Developing online activities for postgraduate students in computing Centre for Open Learning of Mathematics, Science, Computing and Technology (COLMSCT) Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC ), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC ). Judith Jeffcoate Associate Teaching Fellow COLMSCT

2 Background This project focuses on support for postgraduate students taking OU computing courses M883 Software Requirements for Business Systems –Presented twice a year (May and November) –Printed and online materials via a VLE (Moodle) –Limited tutorial support via three assignments Outcomes include: “understand the state-of-the-art in requirements engineering, leading to a deep and systematic understanding of the subject area” Achieved “through the use of books, reference papers (e.g. conference and journal publications) and other audio/visual media ”

3 Project structure Step 1 Survey of tutorial group from Nov 06 presentation Step 2 Pilot study with volunteers on May 07 presentation Step 3 Full study open to all on May 08 presentation Analysis of findings Analysis of findings Evaluation

4 Survey: online tools Students were asked to consider how useful five online tools were for ten different tasks They preferred certain tools to carry out specific tasks

5 Survey: examples (1) How useful do you think each of the online tools might be in helping you to complete this task?

6 Survey: requirements Students were asked to identify up to three requirements for online activities Responses analysed using NVivo

7 Survey: examples (2) Task (description) –“A clear ‘framework for use’ is circulated prior to the exercise” –“The criteria for completion of the tasks should be clearly stated” Group (identification of others) –“Ability to easily see who wrote what and when (depends on nature of activity)” Individual (learning) –“Online activities should back up what I’ve learned from reading the course materials” System (usability) –“Easy and reliable means of creating and editing contributions”

8 Pilot study Group of volunteers from May 07 presentation –Six students (3 male and 3 female) –Undertook to take part in one or more activities and provide feedback Separate VLE space provided, access limited to volunteers and researcher Five activities 1.Introductions (General Forum) 2.Evaluating a paper (Wiki) 3.Writing a critical summary (Q & A Forum) 4.Comparing styles – two extracts (Wiki) 5.How to criticise – three papers (Q & A Forum)

9 Summary of activities Number of student activities logged by VLE between 12 June and 9 October 07 StudentActivePassiveTotalActive % A C H K M R Active = add, delete, update, edit Passive = view

10 VLE log: example Original includes links to relevant forum and wiki pages

11 Example: activity Activity 3: Writing a critical summary 1.What is the main question addressed in this paper? Is this question important? If so, why? 2.What is the significance of the findings in this paper for requirements engineering? 3.Do the findings help explain the phenomenon under study and make predictions about it? 4.Are the findings only true for the particular example(s) studied? Or is there reason to believe they will apply in other cases? 5.Does this paper provide a significant contribution to the subject area?

12 Example: interactions Figures in circles are the number of active contributions to the discussion on a given day

13 Examples: extracts Comments on Activity 3 “I swore I would not just paraphrase the paper but, in Q3, I think I just have.” (A) “Well I've had a go, and yes, it would probably have been better to do questions 1 and 2 first!” (M) “Wish i'd answered them in order and read them through first to make sure they flowed into a complete critique. Also found it hard to evaluate with respect to the subject area when my knowledge of it is so limited.” (K)

14 Conclusions and future plans Volunteers found activities helpful in preparing for assignments and exams Requirements –Ease of use –Ability to see who wrote what and when Preferred three or four activities over course lifetime, using discussion forums Stage 3: three optional activities in May 08 presentation Evaluation –Examination of VLE logs –Telephone interviews