Using Mobile Technologies for Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings: Outcomes of Five Case Studies

Christine Dearnley, Jill Taylor, Scott Hennessy, et al. International Journal on ELearning. Norfolk: 2009 Vol. 8, Iss. 2; pg. 193.

 

Abstract (Summary)

This article presents the outcomes of the Mobile Technologies Pilot Project for the Assessment and Learning in  Pactice Settings (ALPS) Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). ALPS is a partnership of five Higher Education Institutions (HEI) that aims to develop and improve assessment, and thereby learning, in practice settings for health and social care students. It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The aim of this project was to identify the readiness of the institutions to adopt mobile technologies for learning and assessment in practice settings, which may include hospitals, health centers, and community locations; and to identify the available and required infrastructure. We report here on five case studies and explore the variety of ways in which mobile technologies were used, highlighting benefits, challenges, and constraints. We conclude that new technologies demand new approaches to learning but remain cognizant of the need to base new approaches firmly
in established pedagogy. Recommendations for practice are provided.
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Talk the talk: Learner-generated podcasts as catalysts for knowledge creation

by Mark J. W. Lee, Catherine McLoughlin and Anthony Chan. British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 39 No 3 2008, pages 501–521.

Abstract

Podcasting allows audio content from one or more user-selected feeds or channels to be automatically downloaded to one’s computer as it becomes available, then later transferred to a portable player for consumption at a convenient time and place.   It is enjoying phenomenal growth in mainstream society, alongside other Web 2.0 technologies that enable Internet users to author and distribute rich media content quickly and easily. Instead of using the technology for the mere recording and dissemination of lectures and other instructor-centred information, the project reported on in this article focused on enabling students to create their own podcasts for distribution to their peers. The article describes how engaging in the podcasting exercise promoted collaborative knowledge building among the student-producers, as evidenced through focus-group interviewing and an analysis of the products of their shared dialogue and reflection. The findings suggest that the collaborative development of audio learning objects enabling student conceptualisations of disciplinary content to be shared with peers is a powerful way of stimulating both individual and collective learning, as well as supporting social processes of perspective-taking and negotiation of meaning that underpin knowledge creation.

To view the full-text article, click here.

Online Versus in the Classroom: Student Success in a Hands-On Lab Class

By Ron Reuter. The American Journal of Distance Education. Philadelphia: Jul 2009. Vol. 23, Issue. 3; (p. 151).

Abstract

This study compares learning success of online and on-campus students in a general education soil science course with lab and field components. Two terms of students completed standardized pre- and post assessments designed to test knowledge and skills from the lecture and lab content of the course.

The impact of mobile learning on students’ learning behaviours and performance: Report from a large blended classroom

By Minjuan Wang ¹ , Ruimin Shen ² , Daniel Novak ¹ , Xiaoyan Pan <sup>2

1</sup> San Diego State University
² Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU)

British Journal of Educational Technology.  Volume 40 Issue 4, Page 673-695 (Published online)

Abstract

Chinese classrooms, whether on school grounds or online, have long suffered from a lack of interactivity. Many  online classes simply provide recorded instructor lectures, which only reinforces the negative effects of passive nonparticipatory learning. At Shanghai Jiaotong University, researchers and developers actively seek technologic interventions that can greatly increase interactivity in large blended classes. They developed a cutting-edge mobile learning system that can deliver live broadcasts of real-time classroom teaching to students with mobile devices.

Evaluating the quality of e-learning at the degree level in the student experience of blended learning

British Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 40 Issue 4, Pages 652-663.

This paper reports on the development of a scale for determining the quality of the student e-learning experience at the degree level when the student learning context is predominately a campus-based experience. Rapid  developments in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education require methods for evaluating the contribution of such tools to student learning, especially when they are complementing a  face-to-face experience. We examine the psychometric functioning of a proposed e-learning scale in relation to a well-validated degree-level teaching evaluation instrument, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire. The
e-learning scale has suitable reliability and validity in the present sample of undergraduate students for quality assurance activities around ICT.

Click here for the article in full-text.

On EDUCAUSE Teaching and Learning Challenges ‘09: Webcast: June 22

As part of their continuing “Solutions in Action” webcast series, EDUCAUSE will be hosting, “Developing 21st Century Literacies Amongst Students, Faculty, and Staff” at 1 p.m. ET on June 22.  This virtual webcast will feature a lightning round of presentations from institutions about the ways they are integrating information fluency, digital literacy, and other 21st century skills into the campus experience.

The speakers will include:

Clare Van Den Blink and Steve Pond, The Undergraduate Information Competency Initiative, Cornell University

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Jen Riley, Student Learning with Reusable Learning Objects, UMass-Dartmouth

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Roxann Riskin, Cloud Computing, Web 2.0, and University Work Study, Fairfield University

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Susan Simon, The Student Center for Research, Writing, and IT, Dartmouth College

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Christine Drew and Kris Wobbe, First Year Great Problems Seminar, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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Jason Casden, Library Tools, North Carolina State University

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Corey Johnson, Information Literacy Education Project, Washington State University

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No advance registration is required. On the day of the seminar, you can visit: http://educause.acrobat.com/elisem.

Click, “Enter As Guest,” and add your name and institution to enter the room.

Online eAssessment: AMEE Guide No. 39

by: Reg Dennick, Simon Wilkinson,

Nigel Purcell.  Informa Healthcare

To cite this Article Dennick, Reg, Wilkinson, Simon and Purcell, Nigel(2009)’Online eAssessment: AMEE Guide No. 39′,Medical Teacher,31:3,192 — 206.

Abstract

In this guide, the authors outline the advantages of online eAssessment and examine the intellectual, technical, legal and cost issues that arise from its use.  This guide outlines the major assessment types that are suitable for online assessment and makes a key distinction between formative and summative assessment.  The focus is primarily on the
latter since that is where the difficulties are most acute and robust systems most critical.  A range of practical issues relating to the key stages in running a summative e-exam are explored and advice given on system requirements and on how to ensure that the exam runs smoothly when you ‘go live‘.

This section includes consideration of the way that using eAssessment might affect the standard setting and results analysis process.  The section on future trends in online assessment explores possibilities such as computer adaptive testing and the automated assessment of free text answers.  Finally, there is a consideration of the implications of these trends for management.

Click here for the full-text.

E-learning adoption in a campus university as a complex adaptive system: mapping lecturer strategies

by Carol Russell.  A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Leicester, 2008.

Abstract

The adoption of e-learning technologies in campus universities has not realised its potential for meeting the learning needs and expectations of 21st century students. By modelling university learning and teaching as a complex adaptive system, this thesis develops a new way of understanding and managing the adoption of new learning technologies in campus universities.

The literature on learning and teaching in higher education indicates that lecturers’ ability to innovate in their teaching is constrained by tacit and discipline-specific educational knowledge. Introducing new methods and technologies into mainstream university teaching requires explicit review of educational knowledge, and requires support from departmental and institutional organizational systems. Research on organizational change in other contexts, such as manufacturing industry, has used complex adaptive systems modelling to understand the systemic interdependence of individual strategies, organizations and technologies. These models suggest that the integration of new e-learning technologies into mainstream campus university teaching will involve corresponding change processes. Part of this change requires the linking up of diverse disciplinary perspectives on learning and teaching.

The thesis develops a conceptual framework for researching university learning and teaching as a complex adaptive system that includes learning technologies, people, and their organization within a university. Complex adaptive systems theory suggests that the capacity of a campus university to adapt to new e-learning technologies will be reflected in patterns in the strategies of those lecturers who are early adopters of those technologies.

A context-specific study in the University of New South Wales used cognitive mapping to represent and analyse the strategies of a group of 19 early adopters of e-learning technology. These early adopters were participants in a cross-discipline Fellowship programme intended to develop their ability to act as change agents within the university. Analysis of the maps gathered before and after the Fellowship, triangulated with data on the Fellows’ participation in organizational change, leads to a new way of modelling how university learning and teaching systems, including their technologies, adapt within a complex and changing higher education context.

Click here to access the thesis.

Modelling choice: factors influencing modes of delivery in Australian universities

by: Andrew Smith, Peter Ling and Doug Hill.   Research in Post-Compulsory Education, Vol. 13, No. 3, October 2008, p. 295–306.

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study of Multiple Modes of Delivery in Australian universities that was commissioned by Australian Universities Teaching Committee over the period 2001–2004. The project examined and described the various means of educational delivery deployed by Australian universities. It identified the pedagogical, organisational and environmental factors impacting on university decisions to diversify course delivery across more than one location or mode. In this paper the authors report briefly on the first matter – the modes of delivery employed by Australian Universities.

The paper focuses on the second issue – factors influencing university decision-making about modes of delivery.

Click here for the full-text.

E-book: 65 tips for getting the most out of your e-learning budget

This eBook on maximizing your e-Learning development budget demonstrates the ingenuity of our industry and our commitment to learn all-ways. You will find tips on enduring themes such as where to begin your e-Learning programs, getting the most from subject matter experts, lending your skills to other departments, and lessons learned the hard way, to more timely themes like leveraging social media, using open source tools, and where to find free content on the net.  Some of the editor’s personal tips, which were not already offered by our tipsters, are also included here to extend the budget-stretching beyond e-Learning into all facets of education-focused cost cutting efforts. In this eBook you will find: 65 Tips for Getting the Most out of

• Your e-Learning Budget
• Article – Do More With Less by
  Marcia L. Conner
• Article - The e-Learning Department
  of One by Greg Kearsley

May 2009

Click here to download.