ISSUE #14

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• A Web 2.0 Technology-Based System to Motivate and Guide Asperger and Neuro-Typical Students through Their Dissertation (.pdf)
  • author: Joanne Bowman, Faculty of Science and Technology. William Scaife, Student Support Services.
  • keywords: Asperger syndrome, dissertation proposal, blogging, community of practice.
  • read the abstract +
  • This paper outlines a project that was initially intended to investigate the difficulties that Asperger syndrome (AS) students have whilst undertaking the dissertation part of the Undergraduate Major Project. This was extended due to a request from the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) to include Neuro-typical (NT) students in the research. The research was initiated through a case study (Bowman and Scaife, 2010a) that provided an insight into the complexities of supervising an AS student through the dissertation process. An action research investigation was then undertaken to identify problems with the dissertation, significant to AS and NT students, and looked at the pedagogical and assessment strategies that could be put in place to address these issues. A virtual learning environment (VLE) was developed using Web 2.0 technology (blogging) to enable students to undertake the preparation of the dissertation proposal. This VLE has been piloted and the results have indicated that the system appears to significantly improve the student experience of the students taking part.
• Perceptions and Experiences of Employer Engagement amongst University Staff: A Case Study (.pdf)
  • author: Dr Eric Jensen, University of Warwick.
  • keywords: employer engagement, public engagement, business engagement.
  • read the abstract +
  • The UK government and universities have stepped up calls for engagement with employers in response to the economic downturn and partial withdrawal of public funding. In this context, universities‘ commitment to employer engagement at a corporate policy level is clear. But how well is the concept of employer engagement understood by university staff expected to carry it out? This case study (n=96) of one post-1992 university indicates that there is a substantial level of uncertainty, self-reported ignorance, incomplete understandings and even outright resistance to the concept of employer engagement. Only a minority of respondents to a mixed methods web-based survey felt they understood the context around calls for employer engagement. On the positive side, a slim majority of respondents were able to offer a definition that accurately accounted for at least one aspect of employer engagement at some level. Also, a clear majority of respondents had some prior experience with employer engagement. This paper argues that the lack of shared understanding around this concept comprises a significant barrier to its adoption by university staff. However, it is argued that this barrier can be overcome.
• Inquiry-Based Learning Using Second Life: The Potential for All Built Environment Disciplines (.pdf)
  • author: Carlos Jimenez-Bescos, Ann Hockey, Janice Maclean, Faculty of Science and Technology.
  • keywords: inquiry-based learning, virtual worlds, communication.
  • read the abstract +
  • This research focuses on the use of Second Life to deliver inquiry-based learning to Built Environment students following the Environmental Planning Pathway. Inquiry-based learning requires a self motivated and interactive approach by students, allowing them to be more actively involved in the learning process. Second Life offers a comprehensive set of synchronous communication tools, such as real time chat and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), which enhances the opportunities to deliver inquiry-based learning and frees the learning experience from physical constraint. The research focuses on the students’ use of and adaptation to Second Life for inquiry-based learning tasks. Participants were introduced to Second Life in a workshop to avoid the ‘first hour syndrome’ (loss of interest after the first hour) and participants losing interest in the technology due to the steep Second Life learning curve. A questionnaire and review meeting was held with the students to assess the benefit and disadvantages of using Second Life for the delivery of inquiry- based learning. Participants were satisfied with using Second Life because of the freedom of time and space to arrange meetings. Meetings were synchronous and recorded for future references using the real time chat facilities in Second Life, allowing tutors in the module to monitor the students’ participation. Participants were using Second Life as a visual aid to show and disseminate their work. It was concluded after the review meeting that a longer adaptation time must be provided if the full potential of Second Life is to be achieved and the importance of Second Life tutoring to coach the students in the Virtual World was recognised. The work shows the potential for Second Life to be used for inquiry-based learning in the Built Environment but furthermore to expand its use to all Built Environment disciplines.
• What Makes Doubting Students Stay? (.pdf)
  • author: Jacqui McCary, Angela Barry, Sheila Pankhurst, Faculty of Science and Technology. Helen Valentine, Deputy Vice Chancellor.
  • keywords: retention, personal tutor, student adviser.
  • read the abstract +
  • This paper discusses selected results from a larger study entitled: ‘A comparative evaluation of the roles of student adviser and personal tutor in relation to undergraduate student retention’. We explore why students who have considered leaving decide instead to stay, and analyse where students say they want to go for support across a range of issues. An online survey, using an embodied conversational agent, was made available to all first and second year undergraduate students across Anglia Ruskin University and two of its regional partner institutions. This data collection method imitated some aspects of a focus group, as students were guided through the survey based on the answers they gave to key questions. The response rate was over 10%, and data from 559 participants were included in the final analysis. The results show that 42% of the students who responded had considered leaving university on at least one occasion. Reasons why these students had doubts could be categorised into those internal to themselves and those internal to our University. The actions they took when doubting and the reasons they gave for staying were similarly categorised. In conclusion, a significant number of students consider leaving at some stage, but the majority of these students then choose to stay. These findings suggest that there is a role across a range of individuals and support services, including family and friends, in supporting students and ultimately improving student retention.
• An Investigation into the Experience of Lectures from the Viewpoint of Lecturers and Students with Particular Emphasis on PowerPoint (.pdf)
  • author: Margaret O’Quigley, Ashcroft International Business School.
  • keywords: lectures, PowerPoint, students, lecturers.
  • read the abstract +
  • A host of national reports in the 1980's challenged universities to change from their traditional approaches so that students would be transformed from passive listeners to active learners. One study concluded: ‘learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to lecturers (Chickering and Gamson, 1987). Ironically, the response from universities seems to have been to make a PowerPoint presentation the default position. This paper was an exploratory piece of research and only examined the student and lecturer experience of lectures in AIBS, and thus any conclusions are limited to that Faculty. Most students and staff in AIBS appear to be broadly satisfied with the experience of lectures. However, there is a significant minority of students in AIBS, approximately 30%, who are dissatisfied with their learning experience. Both staff and students in AIBS agree that PowerPoint is over- and ineffectually used. Finally, and most worryingly, the views of first year students in AIBS are so much more positive than those of third year students, suggesting that the experience of students deteriorates the longer they are at the University and, of course, it is final year students who fill in the NSS.
• Remote Laboratories and Reusable Learning Objects in a Distance Learning Context (.pdf)
  • author: Adrian Winckles, Kalina Spasova, Tim Rowsell, Faculty of Science and Technology.
  • keywords: virtualisation, remote, virtual, laboratory, Web.
  • read the abstract +
  • This paper is an investigation into the use of virtualisation techniques and remote laboratory facilitation for networking, systems, forensic and security -based modules with specialist computing lab resources within the Computing and Technology Pathways, allowing students to study elements of those modules in a distance learning context. The research explores the benefits of bringing a cloud computing approach to use of specialist lab resources, where students are able to use virtual machines so that a student’s computing resources can be accessed from anywhere and can be considered as truly portable.
• The Pedagogy of Lecture Capture (.pdf)
  • author: Dr James Kadirire, INSPIRE.
  • keywords: lecture capture, pedagogy, visual information, Echo 360, Panopto CourseCast, student retention.
  • read the abstract +
  • This report looks at technologies that allow lecturers or tutors to record their lectures (lecture capture) and make them available digitally. The 21st century is the digital age, and to provide students with the learning experience that they expect, universities have to continually examine their learning, teaching and assessment strategies and introduce new pedagogies, commensurate with 21st century student expectations. Research has shown that using visual information (lecture capture) as an additional channel can aid the retention of verbal information (Mayer and Anderson, 1991) and help improve course retention rates, as well as student grades (Briggs, 2007). This paper examines some of the pedagogic benefits, as well as caveats of lecture capture systems in higher education, and discusses some of the conclusions drawn from the experiences of higher education institutions using lecture capture systems.
• Developing Online Mathematical Support Targeted at the Students in the Computing and Technology Department (.pdf)
  • author: Dr Silvia Cirstea, Faculty of Science and Technology.
  • keywords: Mathematics, online support.
  • read the abstract +
  • The paper reports our work, funded by INSPIRE, to evaluate the specific numeracy needs of all the students in the Department of Computing and Technology, and develop and trial an online support package accessible to all the students in the Department via the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE). This online package provides quick recipes for recurring maths problems, with examples taken from the subject area of acoustics and multimedia and computing, specifically targeting the audience in the Department of Computing and Technology. It addresses the need for flexible and accessible learning resources for all the students in the Department, to fill in gaps in their background knowledge and allow the students to carry on successfully with their work in the modules in which they are enrolled. Mature and part-time students will benefit most, since they blend learning into their family and work life and need the flexibility of accessing support during evenings or weekends; our students with disabilities, who are very open to various means of communication and learning, will also be beneficiaries of this resource. Thus, the initiative has a great potential to improve our students’ experience of higher education and support widening participation.
• Reusable Learning Objects to Teach Referencing Skills to Law Students (.pdf)
  • author: Dr Penny English, Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences.
  • keywords: referencing, podcasts.
  • read the abstract +
  • This report describes the process of developing a series of reusable learning objects (RLOs) designed to help students master the law-specific referencing system, OSCOLA. The project turned into a more complex journey than anticipated, not only in terms of the technical aspects involved. Although each is a small, self-contained element of learning, reflection on the content, design and structure is crucial to ensure the finished result fulfils its purpose.
• Modelling Best Practice in Service User and Carer Involvement in the Faculty of Health and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University: The Development of e-Learning Technology (.pdf)
  • author: Joanna Fox, Faculty of Health and Social Care.
  • keywords: service user involvement, e-learning, action learning set.
  • read the abstract +
  • A diverse staff group from within the Faculty of Health and Social Care (FHSC), supported by two service users, formed an interdisciplinary action learning set to design, produce and evaluate an e-learning resource. Its focus was to assist students to learn to work more effectively with service users and carers. We wanted the resource to support lecturers in the classroom to develop students‟ conceptual understanding about involving service users more effectively in their practice and influence their direct field work. Over 2009/10, we: a investigated the applicable web-based technology, b sourced the content of the resource, c networked with colleagues across FHSC to identify content for this resource, d designed and developed an e-learning resource. We evaluated the process of collaborative learning and intend to evaluate the effectiveness of the tool itself, mainly in terms of access, format and popularity, by piloting it within a nursing and social work cohort in 2010/11. This will enable us to further develop the case scenarios and website content in response to student and lecturer feedback.
• Can Teaching and Learning Technologies Be Integrated and Used to Support the Delivery of a Master’s Research Studies Module: The Use of Audio and Video Podcasting (.pdf)
  • author: Shirley Jones, Jayne Crow, Dr Rollanda Law, Faculty of Health and Social Care.
  • keywords: learning technologies, podcasts, student evaluation.
  • read the abstract +
  • This project sought to introduce podcasts into a compulsory master’s level Research Studies module, which is delivered to a wide range of students, including both home and international, from a variety of pathways in the Faculty of Health and Social Care (FHSC). The development of podcasts to support this module also sought to encompass a wider range of staff in the production process, thus engaging staff with limited experience of this technology to the potential usage. This paper reports the literature in relation to podcasting and its use to support teaching and learning. An overview of the planning and recording of the audio podcasts, together with the student response to the evaluation of the podcasts, is discussed.
• Supporting International Students: A Model for Targeted Language Support to Improve Far Eastern Student Retention and Academic Performance in AIBS (.pdf)
  • author: Hilly Day, Sylvia Griffiths, John Mullen, Ashcroft International Business School.
  • keywords: international students support, Far East, performance.
  • read the abstract +
  • In common with many other UK universities, Anglia Ruskin has been recruiting an increasing number of Chinese and other Far Eastern students to the Ashcroft International Business School, particularly as a result of partnership agreements. Many of these students find the learning styles, assessment and systems very different from what they have experienced in their countries and as a result need support if they are to be successful. This research investigated the barriers to their academic success and recommended strategies for helping them to overcome them by a programme and policy of integrated and coordinated support. The findings from the research were that students enter the University with inadequate English levels, particularly if they come straight into the third year, as it involves writing a 10,000-word undergraduate major project; and they lack the necessary skills of researching, paraphrasing and using an academic style, as they are used to assessment through examinations based on a core textbook and lectures. Consequently, some weak students who are unable to cope resort to plagiarism and cheating. Some students arrive after the course has started, some miss lectures and seminars and at the same time are unable to organise their self-study time. It was also found that students were used to staff being always available and accessible on campus for any queries and were confused regarding the role of the personal tutor, which they perceived as someone whose role was to explain any difficulties they had regarding the content of lectures. The report recommended that a programme of Academic English for Business and Study Skills support, which would help these students develop the required language, research and communication skills, should be devised by the AIBS Academic English staff in conjunction with AIBS module leaders. In addition, individual support should be provided for assignment completion by the academic lecturers and possibly a Chinese-speaking liaison tutor, to assist with familiarisation at Anglia Ruskin, especially during the first few weeks of study. Future research is required on developing appropriate learning and teaching materials to meet these students’ specific needs.
• Enhancing Large Group Learning and Assessment Feedback in the Legal Practice Course for Part-Time Students. The 21st Century Legal Practice Course Student: The Lecture Room or the Mobile Phone? (.pdf)
  • author: Tom Serby, Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences.
  • keywords: i-learning, MCQs.
  • read the abstract +
  • Recognising the diversity of student needs requires a radical approach to teaching part-time students, a body which will only increase in size and that is important to our University. On the Legal Practice Course, a professional postgraduate course well known for its rigour and intensity, many of our students are part-time and attend one day a week. Replacing face-to-face lectures with i-lectures (watched by students at a time and place of their choosing) allowed us to cut their day on campus from 9.5 hours to 7 hours. There is another merit to i-lectures, the students can rewatch them for revision purposes. In this report I will talk about student reaction to the i-lectures, and also how they fared with the multiple choice questions (MCQs) they had to do as a part of the i-lecture (these were designed to deepen their learning). I will review some of the scholarly thinking on the efficacy of i-lectures and MCQs as a form of assessment. In addition to the pedagogic benefits of i-learning there is also the commercial benefit of not having to deliver an identical face-to-face lecture twice, once to students in Cambridge, once to students in Chelmsford, when they are studying the same course. I will present on the alternative forms of technology there are for undertaking this type of learning and teaching discussed.
• Working Together: Fostering Peer Collaboration and Capturing This Learning via Use of Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) (.pdf)
  • author: Christine Such, Mark Miller, Faculty of Education.
  • keywords: peer learning, interactive whiteboard, appreciative inquiry.
  • read the abstract +
  • This project explored the use of peer learning to support undergraduate third year students’ own investigations into practice in early years settings. We wanted to identify ways in which support for their learning in face-to-face group work could help students’ develop and sustain their own inquiries. We used affirmative questioning in class sessions to examine ideas on quality provision in early years and students applied these ideas to their research. This approach uses the principles of appreciative inquiry and is a form of action research. Its use in framing class discussions did facilitate peer learning. In particular, we investigated the use of the interactive whiteboard as a tool to capture these class discussions to encourage further collaboration.
• Creation of Media-Based Learning Material for Audio and Music Technology (.pdf)
  • author: Dr Rob Toulson, Faculty of Science and Technology.
  • keywords: music, experience, entrepreneurial.
  • read the abstract +
  • Audio and Music Technology courses have become well subscribed in UK Higher Education, but, being a rather modern academic field, these courses have not benefited from substantial research, analysis and development of learning and teaching strategies. This article discusses developed interactive methods for assisting teaching in Audio and Music Technology and discusses their merits for enhancing the student learning experience.
• Supporting Students through the Development of Marking Criteria and Marking Workshops (.pdf)
  • author: Patricia Turnbull, David Morris, Faculty of Health and Social Care.
  • keywords: assessment, marking criteria, marking workshops.
  • read the abstract +
  • The process of assessment is pivotal to student experience. Consequently, explicit articulation and transparency of marking criteria is essential. However, these basic tenets are not easily achievable and a ‘substantial gap’ is recognised between markers’ and students’ expectations of assessment (O’Donovan et al., 2004; Williams, 2005; Defeyter and McPartlin, 2007). An initial survey of UK university-based nursing students (n=307) indicated a significant gap between student and lecturer perception of assessment marking and grading criteria. This paper describes an action research study which allowed the researchers to: 1. Develop new marking criteria that are both academically credible and student-friendly. 2. Encourage and evaluate nursing students’ use of identified marking criteria in assignment preparation. 3. Improve and evaluate markers’ assessment feedback in relation to the introduction of the new marking criteria. 4. Implement and evaluate the use of remedial marking workshops for students carrying an academic failure. 5. Evaluate lecturers’ experiences of marking with new assessment criteria. The views of 380 students, 39 assessors and 4 external examiners contributed to the ongoing development and evaluation of the project. Early results suggest: 1. Students appreciate user-friendly marking criteria in identifying strengths and weaknesses of their work. 2. Markers and external examiners consider the new marking criteria facilitate transparency in fine-grading. 3. Students attending marking workshops enjoy greater success in re-assessment than non-attendees. 4. Students report greater satisfaction with assessment feedback from markers. The new marking criteria have been developed for all levels and types of academic assessment in pre- registration nursing programmes in the University.

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