Collaboration & Learning Environments

Support for Course Development

Expected Outcomes
• Tools to enhance the Universities’ Virtual Learning Environments (i.e. Moodle and Blackboard) to assist in the creation of interactive and innovative eLearning content
• An online networking environment to help students collaborate effectively
• Exemplars of interactive and innovative blended learning course content
• Guidance for staff developing interactive and innovative blended learning course content
• Training and support for the use of these tools


Benefits
• Enhanced learning experience, especially for students taking modules remotely: work-based students, distance learners and those on a different campus from the teaching staff
• Improved staff confidence in developing interactive and innovative blended learning course content
• Effective networking and collaboration among students from the different Universities of the Alliance


Completed Projects

The Innovation Award project on Blended Learning for the MSc in Leadership and Management in Health – creating exemplars of blended learning in line with established best practice.

Current Activities

• The One Community Innovation Award project – continuing to develop and promote the online collaboration environment using the Elgg social networking software.

• Support for educational development by a tri-partite educational development network to liaise with course teams, arrange for sharing good practice, and organise staff development activities.

• Special support for eLearning for SWan course teams in Royal Holloway, provided by Roger Pearson (roger.pearson@rhul.ac.uk).

 

• Support for eLearning using the Wimba Collaboration Suite licensed by SWan for 2007-10. The suite comprises:

    • Wimba Create (previously Course Genie) – an enhancement to Word to make it easy to create web content for Moodle or Blackboard
    • Wimba Voice – a set of voice tools to allow recorded voice to be used in place of text in eLearning content – includes a podcasting tool, a voice board (voice version of a threaded discussion board) and a presentation tool to allow voice-overs to be used with presentations
    • Wimba Classroom – a desktop web conferencing tool designed specifically for a teaching environment.

• Sharing experience and good practice in use of the Wimba tools

    • A trial of Wimba Pronto has been concluded. It has some similarities to NEFSIS but in addition has special facilities to support online office hours - in particular it has a waiting room where students can wait until the tutor is available.
    • Using a Wimba users discussion group within One Community – see http://one.swlacademicnetwork.ac.uk/wimba/
    • Discovering how other UK HEIs use the Wimba tools and then sharing that information as appropriate within the SWan Alliance
    • Sharing with other HEIs how we in the SWan Alliance are using the Wimba tools.