[Roger Harrison]

Hi Jo – another participant from Huddersfield? has there been a recruitment drive in your town! I was chatting to two other people on here from Huddersfield univ too.

Glad you want to join this group and sounds like you’re full of ambition to learn what’s up to date. Is there anything in particular you’re feeling bombarded and lost with? or is it just the general navigation etc? remember you’re not expected to read and respond to everything and that’s why I like the small groups as they are a place of safety for us to come to.

regards

Roger

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Shuna, I like the pun in your final sentence to ‘come on board’! Of course come and join the flight. Like you I’m not sure what happens to the small groups, and ‘m assuming they then get transferred to each of the weeks Forum. I don’t think we’ll get broken up so soon.

I’d like to find out more about your experience of serious gaming. I’ve read a bit about them, but have never been able to get an example to look at. I think there are a number of areas where they could be of potential value for students studying public health which I teach.

And as you say, a few common interests here in the group more about the student experience (and lecturer experience) than the technical aspect, though of course they can go hand in hand

regards

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Rob, is your background from dentistry or more the technical side? The masters programme I teach on in public health includes links to the masters in dental public health. I actually started out as a dental technician but that’s many years and previous lives away.

It seems that student engagement and motivation or some shared interests in this group. I took part in some online classes led by Curtis Bonk from MIT in the States. He’s got a new book coming out I think soon on motivation and online courses. I met him in Manchester quite recently and find his work extremely inspiring and recommend looking him up.

 

regards

Roger

http://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Kim, it sounds as if you should be helping to run this course, never mind a student on it. I’d like to hear more about the MA. I keep toying with the idea of more study and sort of convinved my self that I don’t need to sign up for another taught course and try and do more things like this. But in the back of my mind is still a bit of a nag to sign up again. Who did you do the MA with – the OU?

It would be good to hear about how the methods here reflect those from the OU model etc.

As for student motivation – I think that will be interesting on here as I know MOOCs are known for a big drop out, but it also raises the question as to what a ‘drop out’ actually is anyway.

Incidentally, can you tell me what the tags field underneath these postings is/meant fr?

regards

Roger

http://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Trish, perhaps what TEL can offer when one is faced with a diverse student group is a range of different learning options, and at different levels. So for example (and I haven’t incorporated this into my own course yet, but would like to do in future) if you have students who feel confident with the basics of biostatistics for example, then maybe the can click and go straight to the next level, and that if they then struggle they can cover the ground that those new to the topic are covering. So even within the same course wrapper, or the same course teaching week, there can be a range of different levels brought in. So an introductory video, students might choose to skip (so why not suggest that they do as so me will anyway) but encourage new people to watch it, or some might want to go straight to self tests, but others might want to cover some of the skills part first. In fact there is an argument to test them on specific competencies first, and then just direct them to the learning that they need to then meet those competencies for which they didn’t come up to the mark on the first time.

Just a few thoughts, and very much new thinking for me aswell.  A good debate to be had on this subject though.

Already I get the sense that there might be a few topics that we might on this group wish to pursue in a bit more detail, and see if others want to join in too – maybe a hosted web conference or live discussion .

regards

Roger

http://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Jane – glad the group is interesting for you. I’m not sure yet how I;l work with the rest of the course once it starts, but glad there is a smaller ‘room’ I can come to – and like you have already learnt things and perhaps this might be a start for some ongoing networking and links, who knows. I did a talk today on elearning in public health and even put up a slide of Rhizones – my colleagues think I’ve lost the plot!

Regards

Roger

octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Jim, I like the look of the elearning matrix and is certainly the type of thing I was thinking about seeing if I can get some support to develop for public health, though there will be relatively few public health OERs available to put on their, but hopefully overtime it might expand. How do you find the OERs? do you just keep scanning the internet or use resources such as Jorum?

And thanks for checking my blog

regards

 

Roger

octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com

[Roger Harrison]

Hello, I’m a senior lecturer in public health and have been teaching and help run a masters programme which is a fully online distance education programme, with students all over the world. I have a research background in health services/public health, and have done a bit of pedagogical research which I’d like to increase.

 

regards

 

Roger

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi, I like the daily newsletter – it keeps me reminded about the course, it is simple and straight to the point. IT does what it says on the tin.

I wonder though if you can do anything to the Course Reader so that it can show more of the first part of each posting – at the moment it is very difficult to get a sense of what is posted as we are all generally posting around similar topics in a way. The Categories list helps a bit for finding info on specific topics.

Also are there any plans to set up a Mendeley group for the course that we all contribute and share resources to, and possibly Diigo as well? I’m thinking of doing this anyway for the small group Forum which is gathering interest.

As for the small groups, will these then be transferred and continue through the rest of the course – in other words they are not just for the Induction? even though they are currently found in the Induction forum section.

I also wonder what your views are on setting up a facebook page? I’m going to see what people in the Forum I set up think about this. I do find it a lot easier and far less clunkier to navigate etc. but lets see.

Is there a way of having a fixed signature so that when ever I reply to a posting I don’t have to keep on writing my name, location and my blog address?

thanks – I imagine it must be very hectic at your end!

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Jane – the study skills course sounds exciting. I developed a self directed learning course for students in the final year of the masters and starting their dissertation. I’ve been wanting to develop something on critical thinking aswell as I think some students really struggle with this, especially those from cultures not used to challenging others.

 

I can see already that we have lots to talk about and shared interests. Of course we are coming up with more and more questions!

regards

Roger

https://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Lucy – I’m definitely interested to learn more about peer to peer learning and for developing discussion forums/groups /activities for students in an online learning environment. This year I included a group based wiki which seems to have gone well and students interacted and produced a generally good assignment in their groups. But it does raise questions in terms of is this what students think they are signing up for when they do an online course or are they expecting it to be more like a one-way communication, a bit like distance learning in the past when it was sent through to you in the post.

regards

Roger

https://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Trish – to wow students, don’t you have to give them expensive ipads and things? oh no, they already have all those! just teasing, it’s getting late. I think this touches on an important issue and I think one that has perhaps only got recognition since TEL came about. In the past, well certainly as a lecturer little attention was given (well I gave little attention compared to know) about teaching methods and student engagement I think. But now, a lot more work seems to be done which is great. My background in the NHS was running randomised controlled trials – now running a large RCT to examine the effect of different approaches now that would be be cool, though another nervous breakdown waiting to happen. RCTs of online education have been done in the US though and find positive effects.

My own thoughts are that the material needs to meet the students at the level that they are at, be timely to what they are meant to be doing, be related to their own experience (where possible and especially if postgrad) and to their likely occupation following the course; be in nice bit size nuggets, not to go over board with sensationalist colours and fonts and techno stuff, and follow good principles of general presentation.

Not sure if this helps – what do the rest of you think? It would be good to find out about how to engage staff aswell as more recently I’ve been doing staff training and such like.

I’m running a seminar for colleagues tomorrow so will find out if I have any skills at all in maintaining their interest!

regards

Roger

https://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Jim – wow you’re doing two MOOCs at the same time! the less said the better…. How does this course compare with the other one? are you going to be setting up your own MOOC now based on all this experience of have you been put off!

What work have you beeninvolved with around staff and student digital literacies aside from blackboard? we use blackboard too at Univ Manchester. It’s been ok but now as I start to find out more about other possible TEL I am seeing some of its limitations and want to start working outside of the blackboard a bit more in future.

I’ve replied to your blog with a question about RSS feeds as still unsure about how to connect with things .

thanks

Roger

https://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Sarla of course you can join this group – and my frustration with technology has just been added to by the fact that I’d written quite a long posting to you in reply, and then must have pressed the mouse pad in some place and it went . Arrgghgh

so much so, it will be great to find out more about your course and interests too and yes we are not too far away. I wonder if there are any events in the north that we might network at? I haven’t got involved in anything like that before from the teaching / elearning side of things. What type of people take the critical care course by the way and how many students? I thin my blog explains a bit more about the masters in public health I teach on

https://octelrogerharrison.wordpress.com/

Right catch up soon

Roger

 

[Roger Harrison]

Hi Lucy, your final comment really made me feel that I’m not the only ‘bewildered’ person on here. It is amazing the different ways to communicate, and trying to find out where and who to link with etc – it’s a bit like when I go for a meal, I much prefer a simple menu! But it seems that I/we and others are starting to find our way around the roots and branch of the course.

I’m not sure if next week we will then have some specific questions to answer relating to the group or if we just sort of share our own ideas as we go along, Suppose I’ll find out!

regards

Roger

 

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