E-learning Showcase - Morning Session

Session on Mobile Learning and Assessment
• Focus on infrastructure – mobile technology simple definition “something that fits in your pocket”. What is mobile learning – “learning on the bus”
• Smart Whiteboard didn’t work first time....need for a paper backup?
• Anytime, anywhere, anyplace – puts new demands on our traditional 8x5 support infrastructure
• Timeliness – perform activity on location as it happens – requires highly available and responsive networks as well as infrastructure like servers etc
• Where are we with lots of individuals having lots of different devices – one way to do this is via “the web” whether displays on PC, netbook, mobile device etc, key issue is displaying web content re-purposed for the different devices. Standards still emerging in this area.
• University mobile web site www.mobi.brad.ac.uk – same web content re-purposed for a smaller screen – little used – limited marketing and communication to students
• Is it useful – would you use this sort of technology. Needs to be more robust and ubiquitous – not an early adopter so it’s a leap of faith. Someone has to do it – should it be us?
• Standardised Infrastructure - Is there any guidance to students on buying a device – we don’t currently do this for students for PCs, laptops etc – however, there are some Institutions that are choosing to be prescriptive (some schools, some FE, some HE quite a few Thinkpad Universities in the US a few years ago. Looking back did that approach work?
• Next year going back to the drawing board and start again – tech has moved on from where we were with the ALPS initiatives
• A potentially awkward not intuitive interface – not an iPod for example. Need familiarity with type of device and the user interface.
• Difficulty with screen size e.g. small size
• Potential with tech constraints and conflicts with the older technology (2G and 3G)
Interactive Learning
• Time to think and reflect and discuss and meet with colleagues old and new – events like this are valuable for a number of reasons above and beyond the purpose itself (a secondary benefit of events like this)
• A way to get students engaged and motivated.
• Reflection on interactive learning – key part of phrase is active (not passive), experimental, empowering and engaging. Whether tech is a way to support those interactions – student:student and student:staff communication.
• Focus required on the learning outcomes – through the interaction doing the learning
• Different learners make progress in lots of different ways and have different learning styles – which tech may be able to help us manage. So the content will not be standardised and the delivery platform may not be standardised. IT people (and accountants) tend to like standards.
• Flexibility and social aspect – learning at a time and place that suits us – may help engage more learners. Getting more used to JIT education.
• Asking questions about why student engagement tends to tail off over time with VLE like tools. We may not be using our assets in a way that drives the fullest cost-benefit from it
• Updates are ready for your computer – windows found 45 updates....
• Making_Uni_Work video – thought this was very well put together – simple and effective messages focused on “people” not tech.
• No headphones on the PC – no sound card bit here in this machine. Some cluster machines have sound cards switched off? It varies?
• How do you get YouTube into Blackboard?
• Some difficulties with student access at the SSH Information Skills workshop – “system glitches?” – student abilities – often those realising need for skills improvement are those who haven’t engaged.