[AngelaSmith]

Thank you to those who have shared their experiences so far and encouraged me to reflect on a similar experience I recently underwent. I will keep the details sketchy as it is still undergoing development and will hopefully meet with success in the near future, but the project involved introducing a new programme of study.Interestingly, the failures came first but I am hopeful that the overall outcome  will show more success than failure. Here goes:

Key failures:

New programme not approved

Key decision making personnel not consulted( lack of knowledge of processes led to this)

Time wasted in creating documentation which was then invalid

Marketing not pulled together into coherent whole

Internal staff keen, external team resistent

Duplication of resources

Key successes

Better working relationship for more diverse  teams involved

Regular liaison and expertise identified

Clearer picture of provision elsewhere

More evident what our USP is

Closer adherence to institutional processes and targets

Joined up thinking- chance of success second time around

Out of the frustration, a better programme has emerged with a potentially greater rate of success and more support across the institution- that has to be a positive outcome and sound basis on which to move forward,

As others have stated, a painful but ultimately valuablelearning experience!

Best wishes

Angela

 

 

The success

[AngelaSmith]

In response to previous postings in this thread, the xMOOC model has much to offer. We teach mature online distance learners on postgraduate courses and the PBL approach can be effective as long as the groups have gelled and they abide by a set timescale. If group members fail to log in and others are left dangling it can create tensions.

I don’t want to reiterate what has already been said about the model but to link to earlier postings, we have found that running workshops with the agenda dictated by attendees does wonders for engagement. For example, when having to create a website, I asked teachers to list all the gripes they had about any site they visited and this then led to the creation of an ‘ideal website’ – easily accessible, no more than three clicks etc. This became the prototype for the new web page we developed and the fact that tutors had ownership led to positive engagement and a clear sense of ownership. More recently I was tasked with developing an online tutor induction. Again, I sought input on what we wanted from online tutors, what skills they needed, what knowledge and understanding and also which VLE tools and open source services we would expect them to utilise for which purposes. It also explred the rolem of the online tutor as opposed to face to face  and how to facilitate rather than ‘teach’ . Much of the reviews as it was piloted involved adding ‘just in time’ training and updates which kept the material current and , above all, relevant.

The results guided our content, approach, framework and tasks and has been extremely well received. It was a team effort and as such has been accepted across the team.

We still have much to learn but  the online tutors are beginning to develop a network of practice and to share peer feedback on suggestions, resources – especially OERs and approaches for dealing with issues of interest or concern, particularly with a lack of confidence in using synchronous communication methods,

Regards

Angela

[AngelaSmith]

Apologies for posting so late- I’m not a lurker but inundated with work and just not able to do all I would like. Originally I had expected that my priority would be to look at the MOOC materials and learn what I could from them to take into my own and my colleagues’ practice. However, I actually find myself heading straight for the forums and then take key points from the discussions to further explore and develop within my own practice where I see a gap or way of improvement. This is a whole new approach- it feels indulgent yet the fact that the postings come from fellow practitioners with pertinent support from facilitators at opportune moments means I feel neither a lurker not a cheat in that I want to contribute and respond because I am able to tailor the focus to meet my exact own interests whilst having my views broadened and interest aroused by the comments of others. It’s a way of learning without the pressure to meet any pre conceived expectations- and I like it! This was my first ever MOOC and it has been worth the frantic catch up this week as I don’t want to miss a thing!

Regards

Angela

[AngelaSmith]

Apologies for the late response – but feedback and assessment are areas which are constantly niggling me as I feel there should be more we can do to engage our online learners.

Within our modules we tend to start off with the associative perspective in that activities are frequent, embedded within the materials  and are responded to by the tutor in the first instance to develop a two way relationship and for the tutor- lrearner to build rapport. As the units unfold, a more constructivist approach takes over withinquiry based tasks demanding individual but then collaborative working with a social constructivist slant becoming more dominant as group tasks  are introduced and peer review and peer feedback are embedded within the course structure.I’m not sure how far towards the situative approach we might venture but that’s probably down to the need to hand over the reins more fully to learner groups and at the moment the tutor often has their work cut out ensuring the collaborative activities are fruitful. This method of working doesn’t always suit learners, especially some of our international learners at the start of their journey in HE and as such we need to build confidence in the group that peer working really does develop knowledge understanding and skills. Watch this space!

Regards

Angela

[AngelaSmith]

Hi Diane,

Apologies for a late response but your message  resonated with me. As an online tutor we have to work hard to engage learners who may not find the online environment as supportive as their preferred learning style might warrant, and it is vital that we approach what may seem to be predictable tasks in an unpredictable way. I haven’t used the range of activities you have with video but have done to with journal articles in an efort to meet differing learning styles for the sometimes tedious task of engaging with the literature- or just plain old reading to some of our students. It can be alonely task and by setting a range of activities in advance, including creating a group summary, critiquing a section then peer reviewing, identifying key ideas or even key terms, rewriting the abstract or identifying key wider reading resources from the references/ bibliography and thereby collaboratively creating a group wiki of useful resources can all help involve the learners in each of Kolb’s quadrants in an active yet non threatening manner.

Thank you for reminding me of how easy it is to be creative and try to match learning styles despite  having something which may, at the outset, seem uninspiring.

Regards

Angela

[AngelaSmith]

Hi All,

A late response  so apologies! The questionnaires do allow you to manipulate the outcome as the desired response is obvious, and there may also be inconsistencies in that your willingness to commit to the programme or task in hand might depend on the time demands of the of task, perceived level of difficulty or other external influences.

I found the San Diego questionnaire gave the most detailed feedback on how to address individual development needs though some of the guidance was somewhat generic.This is a serious shortcoming but perhaps indicates an area of further exploration for such readiness assessments.

[AngelaSmith]

The points raised in Leonie’s posting and touched on by others are ones  I share but for particular learners in specific situations. Much as I find Siemens’ comments engaging, I , too, have grave doubts whether this dependency on the ability of students to manage their learning through social mediation alone will match the needs and expectations as well as the abilities of many current and potential students. There seems to be an argument against the institution having any form of ‘walled garden’  but it isn’t just about students using ‘content as a conduit to communication’. We also need to think about the level of maturity of the audience, IT skills and indeed, the desire to adopt social networking, or not, as a key means of knowledge creation and sharing.The additional support mechanisms applied in Mitra’s work offers middle ground which may enhance the learning of less confident learners.

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