LearnUCS where I’d added an item which listed all the quiz responses so they could learn from each other (apply ideas of Nicol & MacFarlane-Dick (2006) - 7 principles of good feedback).
• I made reference to the referenced article when discussing a framework for effective implementation

This approached should have motivated students and linked the importance of the pre-session activity.
It also created a significant amount of time in the lecture session for the peer assessment activity. This included, talking through the marking criteria, and group work to mark a number of exemplars (using the clickers to quantify the discussion).

The post-session activity was to include an item in LearnUCS which summarised how I had marked the work and why. This would give a comparison for students when reflecting how they marked the work.

If you would like more information on how you might design effective flipped classroom activities, please contact the Elevate Team (elevate@ucs.ac.uk) to further discuss your ideas.

References

1. Nicol & MacFarlane-Dick (2006) Rethinking Formative Assessment in HE: a theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice (http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/assessment/web0015_rethinking_formative_assessment_in_he.pdf)
2. Race (2006), A Lecturer's Toolkit, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lecturers-Toolkit-Practical-Assessment-Learning/dp/0415403820

AR Developments - Engaging the Cognitive Processes

What is it?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the layering of digital information over a real time, live view of objects in the real world.

This digital information can be text-based, images, videos and 3D models, any content that is digitally available has the ability to be overlaid. This technology has the potential to enhance the users’ experiences by combining real and digital information on today’s smartphones and tablets.

What have we been doing?

Here at UCS we have been looking at AR and its uses since mid 2011, the Elevate Team were on a development sprint looking at location (GPS) based layering of digital material. We were using the Layar tool to allow visitors to the Ipswich Wet Dock to find out more information about UCS and its waterfront campus.

Visitors could download the app and subscribe to our channel, allowing them to view the surrounding area through the screen of their smartphone or tablet, this would overlay information about the buildings they were looking at. Due to the technologies in the smartphone/tablet the app would know where they are and in what direction they were looking. We could then plot via GPS what buildings were where and then display certain information about those buildings.

For instance, when looking towards the Library building, the user would be made aware that it was the Library building, what the opening times were, links to the Library’s communications channels and if the user was staff or student, they could search the catalogue.

The last day of this development sprint was set aside for further research. This is when we came across a beta release of a tool called “Aurasma”. Aurasma refers to itself as a visual browser, using mobile devices cameras and image recognition technology to overlay digital content.

Previous AR developments were based around “markers”, meaning you needed a very bold/contrasting icon style image for computer cameras to recognise. With the fast paced developments in mobile technologies and the processing power this brings, companies have been able to develop markerless tracking, known as “Natural Feature Tracking”. This means that image recognition technologies can identify everyday objects as markers, and therefore trigger a reaction within the app.

UCS was one of the first institutions to launch a prospectus with embedded digital content. Prospective students could pick up a copy of the prospectus, download a free app and then hold their mobile device over certain pages of the prospectus (where indicated) and they would have videos play to give more information. An advertising video is available here.

The Elevate Team took the work they had done with the Marketing Team in the prospectus and wanted to engage more with the academic teams. This work progressed into embedding videos in academic research posters. A number of these posters have been produced and one has won ‘best poster’ at an International Radiography conference.

Where are we now?

We have been thinking about ways in which we can take this technology a little further and to really use it in a teaching and learning setting.

We want to really enhance the student experience and to engage with their cognitive processes, getting them to think. We have been looking at developing small learning objects that can be used with mobile devices. Below is a video of a sample learning object that engages with students on a different level.

We no longer have a video that you simply watch and then move on from, we have included responses after the video in the form of a multiple choice answer question.

As you can see in the video, an image on the poster triggers a video to play. The video is someone asking a question of the viewer. The viewer is then able to make a decision/answer the question, which is then responded to in the video. In this instance, the video tells you if you are correct or incorrect and then shows some further feedback in the form of a further video. The video then goes on to show a further question popping up, this question takes you to a form to fill in, giving text based answers/feedback. This information is stored outside of the app, which is accessible to the quiz owner.

This example shows one question and feedback loop, but it is just as easier to create multiple questions, creating individual pathways through the materials if that was required.

This is another tool in our armoury and again, learning design is king.

Mahara e-Portfolio Upgrade 2013

Next month we will be upgrading our Mahara installation to the latest stable release. The upgrade will bring new features and extend some already used functions. Along with a mountain of bug fixes there are some new elements which will help users add content to their portfolios easier and quicker.

With an increased focus on accessibility the upgraded framework is now 'responsive' meaning Mahara will work smoothly whether accessing it from a mobile device, tablet or any modern browser.

The upgrade will also make pulling in external content easier than before with upgraded Google Drive connectivity.

The upgrade will take place on the 19th of November between 7-9am.

Therefore there will be no access to Mahara from 00:00 on the 19th to make sure all users are out of the system. This risk period will extent to midday on the 19th.

Over the next few weeks we will release a weekly blog post detailing more on the new features the upgrade will bring.

Users don't need to do anything, however if you are working on your portfolios on the 18th of November make sure you have your work saved before midnight.

If you would like to know more about why you would want to use an e-Portfolio system like Mahara, read more on their website - https://mahara.org/about/eportfolios.

If you have any concerns or wish to talk further about how you can use Mahara you can come and see the Elevate team in the Library Wednesday afternoons from 2:30-3:30pm or Thursdays between 2-3pm.

Future of Technology in Education 2013

There were quite a few topics brought up throughout the very rammed day but I want to focus on two key themes which seemed to weave throughout the day.

• Bits round the edge need to be 'Easy'
• MOOCs and engagement.

Nicola Millard from BT spoke about crowds clouds and consumers with an agenda of how students should be treated like consumers, and like any other business, they are the key to our survival. She mentioned that feedback from customers about what they are looking for, 'ease of use' came out on top. This needs to be applied to our student base as well. We can't let over-complex ambiguous and convoluted terms/tech/processes overshadow the real core of what they are here for; learning. 

Essentially letting the cognitive strain be taken up by information in the lecture space and not by how to print, failing IT infrastructures etc. Connectivity is a big part of this picture as well, being able to gather, collate and interact with content across all available channels.

MOOCs have exploded on the education scene, however lots of discourse around low retention and completion rates have steered some people to look at other methods of engagement. One which arose from the day was having a small test or joining task, whether it's a small journal piece about why you want to join the course, or a ten question test. The aim being to filter out the 'I might do something when the time comes' people who auto-enrol on any interesting free online course that comes along.

There was also a renewed expectation that for MOOCs to work they have to be targeted at post-grad learners, people who have already demonstrated motivation, commitment and resourcefulness towards learning.

Online learning in general, as very cleverly demonstrated by Lindsay Jordan by comparing learning a stacking cup song vs learning a piano piece, is fantastic for those quick 'learn in ten mins' methodologies. However mastering a complex topic (eg piano) in a MOOC, which are usually void of any real-person contact, can be hard if not guided. 

MOOCs are viewed as currently offering too much flexibility for those students to 'put it off' unless dedicated enough. So there needs to be some sort of equilibrium between learners having the connectivity and engagement they require but also some rigidity in learning design.

Another MOOC point Lindsay pointed out was that distance learners feel isolated and thus need more encouragement and reassurance to continue.

If our institution was to move towards introducing MOOCs, I think their entry point into the institutions domain needs to be carefully looked at raising the following questions:

1. Who and at what level are we aiming these courses at?
2. How can we cull the field of disengaged students to provide more guided support?
3. How can we ensure all channels of support/content are easy to use?

Notes from HE Expo at Olympia

I recently attended the Higher Education Expo 2013 at Olympia. This type of event is wonderful as it gives you a heads up across the whole sector and you appreciate how your role fits into wider discussions, such as trends on part time and mature students, procurement or transnational higher education.

A topic which does map nicely to the Elevate Team work was around MOOCs. This was led by Guy Mallison, Director of Strategy at the Open University. This is important as we have a watching brief on MOOC development.

Guy focussed on two questions;

1. Why MOOCs are a big deal?

2. What is happening with Futurelearn in the UK?

A strong theme was the idea of current MOOCs not being a polished product, and he applied the concept of disruption innovation paradigm shift. For more info, a good starting point is http://hethoughts.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/disruptive-innovation-of-paradigm-shift/

So are MOOCs the solution for key problems? Evidence from the US highlights increasing costs of education have outstripped inflation, and student loan debt is now the largest form of debt outside mortgages. so, might be viable as an alternative for certain students. Remember, compared to existing model, lower cost, online (no moving etc.,). This will influence the demand.

Four key developments in the future for MOOCs

1. Establishment of proven business models

2. Consolidation of providers and models (maturing)

3. Adoption / mainstreaming with Higher Education which integrates with other changes, ie., flipped classroom

4. Increase in online and blended education

Questions >> Attainment ... Recognise cohort characteristics are different for those signing up for MOOCs. So should we use the same attainment measures? Should it be simple completion? 

Elevate Team Student Inductions, Student Digital Literacy and the messages we take

The Elevate Team provide a student induction workshop for new and returning students at UCS around the topic of using technologies to enhance their learning. The slides are available from:

• Innovative technologies to enhance your learning

Part of the session involves the use the audience response system to gather information from the students on a range of technology enhanced topics. This is to help steer the workshop and give a quick heads up in terms of evaluation. We have been doing this for a number of years.

So based on this years replies, what messages can we (Elevate Team) take from it?

1. the session seems to be achieving its aims, is it relevant and fit for purpose
2. we need to ensure the focus of our student surgeries and the software services we provide contain a mobile device dimension
3. the provision of our student digital literacy courses must accommodate the full range of needs, from those who classify themselves as power users, to those who are stressed and anxious when it comes to technology

We use a number of measures to identify the current level of engagement of technologies for the new intake. The simplest indicator is is they have and use a social networking tool, such as facebook or Twitter (n=330). The responses indicated 81.2% had, with another 7.6% not willing to tell us, and 11.2% not having an account. This is a very similar pattern to the results from the September 2011 inductions (Yes 85%, No 10%, Not telling 5%).

The next question asks them to classify their technical ability against the following classifications (n=328):

• I’m a power user. I’m very competent with Microsoft Word, I’m a master of the pivot table, I update blogs, I’ve added content to youtube and I use Google Docs (17.4%)
• I’m a novice. I’m very good as some aspects of Microsoft Office, I read lots of material from web sites, I access multimedia (video and audio) online, and I have used skype (37.5%)
• I’m a happy amateur. I tend to use UCS computers and software, and share most of my word documents as email attachments. It meets my needs (39.9%)
• I’m rather stressed and anxious when it comes to technology. I don’t feel in control, and what I’m currently doing isn’t very satisfactory (5.2%)

This is a complex process and is very subjective, however, it is interesting the spread across the range with relatively large percentages of power users (17.4%), and those who are stressed and anxious when it comes to technology (5.2%). We need to accommodate this when planning our student focussed sessions. These results are not dissimilar to those in September 2011; 11.5% Power Users, 66.3% Natty Novices, 17.3% Happy Amateurs and 4.9% Technology Anxious)

A question we included this year was to try to identify some common tasks students completed. There was a number of drivers for this, in particular the hope of being able to feed any support needs into our emerging digital literacies course.

We asked the student to select the top four tasks (most common first) they’d completed from the list. The results are outlined below (in rank of most common across the cohort). It is interesting to identify the dominance of tasks being completed on mobile devices. The scores are in brackets. I’d suggest this is an indicator of how often the top four tasks are completed.

1. access your email on a phone or tablet (2149)
2. take a photo on a phone and share it (2028)
3. write a document in word (1951)
4. download an app to a mobile device (1470)
5. create a video on a phone and share it (587)
6. embed a picture or video in a presentation (465)
7. use google scholar (192)
8. none of the above or other (178)

In terms of where the students would like us to place the emphasis when we deliver our workshops (n=301), the most popular was on collaborative writing in Google Docs (42.9%), compared to using twitter to develop your personal learning network (25.9%), reflective blogging and note taking in Mahara (21.6%), or social bookmarking using Diigo (9.6%).

The session is evaluated as part of the wider Student Induction Programme, however, we do ask a question to gauge initial interest in the areas covered. This question is, to what extent do you agree with, “after this session I will look further into what has been discussed to bring into my learning” (n=325). It was very pleasing to see 61.5% Strongly Agree, 29.2% agreed, and only 4.3% either disagreed or strongly disagreed.

A number of twitter posts from students mirrored the view the sessions had achieved the aims of encouraging students to think how they might use technology to enhance their learning.

• Would like to thank @thedavidmullett for introducing me to google drive and a better use of twitter today :-)
• @thedavidmullett thanks for todays talk, interesting stuff. now a google drive convert
• @thedavidmullett fab presentation yesterday! Never even knew google drive existed but I can see it being a life saver from now on! Thankyou

Taster Session Plans for the 8th October

The following are the workshop outlines for the session we'll be running on the 8th October.

The LearnUCS Peer Assessment Tool

Aim is to answer the following;

• What does peer assessment offer the assessment model?
• How do you create a peer assessment activity in LearnUCS?
• Why peer assessment?

What does peer assessment offer the assessment model? From Race (2006)

• Students practice softer skills, eg constructive criticism
• Help students learn from each other and place their own work
• Students naturally compare themselves with their peers
• Encourage engagement with marking criteria
• Promote deep learning eg evaluation
• More efficient and timely feedback, especially for large groups

For more information

• ftp://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/TeachingGuides/selfpeer/Self&PeerAssesment(2ed).pdf

What does it look like in LearnUCS?

1. Access LearnUCS module
2. Student view (learning materials, assessments)
3. The grade area (who has done what)

How do you create a peer assessment?

• Walk through the process on LearnUCS

Mention University of Bristol Guide (http://www.bris.ac.uk/esu/e-learning/support/tools/Self-and-peer-assessment/)

Using Classroom Technology to promote class feedback 

Aim is to answer the following;

• Why use clickers?
• How might you implement them in your classroom?
• How do you create a clicker activity?
• How do you book them?

Why use clickers?

• Start conversations
• Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick: Principles of good feedback

Extract from: http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/rap/nicol7.html

1. helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards)
2. facilitates the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning
3. delivers high quality information to students about their learning
4. encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning
5. encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem
6. provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance
7. provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching.

Evidence: In discussion with … Stuart Barton using Clickers in his teaching (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMuhOmsEoJM)

How might you implement them in your classroom?

Mazur Sequence: Extract from: http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/evs/qpurpose.html

1. Concept question posed
2. Individual Thinking: students given time to think individually (1-2 minutes)
3. [voting] Students provide individual responses
4. Students receive feedback -- poll of responses presented as histogram display
5. Small group Discussion: students instructed to convince their neighbours that they have the right answer
6. Retesting of same concept
7. [voting] Students provide individual responses (revised answer)
8. Students receive feedback -- poll of responses presented as histogram display
9. Lecturer summarises and explains "correct" response

Further Reading: http://opus.bath.ac.uk/12505/1/UnivOfBathDavenport_et_al_Final_Full_Paper.pdf

How do you create a clicker activity?

• Walk through
• Online suppoprt: http://faq.ucs.ac.uk/index.php?action=show&cat=5

How do you book them?

Online Forms, in Elevate Team area on MyUCS

Using objective tests in the classroom with the Optical Mark Reading software 

Aim is to answer following questions

• Why use formative objective testing in your teaching?
• What is OMR?
• How would you implement it at UCS?
• Why use formative objective testing in your teaching?

Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick: Principles of good feedback: Extract from: http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/rap/nicol7.html

• helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards)
• facilitates the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning
• delivers high quality information to students about their learning
• encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning
• encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem
• provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance
• provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching

Further reading: Effective practice with e-Assessment, JISC,: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/elearning/effpraceassess.pdf

What is the OMR?

OMR is Optical Mark Reader. This software will read (scan) a pre-designed student answer sheet, and provide the responses in the form of csv file. There are a large number of options, including negative marking. At UCS it is being used on a number of courses as part of their summative exams;

1. IMDEC103 ­ January 2013 exam & resit
2. IMDPSY111 ­ January 2013 exam & resit
3. GCC00016 ­ February 2013 exam
4. IHRDIR115 ­ June 2013 exam

Advantages include;

• can use objective testing in any room on campus
• fast turn around and no marking
• results by student and by question

Include images of an answer paper, and student result csv file. For background information, see https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12497737/reports/OMRServiceReport2012-13.pdf

How would you implement it at UCS?

See flow diagram for use in face to face teaching See https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1WGsL3PwCzzc7lJcheJu3x8MaP9KNrUC3YQ2Xj2TtsiQ/edit?usp=sharing

How might you use Social Bookmarking in your teaching?

The aim is to answer the following questions

• What is social booking?
• In terms of teaching and learning how might it be used?
• How do I use Diigo?
• How do I include my students Diigo bookmarks into LearnUCS?

What is social bookmarking?

Video (3.22 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vjDdiFFZab0#t=14

In terms of teaching and learning, how might it be used?

• Support collaboration and resource sharing
• Crowd learning describes the process of learning from the expertise and opinions of others, shared through online social spaces, websites, and activities. Such learning is often informal and spontaneous, and may not be recognised by the participants as a learning activity

The simplest model would be to encourage students to share relevant resources they discover when exploring their course. A more sophisticated model would be to develop a number of learning activities which involves them annotating a web resource using Diigo. See https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jLHUlmM6hvH8fcGXYUvJgTAysY1UaLOZg4-_gdsPQLQ/edit?usp=sharing

Further Reading: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/classroom-collaboration-using-social-bookmarking-service-diigo

How do I use Diigo? The most effective way is to

• encourage your students to create a Diigo account (provide social media guidelines)
• set up a group and enroll your students

Walk through how add a bookmark to a group. The discuss how to create a group, and invite your students. User Guide 1: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d7Ku5CzRgr-7poISjwJpa-dWCuNjJWmbarVsBGFBzMY/edit?usp=sharing

How do I include my students Diigo bookmarks into my LearnUCS module? Walk through how to embed the group listing into an item within LearnUCS.

Creating and publishing your own talk over powerpoint videos: A journey from Debut to eStream to LearnUCS

The aim is to answer the following questions

• Why provide multimedia learning materials (presentations)
• What tools would I use at UCS?
• How can I enhance the quality (some top tips)
• Why provide multimedia learning materials (presentations)

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session, while in-class time is devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions. The video lecture is often seen as the key ingredient in the flipped approach, such lectures being either created by the instructor and posted online or selected from an online repository. The notion of a flipped classroom draws on such concepts as active learning, student engagement, hybrid course design, and course podcasting. The value of a flipped class is in the repurposing of class time into a workshop where students can inquire about lecture content, test their skills in applying knowledge, and interact with one another in hands-on activities. During class sessions, instructors function as coaches or advisors, encouraging students in individual inquiry and collaborative effort. Further Reading: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf

What tools would I use at UCS?

• Creation: Diigo
• Publication: e-Stream
• Integration: e-Stream into LearnUCS

How can I enhance the quality (some top tips)

• Audio Quality: Use a head microphone
• Audio Quality: Record in a room with few external distractions and noises
• Debut Software: Reduce size of box so not to see the images within images

LearnUCS Downtime - Sunday 13 October 2013

The Elevate Team have scheduled a maintenance downtime period for LearnUCS.  Blackboard have released Cumulative Patch 6 (Cpatch6) for version 9.1 SP13 of the software that underpins LearnUCS.

Cpatch6 will allow full use of the Software Updater allowing more fluid updates to key building block functionality, which will continue to improve the feature set we are using at UCS.

To coincide with this Cpatch6 installation and downtime, the engineers will also address all performance/stability/tuning issues to fine tune the system.

The scheduled timeframe is:

Date: Sunday 13th October
Time: 4.00am BST
Length: 2 hours

We apologise for any inconvenience that this downtime may cause.

Elevate Team

Could 15 minutes change the way you teach and assess?

Have you be wondering how technology might enhance your assessment and feedback models? or how technology might help you change the learning design in your face to face teaching?

If yes, the Elevate Team will be providing a number of taster sessions (15 minutes each) on the 8th October, in W315, from 10.30 to 11.45 which is open to all staff.

This designed as a drop in session, and we plan to cover the following topics at the these times

10.30 - 10.45: The LearnUCS Peer Assessment Tool

10.45 - 11.00: Using objective tests in the classroom with the Optical Mark Reading software

11.00 - 11.15: Using classroom technology to promote in class feedback

11.15 to 11.30: Creating and publishing your own talk over powerpoint videos: A journey from Debut to e-stream to LearnUCS

11.30 to 11.45: Crowd learning. How you might using Social Bookmarking for your students to discover and share web resources

In each session we aim to describe the technology within an appropriate learning and teaching context.

Hope to see you on the 8th October. If you can’t make this but would to like to know more the Elevate Team provide a number of staff drop-in surgeries on Monday (10.00 to 12.00) in Arts, and Wednesday (10.00 to 12.00) in the Waterfront. For more information, email elevate@ucs.ac.uk