designs for learning in vles: insider perspectives tutors designs and creations in their vle areas....

Designs for learning in VLEs:

insider perspectives

Tutors’ designs Tutors’ designs and creations in and creations in their VLE areas.their VLE areas.

Mira Vogel and Martin Oliver

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[email protected], 10/04/23 2

Background

Designing for Learning

• Effortful, involving» Creative thinking

» Investment of time in- Awareness, skills

- VLE elements

- Developing sequences and testing

• Tacit, diverse, complex

• Rarely explicitly represented

• So what are we doing?

VLEs• Most institutions have a

VLE» Catalyst of open source

• Mostly used to serve files» Easy, worthwhile

» Information not education?

• Powerful, but with hurdles» Privilege text and files

» Hinder forming connections

» Design becomes more important than ever


10 UK institutions• HE• FE• ACL

Focus on 3 VLEs• Moodle (6)• Blackboard (2)• WebCT (2)

Background: scope and focus

support

The institutions

learning

teaching

VLE


Background: focus and scope

support

The institutions

learning

teaching

VLE

The crux of the remit lies here - the overlap between the VLE and teaching. But…



support

The institutions

learning

teaching

VLE

• Learners’ experiences with the VLE

• History of the VLE in each institution

• Support for the VLE and its users

We also decided to explore context:



support

The institutions

learning

teaching

VLE

… and outcomes

• Learners experiences with the designs in practice


The project can only touch on:• Infrastructure• Learning

outside the VLE• ICT skills• Individual

differences of approach

Background: scope and focus

support

The institutions

learning

teaching

VLE


Study design – mixed methods

Activity

Background

Identify and recruit Moodle users

Organise contacts

Collect preliminary data

Analyse preliminary dataObservations

Plan

Observe tutors and students

Write up fieldnotes and transcribe

Analyse

Generate focus group questionsFocus group interviews

Organise participants across roles

Plan

Carry out

Transcribe recordings

AnalyseDeliverables

Monthly reports

Interim report

Write up case studies

Final report and recommendations

Participant feedback sought

Participant feedback integrated

Float / annual leave

low level activity

high level activity

critical path

JanuaryDecemberNovemberSeptember October

Key

May June July August

1. Interview primary contacts

2. Tutor questionnaires

3. Generate questions

4. Site visits – observation, interview, focus group

5. Report and recommendations


Learning design and teaching don’t necessarily fit round research projects

> Hiya>> Progress is a little slow - what's the> latest you can come down to fit in> with your schedule. I certainly > expect to be using my materials > after 1/2 term e.g. November> > Will look at the questionnaire soon, > I promise

(Tutor, Down’s College)


Findings: learning technology contacts

Findings from the E-learning Contactinterviews

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1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Bay College (M) None None None None None Oct JanCliff College (Bb) ? ? Intranet SummerDowns College (M) ? Intranet Intranet Intranet Intranet SummerForest College (M) ? ? ? ? WCT WCTHill College (M) ? ? ? Intranet Intranet Intranet May JanIsland College (WCT) ?M Lake University (M) ? ? ? WCT/LE/intranetWCT/LE/intranetWCT/LE/intranetJan SepRiver University (WCT) ?Upland University (Bb) ? WCTValley College (M) ? ? other VLE other VLE other VLE Summer

Pilot Adoption

WebCT

Bb

Moodle

Mid-year

Key

How and why the VLE was chosen (1)

Most VLE swappers were former WebCT users – price rise?


Bay College (M) price flexibility usability faith pedagogy support_community

Cliff College (Bb) sharing communication usability neighboursDowns College (M) exploring usability features support_communityForest College (M) price review_systematicHill College (M) price flexibility usability pedagogy response_tutor cultural_issuesIsland College (WCT) review_systematic price reputation neighboursLake University (M) creep price exploring demonstration usability flexibility pedagogyRiver University (WCT) demonstration expansionUpland University (Bb) review_systematic features usabilityValley College (M) end_of_contract review_ongoing exploring review_systematic usability response_tutor support_expert

Order mentioned

How and why the VLE was chosen, in order mentioned

Usability the most frequently cited reason (2 Bb, 5 M)…

…followed by Price (4 M, 1 WCT)…

…and Community (2 M, 1 Bb, 1 WCT)


How and why the VLE was chosen (2) -interim use, a theme in Moodle

Elaborate licensing agreements and convoluted tendering for commercial VLEs gave Moodle a foothold:

“…came out of the closet

spectacularly”… (Valley Coll e-

learning contact)

“Buy-in was fortuitous… I ran upstairs to the directorate and said we’d come up with some

open source software and why didn’t we use it in the meantime…“ (Lake Uni e-

learning contact)


Bay College (M) inertia fundingCliff College (Bb) other_VLEs content_developmtDowns College (M) job_existence funding harmonise_neighb software_patentsForest College (M) funding job_existence inertia network_capacity supportHill College (M) funding job_existence inertia misuse cultureIsland College (WCT) fundingLake University (M) misuse bad_precedentsRiver University (WCT) legal_obligations tutor_threatenedUpland University (Bb) job_existence rising_numbers outsourcingValley College (M) funding bad_precedents strategy_ratificatn approach_top_down VLE_limitations

Order mentioned

Threats to the VLE

Funding (5 M and 1 WCT)

Existence of job role (2 M and 1 Bb)

Inertia (3 M)


Bay College (M) distance interoperabilityCliff College (Bb) full_use embedding good_contentDowns College (M) interactivity communities broaden_particip distance embeddingForest College (M) embeddingHill College (M) expansion communities distance new_practiceIsland College (WCT) new_practiceLake University (M) new_practice communication distanceRiver University (WCT) new_practiceUpland University (Bb) expansionValley College (M) expansion communities staff_developmt strategy_implement

Order mentioned

Opportunities with the VLE

New practice (2 M, 2 WCT)

Distance learning (4 M)

Communities (4 M)


E-Learning Contact interviews - summary

• About 68 separate factors were coded for choice and use of VLE

• What proportion of factors directly relate to designing for learning?» 2 categories: organisational (institutional, technical,

administrative) and educational » 40 Organisational, 26 Educational

• Might we expect this to divert attention from designing for learning?

• Is this a perspective particular to E-Learning Coordinator roles?» Or could it be the questions we asked?


Findings: learning technology contacts

Findings from the Tutor Questionnaires:background


Tutor questionnaires

• Based on LAMS evaluation instrument• Released as 3 separate questionnaires

» 1. June - early course background» 2. September – design & development experiences» 3. November? – running the course

• Questionnaire completed over the web» In-house

• 16 tutors (9 institutions)» After 3 reminders» A Levels, NVQ Levels 2-4, HNDs, BA/Sc/Mus» Art, Computing, Motor Vehicle, Beauty, Radiography, ESOL,

Music, Media and Coms, Care and others


Questionnaire 1: Aims in using the VLE

• Checkbox question• Most prevalent:

1. Repository 2. Motivate or

engage2. Individualisation4. Collaboration

• Free-text field - nothing specific

For what purpose(s) have you chosen to use the VLE to support this particular module / course?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Mot

ivate

/ en

gage

Partic

ipat

e in

disc

ussio

n

Collab

orat

e

Differ

ent a

bilitie

s

Help

mor

e stu

dent

s

Distan

ce le

arnin

g

Part-t

ime

learn

ers

Repos

itory

Form

ative

ass

essm

ent

Purpose

Num

ber

of m

entio

ns


Questionnaire 1: location of VLE-based activities

Do you anticipate learners doing most of their VLE-based activities in the classroom or a

distance learning location?

Classroom, 1

Distance, 8

Both, 7

Almost all use the VLE between contact sessions.

Half use it during contact sessions – where the design may be harder to identify


Questionnaire 2 (interim findings) – match between personal approach and the VLE

A good match between tutors’ personal approaches and the VLE’s affordances

2.6 How well has the VLE complemented your personal approach to designing and creating for this course/module (n=7)

3

4

0

0

Very w ell

Quite w ell

Not very w ell

Not at all


Questionnaire 2 (interim findings) – VLE features used by tutors

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Total / 7

File upload 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Linking 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Tutor elements 1 1 2

Learner elements 1 1

Chat L-to-L 1 1 1 3

Forum L-to-L 1 1 1 1 4

Chat L-to-T 1 1 2

Forum L-to-T 1 1 1 1 1 1 6

Self test 1 1 1 1 1 5

Assignments 1 1 1 1 4

Groups 1 1 1 1 1 5

Selective release 1 1 1 1 1 5

Total / 12 12 8 7 2 7 8 7

Tutors

VLE

asp

ects

High take-up of•Content

presentation•Forums•Groups•Self-test•Selective release

Not muchcreation ofcontent in VLE


Next stages of the study

Interviews, observations and

focus groups – tutors andlearners

3rd Tutor questionnaire (the VLE in practice)


Ideas for tutor interview questions

1. With a visual representation of the VLE course area, ask tutors to add in other teaching and learning activities taking placeoutside the VLE. » Ask them to make explicit the links between the different

elements. Ask them to explain the interactions between elements2. How did they teach that course/session before the VLE?3. How would they teach it if the VLE were taken away?4. If time and skills weren't an issue, are there any changes or

additions you'd like to make?5. Think of one aspect of the course involving the VLE which

went well:» What was your rationale in designing it (and designing it for

online use)?» What thought processes and activities did you go through during

the design, development and release?» Why do you think it is working so well? What might you change?

6. As above, but for an aspect which didn't work well/could have worked better.


Ideas for student focus group questions

1. What were their responses when they looked at the course area for the first time?

2. How have they found the experience of using it?1. Identify some difficult parts of the curriculum, and discuss their

experiences with the VLE

3. What is the learner perspective on the parts of the VLE raised in the tutor interview as working well and not well• Try to identify their awareness of the designs and intentions of

their tutor• Do they have any suggestions?

4. How has the VLE learning fitted in with other types of learning for the course?

5. What are the most valuable aspects of the VLE for them?


Summary - key points to take forward to the next stages of the study

• Designs may be hidden» Because of the way VLEs invite tutors to represent courses

• We need to look for design in:» Individual course elements – concrete and viewable» The connections between course elements – asking tutors

• Tutors report that the VLE complements their personal approaches to designing for learning

• Where VLEs are being used face-to-face » Observation will be crucial in identifying designs

• Much of the design may be hidden, tacit, or evidenced by the tutors’ instructions


Questions for JISC online event 30 Sep - 7 Oct 2005

1. If we want to identify designs for learning, what might we look for, or what questions might we ask tutors, students and support staff • where the VLE is intended for use during face-to-face

sessions?• where the VLE is intended for use between face-to-face

sessions?

2. How might recommendations about this concept of “designing for learning” best be presented?• Eg talking head account, list of ingredients, decision tree,

others?…

Your input would be welcome – it will help me to finalise my interview questions.

designs for learning in vles: insider perspectives tutors designs and creations in their vle areas....

Documents

teaching vle slide

background slide

wct slide

vle swappers

vle history

vle funding

location of vle

vle areas