2. It is important that there is a clear purpose for the use of technology
and that it is only utilised when it appropriately supports the learning
outcomes for the course.
Therefore sound pedagogical reasoning should always be the primary
driver.
Rick Humphries
1. Appropriate use of technology
3. Appropriate use in Action
"Neuroscience for
kids is a resource...."
"The site is intended to be
used as a supplement to class
instruction"
Example 1 Example 2
Teaching purpose: "to make learning
more active"
Rick Humphries
4. 2. Format and Structure
Material for elearning should have a well considered format that
enables easy interaction with the material and has a clear purpose*.
This applies both to the creator and end user.
When creating a block of resources a template is useful for
consistency and to ensure that required topics have been addressed*
The format needs to be appropriate for the end user - e.g. child, adult,
expert, novice, special needs.
Poor examples of this principle are illustrated by excessive use of
headings* and large blocks of text*.
* denotesillustrationson nextslide.
Isabella Brown
7. 3. Designing for a range of learner needs
The design needs to be appropriate for the target group. In
conjuction with the ability for personalisation and the ability to
encourage independent learning.
If the website is aimed at the younger reader for example, the
design should be simple with lots of helpful pictures or diagrams.
For any design, information needs to be easy to find and
understand.
Debra Lane
8. Debra Lane
'Neuroscience for Kids' - images
designed to appeal to children
Designing for a range of needs in Action
9. 4. Variety
Walker uses a good variety of mediums to best suit the learning
outcomes
• Simulations and computer animations (to explain complex issues)
• Interactive lectures (to engage the learner)
• Images and Video Clips (to appeal to various learning styles)
• Community of learners ( to learn from peers, increase knowledge
and share best practice)
• Journal club (to promote reflection for deeper learning)
Here are two examples of choosing appropriate technology for
learning outcomes
Cath Mochan
10. Animations to Explain Basic Biology
One of the immediate uses of our Hierarchical
Biology Concept Framework has been that it has
enabled us to see where some simple animations
would be especially useful in helping students
understand particular concepts. Four animations
have been produced so far, two dealing with aspects
of gene regulation, one with nucleic acid
hybridization, and one with translation.
The Use of Interactive Lectures to Enhance
Learning effort led by Melissa Kosinski-Collins
The lectures will be enhanced with the addition of
links that allow students to access short 3D
manipulation exercises. The students will not only be
given the opportunity to see these exercises in class,
but they will also be encouraged to access these
images and programs on their own outside of class,
too. In this way, the class can ask their own questions
of the structures during class and then answer
anything beyond the scope of the lecture themselves
interactively.
Cath Mochan
Variety in Action
11. 5. Collaboration
Collaboration involves two or more people, developing and sharing
knowledge and/or skills to achieve the same goal. It involves
sharing authority, accountability, resources and rewards. (Chapman
2009)
In terms of elearning, this includes collaboration by:
1. professionals; and/or
2. learners
Both of the case studies chosen illustrate how professionals can
collaborate together to improve or develop elearning interventions.
The Walker case study illustrates how elearning can enable
learners to collaborate.
Heidi Walsh
12. Collaboration in Action
1. Collaboration by professionals
• Walker brought together a group of people including young
scientists interested in teaching and research to provide training,
support and mentoring. ' The diversity of interests and talents
could lead to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.'
• Chudler's 'Neuroscience for Kids is a collaborative effort
between neuroscientists and K-12 educators. Neuroscientists
bring the content knowledge to the project while educators are
aware of the best practices that make learning enjoyable.'
2. Collaboration by learners
• Walker's education group developed personalised learning sets
that enabled collaboration but not copying.
Heidi Walsh
13. 6. Evaluation
• Identify the impact of the material on learning
o new techniques/material
o delivery methods
o implementation
• Learners
o provide feedback
• Educators
o reflect on effectiveness
o facilitate programme reform
Amanda Bryan
14. Spring 2005 End of Term Survey
"Most noteably, however, almost
all students were able to recall
video of a macrophage chasing a
bacterium, a gecko climbing up
walls using van der Waals
interactions, and DNA division
during mitosis."
Spring 2004 Focus Groups
The good points:
- mitosis videos helped to picture what was
going on - also to show that the cartoons we
draw are 'really close to what's actually
happening' and not just cartoons.
The things to watch out for:
- be SURE to have an explanatory caption - in
case the students didn't catch the explanation
Spring 2005 One-Minute
Responses
"What made you interested in
taking 7.014?"
"Seeing the interesting slides and
videos the professor displayed
while introducing the subject."
Amanda Bryan
Evaluation in Action
15. References
Chapman, D. (2009) ‘What Is Collaboration?’, [online] Available from:
http://www.educause.edu/Resources/WhatIsCollaboration/180349 (Accessed 26 November
2010).
Chudler, E. H. (n.d.) ‘Neuroscience for Kids’, [online] Available from:
http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/keep/merlot/merlotOne.html (Accessed 26
November 2010).
Gibbs, L. (n.d.) 'Fabulae Vulgatae: Latin Vulgate Bible Stories', [online] Available from:
http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/keep/merlot/merlotThree.html
(Accessed 27 November 2010)
Mischke, M. and Klopfer, E. (n.d.) 'Wearable Computer Genetics Game', [online] Available
from: http://www.cfkeep.org/html/snapshot.php?id=71466637 (Accessed 26 November 2010)
Walker, G. (n.d.) ‘Graham Walker's Howard Hughes Medical Institute Education Group’,
HHMI Ed Group Snapshot, [online] Available from:
http://cms.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/keep/hhmi/hhmiOne.html (Accessed 26
November 2010).
16. Contributors
• Keith Aquilina
• Isabella Brown
• Amanda Bryan
• Rick Humphries
• Debra Lane
• Catherine Mochan
• Alice Shepherd
• Heidi Walsh
Editor's Notes
The HHMI template shows how the project involved specific criteria that needed to be completed
The HHMI Education Group activities neatly summarises how the goals of the project can be addressed and how the education group themselves are central to the improvements.
the study tips example is of a poor elearning format that is mostly just a block of text. whilst the author mentions about using bold and highlighting different forms of text it is still a large block of text.
The neuroscience for kids list of headings, whilst neat and clearly set out, is rather daunting in its size.
Designing for a range of learner needs.
The design needs to be appropriate for the target group. Inconjuction with the ability for personalisation and the ability to encourage independent learning. If the website is aimed at the younger reader for example, the design should be simple with lots of helpful pictures or diagrams. For any design, information needs to be easy to find and understand.
The icon on the left is possibly drawn by children, or are certainly childlike, so that the user can relate to the adjoining infomation.
The explanations and activities generally are explained in simple terms and include lots of pictures. The second picture comes comes from making a neuron in playdough.
Collaboration involves two or more people, developing and sharing knowledge and/or skills to achieve the same goal. It involves sharing authority, accountability, resources and rewards. (Chapman 2009)In terms of elearning, this includes collaboration by:
professionals; and/or
learners
Both of the case studies chosen illustrate how professionals can collaborate together to improve or develop elearning interventions.Neither case study strongly illustrates collaborative practice by learners, however the Walker case study does include one example of how elearning can enable learners to collaborate.
Looking at ‘Collaboration in Action’ …Examples of good practice where professionals collaborate included howGraham Walker brought together a group of people including young scientists interested in teaching and research to provide training, support and mentoring. According to Walker ' The diversity of interests and talents could lead to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.' This collaboration included: * 3-weekly education group meetings during term time * the journal club mentioned previously * seminars and workshopsAccording to Eric Chudler, his 'Neuroscience for Kids is a collaborative effort between neuroscientists and K-12 educators. Neuroscientists bring the content knowledge to the project while educators are aware of the best practices that make learning enjoyable.'With regard to collaboration by learners, Graham Walker's education group developed personalised learning sets that enabled collaboration but not copying. A particular use was to enable learners to work in groups yet still produce their own work.
Evaluation is used to assess and measure the impact elearning material has on the learning experience. This may be in relation to either new techniques or material being used or in relation to the way in which the material is delivered or the means by which the elearning material is implemented.Including a means of evaluation gives learners an opportunity for them to provide feedback on any impact on learning. This feedback can then be used by educators in two ways:
1. to reflect on the effectiveness of the learning material and determine what works and what doesn't.
2. to assessby whether there is a need for programme reform i.e. is the material enabling the institution to meet learning outcomes?
“By evaluating project outcomes and impact in this way, an organization like HHMI can facilitate program reform as it develops and determine whether it is meeting stated goals and proceeding as planned”.(Graham Walker)
These are examples of the means by which Graham Walker (Disseminating effective practices and products) evaluates the impact of using multimedia to enhance lectures in Biology.
Graham Walker uses various means of evaluation. The responses provide first hand evidence of the impact on learning and it is clear that students themselves feel they learn better where the material is 'technically enhanced' and they are able to interact with it. As such, they are particularly convincing examples of the effectiveness of evaluation.
Eric Chudler (Sharing effective pedagogical practices) also uses a survey on the effectiveness of the site. However, the results are unknown. Both he and Laura Gibbs provide contact links for students to comment about the learning material. Gibbs says the site has been well recieved, but there is no first hand evidence of this e.g. testomonials.
Any evaluation here is less effective as the lack of student feedback means it is not possible to measure or assess the learning impact.