The document summarizes the creation of an online tutorial for researchers by a consortium of universities in the East Midlands region. It describes conducting a survey of researchers to determine their training needs and preferences, developing content using the open-source Xerte authoring tool, piloting initial tutorial units, and the benefits and challenges of the collaborative approach. It concludes by discussing plans to disseminate the research outputs and tutorials more broadly and topics for future tutorial units.

1. Online learning for researchers:
experiences of creating a
collaborative online tutorial
Jenny Coombs
University of Nottingham
Liz Martin
DeMontfort University

2. Overview
• Project background
• Survey results: what do researchers want from an
online tutorial
• Content creation and authoring tool
• Evaluation of pilot units
• Taking a collaborative approach - benefits and
challenges
• Quick demo
• The future

3. Background
•Aim to create online
tutorials aimed at researchers
–Re-usable
–Re-purposable
•Number of East Midlands
institutions interested
•EMRSG Project consortium: Image by Ben Mills, used under a Creative
Commons Licence,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East-
–Loughborough, Nottingham, Midlands-Ambulance-Service-map.png
Coventry, De Montfort Universities

4. Timetable

5. Online Survey
• Researchers’ experiences of information skills
training
• Importance attached to various research tasks
• Confidence in carrying out these tasks
• Research staff at Loughborough, Nottingham
and De Montfort (DMU) universities
– 224 responses
– 11 face-to-face interviews

6. Discipline of Researchers

7. Findings: How do researchers want
to learn?

8. Findings: Skills rated most/least
important

9. Findings: Skills most/least
confident

10. Pilot module content

11. Authoring tool
• Xerte
• Open source
• Content can be re-
used and repurposed
• Designed for non-
techies
• Technical help

12. Evaluation: Perception v feedback

13. Perception v feedback

14. Perception v feedback
Important
to
promote
research Promotion seen
as too aggressive

15. Perception v feedback
Content of
video is more
Academic not
important
smart enough
than
aesthetics
Distracted by
background

16. Taking a collaborative approach
Image by Nicola Corboy, used under a Creative
Commons Licence,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/n_corboy/4921290518/sizes/m/in/photostream

17. Advantages and Disadvantages

18. Recommendations for
collaboration

19. Quick look at a unit

20. The Future
 Added to Jorum and Open Courseware to
facilitate sharing
 Dissemination of research outputs
 Future unit – reference management
 www.emrsg.org.uk

21. Contacts
Coventry University De Montfort University
Chris Bark Liz Martin
c.bark@coventry.ac.uk emartin@dmu.ac.uk
Judy Thompson
j.thompson@coventry.ac.uk
Loughborough University University of Nottingham
Helen Young Wendy Stanton
h.young@lboro.ac.uk wendy.stanton@nottingham.ac.uk
Ruth Stubbings Jenny Coombs
r.e.stubbings@lboro.ac.uk jenny.coombs@nottingham.ac.uk
Keep in touch with the project at: http://www.emrsg.org.uk

22. Questions?