What’s new in Teaching with Technology Seminar, 28 August 2008 Stephen Marquard Centre for Educational Technology

What’s new (August 08) Vula Blogs Questions and Answers (Q&A) LAMS: Learning Activity Management System

How to add the new tools Site Setup / Edit Tools (course and project sites)

Blogs Overview What is it? A blog tool that allows participants to create blogs or journals within a site. Use it to … Create a sense of community Record learning experiences in reflective journals What are the alternatives? Forums (topic-focused rather than blogger-centric) blogs.uct.ac.za UCT blogspot (public blogging, UCT-wide community) Any other Internet blogging platform (public blogging, global community)

Blogs Strengths Very simple! No registration, easy to get started. Keeps site-related blogs in one place Postings can be private, site or public Configurable permissions Allows comments Don’t have to worry about blog spam Weaknesses Single layout (no templates or customization) Just a blog (not as capable as dedicated blog sites)

Blogs home page

Blogging

A blog post

Q&A Overview What is it? A tool for asking, answering and managing questions. Use it to … Allow students to ask questions anonymously Respond quickly and efficiently to student questions Find out what questions concern students the most Create a knowledge base through managing a set of frequently asked questions What are the alternatives? Forums (less structured, fewer workflow options) (no benefits for other participants) Wiki (more setup required, fewer workflow options)

Why questions? Many students ask the same question Students will ask a question online which they wouldn’t or couldn’t ask face-to-face Students may ask a question differently (or at all) if they can ask it anonymously Students answer each other’s questions The student questions and answers provide a window into student thought processes, their difficulties, confusions, misconceptions and successes. Questions and answers provide academic support, peer support, and diagnostic insights.

Q&A supports different workflows Expert: Student asks question > lecturer or tutor responds publicly (in the site) and/or privately (by ) Collaborative: Student asks question > peers respond > lecturer or tutor may also provide or nominate a definitive answer Questions may be moderated, i.e. only become visible in the site once reviewed Site members may be allowed to ask questions anonymously Q&A works equally well in project sites

Student view of questions

Viewing a question

Choose the behaviour you want through Permissions and Options

LAMS Overview What is it? An environment for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities. Use it to … Set up structured sequences of activities which students work through in a scaffolded way. Create tutorials or activities where students interact with each other Track student progress through a set of defined tasks Create activities for students which provide different pathways according to the student’s level of knowledge What are the alternatives? Structure activities using the Vula tools, linked together using the Wiki or web pages (harder to create, less scaffolding and feedback)

LAMS (Learning Activity Management System) Define a sequence of activities (like a flowchart) through which students progress. Applications include tutorial activities or simulation games. Piloted in Inkundla yeHlabathi - World Forum Online (PBL2001H) More info at “LAMS is a revolutionary new tool for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities”

A simple LAMS sequence

LAMS caveats Needs a recent version of Flash Relatively new and complex: responses to help queries about LAMS may be within days rather than hours. Data from LAMS is not available inside Vula tools (e.g. Assignments or Gradebook) Check with the Vula team first before using LAMS for high-stakes assessment (tests, exams) or large groups of students