An Experience Report from the Use of Digital Repositories in Building a New Module Simon McGinnes Trinity College Dublin

Outline Construction of a new undergraduate module Findings Suggestions

INTRODUCTION

New Module Topic – Systems Analysis and Design Context – Evening degree programme in Information Systems (business IT) Students – Mature professionals

Systems Analysis and Design AreaA. Knowledge (passive)B. Skills (active) Introduction and context Definition of a systemIdentifying and describing a real system Definition of analysisAnalysing a real system Definition of designDesigning a system for some purpose Role of analyst and designer and purpose of work Explaining what analysts and designers do and why Analysis of information structures Entity-relationship (E-R) diagram notation/conventions Drawing an E-R diagram for a real system How to identify entities, attributes and relationships Working with one or more end users to identify entities, attributes and relationships Quality criteria for E-R diagramsAssessing the quality of an E-R diagram Analysis of business processes UML activity diagram notation and conventions Drawing an activity diagram for a real business process How to identify activities, decisions and other constructs Working with one or more end users to identify activities, decisions and other constructs Quality criteria for UML activity diagramsAssessing the quality of a UML activity diagram Integration of analyses How E-R diagrams and UML activity diagrams are related Cross-checking between E-R and UML activity diagrams Design of information systems How database structures are derived from the diagrams Designing a database How program structures are derived from the diagrams Designing a program How database and program structures are related Ensuring that database and program designs are compatible Quality criteria for system designsAssessing the quality of a system design

Why Re-Use? Creating new teaching materials “is very resource intensive with respect to time and money” (Bunschkowski et al., 2004).

What Makes A Resource Reusable? Littlejohn et al. (2008) – Comprehensive list of factors Two key requirements – Materials should be easily repurposed – Materials should be reusable in different educational models

Resources Located from various English-language sources Many formats – Microsoft PowerPoint, Word – PDF files – Web pages (html) – Images – Audio, video

End Result

FINDINGS

Extent of Reuse No reuse of whole documents Much reuse of fragments, with modification “Collage” approach Saved time? Improved quality?

Barriers Using many sources Usability issues Navigating via related categories

Contextual Fit Implicit assumptions about context of learning Reusable resource must meet many criteria – Appropriate subject matter – Fit in with rest of syllabus – Suitable for student – Right “voice” – Acceptable visual style – Implicit teaching methods – Usable format

Implicit Assumptions About Teaching Methods Didactic style – Metaphor: transmission of information Little evidence of active teaching methods – e.g. problem-based and case-based learning Unsuitable in a practice-orientated course

Learning Objects? Ill-defined concept – In practice almost any digital resource can be considered a learning object Granularity issue Need for re-purposing (modification, recombination) Standard formats? – Compatibility, ease of modification/selective use

TWO SUGGESTIONS

Reuse vs Theories of Learning Theory: Learning is concerned with … Finding suitable reusable materials is … Accumulation of facts; knowledge (Type I) Goal: Essay-writing Easy Acquisition of know-how; practical skills (Type II) Goal: Practice More difficult Development of integrated capabilities; using skills and knowledge together (Type III) Goal: Mastery Very difficult

1. Unit of Reuse = Learning Activity Activity, not object! The activity provides a context – It has goals, methods, content, style, platform, etc. Materials then naturally fit their context Construct courses from learning activities

Repositories vs Search Engine RepositoriesSearch engine Restricted access (“walled garden”)Open Must tag each item manually with metadata Automatically uses content and context to index items Only vetted objects allowedAny content allowed Repository manager judges quality at input stage User judges quality at retrieval stage Multiple user interfaces to understand/learn Single user interface to understand/learn Variable usability/design qualityHighly usable

2. Repository as Index Repository ≠ place to store resources Repository = specialised indexing service for a particular type of content – Think “Google Scholar” (Google Learning Materials?) Key characteristics – Open; any content allowed – Automated rather than manual indexing – User judges quality at retrieval stage

An Experience Report from the Use of Digital Repositories in Building a New Module Simon McGinnes Trinity College Dublin