Liquid Learning

New Zealand: Landscape as Culture: Mountains

Excited to have our latest Massive Open Online Course on New Zealand - landscape as culture completed (NZ102x). This follows our first bicultural New Zealand MOOC on the subject of "Islands". This second course invites participants to learn about New Zealand’s mountains, or 'Maunga', and the cultural identities attached to them. It explores the lives of indigenous Māori people who trace their ancestry to their mountain, as well as the European, Pākeha people who identify with mountain culture.

Visit our growing list of programmes here on the edX portal:

https://www.edx.org/school/victoriax 

 

 

RIDE 2016 conference at the University of London

As the co-chair and organiser I am really pleased to see how the programme for the RIDE conference has come together this year. It promises to be an exciting day and one for celebration as the Centre for Distance Education celebrates the tenth incarnation of the annual conference. We have two excellent keynote speakers lined up for the day:

Prof. Dr Ilona Buchem - Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany.
Prof. Hugh Davis - Director of Institute for Learning Innovation and Development, University of Southampton, UK.

The programme also features seminars, workshops and showcases around three themes: design for learning, technologies for learning and enhancing the student experience. These will incorporate presentations include the Open Science Laboratory project at the Open University, latest developments in assessment and feedback, digital badging, and a strong focus on MOOCs that will reflect on the state of play and also looking into the future how we might evaluate them. Everything kicks off at 9:30am on Friday 11 March at Senate House, University of London. And the latest version of the conference programme is available for download and viewing here: RIDE2016_short_programme_FINAL (pdf, 2Mb).

 

Design4TEL - online professional development courses launched

 

Two new  online professional development courses launched at Surrey:

Designing Technology Enhanced Learning – a learning design studio approach (FHEQ Level 7 - 15 credits)

Use a design methodology to solve novel educational challenges relevant to your particular context. Develop the critical knowledge and tools to successfully design, implement and evaluate innovative approaches to learning and teaching challenges. Supported by peers, experts and an online workbench you will work through the design process, identifying a challenge and then prototyping and evaluating solutions that incorporate design patterns and principles.

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/designingtel/

 

Moving into Academic Leadership – an autoethnographic approach (FHEQ Level 7 - 15 credits)

Explore your personal academic identity and leadership approach through an autoethnographic analysis of your academic journey. Supported by your tutor and peers, you will consider aspects of professionalism, expertise, culture, gender and discipline that shape your leadership in academic activities, helping you to develop a roadmap to enhancing your leadership.

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/dhe/programmes/ma/academicleadership/  

 

Call for papers on Design Patterns for Open Online Teaching and Learning

Following on from the successful MOOC Design Patterns Project there is a specific call out with eLearning papers that I have been invited to guest edit on patterns for open online education.

Call for Papers eLearning Papers #42

Call for papers on Design Patterns for Open Online Teaching and Learning

http://www.openeducationeuropa.eu/elearning_papers/call_for_papers

Deadline: 11 May

Guest Editor: Professor Steven Warburton, University of Surrey

 The rapid rise of massive open online courses (MOOCS) has revived interest in the broader spectrum of open online teaching and learning. This “renaissance” has highlighted the challenges and potentials associated to the design of such educational environments. Arguably, the accelerated expansion of open online education creates risks for pedagogical quality and learner experience. There is an urgent need to articulate, share and critique design knowledge in this field.

 We are witnessing a wealth of different approaches to the delivery, pedagogy, functionalities and support mechanisms for Open Online Learning. Some have these have been successful and others not so successful – for an example we can see high variability in the documented retention rates across different MOOC offerings.

 Design patterns and pattern languages have been proposed as effective means to facilitate rigorous discourse, bridging theory and practice (Bergin et al, 2012; Conole et al, 2010; Goodyear, 2005; Mor et al, 2012; Mor et al, 2014; Sharp et al, 2003). The Design patterns paradigm was proposed by Christopher Alexander as a form of design language within architecture. A design pattern describes a recurring problem, or design challenge, the characteristics of the context in which it occurs, and a possible method of solution. These patterns were organized into coherent systems called pattern languages where patterns are related to each other. 

 Some of the key questions within this call are underpinned by a desire to understand the design processes and mechanisms by which we come to create and deliver open online learning at scale and by extension how we can formulate this into sharable design solutions that can be applied by others. Particularly where we are observing differentiation and varying degrees of success in the current landscape.

In this issue, we are seeking either pattern papers, pattern review papers or papers which discuss the process of eliciting and using design patterns in the design and delivery of open online education. This may include the following: 

 1. Papers reviewing existing pattern languages applicable to online learning;

2. Theory and methodology for mining / using patterns in relation to designing for Open Online Courses;

3. Pattern papers, including design narrative(s), design pattern(s) and scenario(s);

4. Application of patterns to design problems in open online learning.

For examples of pattern papers, please see the references below. You might also want to explore http://ilde.upf.edu/moocs/ as an environment for authoring and sharing design narratives, design paterns and design scenarios.

Submission guidelines

In this issue we will not be accepting “from the field” articles. We expect two categories of submissions:

Design pattern papers focus on design as a mode of action (identifying a need and creating new “things” to address it) and as a mode of inquiry (understanding human experience by introducing innovations and observing their effect).Design research asks not “what is” but “how do we make it better?”. Design papers are expected to presentdesign principles, design guidelines or design patterns, supported by empirical evidence (qualitative, quantitative or mixed) and theoretical justification. 

In good editorial form: Selected articles are clear and precise. They should identify a framework of reference and exhibit a dual commitment to the advancement of both theory and practice.  

Length: Should not exceed 6,000 words.

In-Depth articles are full-length texts that discuss current findings from research or long-term studies. They should have the following characteristics: 

Academic focus: Articles must be original, scientifically accurate and informative, reporting on new developments and recently concluded projects.

In good editorial form: Selected articles are clear and precise. They should develop their argument coherently and present unity of thought.

Length: Should range from 4,000 to 6,000 words.

References

Bergin, J.; Eckstein, J.; Volter, M.; Sipos, M.; Wallingford, E.; Marquardt, K.; Chandler, J.; Sharp, H. & Manns, M. L. (2012), Pedagogical Patterns: Advice For Educators, Joseph Bergin Software Tools .

Conole, G.; McAndrew, P. & Dimitriadis, Y. (2010), The role of CSCL pedagogical patterns as mediating artefacts for repurposing Open Educational Resources, in F. Pozzi & D. Persico, ed., 'Techniques for Fostering Collaboration in Online Learning Communities: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives' , Hershey, New York , pp. 206-223 .

Goodyear, P. (2005), 'Educational design and networked learning: Patterns, pattern languages and design practice',Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 21 (1) , 82-101.

Mor, Y. (2013), SNaP! Re-using, sharing and communicating designs and design knowledge using Scenarios, Narratives and Patterns, in Rosemary Luckin; Peter Goodyear; Barbara Grabowski; Sadhana Puntambekar; Niall Winters & Joshua Underwood, ed., 'Handbook of Design in Educational Technology' , Routledge, , pp. 189-200  

Mor, Y.; Mellar, H.; Warburton, S. & Winters, N., ed. (2014), Practical Design Patterns for Teaching and Learning with Technology. Sense: Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei. https://www.sensepublishers.com/catalogs/bookseries/technology-enhanced-learning-1/practical-design-patterns-for-teaching-and-learning-with-technology/ 

Mor, Y.; Warburton, S. & Winters, N. (2012), 'Participatory Pattern Workshops: A Methodology for Open Learning Design Inquiry', Research in Learning Technology 20.

Sharp, H.; Manns, M. L. & Eckstein, J. (2003), 'Evolving Pedagogical Patterns: The Work of the Pedagogical Patterns Project', Computer Science Education 13 , 315-330 .

See also:

• MOOC Design Patterns Project
• Design Patterns page on the Learning Design Grid

 

Contact

For any question regarding the submission process you can contact us at editorialteam[at]openeducationeuropa[dot]eu

 

InFocus 2015: Games, gamification and games-based learning

The 'InFocus' symposium has become one of the annual events now run by the Centre for Distance Education. This is the third event that I have helped organise and chair and I am really pleased to be sharing this event with my invited co-chair Alex Moseley who is a National Teaching Fellow, Educational Designer and Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester. We have a really exciting programme (see below) planned with the added fun of a lunchtime boardgaming session with a selection of carefully chosen games. I love boardgames and this will be one of the many highlights of the day :)

 

InFocus 2015: Games, gamification and game-based learning from Steven Warburton

 

Further reading: Whitton, N. & Moseley, A. (eds) (2012) Using Games to Enhance Learning and Teaching: A Beginner's Guide. New York: Routledge

Design Patterns for MOOCs

The Centre for Distance Education funded 'Design Patterns for MOOCs' project has been running for one year. In that time four workshops have been run using the participatory patterns workshop methodology. These have taken a group of expert MOOC designers and builders from sharing narratives of successful practice through to publishable set of design patterns. In total 20 design patterns and 1 anti-pattern have been documented - the full set of design patterns and descriptions can be found here on the project website. A number of validation workshops are now being run to test the design patterns against novel design scenarios. These are rapid design challenges that use a set of design pattern cards; the format can be seen here on the website.

 

Further reading:

Mor, Y., Warburton, S., Winters, N. and Mellar, H. Eds. (2014). Practical design patterns for teaching and learning with technology. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense.

Mor, Y.; Warburton, S. & Winters, N. (2012), 'Participatory Pattern Workshops: A Methodology for Open Learning Design Inquiry',  Research in Learning Technology, 20.

 

 

 

Translating a digital competence framework into a blended course fro care workers

It was a pleasure to return to the EDEN conference after a few years of absence and catch up with people I had not seen for some time. The trip to Zagreb was the perfect opportunity  to disseminate the recent accomplishments of the CarerPlus project in translating a digital competence framework for the domiciliary care worker sector into a blended  mobile learning programme.

 

From Carer to Carerplus: Developing Digital Skills in Care Workers from Steven Warburton

 

Further reading:

Warburton, S., Hatzipanagos, S. and Valenta, L.  (2014). From Carer to Carer+: The translation of a digital competence framewwork into a blended mobile learning programme for the domiciliary care sector. Proceedings of the European Distance and E-Learning Network 2014 Annual Conference, Zagreb, 11-13 June, 2014.

Learning Analytics: an InFocus conference special

I recently had the pleasure of organising and chairing the InFocus Learning Analytics event at the University of London. This is part of an ongoing series of special one day events that take an in-depth look at an emerging area in the field of Technological Enhanced Learning. Last year it was mobile apps (LINK) and this year analytics and big day. The range of talks really gave a sense of what is a growing domain - one that is quite diverse in the approaches that are being taken to understanding what are the critical questions that analytics can answer in differing educational contexts. In brief our mixture of industry and academic presenters.

Thanks to Myles Danson who provided a live blog of the day and highlight summaries of the speakers:

https://myles.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2013/12/10/740/ 

I have snipped the main content to make it available here too:

 

"...

Adam Cooper (CETIS)
Adam touched on the perils of data visualisations showing us some poor examples with a plea to delegates to raise the bar and not be drawn in. ALso significance and sample size, and that correlation is not necessarily the root of causation. So don’t ignore statistics in favour of pretty visualisations. Adam pressed home the end goal of analytics being actionable insight and that identifying the insight people want and can action is going to be key.

At Jisc my InfoNet colleagues have an entire InfoKit (October 2013) available on visualisation at

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/data-visualisation/

Next up Pamela Wik-Grimm of eCornell
Using targeted data driven online surveys to improve course design
eCornell sell courses that are learner directed or with course team expert input and teaching assistant delivery. So quite niche.
The analytics begins with a visualisation of the frequency of student access of various course elements asking why do they repeat these (are they great or ambiguous for example). Essentially these patterns provide the actionable insight. The sample sizes underpinning the demonstrated visualisations are very small (17 students) but the inference drawn is applied to the 35K students taking the courses. Which seems a bit unusual. Maybe they have determined that 17 is as good as a thousand responses. One benefit of this approach is that individual students can be asked what inference can be drawn, rather than using analytics to predict.
The insights allow course redesign for optimisation. Nice to hear some learning analytics not based on engagement activity and early warning of drop out.

Bart Rientes Surrey University
Bart highlights that good teachers are doing analytics anyway and asks whether there is anything new going on. He believes that much learning goes on socially (outside the formal classroom) and introduces Social learning analytics requiring visualisation of ‘the invisible’. Social networks play an important role in learning and these can be visualised (with whom do students network and what is the impact on their learning). According to Erik Duval (LAK Community) a problem with leanring analytics is the lack of clarity as to what it is that should be measured.
In summary, the low hanging fruit are not the best – clicks on web pages / VLE data (as the OU will be discussing later) are crude. Social Analytics offers far more powerful insight into actual learning.

Next up George Mitchell, Selflab.com
Delivering the learning ecosystem
A contact agnostic adaptive learning and analytics system
A system to deliver a truly personalised learning experience. So providing appropriate materials to them at an appropriate time emulating a good teacher but remaining subject and content independent. Which all sounds a bit sci-fi.
Three components are identified;
1. Target Knowledge. A model showing linkages including pre-requisites, required competencies and navigation through elements to evidence these. This identifies where a student is coming from (prior knowledge) and where they need to go to (required competencies).
2. Intelligent Engine. To provide the individualised learning path measuring and predicting ability. The system determines pre-knowledge and provides a path that fills the gaps required to demonstrate the required competencies. Varying learning styles are also catered for in terms of content offered. So content is also profiled and effectiveness of that content is provided to the learning designers.

The system has been used as; 50K students, 75K course enrolments, 18 million questions developed and delivered, 317K practice and revision interactions, across 60 courses. So pretty impressive.

Key here are;
Personalised approach respecting student prior knowledge
Automated appropriate content generation and delivery
Analytics to feedback on content performance

Next up it’s Annika Wolf
Annika is presenting work JISC funded and I oversaw based on student progression / retention, demographics and VLE clicks. Here’s their case study.
The OU has very large numbers of student so accuracy and timely prediction of likely student failure allows smarter targeting of OU resources to intervene. The work here is moved on, the underpinning models are drawing on prior student behaviours across multiple learning activities including assessments. They found that VLE data (interpreted as engagement) or assessment data alone weren’t as accurate predictors as when combined. They determined that the first assessment outcome (not submitted or less than 40%) was the most accurate prediction of course failure. So this was targeted as the actionable insight. Mashing in demographic data with VLE gave reliable predictions.

Next up it’s Doug Clow of the OU and the Learning Analytics and Knowledge community
Doug is into MOOCs and explains why analytics for MOOCs is hard. We know that people drop out of MOOCs a lot (93% from MIT) but the reasons for why are very complex. Hard and complex with large drop outs, that’ll be the MOOC then. Doug presented some fab graphs of MOOC completion rate. As ever he’s so organised and has posted his slides here, so do go look.

Doug has drawn a parallel with the marketing funnel;

Awareness
Interest
Desire
Purchase

and that this can be applied to higher education in terms of learning opportunities and the steep drop off in terms of participation toward achievement (hence a funnel). It’s in his slides. As are some notional completion rates (90% for an elite university right down to <15% for MOOCs and noting that 12 MOOCs might be required to be equivalent).

Last one today is from IBM and the University of London on learning analytics based on augmented Moodle VLE data
Richard Maccabee (Director of UoL ICT) and Uri Barran (Predictive analytics solution architect)
Quite a complex approach this one. Seems to be attempting to cover the entire student lifecycle from pre-admission to alumni. Today they are focusing on

1. Identification of a first term high risk of drop out model
2. A decision management process
3. then on to the delivery of the insight so someone can take action

This is a real ‘under the bonnet’ look at underlying data, models and decision trees. It’s a yomp around a toolset for a practicing analyst. Certainly not the sort of tool you’d ever offer to a teacher or a manager. The outputs are graphs showing student population performance prediction based on subjects, a list of high risk students, a view into the different aspects of their course performance(behaviours perhaps) along with a set of suggested actions."

..."

Pedagogical patterns - advice for educators

Finally available: a great resource on design patterns for educators from the pedagogical patterns group.

http://www.pedagogicalpatterns.org/

Pedagogical Patterns: Advice for Educators Pedagogical Pattern Editorial Board: Joseph Bergin, Jutta Eckstein, Markus Völter, Marianna Sipos, Eugene Wallingford, Klaus Marquardt, Jane Chandler, Helen Sharp, Mary Lynn Manns (Eds.) Published by Joseph Bergin Software Tools, 2012.

Design patterns formats

A design pattern can be laid out in many different ways, though the core remains the 'problem-solution-context' elements. Another example of a layout I have come across is for 'social software design patterns':

1. Name: The name and a short summary of the pattern
2. Problem: The problem the pattern addresses, including a discussion of its associated forces
3. Example: A real-world example demonstrating the existence of the problem and the need for the pattern
4. Context: The situations in which the pattern may apply
5. Solution: A resolution of the problem stated in terms that could be applied in many situations
6. Implementation: The fundamental solution principle underlying the pattern
7. Technological Assumptions: What infrastructure must be in place for the implementation to be practical
8. Variants: A brief description of variants or specializations of a pattern
9. Consequences: The benefits the pattern provides, and any potential liabilities