Greg Walters HEA Fellowship presentation final
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This document discusses Greg Walters' projects implementing the communication platform Yammer and developing online learning modules and resources for university programs. It outlines various projects Walters completed for several UK universities, including creating interactive online content and videos, collaborating on a student-led seminar, and designing a risk management module. Each project section notes how the work aligned with areas of activity in the UK Professional Standards Framework, such as designing learning activities, supporting online students, developing effective learning environments, and incorporating instructional technologies.
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Greg Walters HEA Fellowship presentation final
- 1. Greg Walters | Fellow HEA Presentation Matriculation Number: 40180005 Date: 01/03/2018
- 2. BOE Module: Introduction to Blended and Online Education Page 1 of 9 Project : Implementation of Yammer as a means of synchronous conversation between students and staff within the online MSc Health Studies Family Health, Distance Learning Programme (UWS) Alignment to areas of activity in The UK Professional Standards Framework A1 : Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study K3: How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s) K4: The use and value of appropriate learning technologies V1: Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities V2: Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
- 3. BOE Module: Introduction to Blended and Online Education Page 2 of 9 Project : Implementation of Yammer as a means of synchronous conversation between students and staff within the online MSc Health Studies Family Health, Distance Learning Programme (UWS) This is a video interview with programme Leader Claire Graham, who is discussing her experience of using Yammer This video was created by Greg Walters, Who at the time worked at the University of the West of Scotland Link to full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb OgOwX7wB8&feature=youtu.be
- 4. BOE Module: Introduction to Blended and Online Education Page 3 of 9 Project : Implementation of Yammer as a means of synchronous conversation between students and staff within the online MSc Health Studies Family Health, Distance Learning Programme (UWS) This is a video reflection of my Yammer project and an analyse of the synchronous chat sessions along with what aspects of the project aligned to the HEA areas of activity This video was created by Greg Walters, Who at the time worked at the University of the West of Scotland Link to full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xet Gft1c3gY&feature=youtu.be
- 5. BOE Module: Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience Page 4 of 9 Project : Collaborated as part of a group to deliver a student led online seminar to fellow BOE students Alignment to areas of activity in The UK Professional Standards Framework A1: Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study A2: Teach and/or support learning A3: Assess and give feedback to learners K4: The use and value of appropriate learning technologies The Xerte object I created for my group led seminar aligned to the above UK Professional Standards Framework | Link to Xerte Object
- 6. BOE Module: Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience Page 5 of 9 Project : Development of interactive Xerte object to support online distance learners (MSc Risk Management module, UWS) Alignment to areas of activity in The UK Professional Standards Framework A1 : Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study A2: Teach and/or support learning K4: The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
- 7. BOE Module: Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience Page 5 of 8
- 8. BOE Module: Curriculum Design and Development for Blended and Online Learning Page 6 of 9 Project : Development of a core module called Risk Management which is delivered to face-to-face and online students as part of the MSc Quality and Risk Management programmes Alignment to areas of activity in The UK Professional Standards Framework A1: Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study A4: Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance K1: The Subject Material K2: Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme K4: The use and value of appropriate learning technologies K5: Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching K6: The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching V4: Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice
- 9. BOE Module: Curriculum Design and Development for Blended and Online Learning Page 7 of 9 Project : Development of a core module called Risk Management which is delivered to face-to-face and online students as part of the MSc Quality and Risk Management programmes This is a video is part one of two and shows the online module I developed to support online learners who were students on the MSc Risk Management module. This video was created by Greg Walters, Who at the time worked at the University of the West of Scotland This video lasts for 9:33 Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B7 Bet1iBhY
- 10. BOE Module: Curriculum Design and Development for Blended and Online Learning Page 8 of 9 Project : Development of a core module called Risk Management which is delivered to face-to-face and online students as part of the MSc Quality and Risk Management programmes This is a video is part two of two and shows the online module I developed to support online learners who were students on the MSc Risk Management module. This video was created by Greg Walters, Who at the time worked at the University of the West of Scotland This video lasts for 7:50 Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EO ZaN7Rc0s
- 11. BOE Module: Developed these guidelines as a result of first three BOE modules and professional practice Page 9 of 9 Project : Production of document covering best practiceMoodle instructional design and Accessibility Alignment to areas of activity in The UK Professional Standards Framework V3: Use evidence informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development A5: Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
Editor's Notes
- The programme leader (Clair Graham) of the MSc Health Studies: Family Health required a social and collaborative way of facilitating weekly focussed discussions relating to units within the module; Working with Families. Previous attempts to enable this had encountered problems due to students not being comfortable with the technology or a lack of equipment. To address this request I recommended a Social Media and Collaborative platform called Yammer. The technology I suggested to facilitate the synchronous online conversation between students and lecturers, is Yammer. This is a free and easy to use collaboration and social media tool. Think along the lines of Facebook, the functionality is very similar and familiar to a majority of people who have used Social media tools online. Yammer sessions were integrated into the online environment Moodle via links within the programmes module pages. I recommended Yammer because it provides a learning activity which can easily be employed within the programmes modules. This is an appropriate method for learning and teaching, as Yammer fulfils the requirements of the lecturer and students, by enabling focused synchronous online discussions (A1). The technology is accessible on a variety of devices and platforms and is easy to use, this allows both lecturers and students a online environment in which learning can be focus and is not dictated by wondering if the technology will function or not (K4). Yammer also addresses the issue of students who are not confident in using video/web conferencing technology. Using Yammer allows for synchronous conversations focused on key areas of their professional practice which were scheduled every week the course ran. (K3) The lecturers informed the students what subject they were focussing on in advance of the Yammer session starting, this allowed the students to prepare and formulate their posts when participating in the synchronous discussions on Yammer. The module also has a number of international enrolled students who will greatly benefit from the online engagement with domestic UK students, this interaction allowed for the exchange of knowledge and good practice. The health professionals from different countries were able to discuss differing practices and policies (V1, V2). Due to the success and ease of use, Yammer discussion groups were rolled out to other modules within the MSc Health Studies: Family Health programme, including Responding to Public Health Challenges, which is a core module accessed through nine different programmes.
- The experience of using Yammer described by Clair aligns to the Community of Inquiry framework created by Garrison, Cleveland-Innes. Teaching Presence – As Clair mentioned in the video interview, to guide the weekly synchronous discussion forums the academic staff informed students of the particular topic prior to the discussion commencing to focus the discussion. Clair and her colleagues also provided guidelines for students to guide them on the discussion forum etiquette of how to reply and around the flow of discussion ,i.e. how to reply in the same discussion thread you give people time to read the responses. Clair and her colleagues were able to manage a large group of domestic, European and international students by splitting them into small groups and running discussion sessions simultaneously with three staff administrating the sessions, which helped guiding the discussion and ensuring the interprofessional engagement occurred. Social Presence - Yammer offered both staff and students a secure online learning environment, which could be viewed on not only desktop computers but mobile devices as well making it accessible on different devices. The academic staff created a trusting environment where weekly scheduled focused discussions took place that allowed students and staff to have a meaningful exchange around a specific topic. The students also exchanged good knowledge and practice around their professional practice and gain insight into the differences and semiliterate between medical practices in different countries – which added a real personal element to discussions. Cognitive Presence – The discussion session and threads allow students the opportunity to reflect on what has and is being discussed and then post their response to further the discussion, prompting further discourse. , Social presence is “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop inter-personal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities.” (Garrison, 2009) Teaching Presence is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). Cognitive Presence is the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001).
- I’m going to discuss how our group worked together to develop our online seminar for Unit 2 and my involvement. From the 9th of February to the 22nd (2015) I was involved in facilitating a student led online seminar which was my group project for the Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience module. In order to facilitate our online seminar, we were given access to a Moodle Community Module, which we could edit and customise to suit our requirements. This involved working as part of group to develop the course structure, online activities and add to the associated reading materials – these had to tie into our learning outcomes which we developed together. The completed online seminar was viewed and engaged by other students in the MSc Blended and Online Education course. The particular area we focused on was Unit 2: Supporting the Online Learner (part of the Blended and Online Student Experience module). We decided to focus on two distinct areas; Digital Literacy and Various Forms of Feedback as these were both key areas relating to Supporting the online learner. By examining digital literacy, we analysed how assessment and feedback contributes to students’ and/or others’ learning. The exploration of different methods of feedback provided an opportunity to investigate if they are more effective for different types of learners, at different levels, in different contexts (A3). I was involved in developing the seminar resources and activities for week 2 which primarily involved developing an interactive learning object using Xerte and associated discussions forums (A1). Xerte was chosen because it has accessibility features that allow text and background colours to be changed to offer different contrasts for visually impaired or dyslexic students (K4). This technology-based learning used an interactive learning object which contained three examples of the same assessment feedback delivered in different mediums, text, audio and video for the students to analyse. There was also supporting literature to encourage the students to research this specific area (A2). After having engaged with the learning object and or supporting literature, students were guided to engage with two discussion forums which covered their preferred method of feedback and does digital feedback add to the student experience? I enjoyed engaging with the students via the forums and encouraging discussion around the areas of feedback. As I had no prior experience of leading and promoting discussion amongst students I referred to the Pedagogy and learning technology: a practical guide written by Keith Smyth and Christina Mainka. I paid particular attention to Unit 4 (Supporting the Learner community p54 - 62), as this contained valuable advice, i.e. “Be there without barging in! The tutor is the pro-active moderator who: acknowledges, redirects/corrects, affirms, guides, encourages, and summarises.” I found this to be a useful source of information. Fellow postgraduate Students who participated (fourteen of them) in our student led seminar were given the opportunity to provide feedback at the end of the two-week period. This anonymous online questionnaire allowed participants to provide feedback relating to our seminar; learning objectives, look and feel, quality of resource and engagement of seminar activities.
- In my professional practice I am developing an interactive Xerte object which is aimed at offering support to online distance learners who require aid and scaffolding in the use of Mahara (software we use for PDP and online portfolios). The Xerte object will offer a range of information and tutorials presented in video, PDF format along with links to relevant online resources. Being able to use this software effectively will benefit the students as a large number of modules encourage students to develop their PDP using Mahara. (A1, A2, K4).
- In my professional practice I am developing an interactive Xerte object which is aimed at offering support to online distance learners who require aid and scaffolding in the use of Mahara (software we use for PDP and online portfolios). The Xerte object will offer a range of information and tutorials presented in video, PDF format along with links to relevant online resources. Being able to use this software effectively will benefit the students as a large number of modules encourage students to develop their PDP using Mahara. (A1, A2, K4).
- The module I developed in conjunction with the lecturer (Jeremy Garnett) is called Risk Management and is a core module within the MSc Quality and Risk Management programmes. The module is delivered to both face to face and distance learners through the institutions virtual learning environment (Moodle) and runs during trimester 1 of the academic year. The students are generally mature and are a mixture of domestic, Erasmus and international backgrounds, all with varying skills of digital literacy. As result of developing the module I have engaged in the following areas of activity in relation to the Higher Education Academy Framework (HEA): Developing the online module, activities and resources (A1) Developing the interactive student support object, online module handbook and providing online space to communicate with students and staff (A4) The subject matter (Risk Management), and both my processional and academic practice (post graduate studies) to inform the course design and learning activities. The Risk Management subject influenced the learning activities that were developed, quizzes, discussion forums, weekly exercises, lecture captures. As discussed in my previous example (student led seminar) we chose to chunk up the two topic areas into a weekly course format within Moodle, this led to focused learning and making it easier to navigate throughout the course as highlighted by Moodle course design specialist (Michelle Moore, 2011). (K1) In order to support learning in subject area for both face-to-face learners and distance learners as well – all of the lectures were captured using Camtasia Studio. This allowed self paced study and allowed distance learners to have an equitable experience. So there wasn’t just a bunch of PowerPoint slides uploaded with no additional context, the video captures of the lectures allowed Jeremy to add and expand on the material in each slide. (K2) As mentioned earlier, the course has a wide range of learners ranging from domestic, Erasmus and international backgrounds, all with varying skills of digital literacy. To support this diverse audience of students suitable support materials had to be developed. A video induction form Jermey Garnett was produced to introduce himself and go over the learning outcomes and his expectations of students for participating in the module. A interactive learning object was developed to go over studying and various strategies for distance learners. A video going over the Moodle interface was produced, as some or all students may not be familiar with the platform. (K3) Providing screencasts and audio clips for lecture recordings along with text transcripts (K4) In an effort to encourage anonymous student engagement with module evaluation, module feedback was broken down into 3 separate parts containing 3 or 4 short questions. These feedback sections were put within topics 3, 6 and 10 within the online module. Previously feedback had been a large 20 question end of module questionnaire which very few students engaged with. The logic behind this delivery of online module evaluation is with the feedback broken down into smaller chunks, this may seem less intimidating and may encourage the students to interact with the module evaluation. I have advised the lecturer to make an announcement in the news forum, to inform the student’s how their feedback is going to influence the module design and resources in the future. (K5, K6) Aligning module and assessment development to W3C, Institutional Educational Enabling Plan and Scottish Credit and Quality Framework (V4) In order to make the module I designed as accessible in terms of pedagogy, industry and institutional policy as possible to online users I referred to number of legislations and guidelines, the first being the W3C. As there are no official guidelines for online accessibility published by Moodle, I referred to The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative who develops web standards. I found referring to the accessibility guide (W3C, 2008) very helpful, this allowed me to identify which accessibility elements I should implement within the module. The accessibility elements: “1.1.1 Non-text Content” – I ensured there was a downloadable text based transcript to accompany the screencasts and audio version of the lectures within the module. “1.4.8 Visual Presentation” – I added the Moodle Accessibly block to the module, so learners can choose their screen foreground and background colours to provide a suitable contrast for anyone with a visual impairment. “2.4.10 Section Headings:” – I used headings to highlight key subjects, media and topics within the module, this also allows the headings to be read by screen readers. “3.2.3 Consistent Navigation” – I ensured there is navigation to other modules within the programme, in the form of a HTML navigation block. I also made sure all of the links work and are not redundant and that they all open in a new browser window. “3.2.4 Consistent Identification” – Within the module I made sure each week had the same consistent structure in terms of how the materials are laid out and structured. I also made sure the same symbols/icons are used to highlight the various forms of media, activities and resources. Please note; 1.1.1, 1.4.8, 2.4.10, 3.2.3 and 3.2.4 are all guidelines found within the W3C guidelines (2008) To further extend my good practice in terms of colour contrast within the module I referred to an online colour contrast tool aligned to the W3C standards. This online tool allowed me to check my foreground and background colours were easy to view for people with and without visual impairments. By including the above elements within the module, it has resulted in this being used as a template, which will be applied to all other modules within the programme, ensuring a real consistent and accessible experience for the students. During May 2015, the institution implemented a new Education Enabling Plan, which super seed’s our old Learning Teaching and Assessment Strategy. In terms of assessment the one key objective that had to be considered when analysing the assessments in the module: “Mapping the timing of assessments across the year, type of assessments, balance of formative/summative assessments etc. to get a programmatic picture of assessment across the student journey” (Education Enabling Plan 2015 – 2020, section 2). To align the assessments within the module to the Education Enabling Plan and Constructivist Alignment we decided for the first time to provide a formative online quiz which would prepare students for sitting the summative online class exam. This will allow students to experience the types of questions they may experience during the exam and get used to using online quizzes within Moodle. The online class exam is timed (90 minutes) open book quiz, with a mixture of essay and multiple choice questions worth – 30%. The mixture of both formative and summative proved beneficial as it allowed students to study and learn at their own pace and be prepared for the summative exam. The module along with the rest of the modules within the Quality and Risk Management programmes are aligned to the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) at Level 11 (Master Degree level) and is worth 20 credits. Under the European Credit Transfer Scheme (ETCS), the module is worth 10 credits. This influenced the materials within the module, as they had to be up the standard of level 11 materials which ask the student to critically analyse and reflect on the module materials Aside from the quality and accessibility standards and frameworks, another consideration for this module and every module I develop is copyright. Going forward the institution is partnering with European and International Higher Educational partners to deliver our modules in their respective countries. An audit of materials will have to take place and ensure that the materials present within the modules do not infringe any international copyright. In an effort to make sure the modules are copyright compliant, I have been making staff aware of services like Creative Commons when searching for digital media to use within their modules. However it is important to make sure staff understand there are restrictions with services like Creative Commons, there are limitations like the ‘Attribution – No Devrivs, where no changes can be made to the media.