100 ways, assessment, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #30 Field Trip Task

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Across many curriculum areas, learners will go on field trips. Sometimes they will be to inhospitable environments such as forests, mountains, fjords or Croydon. Generally though they will be to places a little more local and urban.

Travel and Tourism students for example, may visit London to see the tourist attractions. Sports Studies could visit the site of the Olympics in 2012. Business Studies may visit a factory or a retail outlet. When I was teaching Business we visited such diverse places as an aircraft factory, a dockside undergoing urban regeneration, the Clothes Show Live, Amsterdam and Bruges, Museums and Croydon.

There were many reasons for going on field trips, a core one was to base an assignment or assessment task around the field trip. Looking at my own examples, we went to the Clothes Show Live to look at marketing and advertising. The visit to Europe was to look at the impact of cultural differences on business in the European Union. The aircraft factory was looking at how technology and changes in technology impacted on businesses processes, job roles and manufacturing.

So where does the VLE come into all this?

Well the VLE can be the place from which the task is centered and alongside the assignment brief you could place all the other information and links that learners could use for the field trip.

You do need to consider if you are expecting learners to access the VLE whilst actually on the field trip. In this case you will need to consider what your expectations are for learners in relation to the use of the VLE, and to ensure that the learner are aware of those expectations.

You will need to consider connectivity for those that will be accessing the VLE. You will need to be aware of the sort of devices that the learners will be using.

So if your learners are using the iPod touch to access the VLE, is there free wifi somewhere in the vicinity of the field trip? If they are using the iPhone or iPad, make sure you don’t have any links to Flash video or activities. If they are going to be using laptops or netbooks, where can they use them sitting down? Are there cafés or other places where they could go?

Once the logisitics of remote access to the VLE is sorted, you can then make decisions about how you are going to support the task from the VLE in the field.

Mobile connections are much slower than connections in college, so it’s vital that any resources are made to be downloaded as quickly as possible.

Simple things can be done to enable that, such as rather than using Word files (which can be quite large) ensure that you post text to the VLE (copy and paste it in) to a “label”, “discussion forum” or “web page”. That way learners can immediately access the text without needing to download a large file first. Often mobile devices are better at rendering text on webpages for smalller screens than trying to render A4 Word documents. Avoid using Powerpoint for similar reasons and as already stated unless you know that the devices are capable of using Flash, avoid Flash based content and video.

Video is possible over the mobile web, but unless you have a good connection, it is to be avoided. Audio however will download fine on even a poor 3G or GPRS connection and can be a viable alternative to video. Make sure the audio files are not too big, as some mobile phone providers have file size limits on what can be downloaded.

So what if remote access is not available, say you’re up a mountain or in Croydon?

Well the VLE could be the focus of the field trip after the event. A place to collate the thoughts, blog entries, images, video, audio from the field trip. A way of sharing resources and media easily and effectively. This will then enable any task that was started off on the field trip to be finished and finalised with all the resources that the group collected.

Field trips are a great way of making learning real for many students, the VLE can be used to support any field trip tasks and for post-trip activities too.

audio

Using Audio more

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Teaching has always had an oral tradition, teachers have spoken, learners have listened, conversations take place and learning happens.

I suspect in most classrooms, lecture theatres and seminar rooms across the UK (and the world) there are people speaking and people listening.

Though at this time I don’t want to get into a huge debate about the merits of lectures, that is something for a different time. The ability for learners to be able to access a recording of a lecture and listen to it again is something that can support learning.

Students generally used podcasts to review lecture content, especially when they had difficulty with understanding lectures or new terminology.

Scutter et al (2010)

Yes there is another school of thought that says about lecture capture, as Mark Smithers notes:

..the large scale implementation of lecture capture is probably one of the costliest and strategically misguided educational technologies that an institution can adopt.

Smithers (2011)

One of the issues that I have with lecture capture though is that in isolation an audio recording of a lecture is insufficent in meeting the needs of the learners, as Scutter et al (2010) found.

Students generally listened to the recordings whilst viewing the lecture PowerPoint presentations on a home computer.

And as Smithers (2011) recognises

The technology does nothing to engage the student who instead of sitting passively in a lecture theatre checking their text messages will now sit passively in front of a screen at home checking their text messages.

Students will be “forced” to listen to the lecture recordings through a computer as the recording would not be enough to be of benefit without access to other resources such as Powerpoint presentations or handouts. Though is making available an audio recording of a lecture better than not giving the recording? There was an unconvincing study that said podcast lectures were “better” than real lectures. So though there are issues with lecture recordings, we shouldn’t as a result dismiss the usefulness of audio though for enhancing teaching and learning.

Podcasts needn’t be just a recording of a lecture, they can be in a variety of formats. Podcasts are an effective mechanism to support learning. Due to the audio format, learners can download and listen to them on an mp3 player (such as the iPod) as they walk to college, or catch the bus. Likewise mp3 files can be burnt to CD and a learner could listen to them in their car, or on their home music system. Though portable, learners can also access podcasts direct through a computer and listen to them via the computer speakers (or headphones).

Podcasts can be listened to more than once, enabling a learning objective to be reinforced or for revision purposes. Podcasts do not need to be length affairs, ten to fifteen minutes is more than ample for more educationally orientated podcasts.

One way of creating podcasts easily is using a tool such as Audioboo that to put it simply it is an App on your iPhone that allows you to record an audio recording, add your location, a picture, tags and upload the lot to a website.

Of course a podcast implies a regular series of broadcasts, you don’t have to do this to use audio for learning. One off audio recordings are also a good idea and can be used for a range of topics or activities.

In terms of format, the simple monologue is quite difficult to carry off well, where it can work is in describing what is required for an assignment brief. The learner would listen to the recording as they go through a web or paper based assessment for example. I know one lecturer who uses audio recordings of himself asking questions that he plays back both via the VLE and in the classroom.

Conversations, either one on one or small group are one way of making audio recordings more interesting. Panel discussions on topics by staff (or by learners) can be useful for learners and more engaging then a monologue on the subject. Discussions can be formal, informal, light-hearted or confrontational.

Radio type shows with a combination of different formats certainly will work with learners, but require a lot more planning, editing and production. These could include external interviews, outside broadcasts or field recordings.

“Professional” or external audio recordings can be more complex due to rights issues and copyright. However with the right licences (ERA for BBC radio broadcasts) or using statuory rights, it is possible to play back recorded radio programmes and and other commercial recordings in the classroom or lecture theatre for the purpose of instruction.

Audio has possibilities with assessment in terms of giving feedback to learners, the JISC Sounds Good project found that:

Using audio for assessment feedback has proved popular with students and staff. It is probably fair to say most UK higher education lecturers would find it worth giving audio feedback an extended trial with at least with some of their assessment work.

Most of the focus in this blog post has been on practitioners using audio, of course learners using audio is another way to enhance learning.

Learners could use tools such as Audioboo to create a reflective audio learning journal, or create a podcast for their course that demonstrates their understanding of the subject for their peers.

Audio assessment is often used in languages, but why has the tradition died out in other subjects? Yes there are issues with assessing audio recordings, but if we are really interested in personalisation and inclusion, audio assessment can be one way of ticking that box. Also technology can be used to speed the process up, it is possible now to digitally speed up recordings in a way that doesn’t distort voices so that they sound like chipmunks! This can speed up the marking process.

Technology allows us to change where and when we listen. Technology allows us to listen again. Technology allows us to be heard too. There are many ways that audio technology and recordings can be used to enhance and enrich teaching and learning.

References

Bob Rotheram. (2009). Sounds Good: Quicker, better assessment using audio feedback. Available: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/usersandinnovation/soundsgood.aspx. Last accessed 16th March 2011.

Scutter, S., Stupans, I., Sawyer, T. & King, S. (2010) How do students use podcasts to support learning? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(2), 180-191. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet26/scutter.pdf

Smithers, M. (2011). Is lecture capture the worst educational technology?. Available: http://www.masmithers.com/2011/03/11/is-lecture-capture-the-worst-educational-technology/. Last accessed 16th March 2011.

mobile

Mobile Web Applications Workshop

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If you are going to the Plymouth e-Learning Conference then you might want to come to Mark Power and my workshop on mobile web applications.

Recent times have seen the field of mobile technology grow almost exponentially, leading to institutions increasingly recognising the importance of delivery of content and services to users through their mobile devices. In many cases this can simply be delivered using the web, optimising your websites for use on the smaller screens of today’s mobile devices. However, in some cases you may wish to deliver a service that takes advantage of the native capabilities of today’s powerful smartphones, such as GPS for location-based services for example. Or you may simply want to deliver the whole “app experience”, with touch screen interactions and interface animations.

However, with today’s students carrying a vast array of mobile devices that operate across a massively fragmented and shifting market, institutions can find themselves wondering how to deliver content and services specifically designed for mobile use most effectively. Apple’s App Store? Android? Blackberry or Microsoft Phone? Each has created their own app ecosystems.

This workshop will give delegates an overview of the how the web gives us an attractive and viable solution that can overcome the fragmentation in the mobile app ecosystem and deliver cross-platform services and content. The workshop will allow delegates to examine the potential of Mobile Web Applications to support teaching and learning and improve institutional administration. Delegates will work on potential scenarios for using Web Applications in their own institutions. Delegates will gain an understanding of the workflows and tools that are needed to build Mobile Web Apps.

The Plymouth e-Learning Conference runs from the 6th to the 8th April 2011 and our workshop is on the 7th April.

app of the week, ipad, podcasting

GarageBand – iPad App of the Week

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GarageBand – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is GarageBand.

GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.

£2.99

This is one of the two new iPad apps Apple have released alongside the new iPad 2, however Garageband is the only one of the two that works on the original iPad. If you want to use iMovie you will need to get the new iPad.

I purchased Garageband in the main to record and edit podcasts when on the road. However the only way I can get recordings (say from an Edirol) will be through iTunes on my computer… which kinda defeats the point of using Garageband on the iPad for editing podcasts, as if I have my computer, I would probably use that…

You can of course record straight into the iPad and though the built-in microphone is okay for somethings, the quality is not brilliant. Testing with my external USB microphone using the USB camera connection kit, I found that Garageband could use that as an input device. This definitely improved the quality of the recording.

As with a lot of Apple apps this one looks gorgeous, great graphics and a nice interface. Of course if you have used Garageband on the Mac then there is an element of familiarity that will ensure using the App is easier than learning another one completely new. As a podcasting app, I don’t think Garageband is quite there, however it is one of the cheapest multi-track recording apps in the App Store, so you can forgive it, its foibles.

Of course the main reason for purchasing Garageband is because you want to use it to record music and it certainly will work for that. There are lots of options and you can also use it with real instruments.

Reviews from across the web indicate from (proper) musicians that the app is certainly useful and practical for recording music.

One reason you might want to use Garageband is to record stuff on the road and then bring it back home to finish it off on your Mac. However songs created in GarageBand for iPad can not be opened in GarageBand for Mac. Projects created in GarageBand for Mac cannot be opened in GarageBand for iPad. According to Apple, a future update of GarageBand for Mac will open songs created in GarageBand for iPad.

Without a file system, it is “challenging” to get stuff into Garageband and out of Garageband. Apple have made some nice apps for the iPad, however the problem of moving files that you’ve created (without using iTunes on your Mac) is still annoyingly complicated or confusing. Not helped (in my opinion) by lack of integration with external third party services such as Dropbox. No if the rumoured MobileMe upgrade happens with a better faster cloud service, then I probably wouldn’t complain so much, but services such as Google Docs and Dropbox are so much faster and smoother than Apple’s MobileMe iDisk service for example.

I do like the Garageband App, not sure if I will be using it to record the e-Learning Stuff Podcast, but at least I now have the possibility when I am out and about to record and edit a podcast using the iPad.

Get Garageband in the App Store.

podcast

e-Learning Stuff Podcast #072: New devices, new ways of learning

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New devices, new ways of learning, recording of James’ presentation from Learning and Skills Conference 2011.

This is the seventy second e-Learning Stuff Podcast, New devices, new ways of learning.

Download the podcast in mp3 format: New devices, new ways of learning

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

Shownotes

I was invited to speak on the potential and power of mobile technologies and the impact they have had and will have on learning in the workplace.

The proliferation of powerful mobile devices in the past 24 months, combined with a savvy population of users has led to a change in the way we use information. Many of us now expect to be able to read and interact on the move using smart devices like the iPhone and Android phones, or the iPad. At the same time, e-books and readers allow us to carry thousands of books in one device. Potentially this could be a great moment for extending learning – but what is the role of the L&D function in all this?

Here are the slides from the presentation I gave.

100 ways, assessment, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #43 Group Task

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Group assignments or tasks are a valuable part of any learning experience. They do so much more than just allow students to learn about a topic. They have to use a range of other skills too, including diplomacy, planning, monitoring, negotiation, tracking and many others.

The VLE is an ideal place to act as a portal for a group task. With a little effort it would be possible, using a VLE such as Moodle, to create a “course” for each group, duplicating the bare bones of an assignment course. This course would contain the assignment brief, notes, links, copies of handouts. It could contain tools such as discussion forums, wikis, a calendar and planning tools.

Before the advent of social networking and ubiquitous SMS students would often find it difficult to communicate and collaborate on an assignment. Today with the wealth of tools available, why would the learner use the VLE?

Well two reasons. Firstly, using the VLE does not preclude or stop the use of other online tools and services. Learners also need to recognise the time to use external tools and when to use internal tools. We do the same with internal spaces and external spaces. Usually for example seminars are held on campus, whilst informal chats in the pub are held, well in the pub… It would be expected that as well as using the VLE for the group task, learners would meet face to face and use informal communication tools such as SMS and Facebook. The VLE would be used for discussions about the assignment, sharing, collaborating and working together.

Secondly, as well as supporting learners to complete the group task, the use of the VLE could act as evidence towards the assignment itself. This is useful where the process is important part of the assignment as well as the final outcome.

As well as providing a focus for individual tasks, the VLE can also be used as a portal for group tasks or assignments.

stuff

Using online resources more

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Like most colleges we do provide access to a range of digital and online resources. There is some fantastic content out there which is either available for free or for a relatively low cost subscription.

Feedback from learners, talking to managers and practitioners, show that these resources are not as well used as they could be. There are a range of reasons given why both practitioners and learners do not use them, and in some cases do not even consider using them. These vary from the usual, not enough time, to access issues, or as often happens they didn’t know the college subscribed to them…

Didn’t they have a library induction?

Didn’t they read the e-mail?

The reality is that resources shown at induction or identified in an e-mail will be noted, but not generally remembered. Unless they are use to accessing online resources or are sign-posted to use online resources; they won’t use online resources.

This isn’t just about online resources, experience in my institutiuon and talking to others in a similar position, demonstrate that learners won’t be using books and journals in the library unless they are use to using them or sign-posted to use them.

So who sign-posts?

Well obviously the library staff (learning resources team) can do this with learners who are in the library. They can go and meet with learners in the classroom and inform them of the availability of resources. But these tactics are in many ways like inductions or e-mails, they may not be at the point of need and learners may not readily identify or link the resources to their topics or assessed work. The “clever” learners will know that they can go the library staff when they have a “need” and get signposted that way.

One thing practitioners can do is to sign-post resources to their learners during lessons, within assignments and on the VLE. If a learner wants to get the best grade possible, either in exams or assessed work, they need to use a much wider range of resources than what is made available in the classroom, the library and online resources are two prime locations for these resources. Not all learners know that and not all practitioners realise that they need to signpost to their learners about this. Some may think it so obvious that they don’t even mention it… that can be a mistake.

So how do we change things, so that learners are aware of what online resources are available or what the function of the library is?

Practitioners need to be made aware of the value of the resources available and working with the library staff enable easy access to those resources for their learners.

Some examples.

  • For every course on the VLE each team will identify at least one e-book from the e-Library (currently 3,000 e-books in the collection) and link to that book from the course. The team will promote the e-book to their learners. Usage stats will be taken at the end of the academic year.
  • All practitioners to attend a session on the online resources available to the college, all practitioners to choose at least one online resource that they will use with their learners on one of their courses.
  • Learners are recorded about how an online resource helped them understand a topic better, or complete an assignment successfully.

We are so lucky now to have such a huge range of online resources and content, to ignore it is missing a trick. But getting both learners and practitioners to take advantage of them, is not just down to wishful thinking, but requires communication and planning.

stuff

3D, it’s just a gimmick!

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Hollywood believes that 3D is one way in which it can overcome piracy and get us back into the cinema. Personally I think it is a bit of a gimmick and puts pressure on film makers to focus on 3D effects rather than good film making, story and plot. I did go to the cinema to see Toy Story 3 in 3D and I didn’t think the 3D effects added anything special to the film, when we recently re-watched the film on DVD on our 2D TV, the film was still just as good and I didn’t miss the 3D whatsoever. I remember going to the cinema to see Jaws 3-D and that was a film which was made purely to use 3D as a gimmick to get people to go and watch what was a terrible film. It must have done okay in the cinema though, as they did make a Jaws 4 (though that was not in 3D).

However despite my personal objections to 3D films I was interested to read that you  can already purchase the Panasonic SDT750 3D Camcorder for taking 3D video and Sony will be releasing an expensive Sony 3D Camcorder in April as well as the Bloggie HD Pocket Camcorder which will be much cheaper.

This has some potential for learning activities allowing learners to take images in three dimensions for reviewing later at a time and place to suit the learner, but only if that learner has access to a 3D TV. Now it has to be said that you can buy 3D TVs, but I doubt they are mainstream enough so that most learners in a cohort have access to one. Would you put a 3D TV into college? Well if you were taking a lot of 3D footage then maybe?

However I come back to the question, what is the point of 3D, what does it add to the value of the learning experience that standard 2D video footage doesn’t?

Video in itself has so much to offer learning compared to still images or diagrams. To see the video of a technique of filleting fish for example.

This is so much better than the line diagrams you use to have to use.

Now I do wonder what 3D would add to the experience? Would the experience be better? It might be, but really would it be that much better?

Now as I write this, I do wonder if I am one of those sceptics and luddites about new technologies? Is 3D just a gimmick as I think it is, or is it that I have a blinkered approach to new technologies? What pedagogical or learning problems does 3D solve?

So is 3D the next big thing? Or is it just a gimmick? Are you using 3D already?

app of the week, iphone

Socialcam – iPhone App of the Week

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Socialcam – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive. Originally this feature focused on iPhone and iPad apps, however I have now expanded to include Mac, Windows and Android apps.

Socialcam is the easiest way to share videos with friends. It makes sharing video from your phone as simple as uploading photos to Facebook. With a few clicks, you’re able to record, tag, and share videos as well as browse, like, and comment on your friends’ videos.

Features

– Unlimited video length and storage
– Upload video while you are recording for fastest possible upload
– Record video offline and it uploads later when you have Internet
– Tag your friends in videos
– Instant notification when you are tagged in a video
– Browse, like, and comment on your friends’ videos
– Share videos with Facebook, Twitter, Email and SMS

This week’s App is Socialcam.

Free

So what is Socialcam? Well if you remember the Seesmic video micro-blogging service, well it’s a bit like that. Though today Seesmic is much more known these days for its Twitter apps. However Socialcam is not quite like the old Seesmic video service, it’s much more akin to Instagram but for video.

You capture your video on your iPhone and then it uploads it to a server. Your video is then available to your “followers” in their video stream. Like Instagram you can be followed and follow others, so there is a social aspect to the stream. However the social is very much linked into Facebook. You can only use the service through a Facebook connection, so you do need a Facebook account. This for me is a bit of a downside, I know it means that I don’t need to create a new account, but not everyone has a Facebook account, likes having a Facebook account and you don’t really want to have to create a Facebook account just to use this app. It would appear that this may change in the future, but at this moment in time you need a Facebook account.

Once you have recorded and uploaded your video you can “share” the link with various other social services such as Twitter or even on Facebook.

The people behind Socialcam are Justin.tv the video streaming service. So as a result they probably do have the bandwidth and the server capability to meet the needs of the users of Socialcam.

One of the downsides of the service for me is that I can’t use video I have already recorded on the iPhone. I do use other apps to record video, the 8mm Vintage Camera app is a perfect example of an app I would like to use to record video and then upload that video to Socialcam.

Now what if you don’t have an iPhone? Well the app is also available for Android devices, excellent.

presentation

Embedding Web 2.0 into the Strategy

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Today I gave an online presentation about how we have Web 2.0 embedded into our ILT Strategy as part Ask the Experts: Web 2.0 Policies and Frameworks session from Staffordshire University’s Best Practice Models for e-Learning Project.

It is one thing to use Web 2.0 tools and services for teaching and learning, but why should you put it into your e-learning strategy?

James Clay from Gloucestershire College will talk about why he included the use of Web 2.0 into the college’s e-learning strategy, the reasons for doing this and how effective it has been.

news and views on e-learning, TEL and learning stuff in general…