Opportunity
Many of the lecturers at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) in Ireland completed or are lecturers in the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning, Teaching and Assessment (described in detail in the Pocket of Innovation entitled The Postgraduate Diploma in Learning, Teaching and Assessment: The Experience of Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland). Many of the lecturers enrolled in the program use the module on action research to design, implement and/or assess projects using technology for enhanced learning. In addition, some lecturers have a part-time cross appointment to the Teaching and Learning Unit of the Institute and share their knowledge with other faculty members.
A number of innovations from this group of academic staff, outlining their benefits, challenges and potential, are presented below:
- Flipped Classroom
- Moodle Data Analytics
- Open Educational Resources in Accounting
- Technology and Universal Design for Learning
- Using Technology for Feedback
Innovation using Flipped Classroom
As part of the Action Research module of the Postgraduate Diploma in Learning, Teaching and Assessment, Shane Banks, a lecturer in Business Computing, developed a flipped classroom approach to a course on Mobile App Development. He prepared short, focused video lectures of about 5 to 7 minutes for viewing prior to class, and the students engage in active learning in the face-to-face class.
Benefits and Challenges: Mr. Banks monitors student usage of the videos, both before and after class. This allows him to respond appropriately to the individual questions that come up in class, what he calls “the carrot and the stick approach”, according to whether the student has done the preparatory work.
Among the advantages he found with using the flipped classroom model:
- Students came prepared with specific questions about areas of difficulty, indicating a good degree of engagement with the subject matter;
- He could address individual issues while the rest of the class continues to work, so individuals can progress at their own speed;
- Weaker students who worked with the videos were more successful in the course;
- Student response was positive to the flexibility of viewing and reviewing the videos at their convenience; and
- He is able to work with students needing help in face-to-face portion of the class, which he begins with an introduction and comments on common problems he identified through monitoring online usage.
The challenges of the strategy and the adaptations he made include:
- He recognized students did not have the level of programming expertise he expected, so he reduced the complexity of the content as too many students were struggling; and
- As the technology in the field of Mobile App Development changes very quickly, the videos can date quickly resulting in the need to do some demonstrations in the face-to-face classroom.
Potential: Shane Banks sees strong potential for enhanced learning in the flipped classroom models: “I know that it works” and would like to develop more modules. However, time restrictions make more development very difficult.
For Further Information:
Shane Banks
Lecturer, Business Computing
Accounting and Business Computing
[email protected]- Students came prepared with specific questions about areas of difficulty, indicating a good degree of engagement with the subject matter;
Innovation Using Moodle Data Analytics
A higher diploma (honour’s degree) program was developed at Athlone for students with degrees in social sciences and other disciplines to spend one year studying data analytics. Shane Banks is part of the design team for this program, working on a course that involves the students undertaking a real-world project in data analytics. The project he is designing takes advantage of the vast amount of information produced by the Moodle learning management system (also called the virtual learning environment) on student usage and engagement at AIT. The goal of the project is to have students look at the data to answer teaching and learning questions.
Benefits and Challenges: The students involved with the project are gaining practical experience in dealing with the ‘customer’ and customer requirements. The students meet with the academic customers to determine their information needs, and then draft questions to be reviewed and revised. The students then have access to the anonymous data, run data sets, undertake analysis and report back to customer.
The project results in information that can be used by the institution on trends in Moodle usage, whether the usage is as a repository of course information or if Moodle is used to encourage the development of higher order skills of information literacy and manipulation.
Once the questions are established and proven to provide effective results, staff within the institution can use them to look at technology use within specific programs and departments, and link the findings to course design and student results.
The Higher Education Funding Council requires reports on institutional application of technology, which the council uses to shape its policy decisions, and this project responds to that need.
Chief among the challenges is the issue of privacy, as the information on the student use of Moodle to be used for the student project had to be completely anonymous – in terms of students, lecturers, courses, programs and departments. The academics involved considered the key question of what were their intentions in accessing and using the data so reasons for usage and privacy safeguards were developed. An external firm was contracted to create an anonymous data base.
Potential: The project is important for establishing the importance of Moodle as a teaching and learning tool and ensuring its continued funding for expansions and improvements.
For Further Information:
Shane Banks
Lecturer, Business Computing
Accounting and Business Computing
[email protected]
Innovation in Creating Open Educational Resources in Accounting
In 2010, funding was made available for lecturers at Athlone to develop resources for student learning. Luke Fannon and Orlaith Kelly, Lecturers in the Faculty of Business, developed short screen casts for 6 key aspects of accounting practice. Contacts from a conference where these resources were presented proved useful when national funding from the National Digital Learning Repository was announced for the development of inter-institutional, collaborative projects. A group of staff from Dundalk Institute of Technology, Carlow Institute of Technology, and Athlone Institute of Technology was funded to create interactive learning objects for a course in Introductory Financial Accounting.
The team included lecturers from each institute, as well as an instructional designer. Six resources were created, each designed to take 40 minutes to an hour to complete. The modules included information, examples and quizzes.
Benefits and Challenges: Luke Fannon stressed that, while considerable time was dedicated to developing the tools, not enough time was spent considering how they would be used. The institutions adapted different applications, with differing results.
At Dundalk, the lecturer adopted a flipped classroom approach, introducing the tools in class and then having the students use them outside the classroom. Assessment methods were modified to link the timing of the assessment to the completion of the online units. If students asked questions that were answered on the video, the lecturer sent them back to review the video. The results were compared for the three-year period before the use of the OERs with the three years of usage. Student numbers more than doubled to over 3,000 students. At the same time, the pass rate rose more than 12% to 96%.
At Carlow and Athlone, the resources were initially used as supplementary to the lectures and as study aids. Students were free to use if they chose. The usage and impact were not significant. Given the positive experience at Dundalk, Luke Fannon introduced the idea of the flipped classroom at Athlone this academic year. At the first class, the students were told to work through the first OER to prepare for the next class, where he would give them a question to solve based on their preparation. However, only about 50% of the students looked at the module and so he was required to return to face-to-face lectures. For the next academic year, Mr. Fannon will change his approach so that the in-class question, following student online preparation, will be a summative assessment, with a small number of marks awarded. This approach will be used for each of the resources to encourage careful attention for the students.
Potential: Mr. Fannon sees that the development of the inter-institutional, collaborative approach holds a lot of promise for the future. Also, much was learned through the different ways the resources were used. In any further projects, much more attention must be given to the implementation of the tools and to linking to the assessment so they are effectively used. The flipped classroom requires flexible students, teachers, and institutions – and recognition on the part of the institutions of the demands that new styles of teaching make on lecturers.
For Further Information
Luke Fannon
Lecturer, School of Business
Learning and Teaching Unit
[email protected]
Innovation with Technology and Universal Design for Learning
Looking for a change from college management, Michael McMahon began teaching in the School of Engineering, as well as pursuing advanced degrees in e-learning and accessibility of technology-assisted learning. Recognizing the need for expertise in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), he created two modules as part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Learning, Teaching, and Assessment curriculum – one on Designing and one on Implementing Universal Design for Learning. UDL is focused on improving and optimizing teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. It is underpinned by the philosophy that strategies designed for students with accessibility issues, when implemented on a universal basis, will provide benefits for all others within the class.
The UDL courses are offered to faculty at all Irish Institutes of Technology, through a blended learning format including face-to-face classes and webinars. Attendance of 80% is required, and in both formats, Mr. McMahon stresses interaction and engagement among the students. Among the features of these modules is the incorporation of authentic assessment, as well as the provision of focalized and structured formative feedback on drafts of assignments. An example of an authentic assessment is the development of learning resources and their evaluation. As part of this assessment, students are also required to reflect on the process of designing accessible resources and how this has affected their approach to teaching.
Mr. McMahon also incorporates UDL in his own course design, for example employing the flipped approach in a course on AUTOCAD. He has created videos of 40 seconds to 2 ½ minutes on most aspects of AUTOCAD. They are uploaded into the Institute’s virtual learning environment for independent student viewing. Students can review these videos as often as they need and ask him specific questions on a one-on-one basis during class time as they work through exercises. Authentic assessment is also employed here with the final assessable deliverable being a house plan, which has been designed and drafted by the student. Verbal formative feedback on the draft of the house plan is delivered through the use of dubbed screencasts.
In another application of UDL, the Construction Technology exam requires numerous technical documents. These were initially provided online so that some students who had trouble viewing the print could enlarge the documents. This has proven to be very popular with the entire class, with most students able to apply features, which are available in a work scenario, such as word search, to speed up the process.
Providing a variety of methods for completing assignments is an essential component of UDL. For example, in an assessment of a building defect in a house, students were given the option of presenting their reports in print format, PowerPoint presentation, or video – whichever they felt the most comfortable with.
Benefits and Challenges: Most lecturers have very little exposure to the ideas of UDL. The majority of those who have participated in the modules on UDL offered as part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Learning, Teaching and Assessment have become committed to it, often becoming champions for the approach in their departments. This aids the fostering of an awareness of the positive implications of universal design for all students whether they are gifted, working, members of sports teams that travel, struggling, mature, foreign students or those with special learning needs.
As well as directly facilitating students learning, the flipped approach is invaluable in providing Mr. Mc Mahon with feedback, allowing him: “to see how students are learning and performing which constantly provides opportunities for the evaluation and adjustment of teaching and assessment practices.”
Potential: The goal is to have Universal Design for Learning become standard practice, so all can access and benefit from learning opportunities.
For Further Information
Michael McMahon
Lecturer
Faculty of Engineering
Learning and Teaching Unit
[email protected]
Innovation on Using Technology for Feedback
Seamus Ryan, a lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Faculty of Engineering, as well as the Learning Technology Coordinator in the Teaching and Learning Unit, was an ‘early adopter’ in using screen casts. In 2006, he created videos of his use of the whiteboard for solving mathematics problems. He then edited these videos so students could review as needed. Although the student response was positive, his assessment was the recorded examples were of limited application as they were mostly of interest to those who had been in the class.
He is currently involved in a cross-institutional project developing case study applications to assess how technology can be used for feedback. The Y1 Feedback project seeks to enhance feedback dialogue in first-year undergraduate programmes using digital technologies to support student transition to higher education and to collate case studies of practice. Seamus Ryan is currently leading the following case studies in AIT:
- One application involves the use of clickers in humanities classes of more than 80 students to encourage student engagement in dialogue and discussion. Students are presented with scenarios of social situations, and register their choices from various possible next actions or outcomes. The class-wide results are shown on a bar graph and students are broken into small discussion groups to consider their own and the group responses. The project is linked with learning objectives concerned with group decision making and dealing with the ambiguity of no right answer.
- Using Visualizer, a lecturer is creating screen casts of narrated correction of lab books to be delivered individually to each student. The research looks at whether this provides better feedback, understanding and results for students.
- A third project involves offering quizzes on maths topics, with students able to take the quiz twice over a period of five days. The quiz initially was for marks. The strategy worked well in terms of student engagement but the major flaw was the lack of security – there was no way of verifying who had actually taken the test. The quizzes are now used online for practice but not for marks. The next stage is to deliver this on smartphones for instantaneous feedback.
Led by Maynooth University, in partnership with Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin City University and Dundalk Institute of Technology, the Y1 Feedback project has recently published two resources.
Feedback in First Year: A Landscape Snapshot, which offers perspectives from lecturers and students; and
Technology Enabled Feedback in the First Year: A Synthesis of the Literature
The Y1 Feedback project webpage is www.y1feedback.ie and a project summary from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
For Further Information
Seamus Ryan
Lecturer, Schools of Business and Engineering
Learning and Teaching Unit
[email protected]- One application involves the use of clickers in humanities classes of more than 80 students to encourage student engagement in dialogue and discussion. Students are presented with scenarios of social situations, and register their choices from various possible next actions or outcomes. The class-wide results are shown on a bar graph and students are broken into small discussion groups to consider their own and the group responses. The project is linked with learning objectives concerned with group decision making and dealing with the ambiguity of no right answer.
