Assessment for Learning: Using Mobile Polls in the Classroom

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Katharine Lindsay

Introduction

The use of formative assessment to develop learners understanding of key concepts is an established practice and used by many academics within the University. Introducing audience response systems into the lecture design can bring further advantages to this process by enriching traditional teaching, engaging students and increasing participation in discussion.

Dr Helen Christian, from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics empowered her students to learn actively and deeply through peer learning and responding to an interactive quiz enabled via the WebLearn Poll Tool on Mobile Oxford. Students used their mobile phones in a synchronous revision session to ‘vote’ for correct answers that they then discussed as a group. Reassured about areas where their understanding was good, and working together to identify common misconceptions, they voted overwhelmingly for more sessions incorporating the mobile Weblearn polls tool.

The Challenge

Despite high levels of student satisfaction in course evaluations, Helen was acutely aware that her lectures were in the traditional format of teaching as telling. She wanted to encourage interactive learning and therefore started introducing questions to the students mid-lecture.

This was a step in the right direction but I quickly established that the same, small number of students were willing to contribute answers and I did not have evidence that the majority had understood the concepts I was introducing.

The first year medical students sit their first professional qualifying exams in week 9 of Trinity Term, yet they need to learn a large number of new topics, including ‘Reproduction’, up to the end of week 6. The time pressure and volume of material promotes surface and passive learning.

The Innovation

Having been inspired by the reported learning benefits of audience response systems (Mazur 2009) Helen was keen to explore their use. After a colleague alerted her to the Weblearn Mobile Polls Tool she met with a member of the WebLearn team to discuss the idea of using the tool as a revision ‘quiz’ for the first year medical students.

During the class students were asked to access the quiz via the Mobile Oxford portal on their personal phones. The session was held in a computer lab, to enable the remaining students to answer the quiz on the computers. When they had finished the quiz Helen displayed the results of each question in tabular and graphic format (bar chart or pie chart). She then went through each question, revealing the results and discussing the answers.
A WebLearn PollA forum was also set up in the WebLearn site for students to post any questions they may have arising from the quiz after the session.

We were impressed at how enthusiastic those students with internet-enabled mobiles were for the Mobile Oxford interface and observed that students were clearly engaged actively in the session


Student evaluation confirmed that the aims of the session had been met. ‘The overall value of the session’ score was 8.7/10 (60 students completed evaluation of 110 attended) and 59/60 students responded that they would like more sessions incorporating the mobile Weblearn Polls tool.

[The session] reassured me that I have good knowledge of the reproductive system and highlighted areas I need to work on; chance to revise entire topic, excellent summary.

It was useful to identify common misconceptions, why options were wrong (via different votes) and not just which ones were right.

Top Tips for Success

1/ Hold the session in an area where mobile signal is strong and wireless (e.g. Eduroam / OWL) is available.
2/ Provide printouts of the How to use WebLearn via Mobile Oxford handout for those students who have internet-enabled phones.

Further Information

Confessions of a Converted Lecturer: Eric Mazur
How to use WebLearn via Mobile Oxford
WebLearn Poll Tool
Mobile Oxford

Winner of the OxTALENT 2011 Award for ‘Best Use of Technology in Learning Spaces’.

Posted in Innovative Practice, OxTALENT Winner | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Supporting Blended Learning in Cross-Departmental Programmes: WebLearn

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Katharine Lindsay

Oxford’s Virtual Learning Environment, WebLearn, offers a range of tools to support teaching and learning activities in courses that blend face-to-face and online teaching and learning. A Cross-departmental team from Oxford’s Continuing Professional Development Centre and the Department of Primary Care have implemented a comprehensive WebLearn environment for use across three related modular programmes in the Health Sciences involving two departments: the Department of Primary Care and the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. The MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care, Postgraduate Certificate in Health Research, and the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research are designed for busy health professionals seeking to ensure that they are able to adapt to the most current demands of modern health service delivery. The programmes employ innovative study methods through online distance learning and intensive 5-day residential modules.

The Challenge

Through their courses, students had different experiences studying modules from different programmes. They were presented with a variety of technologies and VLE systems with different structures, navigation and appearance. CPD wanted to provide a systematic online environment that students and staff could engage with consistently but that would still allow individuals to be creative and innovative, and share their practice.

For systematic use of a VLE to be developed and enhanced, it needs to capture the flair and enthusiasm of individuals but support those individuals within a sustainable and efficient framework ~ Dr Adrian Stokes, Director of the Centre for Continuing Professional Development

The team also wanted to provide more structures support to the intensive residential week, enabling students and tutors to get to know each other before they met face to face, and have relevant information on hand. This would enable to the week to focus more on more demanding academic activities.

The Innovation
It was decided to develop an overall framework through deploying a centrally provided and supported system available to all departments: WebLearn.

The team used a variety of approaches to select relevant tools to use from the VLE. They asked for feedback from tutors who were already using WebLearn , and also gathered feedback from students who had used WebLearn in individual module/lecture series. They also went through a formalised consensus exerciss to determine the aims and objectives of using WebLearn.

  • To create a framework for managing the extension of WebLearn across multiple programmes, involving multiple departments, with sites at the ‘course’ and ‘module’ levels, each employing a different set of functions and tools to communi- cate with students.
  • To employ ‘templates’ and standard conventions to enhance the user experience (e.g. navigability), giving common look and feel across different modules and courses, covering the homepage navigation, forums, online evaluations (both daily and weekly), and a timetable-interface for session resources.
  • To develop the WebLearn skills of colleagues and improve sustainability (e.g. by avoiding dependence on processes that require one or two key individuals).
  • To develop stable folder-structures, resource locations and naming conventions, across multiple runs of several module sites, ensuring a deliberate and consistent approach across a complex set of programmes.
  • To categorise resources into ‘Programme specific’ (e.g. handbooks), Module spe- cific (e.g. textbooks) and ‘module-run-specific’ (e.g. timetables), and develop a set of centralised resource locations where appropriate, and the structure for easy duplication (of resource folders and module sites) where possible.

Combinations of tools were then selected that would realise these aims.

Two types of WebLearn site were designed. ‘Course’ level sites covered the overall course structure and referenced other relevant resources for students across the university (e.g. the Student Gateway). Module level sites were designed to encompass three phases. Orientation: where students are prepared to engage with eachother, their tutors and the module content. Intensive: to support face to ace teaching at the intensive residential week, providing a repository for material produced. Follow up: to support the phase following the intensive through further reading, assignment preparation etc. The VLE acts as a wrapper, supporting this three level approach.

Feedback
During the intensive week engagement between tutors and students has shifted towards critical analysis, evaluation, and more demanding academic activities away from information giving and getting to know one another. Use of WebLearn has provided this orientation to enable staff and students to focus on teaching and learning.

Even though the cross-departmental work has just started, at the end of the first term the early signs were promising:

We are getting higher levels of participation in the online elements and students actually want more. They are feeding into the process of choosing new tools and decising what is best at module and course level. ~ Dr Adrian Stokes, Director of the Centre for Continuing Professional Development

Soonthe CPD will be able to evaluate more deeply the impact of moving to WebLearn, but even in these beginnings it is felt that the systematic use of WebLearn has led to a sustainable and efficient framework for blended learning.

Top Tips

  • Be clear about what it is you want to achieve and design you use of WebLearn to realise these aims.
  • To design on a large scale for students, try to put a team together to negate the risk of having a whole initiative lead by one advocate. A team can support eachother and create a framework.
  • Broaden your network to support what you are doing. Support is available from the WebLearn team and the WebLearn User Group.

A winner of the OxTALENT 2011 Award for ‘Best Use of WebLearn to Support a Course or Programme of Study’.

Posted in Innovative Practice, OxTALENT Winner | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Student Innovation: Developing Mobile Apps for Learning

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Katharine Lindsay

Mobile devices such as phones and tablets can provide flexible and timely access to learning resources and learning experiences. Designing a mobile application to address a unique problem or serve a specific niche task is possible with some basic programming skills and an innovative idea. Helen Ginn, a Biochemistry undergraduate at Magdalen College developed CMol, an iPhone and iPad application that delivers beautiful, colourful and interactive 3D depictions of from the Protein Data Bank, enabling students and researchers to analyse proteins on the go.

The Challenge

Whilst doing a summer internship at the Division of Structural Biology Helen wanted to be able to carry around her biomolecular analysis work with her. A laptop being cumbersome, she looked to see if there was a relevant app she could install and use on her iPad. There was, however its features were limited and it did not provide her with all the information she needed. She wondered if she could produce something better for her own use.

The Innovation

Helen decided to develop an app for her iPad and iPhone. She became a member of the iOS Software Developer Program which provides a wealth of resources including videos, sample code, technical documentation, Apple Developer Forums, graphical debuggers, and performance optimisation tools. It also allows you to put your apps on the Apple Store. She developed the app using the free dvelopement environment XCode and programmed in Objective-C (primarily used for Apple’s Mac OS X and iOS, built upon the C programming language). She began by trying to emulate the features of the app she had downloaded originally and worked with example code from other apps to add further features. She refined her bug testing, logically working through errors to reach solutions:

During the development of my app I encountered this error like my proteins had exploded, with countless lines going all over the screen. It took me about a week of continuous effort to solve this bug, exhausting almost all alleyways  in  the process -­ but once I was hooked on the project I wasn’t going to let it defeat me, and eventually I discovered the issue and corrected it.

Helen distributes CMol on the iOSApp Store to iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch customers around the world.

Feedback

CMol is the first application in the App Store to provide in-­depth tools to analyse the structures of biomolecules and has sold over 450 copies to date in 35 different countries. Helen has gone on to develop other apps and says:

I’ve had lots of positive feedback on my apps in the App Store. The  two scientific ones (CMol and Biochemistry Reference) are the most popular, whereas the word game (War of the Words) sells a few times a week. Interestingly, the game is very popular with my friends -­ I’ve had them play it on a fully charged iPad until it went flat 7 hours later!

[CMol] is very handy to have on my iPad to show structures to people during conference coffee breaks. – Customer feedback, App Store

Top Tips

  • Don’t be put off if you do not know C or Objective-C. Many programming concepts are not language specific, take what you’ve learned in one, such as, Php and start applying it to C (start with C rather than Objective-C). The syntax is completely different, but the concepts remain the same. If you do not know any programming OUCS offers courses to get you started.
  • Start  by  giving  yourself  manageable  tasks  instead  of  launching  into  the fantastic complex 3D game you have in mind, write the ”Hello  World” app, an app to easily convert Celsius measurements to Fahrenheit, an editable database of your textbooks, and grow from there.  Working  through  a  textbook  is  not  necessary, I don’t own a single programming textbook. Example apps you can download the code for are your friends.
  • Make backups at regular stages and make backups before starting any new features.

Further Information

Winner of the OxTALENT 2011 Award for ‘Best Use of Student IT for Learning’.

Posted in Innovative Practice, OxTALENT Winner | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Agent-based modelling: The BehaviourComposer

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Katharine Lindsay

Agent-based modelling has become an increasingly important tool for learners studying social and biological systems. Sometimes referred to as individual-based modelling, it is used to simulate the actions and interactions of autonomous agents (both individual or collective entities such as organizations or groups) with a view to assessing their effects on the system as a whole. The Modelling4All project at the Learning Technologies Group, University of Oxford have developed the BehaviourComposer tool to enable scholars to create agent-based models with little prior knowledge of programming or computer science, opening up this area of investigation to much wider audiences in teaching, learning, research and outreach.

Professor Angela McLean (Department of Zoology and Director of the Institute for Emerging Infections), along with Dr Robert Belshaw (Department of Zoology), have worked with the team to integrate ABM into the design of the Infectious Disease Control course.

The Challenge

ABM can help the medical community and policy-makers predict which populations are most susceptible to infection, the dynamics of epidemics, and the probable outcomes for alternative interventions. It is thus an important skill for students of biology to learn. However, as a computer modelling technique it traditionally requires a high level of programming skills which can make it time consuming or even inaccessible to non-programmers. To enable students to engage more deeply and effectively with ABM Angela was looking for a technology-enabled method that would be more accessible to her students.

The Innovation

Through the Learning Technologies Group Angela heard about the Modelling4All project and the BehaviourComposer tool. Unlike other forms of computer modelling software, the BehaviourComposer does not require users to first master a computer programming language to engage with ABM. It supports high level model building allowing the user to browse for prebuilt micro-behaviours (small blocks of code) which can be combined and customised to become an agent-based model. In the process students learn about processes and complex systems and also develop their modelling literacy. Further more the BehaviourComposer is free and runs in the user’s web browser, allowing them to save their work on servers, facilitating sharing and mobile use.

The interface and the whole approach are very intuitive so people can get into modelling without having to overcome the barriers which are sometimes there for people having to deal with more complex mathematics.

Angela and Robert worked with the Modelling4All team to design a series of classroom based-sessions which saw undergraduate Biology students use the BehaviourComposer to model the spread of an epidemic over social networks. The team designed a library of micro-behaviours that the students could use in the sessions to explore particular questions.

The students’ first session saw them build a simple mathematical model of epidemics using other software. This modelled the dynamics of entire populations. In the following session they were given an agent-based model that mirrored this aggregate model. They then used the BehaviourComposer to explore the consequences of modelling a heterogeneous population. In just a single session they were able to build models with different kinds of networks and interventions. They ran several variant models and each student contributed to a spreadsheet that automatically collected the reported results from a series of simulation runs. These were then discussed.

Following the success of the BehaviourComposer in the classroom the team developed an Epidemic Game Maker that became part of Oxford’s Emerging Infections: Viruses that come in from the Wild stand at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in 2010.

Feedback

As a teaching tool, the BehaviourComposer has been very successful. Not only does it enable students to explore their subjects more deeply through ABM but it also provides them with a first step towards learning computer programming for building models. It is currently being used not only in Biology, but also in business studies and in the study of religion in society:

The students absolutely enjoyed it, especially as they were comparing this to a more traditional modelling practical. Most of them said they felt like they were playing a computer game. ~ Dr Samir Bhatt, Department of Zoology

My experience when we use the Behaviour Composer tool is that all students are fully involved in building the Sugarscape model, testing various assumptions, and seeing what conclusions they can draw. This is no mean feat! Many colleagues at other business schools are quite surprised, to say the least, when I tell them that we get an entire class of MBA students to build agent-based models. ~ Dr. Felix Reed-Tsochas, Director, Complex Systems Studies, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, Saïd Business School

Modelling4All, combined with the support of Ken and Howard, enabled me to produce easily and quickly an absorbing and stimulating computer practical for my undergraduate students. In my case, the practical allowed the students to study and manipulate the spread and control of a hypothetical disease, in particular exploring the role of infection networks, but I see the possibilities of Modelling4All in teaching many areas of biology, and have recommended it to my colleagues. ~ Dr. Robert Belshaw, Department of Zoology

Top Tips

Further Information

Posted in Innovative Practice | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Supporting Tutorials: WebLearn

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Katharine Lindsay

See the video casestudy on Oxford Podcasts or the LTG YouTube Channel.

Introduction

The tutorial system lies at the heart of Oxford’s educational experience. Supporting tutorial practices through the use of technology can enable both tutors and students to interact with each other and relevant content, before and after the tutorial sessions. Revd Dr James Robson is Senior Tutor in Theology at Wycliffe Hall. He has used WebLearn, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, for tutoring and supporting his students in their learning and formation.

The Challenge

The student experience is not restricted to the classroom or tutor-contact. It is also not just about developing and contesting knowledge, but about character formation and growth. James was looking for a technology that would support students through their educational experience as a whole rather than supporting individual activities.

The Innovation

After attending a WebLearn Fundamentals course James saw a huge potential to use the environment to support his students’ educational experience. He thought carefully about the student experience, from receiving an assignment to receiving their feedback and explored WebLearn tools that could support and enhance these processes.

James designed his WebLearn site from the learner perspective and focused on the actions they need to complete rather than disseminating general information.

I carefully designed the site so that everything is no more than three clicks away; no page is too cluttered with text; the links between layers are logical and hierarchical, yet interlinked; navigation is easy and intuitive.

Students can register for tutorial sessions using the WebLearn Sign Up tool, which is also enabled via the Mobile Oxford platform. A QR 2-dimensional bar code (generated via the sign up tool) is displayed for students to scan taking them straight to the relevant WebLearn page to sign up for tutorial sessions. James sets up tutorial times for the whole term in advance, students can select which session they wish to attend and sign up electronically. This is much more efficient than having to contact students individually to find out which time slots are convenient for them.

Students can submit their essays electronically via the Assignments tool. They receive a digital receipt to acknowledge their submission and WebLearn keeps a record of who has submitted their essay, including the date and time of submission. James can assign marks and overall comments, which are seen only by the student concerned.

James has also made many enrichment resources available, with links built into the Home page for ease of navigation. Amongst this collection of rich resources are reading lists and recorded Sunday sermons which are available as podcasts. James uses the group functionality to partition the Wycliffe students into the groups and papers that he teaches. He also uses the Web Content tool to incorporate external freely available open educational content into the site. Customised announcements are posted in the site and also sent as emails to alert particular groups to relevant resources and let them know when assignments are available.

Feedback

The WebLearn site has seen much activity since it was launched:

The outcome is that generally the WebLearn area is very successful. Beyond my own use, I’ve had 1700 visits, with 7800 instances of activity, and 87% of the 191 posted files were accessed by students. Anecdotally, I’ve had many positive comments from students using the site….they know that I’m making an effort with the teaching, so they make significant efforts with their learning.

Top tips for success

  • Focus on the user, not on yourself. Make it valuable and accessible to students.
  • Keep it simple. Don’t try to do too much too soon.
  • Ask the students what they would like to see in your site.

Further Information

A Winner of the OxTALENT 2011 Award for ‘Best Use of WebLearn to Support a Course or Programme of Study’.

Posted in Innovate Practice, OxTALENT Winner | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Supporting Language Teaching: WebLearn

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Katharine Lindsay

This case study shows how the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, WebLearn, has been used in the teaching programme at the Institute for Chinese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies. Staff use WebLearn to supplement classroom teaching for language learning including additional support for problems arising from student assignments and revision lessons during vacations.

2009 Casestudy: Available as a PDF

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Improving student understanding and public outreach: Podcasting

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Katharine Lindsay

Dr Simon Benjamin is a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Material Sciences. He has written extensively on the subject of Nanotechnology and Quantum technology. He was interested in finding a new way of reaching his students and explaining the fascinating yet difficult concepts behind his subject; Quantum Nanotechnology. He had researched the possibilities of creating podcasts as both an enhancement to his students’ learning experience and also to interest members of the general public in his research area. Using the University’s Podcasting Service he developed an engaging series of recordings in film and audio formats called Caging Schrödinger’s Cat – Quantum Nanotechnology. His podcasts have improved student understanding Quantum Nanotechnology, informal feedback from students has been very positive with many students saying that the podcasts have helped them understand the concepts behind quantum nanotechnology.

2009 Casestudy: Available as a PDF

Winner of the 2009 OxTALENT Awards for Academic Podcasting

Posted in Innovative Practice, OxTALENT Winner | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment