Wk3 Reflections - 007 or the Saint?

This week we explored Roger and Moores' theory of innovation and takeup of high technology products. Was Q from James Bond an 'innovator' or 'early adopter'?

The investigations into Rogers’ 5 innovation adopter types unearthed some interesting findings. Whilst it was accepted that you need to be very careful about labelling people into these categories some had strong feelings about the term ‘laggards’. This negative sounding type was used to describe the ‘lazy’ attitudes some people have when not wishing to engage with new innovative ideas. Not sure accurate this term fits with others but in my own experience it does describe some people’s lack of willingness to adopt something new.

Moore’s chasm theory questioned why some innovations do not fly. Lack of preparedness, inadequate support and through life funding was just a few reasons why some innovations do not bridge the gap between ‘early adopter’ and ‘early majority’ groups.

Do I find myself in a comfort zone?

That warm comfortable feeling of being able to cope with the new learning environment H807 offers might not be a reality for some! The first three weeks of studies have stretched my free time and most definitely has exercised my thought process. The diversity of people in our group had lead to some very interesting posts but sometimes I feel a little out of my depth in giving an intelligent response; is this due to the lack of time I allocate to deep thought or am I comfortable just sitting on the surface of a topic and not delving in too deep? Guess I need to put myself in the stretch zone some times to yield better collaborative results.

Instead of stating lessons learnt this week I have identified questions I wish to answer or learn more about in the coming weeks:

1. How can I generate more interest in my forum and blog posts to receive comments?

2. How should I engage with students from other H807 tutor groups to share thoughts and get references about JISC case studies to assist with TMA01?

3. Do we get more allocated study time to work on TMA01 before the deadline ie should I have written the report by now with little collaborations from other students?

If you are reading this post wondering why I might not have commented on your blog posts it’s probably because I am still getting to grips with learning how to tap into your blog sites using Google reader. Perhaps these skills could be explored as part of the H807 course syllabus so those who do previously have these skills are more comfortable using them or am I alone here?

Reflections on Wk2 Activities

Having struggled to get connectivity with my 3G internet service this week I found it difficult to access some of the H807 resources. I finally resulted in accessing the OU site from my work PC and printed off the text to read and scribbled on it separately before going back online to make a post. Do others find themselves using this method?

Although the initial task to comment about the concepts and themes of innovation was interesting and very engaging I found myself struggling to complete the next 2 activities. I dabbled last year using the OU blogging site and did not really take to the reflective writing piece and therefore did not venture any further with Blog Spaces.

Since some of this weeks activities has been taken away from the centralised forums to look and comment on other people blogs I have found it difficult to participate. Is it partly due to the de-centralisation of information work flow or is it my lack of knowledge in how to successfully follow other blog sites?

Not sure I have the answer to this question but I know I am feeling frustrated about the additional time I have spent above the allocated time I had set aside for these tasks. Judging from the lack of posts in some blogs I may not be alone here?

In an attempt to comment on a few sites I was confronted with the inability to post a comment due to not logging in as Blog user. Consequently I managed to create my own Blogger space but find myself having less time to learn more things and since I lead a busy life it is difficult to find extra time to study. I wonder if the H807 course team expects its ‘digital immigrant’ learners should previously possess blogging skills or even considered including a quick teaching session on blogging before engaging with this method to help deliver marks towards a summative assignment?

The cynical side of me suggests we will make the time if we want the results.

Lessons Learnt this week:

1. Plan a little extra time to deal with technical issues arising from access issues.

2. Perhaps read ahead to rush out get the skills to blog or check the crystal ball (I know this is a bit tongue and cheek but that’s my military sense of humour shining through).

Please feel free to comment on my end of week reflections.

Wk2 Act1 – Case Study 35. Use of e-portfolios to support nursing and midwifery, e-Portfolios

Aim

To develop a community of learners and later a community of practice of teachers.

Audience

Undergraduate students on nursing and midwifery programmes. Average age of the family friendly programme was 30 years.

Problem

E-portfolio scheme was introduced to support the need to evidence managed off-site study time activity to meet NMC requirements.

Solution

Use the e-portfolio system offered by PebblePad to support an initial cohort of learners.

Design

Sample webfolios were developed to give students example e-portfolios to work from these included suggested points to include hyperlinks to evidence.

Training

In the early stages tutors experience of using e-portfolio and collaborative tools was limited. Staff attended 2 hr training and was supported via a mentoring scheme. Students had 4 sessions programmed into the first 4 weeks of the course. Skills required were basic: work with e-portfolio templates, upload documents and create hyperlinks.

Method Delivery

Managed off-site activities were held in the module guide located on the VLE via Internet.

Benefits

When students were on clinical placements the e-portfolio managed to create a community of learners away from the confines of the university. Students were highly positive about the use of the e=portfolio to share experiences and gain feedback. Sharing ideas and group problem solving.

So what is innovative about this case study?

1. Enabled an electronic method to record off-site evidence gained from the practical experience gain in placements.

2. Provided a community of learning when dispersed; sharing views, keeping in tocuh, getting support and help peers and staff.

Wk2 Act1 – Case Study 30 – Use of Podcasting in Archaeology

Aim

Introduce the use of podcasts to enable students to see images of archaeological sites or objects with expert audio commentary.

Audience

Two cohorts each of 100+ students; year 1 undergraduates and MA students.

Problem

Many first year students have not visited the archaeological sites concerned and find it hard to visualise the topography of the spaces. Students previously relied on tutor showing images via powerpoint or posted on the web.

Solution

Lecturers would use their own images gathered from previous field projects. A trial was setup to initially support some of the studies of on-line material.

Design

Podcasts were created on field trips using separate devices, (hand held Olympus recorder for audio files and Canon powershot for images) and combined using Mac iMovie software. A 3 minute podcast takes approximately 60 minutes to produce from raw recordings.

Training

All material was prepared by the lecturer of the module. Creating materials using the Mac OS X software was fairly intuitive compared with Windows making it easier to experiment.

Method Delivery

There was no requirement for iPod or MP4 players to view as podcasts are linked from topic folders within Blackboard on university site. PCs required Quicktime. Podcasts could also be downloaded from iTunes or a commercial server to portable devices.

Benefits

Podcasts aimed to fill in the gaps of level 1 student’s lack of awareness in recognising key monuments and sites. Podcasts provided ‘eye witness’ accounts of specific sites whilst enabled walk through experiences. Stronger responses to image recognition were reported in examinations. Students felt they were engaging and enjoyed the learning. Shared podcast creations with colleagues in North America

So what is innovative about this case study?

1. Focuses on student centred learning encouraging a collaborative experience using and creating own podcasts.

2. Podcasts enabled students to prepare prior to site and museum visits.

3. Students with mobility difficulties could gain ‘walk through’ experiences on sites which might preclude their access.

Wk2 Act1 – Case study 21 – Use of summative computer assisted assessment in Applied Technology and Finance

Aim

To provide quick feedback to students on exam results whilst introducing them to the assessment processes of HE; and to save staff considerable time marking scripts.

Audience

350 year 1 students in Events Management and Tourism Management

Problem

To meet a specific strategy target to expend the use of computer aided assessment for formative and summative assessment. The university wanted to introduce rigid deadlines whilst giving early and rapid feedback.

Solution

Replace paper based exams with summative computer assisted assessments every two weeks.

Design

Assessments were randomly generated from question banks by the VLE.

Training

Little additional training for tutor to generate question banks using Universities existing VLE WebCT and some team members used Respondus to write questions. Students and tutors were familiar with the VLE.

Method Delivery

Assessments were delivered via university IT in exam like conditions using the WebCT VLE

Benefits

This simply approach to CAA used existing key technologies. Marks for all 350 students were submitted within three hours compared to the 120 hrs it would take to manually mark paper based equivalent papers. Although an up fronted investment in time is required the costs of time can be realised very quickly once the assessment questions have been created. Exam banks question could be reused. Improved averaged exam scores by 10%. Those students taking advantage of the previous years exam papers improved their exam mark by 15% in comparison to those who did not.

So what is innovative about this case study?

1. Time for feeding back results to students and tutors was significantly reduced.

2. The rigid exam deadlines set for each summative assessment enabled students to successfully engage with the rigours of University deadlines.

3. To ensure a good return on effort is made CAA works best in modules that have large numbers of students.

I am not sure how much the above statements describe the innovation described in this case study?

Wk2 Act1 – Case Study 12 – Simulation gaming in Business, University of Glamorgan

Aim

This experiential learning through simulation gaming case study aims to produce highly visual and game-like experience which allows the story to unfold in a highly interactive and dynamic fashion whilst avoiding the pitfalls of the ‘interactive spreadsheets found in other business course simulations.

Audience

The majority of the second year undergraduates (averaging 150 per year) were aged 19-20 coming from South Wales and South-West England.

Problem

Summative assessment feedback suggested that students found it difficult to comprehend the differences between large and small firms in terms of how they operate, involve and interact with the Business Environment.

Solution

Using a blended approach the students would be immersed in simulated environment supported by classroom workshops to provide formative learning opportunities.

Design

The 3D simulation game consisted of a small and large business environment where students could interact via an avatar with various characters. The game provided a complex realistic case study while also offering a game-like experience with competitive motivation. (Familiar to tutors and students). The gaming platform was written in an object-orientated approach with reuse in mind to help reduce future development costs for additional gaming requirements.

Training

Minimal staff training was conducted to help in bedding it use on the course. Tutors demonstrated how to use the game before students playing through it themselves.

Method Delivery

Accessed gaming tool via universities own VLE Blackboard. The application uses flash so that the a web-based tool has the versatility to work fairly well on low spec equipment and can integrate with other web-based learning systems as required providing greater reach via the Internet.

Benefits

Intended to give formative learning opportunities for students. The game proved to be popular (75% agreeing or strongly agreeing) as the preferred method for students to absorb a case study. One student comments that they should not over employ the use of a game, just like a balanced diet. The simulation of the game was especially beneficial in relating theory to the practise in real life. Staff were enthusiastic about the way the tool was able to be embedded into traditional methods of delivery and requested its use in other models. Changes to the game could be conducted with the in-house developer reducing the procurement cycle times that may occur if the expertise was purchased from a developing house. Overall the game experience engaged student’s interest and encouraged them to engage further in both tutor-led and private study.

So what is innovative about this case study?

1. Introduction of a 3D gaming environment to replace traditional case study activities.

2. Designed for ease of access and engaging playability with reuse in mind.

3. Both tutors and students were enthusiastic about integrating it into a blended learning solution.

This is probably more information than is required for this activity but the titles above do help me to structure my thoughts which will clearly have to be refined to fit into the TMA01 word count requirement.

Wk2 Act1 - Choosing Which Case Studies to Explore

Having spent some time reading the ‘Exploring Tangible Benefits of E-Learning’ paper published by JISC I found it difficult to choose which four case studies to engage.

Since our aim in H807 is to write an 800 word report for TMA01 I thought it best to consider which case studies could be related to my work place with a view to perhaps introduce some new ideas. I also considered the dispersal of case studies on the Mapping Model in Appendix 1 where I did not want to choose subject areas which were closely mapped together on the axis.

Subject to possible further changes I plan to explore with the following:

12. Simulation gaming in Business, Technology Enhanced Learning Environments, University of Glamorgan .

21. Use of summative computer assisted assessment in Applied Technology and Finance, e-Assessments, Leeds and Metropolitan University .

30. Use of podcasting in Archaeology, Learning Resources and Activities, Swansea University .

35. Use of e-portfolios to support nursing and midwifery, e-Portfolios, University of Wolverhampton .

Although this was more luck than judgement and I'm not sure it has any significance I have just notice my choices are from different Universities.

Lessons Learnt in Wk1 – Engaging with fellow students

During my first week on H807 I have had an opportunity to explore different innovations in elearning and development my own definition:

My initial thoughts on innovation in elearning are influenced with my training experience within the Royal Navy and now a UK Defense wide organisation. For me it’s about finding new ways to use existing or new electronic methods and media to deliver a successful training or learning intervention which previously has not been exploited.

The activity which engages smaller groups of the main tutor group was very productive. We had a clear structure of questions to investigate and report back the findings. It helped, in our case, that the first student visiting this thread proactively offered guidance to others on how they could get involved with this activity. Nice touch Gavin. Although I probably did initially concentrate my efforts on answering the 2 questions I choose to explore I was mindful of the efforts fellow students were making to achieve our collective aim. This break off task enabled self managed activity which identified some very interesting findings and (I hope) the answers to the quiz were very successful.

Lessons learnt so far:

1. Limit my discussion forum posts to small nuggets which are easily digested by other students.
2. Engage with other students by responding to their posts and build a virtual relationship built on common goals and based on agreement or understanding of their point of view.
3. Where possible, include some of the written text references to the course resources and add interesting URL links to enable fellow students a chance to explore your ideas further.

Please feel free to comment on my thoughts.

Week 1 - Self Introductions

Having completed H800 last year I am looking forward to starting H807 as part of my MAODE journey. Enrolling on H807 fits well with my continual professional development plan as I hope to gain some useful insights that can be transferred into my work place. That said I may find my time studying this year will be split across other competing activities.

Currently employed as an Engineering Training Manager in the Royal Navy I could not be any further away from the sea at the moment. Based at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire my work in the Defence Centre of Training Support enables me to explore new technology enhanced training for the MOD. This gives me the opportunity to engage and consult with various training providers to offer and facilitate new electronic services via the Defence Learning Portal. I am very fortunate to be living in a Rothschild's mansion during the week, which is now part of the RAF officers mess.

Most weekends I am able to get back home to Fareham in Hampshire to spent time with my family. A part from studying, I enjoy hill walking, climbing, fitness training, amateur dramatics and have just started to learn ballroom dancing. Unfortunately I have three left feet so I won’t be staring on 'Strictly Come Dancing' soon.

Although I tried blogging in H800 with limited success, I am still discovering the benefits of using this medium to collaborate. Please feel free to comment on any of my blog posts...it is great to know someone else is out there!!

Happy studying