1. Capture Learning Events for Reflection
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1. Capture learning events for reflection
Why do it? This draws on the established academic practice of reflection – which helps learners integrate what they have learned with existing ideas – and on the digital practice of recording using a digital camera. Reflection allows events that occur beyond the classroom e.g. in the field, lab or workplace to become material for learning and assessment. It is easier for learners to remember and reflect on events if they have captured evidence (photo, video, audio) at the time. Personal digital devices are often carried by learners in situations where informal learning may happen. Digital evidence can be used to enrich reflective logs and blogs and to support practices of note-taking.
How to support it? Make explicit your expectation that learners will record aspects of a learning situation. Over time they will identify these opportunities for themselves. Make sure learners are not disadvantaged if they don't own or have the habit of using a digital device. Flip cams are a good and relatively cheap alternative. Draw on previous learning explicitly during revision and class discussions, prompting students to remember what they have recorded. Collect good examples of reflection around captured evidence. If learners are using digital logs or blogs, show them how to embed video, audio and graphic files. These could form an element of their assessment. Be open to a range of formats as prompts for reflection – for example quickly sketched notes and mind maps can be captured on a graphics tablet or as a photograph. Help learners use file sharing sites e.g. flickr, vimeo, instragram, to securely manage their learning evidence.
2. Social bookmarking
Why do it? Students often struggle with the intricacies of academic referencing – referencing software takes care of the detail so they can focus on the purpose behind the activity. Social referencing helps students to see that referencing is actually about building a view of a topic area, and acknowledging the work of other thinkers in that topic. Students benefit from each other's ideas and research work. Students and the tutor can track who is contributing references. References can be annotated, showing that students have thought about why a reference is useful or relevant.
How to support it? Set up a delicious (or similar) account for a particular course/programme and add a few online resources to a 'stack'. Invite students to add more. Invite a member of library staff or PG student to introduce students to online reference management software. Use their new skills immediately with a referencing task relevant to their next assignment. Encourage students to search for online reading lists relevant to their topic, for example using cite-u-like, mendeley, delicious, or google scholar, and select a number of references to explore further (what criteria do you suggest for selection??) 3. Present academic ideas using digital media
Why do it? Academic ideas can be powerfully communicated using media other than text Some students, particularly younger students, can find it easier to communicate in non-text- based or mixed media forms. Students like their presentations to be engaging and professional looking – using different media helps them to feel pride in their work. Students are excited to discover that their non-academic skills are useful, and enjoy demonstrating what they can do with digital media Digital presentations can easily be shared within the cohort and – with students' full understanding and consent – made publicly available as a showcase of their ideas and achievements
How to support it? You do not have to be an expert in all aspects of digital media – you will probably find that students have many relevant skills themselves – but you do need to make sure there is a mix of skills in each group. Make clear to students your assessment criteria. They need to understand that academic communication is about clarity, relevance and impact, not about the bells and whistles. Decide whether you want students to rely on their own devices or to make some hardware available to them, e.g. cameras, a video editing suite. Show students examples of what you mean – the more various the better. If you are teaching a course for the first time, find examples online (start with slideshare). If possible, invite an expert in digital media to talk to the students (e.g. from media services) or provide access to learning resources about digital and information design.
4. Design and administer an online questionnaire
Why do it? Online surveys are widely used in academic research, market research, and also in 'fun' social settings so they are more familiar than paper-based forms, both to students and potential participants. Students are learning an important research skill that is also highly transferable to many business contexts. Online surveys are quick and easy to set up, and easy to adapt if changes are required after a pilot or feedback on the survey design. Online surveys can be programmed to adapt to the answers already given, meaning that participants receive only questions that are relevant to them – and this too is a useful skill requiring considerable reflection on the research questions and survey design. Online surveys are easy to distribute and minimise transcription/data entry errors, allowing students to focus on the conceptual issues.
How to support it? Make sure you are fairly familiar with the online survey system you choose. Consider asking a GTA or postgraduate student to support this activity if you feel you lack the expertise. Students are likely to pick up quickly on the technicalities of creating and distributing surveys but will not learn how to design a good research instrument in this way. Make sure you offer them plenty of guidance and examples of well-structured questionnaires in the topic area. Ensure students think about how their data will be presented. It is very easy to collect data using online surveys but much harder to collect data that will translate into meaningful indicators. Data visualisation is a useful activity to consider at the same time as this one. 5. Find, evaluate and collate academic content Why do it? These skills are essential in advanced study and in many graduate careers. They are also important life skills in a world increasingly dominated by online information. Students are often confused about whether and how they can use online resources in academic work, especially those beyond the reading list or explicit tutor recommendations. Most students now have excellent inductions to the information services available through the library: however, if this learning is not used and progressed through their course of study, they will quickly forget it. Students rarely understand the role that the university library plays in supporting their access to online resources, failing to understand for example that access to e-journals is not typically 'free'. Students tend to have an uncritical attitude to material they find online. Practicing evaluation skills in the context of authentic academic tasks is the only way they will develop good judgement.
How to support it? Work with library professionals to support your students' developing information skills. Make clear that you value their input, for example by being an active participant in relevant sessions. Be explicit to students about your expectation that they will explore beyond the reading list. In the first year, set structured information retrieval and management activities in preparation for an assignment, if necessary giving feedback/review on separate elements of the task. In later years, give more general guidance e.g. to online repositories and portals relevant to the subject. Use a variety of material in your reading lists and recommendations, as suitable to the topic. For example, consider including online data sets, open access journals, scholarly web sites and blogs. Expect your students to use google (including google scholar and google books), wikipedia etc. It is more realistic as well as more helpful to showcase good use of these services than to ban them. Invite critique and comparison of a range of online resources, explaining what we mean by provenance, academic credibility, etc. Show students a wikipedia page relevant to your subject area where there is a rich history of dispute (this will be evident under the 'talk' and 'view history' tabs). Use this to generate discussion both about the topic – what do students think? - and about the academic process of argumentation, arbitration, and disagreement.
6. Create and share tags (keywords) in a topic area
Why do it? Tagging is a good entry point to other kinds of data analysis, categorisation, and management. Tags can be applied to any kind of academic content – references, videos, assignments, items in a data set Tags can be tracked across web sites, allowing material to be collated from a wide range of sources. Students will learn that there are different ways of managing data, and as their academic work builds up they probably need something more flexible and powerful than putting things into folders.
How to support it? Try uploading short video clips to youtube, perhaps relating to a research project or field work, and ask students to log in and tag them. Have students contribute to a course blog and tag their entries with a controlled (fixed) or uncontrolled (growing) list of keywords. Use one of the services referenced in the social bookmarking activity and extend the task to include tagging.
7. Virtual peer review or workshop/crit Why do it? Most students learn well from the process of evaluating and reviewing the work of others. This form of peer review has no overheads in terms of printing and distribution; it also need not impinge on class time. Peer review enhances the opportunities for learners to receive feedback on their work without increasing the workload on academics. Students experience a variety of attempts at a particular task or assignment, and several examples of feedback. They are more engaged with the assessment criteria for the course. Students must understand the rules of academic discourse: constructive criticism, reference to the ideas of others, respect, collaborative knowledge building. Comparing their work with others is motivating for many students, but care must be taken that the environment feels safe.
How to support it? If your virtual/managed learning environment supports learner comment on one another's work, all you need to do is to set up the relevant groups. You can use any web-based service that supports file sharing, but google docs has many advantages, not least that it supports and tracks multiple comments. Ensure students know who can see and comment on their work, and that otherwise it remains private. Discuss the assessment criteria with students and also discuss the 'rules' of academic discussion. Set up and structure the process carefully, e.g. each student reads and reviews the work of two others. Actively facilitate. This does not mean 'correcting' students' reviews but it does mean ensuring that the rules and assessment criteria are being followed, modelling 'good' feedback, and being visible online so the space is clearly an academic one rather than a social one. Make time for a debriefing session in which students talk about what they got from the experience and what was challenging for them.
8. Use simulations to prepare for lab or field work
Why do it? Research consistently shows that virtual worlds and simulations are useful in preparing students for situations they will encounter in real life settings. Virtual/simulated situations have certain advantages for learning: they are safe, cheap to access, replicable, and allow for multiple attempts at the same task.
How to support it? In learning, sensory accuracy is usually less important than cognitive equivalence. In other words, simulations do not have to be very life-like to have features that are critical to learning. Students need clear guidance about the point of the exercise: how it is preparing them and what you expect them to achieve. Some subject-specific simulations are available openly – start here to find them: http://bit.ly/findingoers (Jisc OER infokit). Freely available generic simulations include google earth and the virtual human project. If you want to build your own sim, consider one of the free tools for creating interactive tutorials (e.g. xerte, W2L, CourseLab) or SIMPLE software for building simple simulations: http://simplecommunity.org/. Consider how paper-based case studies, scenarios, or practice tasks could be converted into more engaging multi-media resources. Sometimes all that is needed is the inclusion of images (look for open access image libraries in medicine, history, archaeology, drama), audio clips (consider using Echo360, jing or camtasia to record these for yourself) or video (there are video libraries available to UK HE through JISC media). 9. Data visualisation Why do it? Data visualisation is increasingly important as the volume and complexity of information in- creases: it presents messages from data in a concise and readable way. Visualisations help students to produce interesting, creative and professional looking reports. Visual forms of representation have also become more credible in scholarly communication. Analysis requires careful attention to the parameters used. Different parameters and techniques reveal different patterns in the data and allow students to judge which are significant to their research question. Students need to understand that data is not 'the truth' but the basis for different representations that tell different stories. Visualisation act to 'persuade' as well as to analyse and represent.
How to support it? If students are using a data analysis package such as Excel or SPSS, encourage them to play with different options in the graphing tools to create different views of the data. Play with web services, tools and apps that support creative visualisations: wordle, mapmakerpedia, google charts and manyeyes are all good places to start. Again, research students may be familiar with these. Clarify with students the purpose of data visualisation: clarity, conciseness, communication on the one hand, and analysis (with reference to specific research questions) on the other hand.
10. Collaborative writing/groupwork
Why do it? Researchers and professionals make extensive use of collaborative web tools for: writing papers and reports, gathering data, building presentations, developing and administering research instruments. Modern working often requires collaboration across time and space, without face to face meetings. Anyone with web access can contribute, so there are no issues over version/software compatibility. It is easy to track who is contributing, both for students in the group and for staff observers (if given access) Students can develop good habits of data management and data security – providing they are made aware of these issues. Students can collaborate with people outside of their usual group, on placement, even beyond the institution.
How to support it? Students may well have their own ideas, but encourage them to experiment with dropbox, skype and google docs initially, followed by spideroak, evernote, delicious. Make use of any collaborative opportunities within the virtual/managed learning environment. Wallwisher and similar are useful for arriving at a consensus about an issue. This can be used as a more reflective follow-up to a face-to-face discussion. Students will be motivated to collaborate if they feel their contributions are being individually acknowledged. Show them how to track different contributions and how to cut and paste work into their own assignments (if relevant). Consider assessment design carefully. One idea is to have students write an individual reflection on their contribution to the group assignment, drawing on their actual contributions for evidence and illustration. 11. First steps to a professional online identity Why do it? Digital identity is critical to the process of applying for jobs. Most graduate employers will do a google search as well as read a CV. It's easy to scare students away from having a public profile. A visible positive profile, controlled by the student, is the best way to counter any negative material that might find its way onto the web. It reflects well on the course and department to have excellent work and positive student images online. Consider how examples of student work can be made publicly available. Students can then link to it from their own personal blogs/profiles, and the department benefits too. There are many lifeskills involved in creating a positive online identity, starting from a course identity and building out.
How to support it? Work with staff in careers/employability to identify the relevant networks for your subject area. Linked-in is the most widely used but for some professions/vocations it may be more useful to be visible elsewhere. Have students reflect on what they do already to build a personal reputation online. These same skills can help them build a professional reputation. Encourage reflection on the difference, and ensure students understand privacy settings and how to set up alternative profiles for personal/professional use. Have students find and follow blogs (or twitter streams) of reputable people in their subject area/profession. What gives these people a positive profile? What do they do to maintain it? Have students search for themselves online. Remind them of places such as local newspapers, school and club sites, web sites of previous employers. Do they like what they see? What would they like to find? Finally, help students to create a username and begin building a positive profile. They may choose to keep this hidden for now (it is counter-productive to force students onto a public network if they feel they lack relevant experience), but ask them what they would like to have on their profile before they leave college. Remind students that sharing sites such as twitter, slideshare, youtube also create a public profile. Course presentations on slideshare are a great short-cut to a positive identity built around subject interests.
12. Build-your-own learning materials Why do it? Teaching a subject requires in-depth understanding and the capacity to re-conceptualise it in different ways. Reversing roles is a liberating experience for students and often produces excellent work. Students have the opportunity to showcase their design talents, whether for cartoon, animation, graphics or writing. The more freedom they have (including digital/analogue materials) the more they will surprise you. This activity works particularly well in groups and where students have a choice of topics. Each group is responsible for producing material on that topic for the entire cohort, and you get to build a repertoire of reusable materials on a range of different subjects.
How to support it? You really do not have to be a digital design expert but you do have to give examples of good learning materials. If it is the first time you have run this activity, look for examples of student- authored materials from other courses or on the web. By default most students will gravitate to powerpoint slides. Encourage them to look at alternatives – prezi, xerte, CourseLab. Or encourage them to embed video, data visualisation etc into powerpoint slides to get their learning points across more clearly. If you have students who are technically proficient, suggest they look at AppMakr and similar app building tools, or professional web design tools such as the Adobe toolset. You might learn a few things too... If you are interested in developing their design capabilities, make that explicit in your examples and assessment criteria. If not, focus on how they get their learning points across and communicate the concepts. 13. Digital deconstruction Why do it? Most students take for granted the power of computer processing to make complex tasks easy. This activity brings out the hidden detail, so students grasp the underlying processes and rationale. Distraction is constantly found to be the main problem that students experience with electronic media. 'Unplugged time' is a good habit and can help them manage time online more carefully. Students reflect on their own learning, research and communication if the processes are made unfamiliar. It used to be possible to do this by introducing new technologies: now it is sometimes easier to achieve the same effect by taking technologies away. Presentation software is a good example.
How to support it? Once you have decided which learning/study/communication practice to 'deconstruct', you need to provide some alternatives. These might be: paper and pens; spaces for face-to-face communication (perhaps with some rules e.g. turn-taking, etiquette); tables, slide rules; post-it notes; or a range of alternative technologies. Set an authentic study task but require that students choose a non-standard approach. Or have different groups of students use different software/services to achieve the same goal, e.g. different presentation or publishing software. Consider having one group that uses 'no technology'. Clarify that students will not be penalised – may in fact be rewarded – for using 'non-standard' approaches and dealing with any attendant difficulties. Make time for reflection, perhaps on personal preferences or more generally on what different tools bring and take away from the practice.
14. Campus enrichment Why do it? The campus offers valuable resources for learning in some subjects, e.g. plants, animals, architectural features, groups of students! The physical campus can be incorporated into activities in a way that helps students strengthen their identification with place, and brings tacit or informal knowledge into play. Campus enrichment is a fun induction-week activity that helps students settle unto their college or university setting. Campus maps are important to everyone – visitors, students and the media – and more engaging if students have contributed to them. Geolocational and mapping capabilities are one of the significant advantages that digital media have, and students should be aware of them.
How to support it? Use the manual geotagging capabilities available in e.g. Flickr, Panormaio or Picassa. This does not require the use of a GPS-enabled device, simply for photographs to be identified with a location. However, it is not precise. Use a GPS-enabled device camera or mobile phone to automatically tag photographs. Results can be displayed very accurately on Google Earth or privately via a range of online mapping services (that essentially make use of Google Earth data) Physically attach QR codes to campus features and associate the codes with videos, information etc. For example: botanical, archaeological or historical information; research projects associated with particular campus locations. Arriving students can use these maps to complete treasure trails, collect points or undertake induction tasks. Later in their careers, students can build or contribute to maps themselves.