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Executive Summary

1 Introduction

2 Context

3 Methodology

4 - 9 Findings, Analysis and Discussion

10 Summary of Findings

11 Discussion of Findings

12 References

13 Case Studies

Acknowledgments & Partners

 

Case Study Map 
 

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Institution H1

9 Impact of networked learning on quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation

Quality assurance was not explicitly addressed in the documentation examined, but questionnaire responses suggest that there have been few major changes to quality assurance procedures:

Some additional procedures are being introduced for programmes delivered wholly electronically … a pilot project is working through the British Standard for computer delivered assessment to revise procedures. (H1I4 questionnaire)

There was agreement among the questionnaire responses that there has been some initial evaluation of staff and student take up and experiences, but as yet there is no regular monitoring.

Interviews provided further insights into these issues but did not uncover anything that the questionnaires had not already indicated. The work on British Standards for CAA was referred to by two respondents, the distance learning committee and its working were mentioned by six respondents, and the limited evaluation was referred to by four respondents.

And I think that we have profound problems here… either not wanting to or not been able to evaluate what we are doing well enough and I hate the idea that we are making really important decisions that are based on either the band wagon effect everybody else is doing it so we’ve got to do it or even worse influential people. (H1I2A)

Well I think the QAA has driven that change. I think that when new programmes are now introduced they all have to written in the new programme spec format. We’ve made every department re write all the programmes that we offer in a programme spec. format, and we’ve looked at every single one of them; it’s nearly killed us. …
So we’ve put together a sub committee that only now vets programmes by either E or distance learning.
Now, we’ve set ourselves the task for the next six months of developing a code of practice for students at a distance in terms of what are their entitlements. (H1I6A)

So for example over the last few years a few individuals have started to use the VLE initially… to support student assessment. Some of it was formative but a few individuals have tried to run summative assessments. There is a British standard out there and there is a certain degree of interest in whether or not the assessments that we started to run would actually match the code that is within the British standard. (H1I2A)

Perceptions of quality

One particular issue emerging from thoughts about collaboration and communication was that of transparency or visibility – of collaboration, of student tracking and of the quality of teaching materials. It was seen as an important development emerging from increased use of networked learning

A small instance of collaboration going on there or looking at what you are doing, which is a lot more transparent to see what you are doing in a managed learning environment than it is if it is tucked away in folders. So again, very small instances of it but not huge ground swell, open it all up and let’s share information, I don’t think that has happened yet. (H1I3)

… from the school’s point of view we can, in theory, track more easily what students are doing, when they are doing it, and, you know, make sure that they are getting hold of the information. So there is hopefully, again, a lot more transparency associated with what students are doing, (H1I3)

We want a local delivery model for QA. And I think they’ve got abetter chance of actually looking at what a unit might have on the web for students. And certainly we’d expect schools to be keeping an oversight of that. I think that a big drive for making that much more transparent will be the teaching quality information requirements that are coming out of the Cook report. (H1I6A)

Summary

The impact on quality assurance at this early stage appears to have been limited; work is in progress on the necessary procedures for computer aided summative assessment, and student evaluation is being piloted. There is recognition that the growth in networked learning will have an impact on visibility and transparency, and that this in turn will impact on quality procedures.