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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 

Institution H7

8 Impact of networked learning on teaching, learning and assessment

As already noted, institution H7 emphasised the importance of teaching and learning in the documentary evidence. It was evident that the respondents supported this emphasis with issues in relation to several aspects of teaching and learning being referred to on several occasions by all the respondents. Interestingly one respondent noted that the reason for the institution engaging with networked learning was that it would enhance the student learning experience.

... my understanding… it was seen as a way of basically enhancing the quality of the teaching and learning experience for a student body who are very diverse... (H7I3)

Blended learning

The term blended learning was one that surfaced in a number of interviews.

… my vision is of a blended learning environment which almost becomes transparent in that sense, in that it helps students to work with their colleagues, with their tutors, with resources… we don’t... have a vision of being an entirely online university. (H7I3)

... there is a lot of face-to-face teaching that’s been replaced by online learning which they call blended learning. (H7I4/6)

… I reckon that a blend of online and traditional is optimum. (H7I2)

The notion of blended learning was also in evidence from one of the other respondents though the actual term was not used.

My personal opinion is that it is a useful tool alongside traditional methods rather than replacing anything. (H7I5)

These quotes thus suggest an institution that is making use of aspects of the technology to add value to the learning experiences of its students but does not intend to replace the traditional forms of delivering the curriculum with networked learning. However, it also noted that this form of blended learning is not necessarily feasible in all areas of the curriculum:

I think it is more difficult where you have lab-based disciplines like chemistry or placement-based things like physiotherapists going out to do placements to learn skills. It is not a substitute for actual skills learning I don’t think but [used] creatively it can support any kind of learning. (H7I4/6)

Changing role of teacher

The potential for networked learning to change the role of the teacher is not commented on specifically; however, the quotes above in relation to communication suggests that students and tutors have identified different ways of communicating with each other. It could be suggested that this has the potential for affecting the role of the teacher. Interestingly one respondent in relation to his own research carried out elsewhere, comments that online learning offers opportunities for a changing role:

... Some tutors seem to revert more to a kind of 'teacherly' environment online... others tend to take a more levelled kind of participatory approach and we don’t quite know yet what the effects of that may be. Some students also comment... implying a kind of fluidity of the environment… the way they represent themselves, the way that they behave online, students often report it is rather different than they would in a face-to-face setting. (H7I3)

Whilst this does not suggest a changing role at present, the nature of the interaction may well have an impact on the relationships, particularly if students start to perceive differences between the two contexts and change the way they interact.

Development of teaching materials

There was little discussion of the development of materials; however, it was noted by one of the respondents that the online environment provides a number of different ways of using and accessing resources.

... you can get access to more materials outside that have been produced by others and you can easily link to them without having any trouble. (H7I2)

Impact on pedagogy

The issue of pedagogy is mentioned specifically by two respondents.

We are now at a stage, I think, where we are concentrating more on these pedagogic aspects and communicative aspects, a lot of the early years were concerned with making the system work well and being reliable and secure and making everyone feel confident in just manipulating the environment and so on but I think we are now looking at more subtle pedagogic aspects of this... (H7I3)

Whilst student centred learning is not specifically mentioned, the emphasis on the student experience and the need for communication in the online environment suggests a pedagogic orientation that favours student centred learning. The role of interaction in networked learning is considered below.

Discussion and interaction

The role of discussion and interaction with students featured in three of the interviews and focused on different ways that networked learning could support and enable students.

I think academic staff see it as a way of providing support… for students that you don’t always see but there is a communication facility with it, it allows you to keep in touch with students as well so it acts as your tutorial support as well. I think lots of academic staff think it is actually a good way of encouraging learning. (H7I4/6)

... but those people who have adopted it realise that you have to do things in a slightly different way and also it helps those people who perhaps are a little shyer in the tutorials, they perhaps are happier at typing something. (H7I1)

These comments suggest a positive impact of the online communication but the comments are of a very general nature. A more specific example of the potential of the online environment to provide a real difference in terms of discussion and communication was provided by one of the other respondents:

A lot of people tell me that the quiet ones in the face-to-face environment, have the space to become effective learners… there is a very interesting presentation she gave... it all started online and... how you go into a discussion forum and talk about it, and you will find that certain people lead and dominate. The student that was leading and dominating this particular discussion forum was in fact a cerebral palsy student, who had trouble speaking, but could type without any problem. And then when they got together for the face-to-face, no one... realised that it was this student that was clearly the person with the good ideas and was leading (H7I2)

The issues in relation to discussion and interaction in the online environment have also been touched on in the section on the changing role of the teacher (p22). It is worth reiterating that there is still a general lack of understanding of the nature of online communication according one of the respondents:

Some students find it a bit scary, that people say things and do things that they think they wouldn’t do a face-to-face environment and sometimes afterwards they think perhaps I shouldn’t have said that... (H7I3)

It was noted that the particular VLE in use had the potential to provide a more integrated experience for the students.

Those are the kind of things I hear – class lists, messaging, bulletin type messages is fairly strong, just the fact that they don’t have to bother printing out handouts, they see such and such a handout on this thing. To a certain extent all of those things would be entirely possible without the virtual learning environment. We can set up bulletin boards and messaging, we could provide something which means lecturers can leave materials... but it is the whole rather than just lots of isolated bits. (H7I5)

However, it was also noted that such an integrated, structured environment has certain built in controls.

… any constructed learning environment has built in implications... it has certain built in assumptions about learning and teaching and [the VLE] I think is a fairly good example of that… [the VLE] to some extent is quite a controlled environment and it is structured in particular ways, it’s very much structured around the modular system which fits the... context… you could deconstruct the [VLE] environment... I mean the tracking tools for example in [the VLE] on the whole tend to provide information to tutors... There is no reason why they couldn’t provide information to students as well... (H7I3)

It is noteworthy that the respondents suggested that the online environment provides opportunities for communication and discussion that are positive for the students but that encouraging discussion can in some instances be problematic. The learning environment provides an integrated environment but within such an environment there are certain underlying assumptions that potentially influence the level of control that the different participants can have.

There is an emphasis here on the value of networked learning but blended learning is the preferred option for this institution. Pedagogy is discussed and it is argued that this is now receiving greater attention as the technological skills within the institution are now in existence and require less attention. The student experience, it is suggested, can be enhanced by the opportunities for interaction provided by the online environment. The potential of online assessment is recognised and its development is seen as an important next step for the university.

Changing practices in assessment

Assessment is one area where the online learning environment offers the opportunity for a number of changes. This was noted by several of the respondents who all mentioned issues in relation to assessments. The main view expressed was that this was an area not yet developed.

My understanding is that one aspect which hasn’t taken off in a big way is using networked learning for computer aided assessment in that sense and I think that is a priority we want to address... (H7I3)

I don’t think we have properly explored MCQs in a more sophisticated sense because they can be very sophisticated. We have spent a lot of time supporting learning electronically but... we are just starting to do assessments electronically... (H7I4/6)

It was noted by one of the other respondents that there were some limited developments in this area.

I could bring you somebody who does the online assessments, I don’t think [the VLE] at the moment is necessarily the best thing for online assessments but nevertheless they do use it. H7I5)

One possible reason for using it was indicated by that same respondent.

They [academics] think, look great, I can do online assessment, the mark is there – no marking for me! (H7I5)

There is evidence for the use of online assessments but according to these respondents this is limited. The potential for development is noted though as is the impact that online assessment can have on marking of assignments.

Other issues raised in relation to assessments centred on the administrative side in that the VLE provided a permanent record of students' marks and that, where a number of tutors are involved in delivering the same module, it provides an effective administrative tool.

Student experience

The student experience was mentioned on a number of occasions, some of these have already been discussed. The emphasis on blended learning noted above suggests that these respondents recognised a need for a range of different ways of delivering the content and that this would allow for a student experience that was appropriate to the individual student. It was noted that differences between lecturers in terms of the extent to which they made use of the online environment might raise issues in relation to equity of student experience.

You do have difficulties sometimes when a student might have been on a particular module where the tutor was very keen on it and then takes another module or comes into their second or third year and finds that the tutor is not so keen… [students are] expecting to see loads and loads of information on [the VLE] and it doesn’t [always] exist. (H7I1)

Questionnaire data

There is limited corroboration from the questionnaire data in relation to teaching and learning; however, this seems mainly to be due to the respondents feeling that they had insufficient evidence to respond. The one person who responded at length suggested that networked learning had added value to teaching and also that it had changed the student experience. His response was based on requests from students that indicated that students saw the online environment as enhancing their experience.

Summary

There is a clear emphasis in this university on the value of networked learning but blended learning is seen as the preferred option for this institution. The potential of online assessment is recognised and its development is seen as an important next step for the university. Pedagogy is discussed and it is argued that this is now receiving greater attention as the technological skills within the institution are now in existence and require less attention. The student experience, it is suggested, can be enhanced by the opportunities for interaction provided by the online environment.