Open Media Classes at Coventry University Final Evaluation Report 2015
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Open media classes at Coventry University Final evaluation report 2015 July 2015 Authors Picture taken by Alan Levine Lou McGill and Tim Gray https://flic.kr/p/hm355K “Open media classes at Coventry University - Final evaluation report 2015” Authors Lou McGill and Tim Gray © Jisc Published under the CC BY 4.0 licence creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Contents Introduction 4 Approach and stakeholders 5 Background 6 3.1 Distributed Open courses 6 3.2 Wider developments at Coventry University 6 3.3 Coventry open class model/s 8 Findings and outcomes 14 4.1 What factors led to the development of the open classes? 14 4.2 What kinds of institutional and departmental structures, strategies, policies 16 and processes can support these models? 4.3 What kinds of support do staff need to implement these new open 19 connected approaches? 4.4 Open classes curriculum design and delivery 20 4.5 What was the impact of the classes on the various stakeholders? 24 4.6 How transferable are the models to other institutional contexts and subject disciplines? 35 Summary 36 Recommendations 38 Appendix 1 40 Appendix 2 44 Open media classes at Coventry University 4 Introduction 1. Introduction This report offers a reflection on findings from a one year evaluation study into the distributed open media classes at Coventry University. The study team comprised Lou McGill and Tim Gray of Lou McGill Consultancy Ltd1. This report is augmented by [1] 1 loumcgill.co.uk and timgrayonline.uk an open wiki (bit.ly/1KqL4nH) which includes more detail 2 bit.ly/1dJEiLd about the approaches used during the study and findings twitter.com/jonathan_worth mjohnstonphotography.co.uk are also presented as a series of web pages petewoodbridge.info (comc.loumcgill.co.uk). We would like to thank the jonathan-shaw.com/blog Department of Media in the School of Art and Design for jisc.ac.uk/staff/david-kernohan their input, openness and patience during the study. In particular we would like to acknowledge the following individuals2: Shaun Hides, Jonathan Worth, Matt Johnston, Peter Woodbridge and Jonathan Shaw. We would also like to thank David Kernohan from Jisc who provided valuable support and information. Open media classes at Coventry University Approach and stakeholders 5 2. Approach and stakeholders The study adopted an iterative approach, working in We identified the following groups of stakeholders which partnership with the Coventry Team to consider past and sometimes include sub groups. Some stakeholders may current practice of key stakeholders in the open media belong to several groups, particularly as one of the key classes. This approach utilised a framework (activity system factors of the open media classes is that boundaries are triangle bit.ly/1dufMPb 3) to guide discussion around rules, blurred and roles are not predefined or static. roles, tools within the ‘system’ (in this case the various course stakeholders). For a fuller description of the method and » Academic team - Impact on academic practice approach see the ‘Evaluation Approach’ (bit.ly/1CPRwfZ) wiki page, the ‘Evaluation Activities’ (bit.ly/1LM4BiH) wiki » Support teams page and the ‘Evaluation Questions’ (bit.ly/1LHEngo) wiki page. Appendix 1 includes evaluation questions from the » Registered students - impact on learning, perspectives of different stakeholder groups. employability, professional networking The study recognised that the whole story of the open » Open students media classes is made up of a series of different narratives from a variety of stakeholders and that we » Open professionals needed to reflect their diverse needs and approaches (recognising that boundaries between learner/teacher/ » Institutional senior managers (department/faculty curator/creator are blurred within this model.) Evaluating level, strategic level, operational level) the Open Media Classes was challenging as there are several stakeholders involved in these models. » Wider HE community (UK and global) Jisc, other HEIs Stakeholders are viewed in this study as 1. different groups of people withan interest in the [1] 3 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activity_theory questions we need to ask (audience/community) 2. different groups of peoplewho are experiencing the impact of open classes (subjects) Open media classes at Coventry University 6 Background 3. Background 3.1 Distributed Open courses roles of, and relationships between, the various stakeholders Networking technologies have the potential to transform are changing in exciting and challenging ways. This study learning and teaching from closed content-based approaches aims to tell the story of the Coventry open media classes to open connected and collaborative experiences. Yet and answer some of the questions that we need to questions remain about how far open access to both consider around how far the models are transferable to content and learning opportunities translates into successful other institutions and other subject disciplines, and how experiences for learners (Littlejohn et al 2014). Educational they have developed and adapted over the last 5 years. institutions, which tend to be slow to change, can struggle to adapt existing models of teaching and support to take An interesting recent development is the Connected account of these changes, but have to respond to growing Courses (connectedcourses.net) collaborative network competition in a global context and a range of different of faculty in higher education. This initiative launched in emerging open models (Weller, 2014). Coventry University summer 2014 establishing an open course for developing was an early adopter of open approaches and the and teaching open courses in September 2014. The team Department of Media at the School of Art and design at Coventry are contributing to Connected Courses and secured funding from the third phase of the HEFCE funded utilising this initiative to share their stories and their models UK Open Educational Resources Programme (UKOER) with the wider community. This followed the Reclaim (2011-2012). Whilst many of the projects in the UKOER Open Learning (open.media.mit.edu) initiative from the Programme (2009-2012) were focused specifically on DML Hub (dmlhub.net) (Digital Media and Learning), part content most of them were also concerned with open of the MacArthur Foundation which had awarded a prize educational practices4 (OEP). The UKOER Coventry Open to support Coventry’s PhonarEd initiative (open.media. Media Classes (COMC) project was unusual in that it focused mit.edu/phonar-ed), University of Mary Washington’s on open classes rather than content and their findings DS106 (open.media.mit.edu/ds106) (Digital Storytelling) provided a rich additional story to the UKOER findings. course, and FemTechNet’ distributed course (open. media.mit.edu/femtechnet). There are a range of different types of open course5 - from fully open massive courses such as the cMOOCs (based on connectivist principles of knowledge creation encouraging PhonarEd provides ‘a back channel for collaborative content creation, creativity, autonomy, and instructors to come together, share experiences social networked learning) and xMOOCs (large scale high and highlight examples of best (open) visual profile courses delivered largely through traditional means story-telling practice. With #PhonarEd we with a focus on didactic pedagogy such as lectures and are setting out to address the challenges testing) to what have been described as open boundary experienced by academics/instructors who or open classroom courses (where existing traditional are as yet unfamiliar with the remix culture courses are opened up and transformed by contributions that Creative Commons licenses (for example) from open non fee-paying students and professionals around grant access to (our most FAQ’s are is it the world). Open classroom courses offer opportunities to okay and how do I use/adapt/adopt this?). integrate new open approaches with existing traditional We have found that to be passively open is models and the Coventry open media classes are one of not enough, with #PhonarEd we seek to the most successful exemplars of this model, providing continue our policy of active openness’ tangible evidence of transformative teaching practice and From Reclaim Open Learning, enhanced student experiences. In these open classrooms September 2013 Open media classes at Coventry University Background 7 3.2 Wider developments at Coventry University Department was taking a leading role in opening access In 2009 Coventry University Media Department developed to research in the UK, and the Department of Media was the Open Media Strategy in response to changes in the providing many of the open podcasts. Alongside this, media and communications professions and the educational Jonathan Worth began opening some of the department’s landscape, brought about by both an increasingly networked classes in the BA (Hons) Photography (bit.ly/1KnuIL2) world and emerging open practices. Technological changes (Phonar phonar.org) (Photography and narrative) and in digital media have challenged traditional ownership of (Picbod picbod.covmedia.co.uk) (Picturing the body) content - particularly in relation to broadcasting and courses (described in more detail below). Peter joined the sharing information and have enabled wide-scale access Department as a lecturer in 2010 and established the open to the means of recording, producing and publishing/ Creative Activism class (bit.ly/1LSVHgr) as part of the BA sharing. This has transformed the relationships and