A VLE of one’s own? A Virtual Learning Environment that works for studio-based learning Tony McNeill and Lucy Renton April 2009

A bit about me … Tony McNeill PL in Educational Technology Academic Development Centre Kingston University [email_address]

Tony McNeill

PL in Educational Technology

Academic Development Centre

Kingston University

[email_address]

And a bit about me … Lucy Renton Blended Learning Co-ordinator Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Kingston University [email_address]

Lucy Renton

Blended Learning Co-ordinator

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University

[email_address]

A bit about where we work 1 VLE (sort of …) and 7 faculties each with own Blended Learning Strategy BL co-ordinator (.4 secondment) L&T co-ordinator (.5 secondment) notional .4 e-developer allocation

1 VLE (sort of …) and 7 faculties

each with own Blended Learning Strategy

BL co-ordinator (.4 secondment)

L&T co-ordinator (.5 secondment)

notional .4 e-developer allocation

School of Architecture and Landscape School of Art & Design History School of Design Communication School of Fine Art School of Surveying and Planning School of 3D Design Faculty of Art Design & Architecture

School of Architecture and Landscape

School of Art & Design History

School of Design Communication

School of Fine Art

School of Surveying and Planning

School of 3D Design

Signifier of difference

Familiar reservations? “ How much is this a replacement for contact hours?” “ What are the implications of its usage for staff?” “ Who owns what on Bb?” “ I could never find the time”

“ How much is this a replacement for contact hours?”

“ What are the implications of its usage for staff?”

“ Who owns what on Bb?”

“ I could never find the time”

“ a programme designed to induce RSI” “ I really, really, really, hate Blackboard. I work with another educational content site based in Korea – and although that site is in Korean which I do not speak, it is 50 times more user friendly than Blackboard” Useability

“ a programme designed to induce RSI”

“ I really, really, really, hate Blackboard. I work with another educational content site based in Korea – and although that site is in Korean which I do not speak, it is 50 times more user friendly than Blackboard”

“ Blackboard is aesthetically inappropriate for A/D staff and students” “… they’re [Blackboard pages] the ugliest things you could ever look at. […] They’re horrible” Aesthetics

“ Blackboard is aesthetically inappropriate for A/D staff and students”

“… they’re [Blackboard pages] the ugliest things you could ever look at. […] They’re horrible”

What characterises the use of ILT in most (not all) subject areas is that students are users of software and the medium of software and ILT is incidental to the content of the learning. […] . Within Art and Design and Media things are somewhat different. Design students study interface design, create web and multimedia artefacts and are concerned with issues of visual language, usability and the medium of ILT itself. (Owen, 2006)

What characterises the use of ILT in most (not all) subject areas is that students are users of software and the medium of software and ILT is incidental to the content of the learning. […] . Within Art and Design and Media things are somewhat different. Design students study interface design, create web and multimedia artefacts and are concerned with issues of visual language, usability and the medium of ILT itself.

(Owen, 2006)

“ Studio culture's all about students making things alongside one another” “ Creativity can't be taught over the internet” “ Students know the difference between an online and a studio-based course” Studio culture

“ Studio culture's all about students making things alongside one another”

“ Creativity can't be taught over the internet”

“ Students know the difference between an online and a studio-based course”

2005: e-developers arrive Their role was to: support the development of sustainable e-learning content resources and activities develop strategic exemplars that will act as catalysts for further engagement with educational technology.

Their role was to:

support the development of sustainable e-learning content resources and activities

develop strategic exemplars that will act as catalysts for further engagement with educational technology.

FADA projects We thought we’d: address the question of how a VLE might be used in the context of the studio explore how we might make it more visually appealing to art and design staff and students

We thought we’d:

address the question of how a VLE might be used in the context of the studio

explore how we might make it more visually appealing to art and design staff and students

2005/6 projects BA Illustration and Animation Printmaking

What they said after … “ I’ve been impressed by the way Jake has made it much more accessible, visually accessible” “… great visual qualities which lots of people said you couldn’t do with Blackboard. […] I think it’s brilliant”

“ I’ve been impressed by the way Jake has made it much more accessible, visually accessible”

“… great visual qualities which lots of people said you couldn’t do with Blackboard. […] I think it’s brilliant”

More of what they said “ You have succeeded in making the Illustration and Animation site more visually interesting. But unfortunately it still runs on Blackboard”

“ You have succeeded in making the Illustration and Animation site more visually interesting. But unfortunately it still runs on Blackboard”

What we learned course-based approach worked well but whole course team need to be involved from the start more student-centred approach needed (Web 2.0 beginning to go mainstream at this point)

course-based approach worked well but whole course team need to be involved from the start

more student-centred approach needed (Web 2.0 beginning to go mainstream at this point)

2006/7 projects BA Fine Art Art and Design History

ADh for a/d student

A variety of approaches replication of Blackboard functionality via creation of bespoke web sites pushing Blackboard as far as it can go independent websites for resource areas some use of Web 2.0 tools more student generated content

replication of Blackboard functionality via creation of bespoke web sites

pushing Blackboard as far as it can go

independent websites for resource areas

some use of Web 2.0 tools

more student generated content

Pic of arch bb module

3d diff

Fine Art Student, comment from NSS “ The introduction of blackboard into our course. They got rid of all the paper work and they did more about the teaching.” The introduction of blackboard into our course. They got rid of all the paper work and they did more about the teaching.

“ The introduction of blackboard into our course. They got rid of all the paper work and they did more about the teaching.”

Future challenges (for KU) PLEs (Personal Learning Environments) social networking/social media mobile internet user-generated content networked “participatory cultures”) integrating extra-institutional practice with institutionally-defined activities

PLEs (Personal Learning Environments)

social networking/social media

mobile internet

user-generated content

networked “participatory cultures”)

integrating extra-institutional practice with institutionally-defined activities

Future challenges (for FADA) Future developments Risk taking, innovation, working with all staff academic, technical and administrative Student generated content Horizontal networking The ‘porous’ university, students inside and out Meeting students expectations

Future developments

Risk taking, innovation, working with all staff academic, technical and administrative

Student generated content

Horizontal networking

The ‘porous’ university, students inside and out

Meeting students expectations

Take a look … Blackboard: http://studyspace.kingston.ac.uk/ (u: designs; p: designs) Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/amcneill/ a-vle-of-ones-own

Blackboard:

http://studyspace.kingston.ac.uk/

(u: designs; p: designs)

Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/amcneill/

a-vle-of-ones-own