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Enhancing Student Learning: Providing Recordings of Chemistry Teaching –
a HEA project
Neil Berry29/6/11
Outline• Introduction
Background
Influences and context
Benefits
• Experiences
Four years in chemistry department
• Practical aspects
Hardware, Software, Time, Effort
• HEA project
• Staff Reactions
• Student Feedback & Statistics
• Conclusions
• Future work
• Acknowledgements
2
Introduction - Background
• Last four years lectures recorded in Chemistry
• Initiated through my own interest
• Video (“on-screen” activity – PowerPoint, animations, web pages etc.) and/or Audio
• Recordings mounted on VLE
• Initial idea
Supplementary to “traditional” lecture to aid learning
• Not lecture replacement
Students miss opportunity for interaction and feedback
3
Introduction – Influences and Context• Student diversity
Different students learn in different ways (reading, writing, hearing, doing etc.)
English not first language
• Students engagement – increase variety of stimuli
Maximise chances of engaging students => Increase retention rates
• Students – generation Y
Generally technologically savvy
Desire to be connected 24/7
Desire for face to face AND online contact with students and staff
See no difficulty in surfing between media
• Students - learner entitlement
Enhance equity between students (audio/visual impairments)
Platform independent (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)
4
Introduction – Benefits
• Benefits for staff AND students
• Students
Increase student engagement (individual/group) especially outside “contact hours”
Promoting personalisation of learning
Support for flexibility of learning in a diverse student body
Encouragement of active learning on the part of the student
Support student progression
Improved contact between student and staff
Promote lifelong learning
• Staff
Higher levels of student engagement
Increased rates of student progression
Provision of recordings such will also improve the attractiveness of programmes
5
Introduction - Background
• Last four years of lectures recorded
Range of years (1-4) and courses (chemistry and subsidiary subjects)
• Video (“on-screen” activity – PowerPoint, animations, web pages etc.) and/or
Audio
• Recordings mounted on VLE
• Recordings in format which can be downloaded/played on variety of platforms
Windows computers (Realplayer, Quicktime etc.)
Portable media players (iPod, iPhone etc.)
Windows/Macintosh/Linux computers• Initial idea
Supplementary to “traditional” lecture to aid learning
Aid to student learning if student misses lecture
• Not lecture replacement
Students miss opportunity for questions and feedback
6
7
Examples
• VITAL • iPhone
Practical AspectsHardware
• University lecture theatres equipped with capable Windows MWS PC
• Microphone required, e.g. webcam (~£10)
• VLE capable to store and stream content
Software
• Screen and audio capture – DebutVideo Capture (Free) (Mac – Quicktime)
• Format conversion – ffdshow codec (Free, Opensource)
Time/Effort
• Set up – <2 minutes
• Capture – length of teaching session
• Uploading to VLE – couple of mouse clicks (<2 minutes)
Quick, Easy and Cheap
8
• Call for proposals 2 years ago
• Enhancing learning and teaching through the use of technology: a revised approach to HEFCE's strategy for e-learning
• HEFCE funding for 24 discipline-focused ‘Enhancement Academy’ style projects, organised in 2 rounds
• “Middle out” rather than “top down” change management
• Project supported via series of events and advice
9
Discipline-focussed Learning Technology Enhancement Academy
Project
• Use technology to enhance student learning and teaching
• Provision of audio and video recordings of teaching sessions
Scale of change
• Aim to have 10 academics within chemistry providing recordings by end of
project
• Across a range of disciplines and year groups
Project Deliverables
• Implementation plan for technology-enhanced approach to teaching and
learning
• Plans for both staff and infrastructure
• Reports
Discipline-focussed Learning Technology Enhancement Academy
10
Team Members
Dr Neil Berry Academic, Chemistry Department
Dr Nick Greeves Academic, Chemistry Department
Dr Helen Aspinall Academic, Chemistry Department
Nick Bunyan Learning Technology Developer
Kirsty Barnes Recent graduate of Liverpool Chemistry
Paul Chin HEA Physical Sciences Subject Centre
Michael Bradford Critical Friend (former PVC T&L Manchester, Geography)
Essentially a change management challenge
– shaped and implemented by team
Discipline-focussed Learning Technology Enhancement Academy
11
12
Discipline-focussed Learning Technology Enhancement Academy
Achievements
• Computer purchase
• Staff informed – email, staff meeting
• Awareness heightened – T&L committee, staff meeting, informally
• “Training”, documentation and follow ups
• Through ups and downs over 12 month period – AV infrastructure, central
timetable
• 12 Colleagues now recording lectures routinely – easy to do
• >25 modules
• >100 lectures
• Across all areas of chemistry and years groups
Staff Reactions
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Chem130 2009-10 Attendance
Series1Series2
13
Similar story across range of modules
• Initial staff reactions – mainly positive, occasional concern
• Concern – Attendance
• Concern - recording being used as “evidence”
Any difference to errors in handouts, or errors made by student notes?
Student Feedback
Anonymous VLE Feedback
• No specific questions about the recordings
• “Things liked about the module” – free text answer
“Audio files on VITAL”
“Online video and audio support provided extremely valuable support in
revision for exams especially as learning abilities demanded different forms of
media.”
“Recorded lectures helped if you missed something“
14
“The lecture screencasts are brilliant, thanks!” 3rd year student – Organic Chemistry (distance learner)
“Just to let you know that I have been using your screencasts and find them really useful.” 3rd year student – Organic Chemistry (distance learner)
“One word. Brilliant!” 3rd year student – Organic Chemistry (distance learner)
Student FeedbackEmail feedback
“I just thought I'd let you know that your recorded lecture really helped me today!”3rd year student – Chemical Databases
“I've just put lecture 1 on my phone … it's brilliant! Do you think the other lecturers will follow suit? It would help us all immensely.” 3rd year student – Organic Chemistry (distance learner)
16
Student FeedbackFocus Group and Staff Student Liaison Committee
• Extremely positive
• Across all modules and year groups – large proportion of students use recordings
• Revision
• Revisiting portion of lecture Found challenging
Lecturer going too quickly
Further annotate notes
• Like “Skip” to appropriate portion of lecture
Turn volume up
Particularly valued by distance learning students
• Generally accessed on laptop/desktop
• Students did not want recordings to replace lectures – miss opportunity for interaction
(staff and students) and feedback
• Students want more of it
Course start
Student StatisticsVITAL Statistics
• CHEM012 – Organic Chemistry for Biological Sciences
• Weeks 7-12 Second semester
• 6 lectures recorded
• ~150 1st year non-chemistry students
• 1285 hits
Start of summer term1st recorded lecture Easter
Examination
17
Student StatisticsVITAL Statistics
• Wide variety in times of access
• Wide variety in day of access
Þ Flexibility and personalisation of learning(?)
18
Student StatisticsVITAL Statistics
• CHEM170 – Introductory Spectroscopy
• Weeks 1-10 Second semester
• 5 lectures recorded
• ~90 1st year chemistry students
• 495 hits
Course start & 1st recorded lecture Easter
Start of summer term
Examination
End of recorded lectures
19
Student StatisticsVITAL Statistics
• CHEM385 – Chemical Databases
• Weeks 1-6 First semester
• 5 lectures recorded
• ~50 3rd year chemistry students
• 347 hits
Course start & 1st recorded lecture
2nd Semester
End 2nd Semester
1st Report
2nd Report
• Resource used “inside” module
AND “outside” module
End of recorded lectures
20
Conclusions
• No reason not to record lectures and make them available to students
• Provision of recordings has many benefits for both students and staff
• Quick, easy and cheap to achieve
• Students use it, like it and find it useful
21
• Spread wider in School of Physical Sciences
• New Central Teaching Laboratory and Science Lecture block
• Technology to capture other lecture components, e.g. overhead projector
• Change what “lecture time” is used for (workshops, tutorials etc.)?
Future Directions
Acknowledgements
Dr Nick Greeves Academic, Chemistry Department
Dr Helen Aspinall Academic, Chemistry Department
Nick Bunyan Learning Technology Developer
Kirsty Barnes Recent graduate of Liverpool Chemistry
Paul Chin HEA Physical Sciences Subject Centre
Michael Bradford Critical Friend (former PVC T&L Manchester, Geography)
Colleagues now lecture recording
Software
Debut Screen Capture Quicktime
ffdshow
22
ReferencesBologna http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/
Dearing http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/bologna/bologna.pdf
HEFCE http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2009/elearn.htm
JISC e-learning http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/elearning/programmeelearning.aspx
Institutional audit 2004 http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/reports/institutional/liverpool2004/RG049Liverpool.pdf
Learning styles http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/learning_styles.shtml
Vice chancellor priorities http://www.liv.ac.uk/staff/strategies_policies/strategic-plan.pdf
University e-learning policy https://www.liv.ac.uk/staff/strategies_policies/e-learning-policy-november-2008.doc
Blended learning http://amps-tools.mit.edu/tomprofblog/archives/2008/11/904_the_future.html#more
Institutional audit http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/reports/institutional/liverpool2004/RG049Liverpool.pdf
E-learning and retention rates http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/case-studies/tangible http://www.echo360.com
Generation Y Redmond, P. “Talkin’ ‘bout my generation” Generation Theory and the brave new world of the ‘Yers’,
University of Liverpool Careers and Employability Service, 2007.
ffdshow http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/
Debut Screen Capture http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html
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