The document describes a digital workbook (DWB) created by Opus Learning to track student interactions and reflections during online learning. The DWB records student notes, quiz responses, and messages as they interact with content. This data provides insights into learning behaviors and needs for intervention. It also forms an audit trail for authentication and a longitudinal record of learning for assessment. Benefits of the DWB include improved content through learner feedback, rich data for analysis, and a holistic assessment strategy across courses. The DWB aims to enhance the social learning experience by facilitating personal, peer, and instructor interactions.

1. Reflection Logs as a Dashboard
John Gordon
Ken Currie
Opus Learning
22nd November 2012

2. The problem
• Opus Learning provides online
education, so the usual problems
– Tracking learning
– Authentication
– Identifying problems in learning
– Recognising need for intervention

3. The Solution
Student interacts with content
Learner
interacting
with content, Makes notes, responds to
leaving traces quiz, send messages, etc
Store in MLE Capture notes
Print off
record of
learning

4. Digital Work Book: Challenge
• To develop tools for:
– Teachers as authors
– Audit trails from the learning process
– Identify and understand behaviours
– Authenticate candidates
– Identify intervention requirements
– Develop scalable assessment

5. What we wanted
• Interactive content
• Student to Content Interaction
• Recording interactions, and reflection
• Embedded activity and Assessment
• Multi-user activity
• Logging and monitoring of learning

6. What we made
• A portfolio embedded in the content
• A dashboard for learning, from all user points
of view
• Recording of legacy from learning
• Rich seam of data and behaviours for mining
• Ongoing formative assessment, and potential
summative assessment

7. Digital Workbook

8. Digital Work Book: Features
– Content based, an integral part of the learning
materials
– Context based, a support mechanism for testing
concept understanding
– Supporting Reflective Thinking
– A longitudinal form of assessment

9. The Digital Workbook

10. Learners interactions
• Classical view - four types of interaction
– learner-content
– learner-learner
– learner-tutor
– learner-interface
• The Opus view
– there’s more!
– the sum of interactions leads to meaningful
learning

11. ∑ Interactions = Meaningful Learning
Student/Student
Student
Student/Tutor
Student/Content
Student/Environment
Content Tutor
Tutor/Content
Tutor/Tutor
Content/Content
Content/Environment Tutor/Environment
Environment
Based on diagram in
Environment/Environment
Anderson 2003

12. Interaction Table
Interaction Methodology
Student/Content Digital Work Book
Student/Tutor Environment + Digital Work Book
Student/Student Environment + Multiuser Digital
Workbook
Student/Environment Standard VLE such as Moodle 2.3 ( or
others)
Content/Content Rich Single Source Publishing + high level
of linkage/integration + objects
Tutor/Tutor VLE Features+ SQA QA Processes
Tutor/Environment VLE Features+ Digital Work Book
Dashboard
Content /Environment VLE Features+ CAPDM Enhancements
Environment/Environment VLE Audit trail.
Tutor/Content CAPDM Single Source Publishing System

13. DWB Examples – Source Page

16. DWB Example workbook

17. The DigitalWork Book: Benefits
– Learner reflections form a legacy
• A physical recorded book for the learner
• A set of behaviour records for the learning provider
– Learning content feedback – improvement of
content
– A behaviour trail
– A rich source for data mining
– Holistic assessment, across courses and
programmes
– Authentication Support

18. DWB Dashboard

19. Digital Work Book:
Assessment Strategy
– Provides ‘longitudinal’ assessment to augment
assignments, exams, quizzes, etc.
– Integrates assessment across courses and
programmes
– Is part of the ‘dashboard’ for Opus assessment

20. Example of Assessment screen

21. Standard Templates
Standardised programme design – all modules have the same feature set
21

22. Concept Maps & Gateways
• The DWB can be used anywhere, but it is
effective when contextually relevant
– Study Guides can be useful Concept Maps
– Key concepts can be thought of a ‘gateways’
through which a student must pass successfully
– The DWB can be used to assess understanding of
these concepts
• Contextually aware student input

23. Digital Work Book: Applications
• Audit Trail
– Very useful to check on student progress
– Relevant in compliance related training
• Personal portfolio
– A reflective log
– Augments and provides alternative to file stores
• Student support
– Intervention assessment
– Authentication
– A navigational aid

24. Creating the Social Learner
• DWB is part of a social learner strategy
– Rich interaction spaces
– Personal interaction with the content (DWB)
– Interaction on specific issues (traversing the web)
– Social learner (Forums, Facebook, etc.)
• The DWB is interaction

25. The Future
• The DWB is sharable, including
– with the Tutor
– with other students,
• In the future it will
– support groups
– support many content types
– integrate with other portfolio components
• The DWB will be our main assessment toolset
• The DWB will be our main behaviour manager

26. References
• Veronica Thurmond, Karen Wambach “Understanding Interactions in Distance Education: A Review of the Literature”, International
Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2004, http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_04/article02.htm
• Su, Bonk, Magjuka, Liu and Lee; The Importance of Interaction in Web-Based Education: A Program-level Case Study of Online MBA
Courses; Journal of Interactive Online Learning, Volume 4, Number 1 Summer 2005. http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/4.1.1.pdf
• Terry Anderson, Getting the Mix Right Again: An updated and theoretical rationale for interaction, The International Review of
Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 4, No 2 (2003). http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/149/230
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