Facilitating online student learning in global health – an introductory handbook - Blair, L., Eyber, C., Gerstel, L. and Moen, B. 2018

Audience: academics in diverse virtual settings, who may be new to online learning and are running postgraduate programmes.

Subject specialism: global health education and development

Focus: converting face to face modules, creating new modules, designing for online learning, quality in online design and teaching, how to facilitate effective student learning online.

Level: introductory with resources and signposting to other open educational resources.

Background

The rationale for the Erasmus + project, “Development of innovative online learning and teaching through strategic partnerships in Global Health Education”, comes from the recognition that online learning is under-developed within global health education and that expansion is urgently needed to meet the goals of the ‘Communication on Opening Up Education’ (EU 2013). Demand for higher education is growing rapidly in Asia, Africa and South America, with local institutions struggling to provide sufficient supply. Learners look to Europe and North America to meet their learning needs. It is essential that European institutions keep pace with the development of open learning and promote and facilitate digital literacy in order to create innovative learners and teachers as well as to maintain market share. The project objectives were defined by a combination of needs: those of the partner institutions to participate in the promotion of digital innovation in teaching, those of the target student group who benefit from blended mobility as well as the desire to build on the platform of co-operation within the TropEd network, thus making effective use of existing connections and improving the likelihood of further partnership working beyond the lifetime of the project. The partners collaborating on the Erasmus + project are Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, The University of Bergen and KIT Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. Each institute developed modules which link together to create a cohesive and comprehensive online study route for the Masters in International Health and Development. The project ran from November 2015 to August 2018.

Despite online learning becoming mainstream in higher education (HE), often used as a solution to overcome barriers, its use in global health education provision is particularly limited (Wipfli et al. 2013). This is unsatisfactory, given that global health education, by its nature, seeks to have a broad international reach. Given the recent immigration restrictions, the European Union or EU (EU 2011) explicitly recognises that students, from inside and outside the EU, face barriers to accessing education whilst acknowledging a growing acceptance that “attracting the best students, academics and researchers from outside the EU and developing new forms of cross-border cooperation, are key drivers of quality” (EU 2011).

As with the disparities in wealth and healthcare globally, access to health education in low income countries is limited (Macfarlane et al. 2008). As many students are international, they may be disadvantaged by their geographical location, the need for visas or the costs of relocation, but may not have suitable educational provision in their home country. Online learning has an under-exploited potential to support health workforce capacity building (WHO 2015). It opens up affordable education for people who cannot leave their (rural) workplace or can’t leave home due to care for relatives (often women). Online learning in global health can contribute directly to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Goal 3 aims for 'good health and wellbeing’, while goal 4 and goal 10 aim to reduce inequality within and among countries by inclusion for all, irrespective of demographic disparities and to ensure access for all women and men to affordable and quality university education. Expansion of online learning would widen access to higher education for learners who face economic, geographic and legal obstacles and would benefit those who have work or family commitments (Gerstel et al. 2013).

Increasingly, the delivery of teaching and training in this field relies not only on the digital skills of learners and teachers but also incorporates technological knowledge and practice in the field of global education into the curriculum. The use of geographical information systems for monitoring disease outbreaks, the increasing diversity of mHealth software in under-resourced locations and the advancement of social and communication technologies for international project work mean that global health education must of necessity engage constructively with online learning and teaching. However, various projects (EU 2011; Moeini 2008; Johnson et al. 2015) have uncovered key challenges contributing to the lack of online provision, such as resource pressures and academics struggle to invest the time required to produce learning materials. Further, educators attempting to create online resources, have concerns about quality, due to their own lack of expertise, poor digital skills and inadequate training (Bollinger and Wasilak 2008). This handbook provides guidance and learning opportunities to start addressing such concerns. It is concise, yet provides a wealth of information and tools from academic resources, using the interactive links embedded in the document.

Introduction

Studying online is very different to traditional learning, in that it requires different ways of presenting material, engaging with learners as well as different skills from learners themselves (such as the ability to process material visually). As there is no physical classroom, learning how to engage with online studying can take time and acclimatisation. Many students today are adept at socialising online (Harasim 2012), are open to new methods of learning (Tapscott and Williams 2006). However, despite students’ abilities to use technology for social media purposes, one cannot assume that they are therefore able to ‘convert’ these skills to studying online. This Handbook addresses some of these issues that students may find challenging.

Hear the voice of a 'digital native' here: https://youtu.be/2VyEKEWeIwA “The Voice of the Active Learner - Education From a Digital Native's Perspective”: A modern day student explaining how she learns and how digital her world is.

Peer to peer learning online in a blended MSc in International Health

Platforms used for online learning can also be used for hosting knowledge communities. Discussion forums can stay active after an initial course/ project with a capacity building component and be used for sharing of ideas and knowledge between participants.

Using technology will make it easier to collaborate with institutes in the global South and across the world, through virtual exchange of students and teachers. This supports Sustainable Development Goal number 17 (‘Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development’) which recognizes that mobilizing and sharing knowledge, expertise, technologies and financial resources to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, particularly low-income settings, is of vital importance.

Recent developments in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for learning have not been fully explored and integrated yet with other advances in the field of global health education. There is a growing interest to explore the use of networks in learning and the possibilities that virtual mobility of students offer. The use of global communities/ networks of learners in formal education in many professional fields including Public/ International Health is only just starting. For fields like global health, focussing on work in low to medium income countries especially North- South collaborations are of interest.

Community of learners

Research by Davies et al. (2005) found that students benefited from the online community by improved communication skills and enjoyed sharing their ideas. This is important for social collaboration which contributes to successful online learning (Salmon 2002). Additionally, the ability to reflect, debate and share opinions online, is seen as added value by Garrison and Kanuka (2004). Redmond and Lock (2006) found that “the heart of a community of inquiry is creating knowledge in action through the educational experience”. Working collaboratively is often experienced during careers and this type of learning allows for problem solving, peer support and sharing of experiences on online forums. Here, they can also post work, which can be critiqued, with encouraging feedback from tutors or peers. All students learn from this, the person posting, the reviewer and any other student reading the posts. Students also learn about team working and the social challenges group work brings. However, in order for the learning to be deep and meaningful, the students must engage in critical thinking and/or critical analysis. Students construct knowledge by critiquing, discussing, analysing, questioning, sharing and create, according to Wiske, Franz & Breit (2005, p. 105), “co-construction of understandings through comparing alternative ideas, interpretations, and representations”.

Training for Educators

Why is it important?

Many teachers have limited experience of teaching or interacting with students online, and may have not have sufficient insight into the methodologies and tools needed or how to plan their preparation and teaching time effectively. They may also lack the skills and knowledge to use the technology effectively, thus not making use of such tools as announcements or receiving notification of forum posts, etc., resulting in a more stressful teaching experience for them and being less responsive to students.

Technology

Teachers must be comfortable with using the learning management system (LMS), whether it is to edit an activity, create an announcement, set up and manage a forum, or simply answer forum queries: it is important that they get to know how to navigate, search, edit, etc. Also vital is the background activity of most LMS. This provides important administrative information, essential to ensure students are in attendance. Information can quickly be gathered such as; who is online, how long they have spent online and more importantly, when are students not online and for how long, enabling prompt chasing up of attendance.

Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is a skill which many have to learn, but some are lucky enough to have intrinsically picked up, especially those from the ‘Digital age’. To understand what this means for educators and students, here is an excellent resource from the University of the Highland and Islands: Digital Literacies

Teaching role (facilitation and support)

Teaching online is very different to face to face and can offer more opportunity for critical discourse. As an educator, it is important to understand how to manage time, what to expect, how to set student expectations, how to facilitate learning remotely and the different methods for providing feedback online.

Some training resources

This free 15 hour online course from the Open University provides guidance to enable educators to create an open education resource: Creating Open Education Resources.

This 23 minute, mini workshop in the form of a narrated PowerPoint, from Salmon (2009) provides an excellent, detailed overview of the requirements of the role: E-moderationStrategies in Educational Contexts

Prof G. Salmon’s  5 Stage Model, which is discussed in the narrated PowerPoint above, can guide ‘E-moderators. More resources and information can be found on her page: Gilly Salmon

Expectations of teachers when designing the course

The teaching staff must decide how much time they will need to be online and when. This will be reflected in which activities are chosen and how these run. For example, if asking students to post answers into a forum, they can peer review, thus saving the teacher time and adding to the learning experience of the students. There will still be some teacher input, but less than if they had to feedback to each student. In some situations, this is not suitable; therefore the teacher may have to invest their time in providing feedback. Where students just have to remember key concepts, processes or terms, without critical enquiry, quizzes may suffice, which teachers can invest time pre-teaching to create, saving teaching time during the course.

Responsiveness

It is important to set student expectations by giving clear guidelines at the start of the course. It must be understood that in a digital environment, people expect fast responses and are most likely studying at any time of the day or night. If their learning is expected to be accelerated, then queries must be responded to quickly. This can be set up in different ways. A FAQ forum which students can refer to for answers, can be set up, or a student led forum to ask students to support each other, whilst learning from each other (collaborative working). This takes the onus off the teaching staff to answer immediately, but with regular checking. In order to manage the teacher’s time, it can be helpful to set regular times for going online and communicating these with students. Alternatively, teachers can ‘subscribe’ to forums, so that they can see any posts in an email and decide if they need to respond quickly, or see if another student or teacher has done so. Teaching staff can divide time up by having a rota too. Educators are not expected to be online 24 hours, a response every 1-2 days is fine, provided expectations are set at the start of the course.

Giving feedback

Peer feedback can be used in some circumstances, allowing students to learn from each other, with teacher intervention to encourage, guide or confirm responses. As with any written feedback, it is vital to be constructive and clear, as all students can see it, making it efficient and effective. Again, often timely feedback is required to steer students in the right direction. See more on feedback in the Assessment section.

Organisation of teaching time

As per responsiveness, using rotas and setting students' expectations, subscribing to forums is important to be notified of communication received. With the best of wills, setting aside a regular time will not always mean teachers are not online more often than planned. In courses where international students from different time zones are studying, demand to respond promptly will be higher. They may post at the start of their day, which may be night time for the teacher and it will be the end of the student’s day when the teacher is online after breakfast and answering. Some teachers find that it is easier to be subscribed and to answer as and when students post, in between other work/life commitments. There is no right or wrong, but setting student expectations is key, so they know when to expect answers and from whom. Here is an informative video of tutors talking about time management for educators:

https://youtu.be/bHM6o5RQOnQ ‘Time management when teaching online’

Key learning points from case studies

Student investment time

Educators must be clear about how much ‘student investment time’ is expected, from pre module sign up and then reiterated again, at the start of the module. Students, quite rightly, view online learning as a flexible option, which will fit with their busy lifestyles. However, they often do not appreciate the time commitment should be similar to time which would be spent in a classroom, plus reading and seminar preparation work (independent learning).

Module descriptors to assist students in time planning

Students should have a module descriptor, schedule with dates and timings of learning units and information on all assessments.

Adaptive release

It is important to release learning units one at a time so students do not get overwhelmed, or jump forward without completing previous units. This helps keep the students working collaboratively.

Moderator role

Have a technology savvy person, who can support tutors and learners, solve any problems, keep an eye on student attendance and coach educators who are new to online teaching.

Induction for students

Why is it important?

When students start at a new learning institute, they are usually given some time and support to become familiar with the campus, technology staff, each other and the learning environment. It can be an anxious time for students and they will be focused on practical issues such as: where are the lectures/seminars going to take place, how can I access email, systems, etc., where is the canteen, library, toilet, support, etc., so will not be focused on subject learning at present. Additionally, they will be wondering what to expect and what is expected of them, so this needs to be addressed. This is no different in online learning. The difference is, they cannot just turn round and ask someone face to face: it may take time to get a response online. Therefore, this can be pre-empted by setting up an induction area and educators should invest much thought and time into making this as comprehensive as possible. Involving a student will help to gain another perspective. A successful method of engaging students early is having virtual synchronous meetings as an induction session, where teachers set expectations, provide information on the module learning outcomes, mode of study and assessment, demonstrate the induction area whilst also explaining how the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), such as Canvas, Moodle and Blackboard is navigated and of course, answering any questions students have: they will have many!

It is vital for students to engage with the induction - educators may wish to consider making it compulsory.

Administration

Too many logins, email addresses and applications for students may lead to delay and confusion. Often this side of the module is out-with the control of the tutor, but try to ensure an educator communicates with students – or have a designated module moderator do so.

Communication

It is vital that students have communication from tutors on each module, even before the course has begun, then at the very start, to reassure them someone is listening and to answer any admin and technical queries.

What to cover

When everything is online, students need much signposting to ensure they can access everything required and this access has to be quick and easy. The induction should start from the very first contact with the student with explanations on how to access university email, LMS, library resources, plus any additional technological information, such as preferred browser, hardware and software requirements (e.g. laptop, tablet, Microsoft office) and who to contact for support.

It can also be useful for students to access:

●       Guidance on navigating through the online space

●       Study and assessment guides

●       How to create their social presence

It is during the induction phase that expectations must be set, to create a collaborative community of learning and a strong social presence, for educators and learners.

Guidance on quality and standards

As for any curriculum development, guidance should be sought from the institutional standards and should meet governing body validation requirements. However, there are particular methods to engage students in activity and critical thinking online. Here are a couple of excellent sources which provide specific online guidance:

Blackboard Learning have produced an excellent audit source as guidance for online course quality provision: Exemplary Course Program Rubric

Another valuable resource with case studies: Jisc (2009) Effective Practice in a Digital Age: A guide to technology-enhanced learning and teaching

How to establish and maintain student engagement

How to establish

Redmond and Lock’s (2006) conceptual framework model can guide educators in the development of activities to promote collaborative communities of enquiry online, providing learning experiences where students learn, then apply and share knowledge. Teaching presence is vital, especially at the start of any course, to encourage students to bond and create their social presence. Establishing the community early is essential, preferably during the induction phase, where activities can create the social environment. Such activities include discussion forums – where teachers and students introduce themselves, led by questions and perhaps the use of icebreakers. Where the LMS allows, having profile photos helps to personify teachers and students. A good way to humanise the teachers is for them to create a video, introducing themselves and the course. Many also choose to hold an initial, synchronous, online meeting, using Skype, or Adobe, etc.

How to maintain

It is important to set expectations right at the start, both the teachers’ expectations of students and what the student should expect from the teachers. In the constructivist philosophy, it is desirable to create a community of learners, who will support each other, critiquing, discussing and constructing solutions together, as part of their learning process. Establishing this from the start is vital in order that the students collaborate, even when no group work is required. Individuals can often feel lonely as online learners, so it is vital that all students feel connected and supported within the community. Where there is a shared purpose, this connection and sense of belonging can be built with the aid of the teaching presence (Conrad 2005), which is then gradually developed within the student cohort, with each individual sharing, questioning, discussing and thus creating a social network of collaborative learners.As Redmond and Lock state: “Teaching presence, as defined by Anderson et al. (2001, p.5) is the design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes. Teaching presence needs to be developed over the course of the project to achieve knowledge in action. It anchors the other six elements of the online collaborative framework”.

The student experience

In many learning programmes, students will develop independent and group learning skills such as, critical thinking, cognitive skills and team working. Through sharing critical analysis, taking time to reflect (often not available in face to face) and constructing meaning within a critical community of inquiry, students create ‘cognitive presence’[iv] (Garrison, Anderson and Archer 2000) This process becomes far more apparent in online forums, which develop a digital record for students and teachers to view. JISC (2017) shares the views of two FE institutions: Fresh perspectives on delivering a digital student experience in FE.­­

Converting modules to online

The process

Syllabus planning, mapping and student identification. As with any curriculum design, the planning stage is important to create and agree an overall view of the module. Mapping out the module, using the Learning Outcomes as guidance and aligning activities to meet these, along with assessments to check these are met, is key to the creation. Understanding who potential students will be is critical when deciding on activities. This will include their current knowledge and skills, reasons for undertaking any study, levels of previous understanding of the subject, etc. A mapping tool which provides templates is The Carpe Diem Workshop by Leicester University, based on research by Professor Gilly Salmon. Here are additional tools, the most useful being the Course Map and Activity Profile resources from a recent Open University Learning Design Initiative.

Another useful resource for exploring at the syllabus planning stage is the ABC model, created by UCL in 2013

Here is a video which explains how they plan their module development: https://youtu.be/3C1gTHApg8A

E-tivity Resource Audit (University of Leicester 2013)This is an excellent resource which provides guidance through an audit and prompts brainstorming, click on the link above to access it.

Course activities

Educators can review current resources and decide whether they can be re-used, modified or whether to source or create new material. Resources can be re-used, provided they are in a suitable format for delivery online and are allowable under copyright law for the host country. For example, an e-book version of core literature, or a scanned book chapter, link to a journal article or an infographic with links to further materials. They can also be modified to suit the online environment. For example, a PowerPoint can be easily narrated, provided it is not too long (around 10-15 minutes), existing PowerPoints may need to be edited and broken down. Then, where a question was asked during a lecture, a new learning activity can now be created: perhaps a discussion forum (this link provides useful information on the use of forums). Here is a video which explains the effective use of discussion forums:

https://youtu.be/TxzipYOGaoE ‘Conducting effective online discussions’

Online discussion forums

These can be either student or tutor led and can be used to provoke discourse around a key learning point, using a question, a case study or critiquing an academic writing – thus creating a Community of Inquiry. It can also be used to give feedback, clarify, inform, etc. Online activities can be created using resources such as videos, podcasts, readings, quizzes and can consist of individual, reflective study or collaborative activities. Most activities can also be carried out in groups. There is a plethora of software, apps and virtual spaces which help to facilitate learning activities and can often be embedded within an institute’s LMS, or can be accessed via an embedded link.

Many online modules will contain a blend of existing resources, along with new and also some links to other good quality sources, such as another university’s excellent video on Youtube, or other Open Educational Resource depository (OER), such as Open Education Resources Commons or the Open University. Learn more about this at JISC OER. There is no need to spend valuable time and resource creating a new video if a reputable organisation has already done so. Provided the course has a mix of its own resources from its own educators, then videos from other sources can be of value. In this handbook, there are exemplars and resources from many sources, along with original content, all cited, referenced and, importantly, adhering to copyright law.

Copyright and citing resources

• As with face to face curriculum development, copyright law must be adhered to, and as the module is online, it is absolutely essential that all work is cited correctly. Here are some essential links which provide guidance:
• Jisc provide this comprehensive page on the various laws involved with online learning:

• https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides?f[0]=field_project_topics%3A490
• Resources which are copyright free:  http://creativecommons.org/

Video about why Creative Commons (CC) was created:

• https://youtu.be/1DKm96Ftfko ‘A Shared Culture’
• Video explaining the different CC attributions:

https://youtu.be/RYhIsItdue4 ‘Understanding Creative Commons - Case Study’

Sustainable, flexible online activities

Subjects and content in every course will be different, but there are some resources that will be used often. Modules can be very practical, requiring students to produce outputs, individually or in collaboration with other students. They may be theoretical, requiring more reading and critical evaluation or they could be evidence-based, perhaps involving research. Thought should be given to the type of course, so that activities can align with learning outcomes and should be based on critical analysis, contextualised applications of learning and theoretical underpinnings. Due to the time and resource invested in creating any module, it is vital to ensure it is sustainable and, where possible, has flexible usage. If creating an activity which explains copyright law, for example, it can be re-used within many areas now or in the future. It can also be updated quickly, to reflect current standards, changes, and events, particularly useful in dynamic subjects such as health and development. By ensuring each activity does not refer to other activities, it can be replicated easily in another course, or if changing activities around. For example, during a narrated PowerPoint, do not mention that the next activity is a discussion, as it makes it easier to change this, e.g. to be some reading around the subject first. Then, the discussion can have clear instructions and stand alone, as will the PowerPoint and reading. Consider carefully the purpose of the activity and whether it can serve more than one.  Additional advice is provided by Moon (Jisc 2016) “resources themselves do not engage students… activity engages students, and banks of resources gather dust if they are not used as part of assessment”. Find out more at the project: What’s the point of digital resources? A Digifest discussion

Deadlines and timings

Deadlines and timings should be put onto activities and learning units. Each activity should give guidance on how long it will take, with each learning unit showing the total time at the intro. Then there should be deadlines for some activities, e.g. posting to discussions, or for the learning unit to be completed. Students like this structure and can organise their studies around the deadlines, it also means they do not miss out or get behind on important discussions.

Time to create the courses

It is difficult to quantify curriculum development, as those involved tend to fit it around other workloads, but a study during a 9 month project at Queen Margaret University calculated that the student investment time for a module, would require a similar amount of time for those involved in creating it. For example, a 150 hour module would require around 150 total development time, this includes planning, scripting, slide and video creation, with different staff involved: librarians, technical experts, educators. Educators and administration staff should ensure they are competent in using the ‘learning platforms’ or ‘learning management systems’ (LMS).

Collaborative group-work

A model for collaborative learning adopted by the Erasmus plus project can be found here: Lock, J. and Redmond, P., 2005. International Online Collaboration: Modeling Online Learning and Teaching

Here's a video which discusses the challenges of groupwork and how to overcome them.

https://youtu.be/KjcxKPIwoNA  ‘Online teamwork and collaboration’

It is also possible to facilitate synchronous/asynchronous online meetings for many purposes: group-work, knowledge exchange through lectures, interviews with experts, question and answer, presenting student work, providing feedback on student work, etc. Here is an interesting article by Hrastinski, S. & Jaldemark, J. Educ Inf Technol, 2012. How and why do students of higher education participate in online seminars?

Case study: Using online group work to produce a project proposal

One of the Erasmus Plus modules is aimed at students and professionals who seek to develop their project design and proposal writing skills. It aims to simulate a ‘real world’ environment through setting up small groups of 4 to 5 learners who have to work collaboratively to design and submit a health or development proposal to funders. The module uses a scaffolding approach in that groups have to produce a part of the project each week and this is used to build on for the following week’s task. An example of this is that in Week 1 the group would learn how to conduct a stakeholder analysis, and in week 2 identify outcomes that each stakeholder group may wish to achieve via the project. In week 3 this would be transferred into a logical framework and so on.

While group work can already be challenging in face-to-face settings, we anticipated additional complications while facilitating this purely through virtual means. In order to support students through this virtual collaboration we set up several mechanisms in the online learning environment:

·       A detailed Handbook which outlined why group work is important, frequent challenges while working as a group, advice for what to do when difficulties arise and a clear indication of what each student must do in order to contribute effectively to group work (setting expectations and providing tools to fulfill these)

·       Information which indicated step by step what the group work tasks were week by week and what deadlines were associated with each, where to get resources from etc.

·       Four synchronized sessions via Adobe Connect where group could ask questions, received tutorial advice and in the final session presented draft proposals. Tutors were present throughout these sessions and gave verbal feedback

·       A discussion board where students could post contributions both as individuals and as groups. Tutors provided regular feedback on these contributions.

·       A compulsory group monitoring report which was due at the end of each work, reflecting both on how well the group had functioned as well as on what tasks had or had not been achieved in the week

·       A personal learning journal where students recorded their won personal journey during the module, including reflections on the group work. Only the tutor and the individual student could see these reflections. 

·       We also made available a range of communication and collaboration tools that groups could choose to make use of, e.g. Padlet, Google Docs, Adobe Connect break-out rooms, chat rooms etc.

The module consisted of 6 weeks of interaction and a further 4 weeks for the group to finish their proposal and submit it. We had 6 groups of 4 or 5 students each and of these 4 groups worked very well together, formed a community of learners and bonded virtually. However, two of the groups ran into difficulties in relation to a number of issues, including communication styles, contributions of individual group members to the overall workload and unreliable work and communication patterns of group members. Tutors mediated the conflict and all groups managed to achieve the objectives of the modules and submitted a proposal and passed. However, stress levels were high in the two groups which experienced conflict, and lessons learnt would suggest that some prior screening of students’ motivation and commitment to group work should perhaps be assessed before allowing them to participate in such types of modules. Online collaborative group work seems to work well of most people but not for all.

Social media

Social media can be used by tutors and is more than likely to be used by students, with or without encouragement. Many students find it easier to communicate using their existing social media accounts on Facebook, WhatsApp, etc., rather than use the institute’s LMS, especially if they are working in groups. Tutors can purposely use social media tools to facilitate collaboration and there are many different applications to support various purposes, from Padlet, which allows brainstorming, to blogs for sharing and collaborating on documents. Much thought has to be given to privacy, online security and protection of work within a social media app though, so have a look at some guidelines from the Online Learning Consortium and always adhere to the hosting institution’s policies. By intentionally creating, or when students naturally join, social networks, it allows for continued collaboration and communication, something that can be valuable for the rest of their studies and career.

Here is a video of Dr Rosie Miles' presentation in the Open Lecture series of using social media in education:

https://vimeo.com/209178081

Technology

Hardware

It is important to consider whether all activities can be seen and engaged with on the various devices students and educators may use, e.g. mobile phones, laptop, tablets, etc. It is a good idea to check layout of the course on different devices and it is likely that various formats will have to be considered.

Software

As with hardware, check that all activities can be seen and engaged with using all software providers, e.g. Microsoft, android, Apple, etc. For example, a narrated PowerPoint will not allow sound to be heard on an Apple device. The PowerPoint can be converted into an MP4 video, which should work universally. It can also be added to a YouTube account, to allow for access anywhere with internet.

Resources

Try to ensure all reading materials are openly available to students and they do not have to use a further login to access, or buy books or articles.

Learning Management Systems e.g.: Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas – important that teaching staff are competent in using (design, teaching and assessment).

Assessment

Why assess?

As with face to face learning, it is important for educators to consider why they assess students’ learning. Formative assessment and subsequent feedback can help to identify gaps in knowledge or understanding to signpost further learning needs. It can also be useful to summarise and further instill key learning points before the student transitions to another section. Summative assessment can be used to enable educators to assess the students’ knowledge, understanding, application of theory, critical thinking and writing skills, etc. in order to apply a grade. It is vital to ensure that assessments are aligned to the learning outcomes and that the curriculum, i.e. learning activities and opportunities lead to achieving these, whilst allowing students to construct knowledge and understanding (Jisc 2009).

The Assessment and Feedback area of the Jisc (2015) Design Studio gives access to existing and emergent work of interest on assessment and feedback. In this area, topics associated with assessment and feedback can be explored. What we currently know about enhancing assessment and feedback with technology can be learned and there are links to emerging themes and outputs from the Assessment and Feedback programme. 

What type of assessment?

All types of assessment that are currently used in face to face modules can also be used for online learning. There are also opportunities within most LMS to add additional methods such as automatically graded quizzes – useful to check understanding and test knowledge as students complete learning activities or sections. Peer assessment can be useful as formative assessment and learning, especially in a community of inquiry model, as students can learn by reviewing each other’s work and discussing reviews between them, allowing the tutor to step back and let the students lead. Group-work can be assessed online in various ways. Social media or collaborative functions in the LMS can help groups to work on an assignment and apps such as Skype or Adobe Connect can allow students to present work live to tutors for assessment. Further, there are excellent applications, such as WebPA, which can help measure individuals’ contributions to group-work and award marks accordingly. Written assignments, whether individual or group, can be submitted, graded and feedback provided online and current practice is shifting away from exams.Jisc 2013 Changing Assessment and Feedback Practice provides more information on current academic thinking.

Here, Dr Gary Velan from UNSW Australia | Medicine talks about how he uses online formative assessment to help improve student learning in a large scale medical program:

Formative Online Assessment in Medicine (https://youtu.be/rRPDZdWzH_M)

Providing constructive feedback, of course is essential and the Jisc 2013 Feedback and Feed Forward guide provides excellent information.

 Jisc 2013 Electronic Management of Assignment explains further how the LMS can facilitate assessment for students and educators.

Evaluation

It is, of course, important to evaluate the student experience (as well as teacher experiences) as part of quality and process improvement. Many institutions already have their evaluation surveys embedded in a course resource area, even in a face to face learning situation, which enables anonymous responses. This can also be done via a link to an external survey tool. It is also possible to hold online synchronous interviews or forums to gain student and/or educator insight and evaluation.

For many resources regarding evaluating online, follow this link to JISC Evaluation

Case study: Erasmus Plus project course evaluation

Like most institutions our institution has standard evaluation forms for face to face courses. The standard forms were however not suitable for evaluating an online course as they asked for classroom facilities etc. We converted the form for online courses and added questions on the user-friendliness of the e-learning platform. We wanted to know the view of students on interaction methods with peers and facilitators like forums or synchronous sessions. The preference for specific teaching methods like narrated PowerPoint, video, discussion session, quizzes was also checked.

One interesting component of the evaluation questionnaire focused on the pace and time investment for the module. More than half of the group experienced the amount of work as ‘too much’ and 25% thought the pace was too high. The course coordinators had underestimated the amount of work that it would take students to digest the materials. They also felt they had to provide activities for every hour of ‘student investment time’ and it was tempting to add more and new interesting materials while they were building the course. On the other hand students likely did not have realistic expectations of the study load due to previous online courses that they had taken which typically could be done in a few hours a week while this course was nearly full-time. This evaluation was very valuable for our institute not only in improving this course, but also for development of future new online courses.

The benefits and challenges of developing and teaching online modules

The benefits

In summary, the benefits are:

• an opportunity to update and improve courses

• makes it easier to include subject specialists

• allows for the use of relevant videos

• assessments: can check understanding via short quizzes, formative/summative assessment can be set and marked by LMS (to some extent), saving time

• more accessible and scaffolded learning

• learning becomes transparent and is shared

The challenges

In summary, the challenges are:

• understanding online learning philosophy and technique
• time for academics – to develop, to teach
• over-coming technophobia or eisoptrophobia (no one likes seeing or hearing themselves!) 
• maintaining online presence

Further resources

·       This is a resource area with peer reviewed journal articles, all related to online learning: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl

·       This resource is “a collection of practical ideas offered for use by the educational development community. Based on the notion of a cook book put together by a community, it offers Starters (ice breakers), Main Courses (ideas for workshops and events) and Desserts (ways to obtain feedback or evaluation)”: http://teachingcommons.yorku.ca/educational-developers-cookbook/

·       Teaching and Learning Conversations (TLC)is a series of online conversations/lectures/knowledge exchanges for contemporary learning. There are many interesting resources to access.

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