Presentation by Bob Ridge-Stearn from Newman University for Xerte Talking workshop at University of Lincoln, 26th June 2014: http://makingdigitalhistory.co.uk/projects/xerte-talking-students-producing-interactive-learning-resources/art-design-and-media-workshop-26th-june-2014/

1. EXPECT TO ACHIEVEEXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Xerte in Health Psychology
Level 6 Assessed Project Using Xerte
Anatoli Karypidou (Health Psychology)
Bob Ridge-Stearn (e-Learning)

2. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
The module
• PY631-SEP2013 - HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
• The module explores the theoretical models which attempt to explain and
predict health behaviour and examines the practical application of these
models in health promotion campaigns.
• It focuses upon the relationship between stress, health and illness, and
the factors that mediate this relationship.
• It considers the impact of living with a disability and/or a chronic illness
from the biopsychosocial perspective, and considers the impact of illness
cognitions on behaviour.
• Assessment
Component 1: Reflective commentary & Xerte (50% of the module)
Component 2: Written exams (50% of the module)

3. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
• You are a consultant health
psychologist working for an
Independent Health Psychology
Consultancy Agency.
• You are approached by a charity
counselling service to provide a
training resource on Health
Psychology Principles, Practices
and Services for counsellors.
PBL Scenario1

4. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
• You work for a NHS Primary Care
Trust. Clients are referred by GPs.
• GP has asked you to provide
information for patients on
preventable health behaviour
(inactivity and consumption).
• Info should deal with risks, impact on
health, factors relating to behaviour
and possible interventions.
PBL Scenario 2

5. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
What students did
• Approx. 50 level 6 students
• Not a new module – previously
designed workshops and used
PowerPoint.
• This semester had to use Xerte.
• And develop a Critical
Commentary.
• Worked in groups submitted
group LO.
• Submitted individual CCs.

6. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Why Xerte?
Anatoli Karypidou (Health Psychology)
• Blended collaborative learning and PBL are currently perceived as
effective innovative didactic approaches to enhance learning
outcomes in HE (Lim & Morris, 2009)
• A hybrid module combines traditional approaches (such as lectures)
with computer mediated activities (Lopez-Perez, et al., 2011)
Bob Ridge-Stearn (e-learning)
• To provide greater opportunities to develop digital literacies
• To provide students with transferable skills and enhance their
employability

7. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
How supported
• Initial Xerte training
session (whole morning)
with external trainer.
• Scheduled two hour
session each week to
work on project.
• Learning technologist sat
in on session and
remained in room for
hour afterwards
• Online support from e-
learning office (materials
and forum)

8. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Example http://www.xerte.org.uk/

9. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Was it a success?
How did the students’ and staff’s digital literacies
develop thought this type of approach?
JISC Infokit - http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/

10. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Evidence
A mixed method approach was used
• Surveys
– Pre-project
– During project
– After project
• After project focus groups to avoid bias
• Analysis of students’ critical commentaries
• Anecdotal observations

11. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I found it was [the module] even more exciting because of the Xerte
package that you incorporated… because I think it brought it alive, so it
was not just listening to lectures, you were actually going to apply the
information you have learnt and you were going to develop a package
which I think was excellent…”
Student Words – Focus Groups

12. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“It’s about learning and applying at the same time … it was not just
listening and taking notes. It was more incorporating everything into your
own package that displays your personal understanding, and learning new
skills at the same time, learning technical skills…”
Student Words – Focus Groups

13. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“It wasn’t a package that we have used before, so all the aspects were
new to us. For example, incorporating videos in our package is not stuff we
are doing on a daily basis or taught before in our degree… So it was really
beneficial”
“… or the picture database, looking for pictures suitable to the aims of our
assessment. It was not an area that we have looked at before”
“You do get involved in coding which I haven’t done before, so this is a skill.
Yes definitely it has increased my computer literacy skills… exploring how it
will look at the end if I adjust this and that”
Student Words – Focus Groups

14. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“You could find pictures that are suitable for professional use… these
pictures are copyright free, and you can included them without having any
consequences in future.
“The support we had it was great, we had so much support and at the
same time we had to play around and figure out things ourselves and how
we wanted them. So personally I feel confident in the skills I have gained. It
is about independent learning, isn’t it.”
Student Words – Focus Groups

15. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“It was a learning curve throughout the module, it was not like, Oh we
know how to use it from day one, but it was a learning curve… We came
across challenges which we were trying to fix. It was exciting, and great
and rewarding”
“There are absolutely a vast amount of things you can do with that tool,
probably too much to focus only on one module… I have tried many
different applications even the cartoon bit, which I loved, and I have
actually put that in”
Student Words – Focus Groups

16. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I thought it was fantastic and in fact sitting at my doctors recently I have
seen such a programme in the waiting room… you have leaflets there but
no one picks them up, and I thought that is really good - so applicable”
“I believe that learning psychology here at Newman and especially the
knowledge we have gained throughout this module was excellent and I
have seen it even in jobs recently, such as in sexual health, and thought if it
had been the right time, I could have applied for that on the basis of this”
Student Words – Focus Groups

17. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I would definitely put this on my CV as a skill and I will highlight my
experience of using Xerte, like SPSS, for example. It will build up my CV”
“It felt like more professional with the use of different features to
communicate information. It was just giving that professional touch and
this is a benefit. Maybe PowerPoint has been used a lot, so it is always
nice to use new technology and appear up-to-date with current trends. It
just looks more professional”
Student Words – Focus Groups

18. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“It could be used for revision like quizzes, and you can incorporate the
videos you find useful and it is beneficial for your personal use. If you want
to make like your own revision tool, like I have used Mahara in the past as
a revision tool at the end.”
Student Words – Focus Groups

19. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I could have used it for interventions… so more research related. I would
have used it for designing an intervention and see whether people’s
knowledge may have changed after the information presented in Xerte,
because you can use so many different features to communicate
information and this can be accessible via laptops, tablets and mobile
phones”
“You could use it for an experimental study, as a way to collect data
perhaps, or maybe incorporate a questionnaire in Xerte, true or false
questions. You could actually test things and you could provide scores.”
Student Words – Focus Groups

20. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“It definitely gave us the ability to go out there and try something new,
something we have never used before and go out there in the big wide
world… There so many things that we may need to learn… It just opens
your mind to new horizons”
Student Words – Focus Groups

21. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I find it really exciting and rewarding. As well at the end product, you
have worked those months developing it and creating it, and you feel quite
proud you have produced that”
Student Words – Focus Groups

22. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“Its difficult to customise it. Even editing the arrangements of a picture. I
believe it’s limited”
Student Words – Focus Groups

23. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
“I think Xerte is complicated. It takes time to use it but I think this because
we were in our third year and the final year. If we had started in the first
year, it would have been so much more beneficial for us I think”
Student Words – Focus Groups

24. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Critical Commentaries
• Not formative diaries – summative reflections
• Don’t tell us much about the process, about problems encountered
and solutions found.
• They tell us about the rationale for the design.
• They do not tell us much about the skills they acquired along the
way.

25. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
CC - Student words
Another tool used on the Xerte
programme was shocking
images of alcohol poisoned
body parts, including the brain,
liver and heart. This is because
research has shown that
shocking visual images are able
to significantly increase the
level of cognitive processing
and increase the intentions to
quit the behaviour they
suggest, in this case excessive
drinking of alcohol (Veer and
Rank, 2012, p. 231).

26. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
CC - Student words
Quizzes were also used
on the Xerte programme.
Quizzes have been found
to increase motivation of
the reader, as well as
encourage them to
actively take part and
interact with the
learning (Braun and
Sellers, 2012, p.269).
Cushard (2013) also
states that quizzes are
beneficial for memory,
especially in e-learning
situations.

27. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
CC - Student words
Important skills have
also been used
throughout the
development of the
xerte programme,
including simple
things such as the use
of html, and patience
when creating a piece
of interactivity.

28. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
CC - Student words
The Health
Psychology cohort
has been provided
with the opportunity
to gain new
computer-based
skills, as well as
become actively
involved in an
exciting and
innovative form of
health promotion

29. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
CC - Student’s words
The Xerte learning tool has
exhibited such great
potential for health
promotion that
recommendations have
been made to a community
outreach project…
It is now hoped a specific learning tool can be designed to support the
project’s work promoting harm reduction. This highlights how
valuable the Xerte training has been, not only for the health
psychology cohort, but potentially for the local community as well.
Image – CC licence

30. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Anecdotal / Observations
• Students enjoyed it
• Helped each other
• Saw it as useful and worth adding to their CVs
• Learned a huge amount about working on the web
• Many didn’t understand copyright
• We need to be clear on expectations – some students tried to
use the whole toolkit

31. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Anecdotal / Observations

32. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
How did students’ and staff’s digital
literacies develop?
JISC Infokit - http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/

33. EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
What would we do differently
• Shorter technical input sessions at start
• Input session on copyright vs academic referencing
• Groups – Individual projects ???
• Insist on an assessed weekly critical commentary
• Provide a template or choice of templates
• Encourage/demand image/video creation
• Change submission process – GIVE not only EXPORT

34. EXPECT TO ACHIEVEEXPECT TO ACHIEVE
Xerte in Health Psychology
Level 6 Assessed Project Using Xerte
Anatoli Karypidou (Health Psychology)
Bob Ridge-Stearn (e-Learning)