Facilitating staff to ‘design in’ active learning opportunities for students through the use of technology enhanced learning tools

Dr Richard WalkerUniversity of York, UK

Blended Learning 2016 London, 26th October 2016

Presentation overview

Embedding TEL within programme-level thinking Implementing active learning design through the

use of TEL tools Using evidence-informed use cases as prompts

for active learning design

York’s journey

Establishing an institutional LT infrastructure:Implementation: delivering efficiencies in scale & support

Phased rollout of Institutional LMS, CMS & Community System (Blackboard Academic Suite): self-managedSITS integrationIntegration of reading list softwareDevelopment of anonymous e-submission

ConsolidationEmbedding, integrating & extending LT services

VLE strategic reviewLaunch of Video streaming serviceShibbolizing VLE (outreach, admissions & transition)Mobile Learn, lecture capture & e-assessment (QMP) trials

Renewal

Re-envisioning LT services: ‘Empowering the learner’

Launch of cloud services:Google Apps for Education; Echo 360; Bb Collaborate and inline gradingRelease of E-learning vision statement (June 2013): setting the agenda for next Learning & Teaching Strategy

2004 - 2007

2008 - 2011

2012 - Now

York’s technology adoption cycle

Adapted from the Gartner Hype Cycle http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp

How can we encourage technology adoption and ‘mainstream’ pedagogic innovation?

Programme-level design and renewal

Top-down vision (pedagogic principles) with support for bottom-up initiatives

Explicit attention to all aspects of student work: independent study & formative tasks

Focus on active learning design – developing students as autonomous learners– enabled through technology: designed in and

aligned with learning objectives– supporting different modes of learner

engagement, activity and control

York Pedagogy implementation (2015-17):

Modes of learner engagement supported through the use of technology

Engagement Mode

Enabling learning: interleaved practice

retrieval of previously learned material;

application to new contexts

formative quizzing;targeted online feedback

and support

Enhancing learning: insight through

structured interaction

dialogical learning and collaborative research and

report writing tasks

wiki /blog spaces online peer, assessment

and review

Transforming learning: student-led teaching

and discovery

Student-led content creation;

problem-based learning

resource hubwiki / blog problem

solving space

Illustrative Activities TEL support

Towards user-led education

Enabling learning Enhancing learning Transformative learning

Active Learning and Engagement

Increasing flexibilityand access to learning

Nomadic & situated (context aware) learning

Facilitating discussion and peer support

Student-authored teaching resources

Student-led learning through collaboration & communities of inquiry

Extending range of learning opportunities

Enabling learning though interleaved practice

Python programming: Professional Skills (core 1st Year Physics module)– Curation of open courseware

videos to support differentiated levels of programming activity

– Enabling formative activitiesin lab sessions

http://tinyurl.com/programming-practice

Enabling learning though interleaved practice

Phonetics and Phonology: core 1st year module– Practice tests based on

randomised selection of question bank items

– Enabling students to identify IPA sounds and relate them to IPA symbols

– Formative tests providing feedback to instructor on student progress

http://tinyurl.com/Phonetics-case

Enhancing learning though structured interaction & collaborative writing

Core Knowledge, Values & Engagement Skills: 2nd year pre-registration nursing– Group research and

collaborative report writing for students on work placements

http://tinyurl.com/structured-collaboration

Enhancing learning though structured interaction & collaborative writing

Dialogical design based on creation of feedback interactions between tutors and individual students

Transforming learning through student-led teaching and discussion

Evolutionary Ecology:3rd year module– Collaborative summaries of

research literature forming ‘online textbook’

http://tinyurl.com/student-led-teaching

Transforming learning through student-created content

Heritage Practice: Archaeology module– Communicating research

through video production and blogging

http://tinyurl.com/student-videos-blogging

Reconceptualising our use of

technology in support of active

learning

Cont

ent P

rodu

ction Course-level wiki

Social media

Student-created videos and blogs

Structured Peer Interaction

Group wikis and blogs

Google docs Discussion boards

Peer assessment tools

Stud

ent <

> Tu

tor C

onta

ct

In-class polling (ResponseWare)

Webinars (Collaborate)

Interleaved Practice

Question banks

Open courseware videos

Google Sites

At-desk recordings

and online tests

ACTIVE LEARNING

Enabling staff engagement with technology

Programme-level thinking Focus on supporting active

learning through use of TEL tools Approaches, case studies and

advice on choosing the right tool for a learning activity: – York TEL Handbook:

bit.ly/ytelhb

bit.ly/ytelhb

Questions?