A room with a Vyew: using problem based learning in collaborative real-time virtual spaces to develop research and inquiry skills

Editor's Notes

• #2: What digital tools/technology have you used either successfully or unsuccessfully to facilitate collaboration in learning/information literacy – or have you had experience yourself with this? Leanne
• #3: What digital tools/technology have you used either successfully or unsuccessfully to facilitate collaboration in learning/information literacy – or have you had experience yourself with this? Think /Pair/Share – 5 mins activity – 5 mins share Chrissie
• #4: Leanne Off campus was 41% student body in 2014/15
• #5: 10 quality promises Statements and related actions addressing key tenets of service to our customers including communication, resources, space and environment, skills for learning and most pertinent to our off campus students – Equity of experience Leanne
• #6: He Here’s the work we will share with you today Leanne
• #7: Recent tools we’d used – could we use any of this with local partners? Some questions: -- which programmes would benefit? -- what approach would be best -- what technology would be best fit -- will the partners be on board Leanne
• #8: We recognised a need to improve our support to local partner college students based on feedback from liaison librarians, students and university and college academic staff. This feedback identified a number of issues including: Students limited use of academic texts in their assignment work Lack of connection between students academic work and it’s vocational aspects relating to their workplace settings Instances of plagiarism and inconsistent referencing practice. Chrissie
• #9: University Liaison Librarian would visit college to deliver IL sessions to enable students to access and use a range of E-Resources – Ebooks, journal articles etc One shot opportunity – Chrissie
• #10: Part time students – 2 x evenings per week. Vocational programmes – students either worked in Early Years Education or Health and Social Care settings 1st year students with a range of previous educational experiences and backgrounds with most being new to HE They needed to identify appropriate literature on a specific topic Chrissie
• #11: The approach: PBL - Good fit with vocational nature of programme - the students were familiar with problem based learning and they already had a real world problem to address Lecturer wanted to develop independent thinking & help students make a connection between work setting and academic study Required students to work cooperatively – share and question one another’s ideas Chrissie
• #12: Before we began – Worked with the programme leader to discover: Module content Requirements of assignments Timing of the online workshops Identify gaps in student needs and understanding Demo of online rooms & link to explore (Helped to prepare students before the workshops began) How we could embed into the curriculum Chrissie
• #13: Why use Vyew? It's easy – no installations. It's compatible – PC, Mac, Linux, powerpoints, documents, images, videos, mp3's, flash files. Conferencing features – whiteboarding, video conferencing, screen sharing, Voice-over-IP. Collaboration features – continuous rooms are always saved and always-on. Contextual discussion forums, voice-notes, track and log activity. Leanne
• #14: Leanne
• #15: We were able to give students access to the online rooms in advance so they could experiment and get used to the features. Problems were identified and addressed prior to the workshops Programme leader divided students into groups of 4-5 people and each were given a real life problem linked to their work and the module content Leanne
• #16: Clearly stated in advance Chrissie
• #17: Chrissie
• #18: The template for the spidergram was uploaded by us and students used it to stick their ideas onto using post it notes. You can expand the notes and add comment – perfect for leaving prompts and suggestions Chrissie
• #19: Chrissie
• #20: Chrissie
• #21: Chrissie
• #22: Chrissie
• #23: Reflections: Lecturer involvement prior to and during was vital - alignment with curriculum - ensure there is a link between work and study Activities needed careful management Collaboration and preparation takes time Technology wise: It was overall well received – helped that students could log on in advance. Editing tools were central to participating in activities Chrissie
• #24: We have a lot of students who study either by distance learning or with a transnational partner (xxxxx). If we’re going to reach these students we need to do it digitally. We’ve had quite a bit of success becoming embedded into two independent learning programmes and experience has led us to use a different model than the vyew project. Our TNE partners tend to prefer a Skype session. Leanne
• #25: We’re embedded within PG Environmental Management and Assessment degree which is an independent learning programme. Work closely with the programme leader: Contribute to a ‘Passport to study’ that students must complete during their induction – it is submitted to the lecturer Unit for Library support Communicate directly with students through VLE – builds student awareness of staff support Library webinars which are offered after induction but before their first assignment, - Webinars are offered via Blackboard collaborate - Objective is for them to devise a search strategy and identify where they will find information - Whiteboard activities/ polls/ screensharing Plan to write up case study and share with community Leanne
• #26: TNE students are a harder group of students to reach - their college may do their induction/college librarian may do their training - faculty staff from Sunderland visit and provide training - librarian is may not be our definition but an admin who works in library with limited experience This often means well intentioned people telling students the wrong things. It’s important for me to build relationships with centre leaders/programme leaders within Sunderland and partner staff at colleges, especially library staff. Awareness of Sunderland library resources is key problem. - Skype calls with small groups of partner staff to train them on use of the library, and what they should pass onto students - provide materials they can use, powerpoints, videos etc. - offer Sunderland involvement in library induction – we can call in via Skype, talk to students, demonstrate key resources to a wider group - offer follow up 1-2-1 Skype calls with students who may need further support Leanne
• #27: Not everyone connects with learning via a digital environment – Mixed methods are the ideal if possible If it doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to abandon and move on to something else – Best to try out first in a test environment Relationship management and collaboration work hand in hand. Everyone needs to be on board to make it work Any questions? Both