1. e-Learning in the Disciplines
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
e-Learning in the Disciplines
John Cook Centre Manager, Reusable Learning Objects CETL
Helen Beetham Research Consultant, JISC e-learning programme
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2. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Aims
Articulate the essential features of learning and teaching across different subject areas and educational approaches
curriculum outcomes, challenges, learner characteristics…
Relate these to features of different e-learning technologies and applications
to identify aspects of e-learning that may be of benefit to different communities
Encourage discussion (this Symposium) around:
differences between disciplines and educational approaches
similarities and what we can learn from each other
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3. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Two key commitments
e-learning is not a separate kind of learning
we need to re-articulate learning in a new technological context
People learn in a multitude of ways
different subject areas and educational approaches rely on different capacities-to-learn
different communities have evolved different cultures of learning and teaching
we need to recognise these differences, while learning from one another
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4. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Reflective tools
Download a reflective questionnaire
articulate educational priorities, outcomes and challenges
consider relevant e-learning technologies and applications
can be shared with your own and other communities
View examples of completed reflections
see summaries of previous ‘cognate’ group discussions
post your own completed reflection by ing it to
NB these materials are no longer hosted by the HE Academy but are separately available on the Design Studio
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5. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Useful questions
In an ALT-C Symposium, Pearce, Gulc et al. asked: Is subject difference a factor in the use and uptake of e- learning?
Put another way: What technologies and approaches are used in the different communities?
John: The above are useful questions. To be honest, before I started reading around this area I had gained some impressions from working with different subject areas that are represented in the CETL that I manage. Language seem to uses video a lot, science seem to like simulations, and so on.
Helen: I agree. When I worked with the Computers in Teaching Initiative centres (fore-runners of the current HEA Subject Centres) we were proud of an approach that focused on the discipline first, and the technology second. I think at the time this was probably unique and did help the UK get ahead in terms of developing useful materials and subject-based approaches. But there are risks – such as failing to share ideas, and the conservatism (small c) of existing learning and teaching cultures.
John: Hmm, how many of you remember the ‘not invented here syndrome’?
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6. Blinded by our paradigms?
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Blinded by our paradigms?
First ATM was located inside a bank and was available only during banking hours.
Real innovation did not occur until ATMs were placed outside the bank
John: We can sometimes get blinded by our paradigms! You know, it is easy to become entrenched and stick to the old ways of doing things. In HE we have resisted for centuries any attempts to do away with lectures! This despite the fact that there is little evidence that lectures promote learning. Because of this, people are unable to see the potential in new applications of technology
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7. Disciplinary patterns
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Disciplinary patterns
Academic tribes and territories (Becher and Trowler, 2001)
definitions of knowledge, disciplinary organisation
Teaching and learning regimes (Trowler and Cooper, 2002)
tacit knowledge, troublesome knowledge
... need to develop genuinely shared language
John: When I did start reading around the area, I found some of the above literature quite helpful. Academic tribes are providing definitions of knowledge and core concepts and academic territories are what we call the disciplines (Medicine, English, etc). Teaching and learning regimes have associated tacit knowledge; the ‘language of the priest hood’ as it were. If you do not understand the coded messages that a particular regime use to ‘worship’ a facet of the area, then you may not be able to succeed in that field. For example, in Computer Science if you are not in the know about what the ‘good’ conferences and journals are, then you may be held back at the next Research Assessment Exercise. To get around this, we need to develop an open, shared language so that a newcomer to an area can get a handle on what is being talked about. This goal of a genuinely shared language is easier said than done!
Helen: sometimes I think it is impossible! But our recent symposium made me feel more optimistic. Rather than a common language there may be ‘bridging’ concepts. For example the ideal of ‘deep’ rather than surface learning seems to have resonance across subjects, although how this is interpreted may differ. And when it comes to new, digital forms of knowledge and learning, there are common challenges such as equality of access, pressures on practitioner time, and the culture of rewarding research over teaching innovation.
John: Yes, at the recent Symposium I got the impression that different disciplinary groupings were, well different and proud of it … However, there was an openness to new ways of thinking about technology that I personally found invigorating.
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8. Disciplinary patterns of educational technology adoption
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Disciplinary patterns of educational technology adoption
“Discipline differences appeared to be potential barrier to the building of new communities of practice around educational technology, and there was a need to know more about how disciplinary factors are influencing the early adopters who form the core of our new communities.”
Carol Russell (2005, p. 64)
John: The above quote is by Carol Russell (2005), she is describing a study at University of New South Wales in Australia looking at disciplinary patterns of educational technology adoption. Russell goes on to suggest a conceptual model for understanding the above, based on a study with teachers in the University of New South Wales.
Helen: I found this model useful: I’ll just let you explain it.
John: Ta , deep breath …
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9. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Knowledge territories
soft
understanding
interpretation
processes
protocols
art theory
education
english literature
sociology
information management
law
history
applied
pure
biology
medicine
chemistry
John: The above slide is a a graphical representation of some of the concepts Russell goes on to talk about.
design
physics
engineering
products
techniques
maths
discoveries
explanations
based on Becher and Trowler (2001), taken from Russell’s ALT-C slides
hard
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10. Disciplinary patterns of educational technology adoption
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Disciplinary patterns of educational technology adoption
Note that the placing and configuration of the disciplines on the above model will vary between institutions
Where do technologies and approaches fit in? Russell found the following.
John: The next few slides summarise Russell’s findings.
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11. Common features of strategies for hard applied disciplines
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Common features of strategies for hard applied disciplines
External changes in profession/industry (industry and student context)
Technology now essential in gaining core discipline knowledge
Educational technology helps students learn
more engaging or flexible
John: Remember, hard-applied disciplines include Medicine and Design. In order to meet professional recognition, for example, many of these types of disciplines are using technology to help teach core discipline concepts. Can you think of examples if you are from a hard-applied discipline?
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12. Common features of strategies for soft applied disciplines
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Common features of strategies for soft applied disciplines
Professional knowledge being redefined
technology can help develop new skills
Technology for skills and information transfer
to free class time for developing core knowledge
John: Soft-applied disciplines include Education and Law. In these two areas it was found that e-learning was used on areas like skills development in order to free up class time for face-to-face development of core knowledge.
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13. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Common features of strategies for hard/soft pure disciplines
Technology can help students engage with core concepts
when staff time and resources are limited
Knowledge is created through research
Technology can help develop research skills
John: Hard-pure disciplines includes Maths and Physics. Russell found that Hard-pure disciplines tended not to use collaborative tools like discussion forums found in a VLE. Interestingly, in the previous Symposium we mentioned, discussion for Natural Sciences and Maths (the summary is provided in this theme’s resource area) noted that whilst other groups highlighted e- portfolios and other reflective technology as key tools, this group did not use such tools. Soft-pure includes English and Art. In line with Russell’s findings, the previous Symposium’s discussion for Humanities and the Arts valued communicating effectively using different modes of expression and also used Wikis to encourage shared knowledge building and active research.
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14. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Computers: what are they good for?
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15. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
The ‘new’ paradigm
Digital computer marked a paradigm shift
networked computer
mobile and wireless networks
But all learning involves ICT, broadly understood
all learning is potentially e-learning
Different technologies revolutionise different subject areas/approaches in different ways, at different moments in time
ICT is having major impact on learning organisations:
centralisation/unification of admin systems
differentiation of subject, department and individual needs
continuous or ‘whitewater’ change
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16. Narrative or representational uses
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Narrative or representational uses
ICT used to present information
Potential advantages include:
Multiple media
Rich media: video, audio, animation, simulation…
Hypermedia: multiple pathways
(Interactive and adaptive media)
Ubiquity and access
Learner control of production and distribution: file sharing, wikis…
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17. Communicative or social uses
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Communicative or social uses
ICT used for communication and to support collaboration
Potential advantages include:
Multiple media
Explicit nature of communication
Learner control of pace and timing
Recording, review, reflection
Ubiquity, access and sharing
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18. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Productive uses
ICT used to manipulate data or information
Potential advantages include:
Processing power – text, images, numbers, scenarios, gameplays etc
Automation of routine tasks – focus on higher order skills
Repetition and consistency
Discipline-specific uses
Enhanced skills for professional/research employment (e.g. using ‘authentic’ tools)
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19. Interactive or Adaptive uses
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Interactive or Adaptive uses
ICT used to adapt to, or return information based on, user input, e.g. computer games, simulations: also search engines, database-driven resources and services, assessment systems…
Potential advantages include:
Active engagement
Intrinsic feedback that is rapid and consistent
Powerful, time-saving information management
Low cost and risk simulations (compared with ‘real-world’ interactions)
Accessible and ubiquitous
Learner skills (relevant to professional/research employment)
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20. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Integrative uses
ICT used to integrate or manage learning
Potential advantages include:
Information relevant to learning can be efficiently organised, managed, captured, and presented for assessment/review
Time savings for teachers, learners and assessors
Reliability and transparency of information processes
Consistent identity or ‘brand’ for learners to relate to
Improved monitoring
Potential for learners to have greater control over their own learning, and records of learning
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21. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Classification based on Laurillard (1992/2002) Rethinking University Teaching
Narrative
Communicative
Productive
Adaptive/Interactive
(Integrative)
Could also think about uses of technology in terms of:
Access and accessibility
Differentiation
Learner control
Collaboration and sharing
ICT skills for professional/research practice
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22. JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Group work
In subject groups (NB you may find as many differences as likenesses!)
Focus on key curriculum outcomes: reflective question 2
Identify at least 3 outcomes (areas of skill, knowledge or understanding) that are characteristic of your subject communities
What new outcomes are emerging in response to new demands, including ICT?
Focus on key challenges facing your community: reflective questions 2-4
Identify at least 3 challenges (e.g. relating to learners, changing curricula etc) that are characteristic of your subject communities
What new challenges are emerging, including those arising from ICT?
(If time) identify any technologies, or uses of technology, that might help to address these outcomes and challenges
Facilitator to feed back to the plenary session (5 mins)
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23. Reporting back to your community
JISC: Planning and Evaluating Effective Practice
Reporting back to your community
Share reflective document
Communicate e-learning advantages in pedagogic rather than technical terms
Discuss how e-learning support can be integrated with other activities of the Subject Centre or CETL
Identify key priorities for e-learning support
Identify key projects and developments in e-learning that may be of benefit to the community
Identify gaps or biases in current e-learning developments that mean community needs are not being met
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