1. Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning
Alastair Gemmill
@alggregator
Technology Enhanced Learning Advisor
Brunel Educational Excellence Centre
Brunel University London

2. Poll:
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

3. The aim of this project is:
To help students cope with stress and transition successfully to university life.
Starting university described as ‘transformational’.
Key is ‘developing autonomy and independent study’
Kandiko, C. B. & Mawer, M. (2013).
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

4. What is mindfulness?
“Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them - without believing, for instance, that there's a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment.” (Greater Good, 2017)
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

5. Initial strategies employed in VLE Pilot
VLE-based – only using VLE tools
Restricted access to 700 selected 1st year students
Divide content into sections
Choice of learning path (although presented in linear way)
Acknowledge key information and consent – released material
“No personal data tracking or monitoring”
Pilot review after 1 year and re-build
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

6. VLE Site (Blackboard Learn)
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

7. Technical content Talking head videos
Self assessment – MCQ, could not find an ideal tool (responses to questions)
Splitting up long text for more bite-sized delivery
Blackboard App – limitations in content delivery / consistent delivery between desktop and PC
Curating questions
Sections: How big? How small? How long?
How such content can be delivered in a digital and self-directed way?
Will students do the activities? Is this important?
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

8. Will everyone do it? Does everyone need to do it?
Challenges in VLE
13 November 2018
Content
Formatting text, colours, and giving it a look and feel – took lots of time (much quicker in Sway)
External sources: e.g. free mindfulness apps do things better (see what else is out there)
Designing user response-related feedback – was difficult (still searching for good solution)
Blackboard ‘Test’ tool – not 100% suitable. Heavy work with testing. No ‘right’ answers – weighting responses using ‘points’
User challenges
What is this? How do I do it? Why would I want to do this? What is my motivation?
Will everyone do it? Does everyone need to do it?
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

9. Pilot Project [in numbers]
13 November 2018
The initial pilot project was designed solely in the VLE, and the level of interaction from students accessing was…
764 students had access, 543 never accessed the site (77%)
of the 157 (23% of total) that accessed:
15 accepted the terms and confirmed they had read the participant information & informed consent (10% of those that accessed, 2% of total) which was a requirement of the ethical approval
Of the 15 that started the course:
10 interacted with section 1
3 interacted with section 3
2 interacted with section 4
only 2 appeared to access all of it (less than a quarter of 1%)
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

10. Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

11. Re-built a more mobile friendly site (Microsoft Sway)
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

12. Links to re-designed sections
Help | goo.gl/Anwj3d Introduction | goo.gl/h6jrmK Coping and Stress | goo.gl/bg7BGg Emotional Resilience | goo.gl/2VJhnK Growth Mindsets | goo.gl/SQFa3B Mindfulness 1 | goo.gl/LfP9bJ Mindfulness 2 | goo.gl/Ww4rUZ
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

13. Poll:
Creating and cohering resources for a self-directed digital course on mindfulness for learning

14. References
Student home page access statistics by month Jun 2016 – May 2017
Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J. (1977). Human Behavior and Environment. 1st ed. Boston, MA: Springer US. Greater Good. (2017). Mindfulness Definition. [online] Available at: [Accessed 30 May 2017]. Kandiko, C. B. & Mawer, M. (2013). Student Expectations and Perceptions of Higher Education. London: King’s Learning Institute.
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