[AliSheph]

Interesting discussion, Graham and Sancha – I do find the other voice has impact on my students.

I looked at some of the Khan Academy videos in my subject discipline (accounting).  I struggle to find good stuff on Youtube – often rather American for my internationally diverse students (but very few of whom are American/Canadian!)

How do you decide when a resource is worth adopting?

I find this quite hard to break down into a thought process – I look at it all the way through, see if it’s consistent with the concepts I will have introduced before and after I want to use it, see if it’s clear etc.  There are quite a lot of ways of doing introductory accounting in particular – layouts etc, so I wouldn’t want to use anything that would confuse more than help.

I like clarity in the visual aids as well, gradual buildup (as this is my style).  The English used is important too, as many of my students don’t have English as my first language – so too many colloquialisms are a definite no!

What criteria did you use to evaluate this resource?

I used the ones above to evaluate a video on the difference between economic and accounting profit.

What are the advantages and limitations of this resource?

Advantages – relatively short, simple illustration

Disadvantages – potentially too simple!  I thought there were better ways to illustrate the concept.  The video was accompanied by a coloured pen on black background – not sure about accessibility of this (I would tend to go with dark text on a white background).  Rather repetitive.

How could you incorporate this resource into your teaching?

Probably as either a ‘lecture break’ from me talking, or as a supplementary VLE resource either before or after lecture on the topic.

How will this help your learners?

Will clarify basics of this concept.

Are there any limitations to the use of this resource for your learners?

Yes – see above.

[AliSheph]

I had mixed results! I decided to look for resources on groupwork, as I will be teaching on a module next year which involves this.  I used LearnHigher as I had not used it before – I had had a hint from one of the webinars that there were some relevant resources on this site.
·         How easy was it to find a relevant resource?

[LearnHigher] Quite straightforward – and the links from this resource to others were also useful
[TED] – not at all.  Despite several keyword searches, I couldn’t find anything relevant.  I did a search on a completely different topic (corporate strategy) and struggled to find anything on this as well.

·         How could you incorporate this resource into your professional practice?

[LearnHigher] Might adapt some of the handouts/slides for group briefing and when creating peer assessment forms
[LearnHigher] Might read a recommended book on groupwork problems
[LearnHigher] Might embed the weblink to the student resources on groupwork from LearnHigher (a series of videos) into the VLE and refer to in the group briefing, or possibly play the most relevant ones in class
[TED] – n/a

·         Which source did you find more useful (and why) – the ‘official’ resource bank or the open search?
·         Official resource bank
·         Are there any limitations to the use of your preferred resource for your learners (e.g. copyright licence; login requirements)?

[LearnHigher] There’s a wide CC licence and no login requirements

·         Would your own students agree that the resource you prefer is accessible?

Yes, but I don’t think they would look at TED themselves either! 

[AliSheph]

Jane – thanks for this.  I’ve commented on it on your blog.

[AliSheph]

Wow Anna, that sounds pretty brave!  I’m teaching on a new module next semester that uses a tailored online business game (I teach in a business school) – it’s quite small scale but quite complex, so we think there will be elements of students going up blind alleys, but that’s part of the experience.  I think I will be sitting on my hands at times, trying not to interfere too much.  I think it should be an interesting experience for all concerned!

[AliSheph]

Hi

Interesting post, James – I trained as a chartered accountant in the early 2000s, and there were strong elements of the master and apprentice in the work-based learning, I guess in common with other vocational programmes.  One interesting aspect was that the classroom learning we did was very traditional – big class for the most part, drills, practice, lectures etc!  However, it’s a more blended model with more independent learning online now.

[AliSheph]

My blog post about the digital literacy theme #diglit, is at

http://alicesadventuresinedtech.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/octel-diglit-week-2-themes-in-learner-needs-thoughts-and-resources/

[AliSheph]

I think the point about sharing experiences good and bad is an interesting one, Elizabeth.  Picking up on what Helen Beetham was saying in the webinar – boundaries of what’s ‘allowed’ vs ‘not allowed’ are potentially problematic, or students might think they are.  I think the value of having someone in your role to facillitate this type of session, to create a safe space, rather than it being their lecturer who will assess their work, can’t be underestimated.

[AliSheph]

Helen

I think the detailed feedback from the quizzes was very well put together and would sell itself in terms of the benefits for students to develop skills further.   I think we could all benefit from mapping ourselves, and asking our students to do the same at various stages.  Thanks for the useful links.

[AliSheph]

Imogen

Thanks for your post – I was hoping to use some questions from the examples for a student survey in the autumn – but found them quite disappointing, and had some concerns about students knowing they should give the ‘right answers’ affecting reliability.   I’ve blogged about them less eloquently than you at http://alicesadventuresinedtech.wordpress.com

Yours, however, is full of useful material, which I might take as basis for adaptation, if that’s ok with you?

 

[AliSheph]

Thx Daran – Socrative looks good, so I will have a play with it!  Love the anecdote from your wife – my Mum was a secondary school teacher and confirms that the pupils are already highly conditioned on entering secondary school.  However, that was in the pre-digital age, so it will be interesting to see whether/if that changes.

[AliSheph]

A colleague suggested I read about Freire a while back for a paper I was writing – it was about using students’ placement experiences in teaching in my subject area (accounting), but  I’ve included one section below which was about Freirian methods (dialogic education) more generally.  Feel free to rip it to shreds – I gave the paper at a conference, but then changed institutions so didn’t get any further with the project!
Freire worked to develop the literacy and cultural awareness of socially disadvantaged groups.  As the ability to read was needed to vote in elections, this work, and his left-wing views exposed him to scrutiny by the authorities, and causing him to spend a decade in exile in the US and Europe (Freire, 1998). 
His pedagogies were based on the contrast between ‘banking education’ in which the expert teacher transfers knowledge to students, who are likened to empty vessels to be filled, and ‘dialogic education’, in which the teacher and students are co-investigators, albeit with differing levels of initial expertise (Bebbington et al, 2007, Freire, 1998, Renshaw, 2004, Shor and Freire, 1987, Thomson and Bebbington, 2004).  Although originally grounded in grassroots adult literacy programmes, dialogic educational approaches have been applied in a variety of settings, including within the UK higher education context (Thomson and Bebbington, 2004) and vocational training (Shor, 1988). 
In a dialogic approach, the teacher is a knowledgeable assistant for the students’ investigation (Renshaw, 2004), and develops their own learning through the discussions of issues and potential solutions with students (Shor and Freire, 1987).  An important element of such an approach is the identification of ‘limit situations’ (Thomson and Bebbington, 2004, p.614) or problems that constrain groups within society, and which can form the focus of co-investigation between teacher and students.  A limit situation relevant to the skills dilemma might be the extent to which accreditation places restrictions on content included in an accounting programme.  Potential solutions may revolve around changes to methods for teaching/learning some of the content, such as case-based study of financial statement analysis techniques using a particular company to underpin the course.
Thomson and Bebbington (2004) acknowledge that a completely dialogic approach as used and espoused by Freire, is unrealistic given the programme and institutional constraints in UK undergraduate accounting education, such as the expectations of accounting students regarding what they will learn, the importance of accreditation of courses to gain exemptions for professional accounting qualifications, and the need to devise courses significantly in advance of their presentation, rather than the curriculum evolving during the course presentation (Thomson and Bebbington, 2004).  However, their work at two Scottish universities aimed to introduce an element of dialogic education into a variety of courses, such as enabling students to choose essay topics in negotiation with their tutor.  They emphasise that, while the content may have to be relatively fixed because of accreditation requirements, how it is taught may be open to more flexibility. 
Shor (1988) emphasises that a starting point for dialogic education is ‘issues that matter to students’ (p.112), and suggests an approach to vocational training in which trainees interview workers in their chosen field and ask what they found useful in their own training, as a way to generate ideas of relevant issues.  This could be applied to students who have undertaken accounting work experience.  Indeed, Shor and Freire (1987) emphasise the importance of using students’ experiences as a concrete starting point with which to explore wider issues, and Bebbington and Thomson (2004) suggest that work experience is ‘valuable material’ for accounting classes (p.621).  In gathering information regarding placement students’ workplace experiences, and asking them to reflect, in conjunction with academic staff, on areas of their work for which they felt underprepared by their academic studies, and how these could be addressed as part of the programme, a dialogic approach to co-investigation of a limit situation (problems faced during work experience) would be taken.  

[AliSheph]

Interesting stuff, Elizabeth!

I looked at emergent learning and Freire, and both of those theoretical viewpoints would suggest the need for a facilitator and social interaction, and that peer-peer interaction (in emergent learning, teacher brokering between students’ interests and learning outcomes to negotiate course content etc, in Freirian dialogic learning value of communication around the shared experiences of students and teacher as facilitator).  For me the problem with Skinner is exclusion of all other aspects – the ‘teaching machine’ idea may be appropriate for parts of syllabus, certain areas of disciplines may have value (e.g. multiple choice question banks used by students online during revision to test themselves and get immediate formative feedback).

[AliSheph]

Hi Elizabeth

Good point – on some courses I have taught we used it only once in the semester, whereas on others it was a routine part of weekly classes – it’s difficult for one off sessions, and is a big time investment.  I’ve been investigating low cost options without clickers (i.e. using students’ phones etc), but I haven’t found too many so far – a lot seem to have an expensive licence cost even if the software is ‘free’!

I think the wider point you make about collaborative learning is true though – and reducing feelings that students are alone in not feeling confident in a particular area!

[AliSheph]

Blog entry about the David White workshop on online behaviour – visitors and residents

http://goo.gl/Wxeaq

 

[AliSheph]

Hi Andrew

The exams were taken at proxy venues round the world – the institution had some overseas centres, or otherwise via the British Council in other countries.  There was a UK centre as well.  Hard copy exams currently – but I’m sure online exams will come down the track.

Screencasts- my current uni uses Articulate on campus-wide licences.   My previous uni used Wimba as part of Blackboard VLE (which I think is now Elluminate – which is being used for the ocTEL webinars).  This can be used for synchronous webinars but I used it for recording (ie I set up a room with no students, recorded the whole thing and then posted it on theVLE).   I find Articulate the easier to use, but it is powerpoint-based so depends if you like that sort of thing!  I had a good look around for free tools that would record longer than 5 mins and drew a blank.  Not sure if anyone else in this group has come across any ways of screencasting for free that they could share?

[Author]

Posts