Webslides from Diigo is a new(ish) tool that lets you create a slide based presentation from a set of web resources. Potentially useful for introducing some web resources to learners, quickly highlighting key resources, etc.
Hosted in the very nice ‘Pavilion’, at the University of Westminster’s Cavendish Campus, the latest London BUG focused on version 9 of Blackboard and the planning in organisations are putting in place around the upgrade.
Session 1 outlined a lot of information from the Bloomsbury group VLE including a lot of information which was not to be spread beyond the group. Generally speaking, however, the presentation highlighted a lot of problems which people seemed to recognise - including the escalation of costs through licence numbers, file space, etc. The Bloomsbury consortium have their technical aspects looked after, like we do, by Blackboard so it was interesting to hear the room be generally against this Managed Hosting offer due to the costs Blackboard put on file space, which should be becoming much cheaper, and other issues. Issues for us out of the talk (most of which I, as system admin, am already too aware of):
Overall, there is a very difficult balance for most VLE managers in that we do not want to discourage or hamper use but do not want to have additional costs in file space/admin time/etc.
There was an interesting discussion following this about how these problems will probably only get worse with more and more people using easy to produce media tools such as Flip cameras, MP3 recorders, etc. and ePortfolios, etc. making student creation of content more of a reality (decreasing the influence of any A/V team on the quality/size of files).
The second presentation of the day was on London South Bank University’s move to version 9 of the Blackboard software (they have upgraded their production server on the Tuesday before the Friday meeting). There was a bit of background to the decision making and their main driver seems to have been the improvements in 9 which would allow them to use Blackboard as their portal [http://blackboard.lsbu.ac.uk] for all student information (’My LSBU’) which we kind of already do. Some of the more interesting bits included:
Interestingly only LSBU and City and Islington College, of those present, are upgrading to release 9 this summer.
The third presentation of the day (a talk by Blackboard on version 9) was cut short due to technical problems with the WebEx connection to the USA.
A few weeks back, a number of College staff attended the latest Questionmark session on their eAssessment and computer based testing (CBT) tools. As previously mentioned, Questionmark also provide online seminars for those interested in the topic as well as these in person sessions.
We attended a session in 2008 and were impressed by the options these tools would provide for eAssessment, beyond the facilities Blackboard includes, such as tests and Grade Center. This year’s session highlighted a number of improvements which, in ways, make the tool comparable to BTL and other solutions.
Advantages for the College would include:
Issues:
Overall, a good chance for catching up on the QM tools and those BPP staff in attendance who were new to the tool seemed impressed. QM certainly seems to be gaining ground - one client who presented at the day explaining how they picked QM from 30 different vendors and have not regretted the decision since with massive adoption of high stakes eAssessment.
This week training has been provided for a number of staff who may be part of a TurnItIn trial.
TurnItIn is a tool that offers two main pieces of functionality which may be of interest:
If any readers want more information please get in touch.
Training resources will be added to the ‘Staff Training’ resources on the My Learning tab.
The first European Articulate Conference, recently brought together users of the software from education and the workplace. Articulate is a tool we have used for creating some of our online content. Generally speaking the Articulate tool is used for importing video and audio into PowerPoint and publishing it in flash format. There is obviously plenty of interest in the tool as the conference was oversubscribed.
The conference was hosted by Leeds University which have been trying to make use of Articulate as their tool of choice for online sessions. Impressively, Leeds have purchased 212 licenses initially [making use of a multiplier education discount through a third party seller in the UK] with a mixture of department and institution led attempts to get it being used (with support from the Staff and Departmental Development Unit). Leeds seeing this use of Articulate as part of their wider innovation which is including all modules having a representation on their new Blackboard roll-out by the end of year two. Some interesting feedback was mentioned by Leeds including that examples on their website have been viewed from around the world (presumably some of these people would be prospective students) and feedback seems to be that Articulate enhances f-2-f sessions in student eyes.
Rather than detail all of the presentations there is perhaps some value in picking out points made with regards to certain topics:
Possible uses
l Help with the acclimatisation/induction of students. Examples showed included a virtual tour of a library training building detailing the services on offer and a ‘virtual lab’ which trained and tested students on the practicalities of lab work without having to expose them to potential dangers or incurring costs of practicals.
l Preattendance quizzes to help pick up who is struggling. This is perhaps really a potential advantage of any online testing roll-out. Articulate’s advantage being the ‘packaging’ of lots of content so tests can be included mid-exercise and content can be set to only appear once testing has shown students are picking up concepts.
l Articulate Engage allows for more dynamic content, including translation of diagrams to real pictures. We may need to review the possible uses of Engage and purchase if appropriate.
l Some examples were mentioned of having students use it to produce high quality materials for coursework. Examples mentioned included having students produce content on subjects for secondary school teachers to use.
l Presentation of content when numbers would be impossible to conduct face to face. For example, advice sessions from library and/or careers services can be run as online tutorials when impossible to offer to all students due to weight of numbers.
l Kineo showed some of the very impressive ’skins’ for the tool which their flash developers have built. With these in place outputs no longer have to look like Articulate/PPT but more like high-end bespoke flash.
l Rapid e-learning tools, such as Articulate, a great way to capture knowledge and make it explicit.
l Articulates are one style of learning that will go well with some cultures, other cultures will want more collaborative learning and other options.
l Use for FAQ bank – can just point students to a slide number within an Articulate rather than replying in the same way to multiple emails.
l Great for software training – show things on screen but can also include other elements beyond just screen capture.
Best practices
l Story board first, build only when have clear idea what want so that materials are not ‘led’ by the technology.
l Have two versions of slides – one with and one without audio, so audio plays only on first access and not when come back to slide.
l Try not to get bogged down – is meant to be a rapid authoring tool. Produce prototypes quickly and fine tune from feedback.
l (As with most production) better for the tester to not be the designer or builder so can view content with ‘fresh’ eyes.
l Office 2007 allows for a lot of the visual options you need but a graphic designer can be really useful and is essential if you want skins to be built. ‘SmartArt’ in 07 really useful.
l Captivate and other content can be embedded easily so use video, images, etc. to brighten content and enhance the experience. However, video needs to be well lit and audio of good quality.
l Take some time to learn the new features of the latest version of Quizmaker – there are a number of new options (see highlight below for some of them).
l If working on an Articulate project across different PCs there is now a ’save package’ option which will keep all your source files together, avoiding potential loss and the need to always work on the same machine.
l Keep sessions small so easier to edit and upload new versions.
l Better to not brand the PPT as then content can be published with different skins, allowing for content to sold, etc.
l People like to have something printable so produce narration notes and include transcripts.
l Use PPT as an image editor – add multiple images, get in layout want to use, select all the images, right click and save selection as a new image.
Feedback from users
l Generally seemed very popular with authors, thanks to ease of use, etc. and their students (some impressive figures from user surveys were run through).
l ‘Real’ content is appreciated, such as interviews rather than acting.
Problems
l A number of users have experienced the same problems we have had with SCORM packages and Blackboard. Hopefully these will be resolved in Blackboard version 9 and we will then be able to track assessment attempts properly. This contrasted to a number of people praising the use of Articulate in Moodle.
l Captivate and some other tools not as easy to use as Articulate.
l Engage does not cover all the interactions you may want – some room for using other tools such as Raptivity still.
l Not great for multi language support. Kineo mentioned they use Mohive/Atlantic Link for xml updating for language as Articulate’s content structuring does not make large scale changes very easy.
l Are alternatives – for example just capture a live session (using Camtasia or echo360).
l No export to MP4 or 3 option; perhaps also could be useful if digital rights management was built in (something like iplayer where content only available for 30 days, etc).
l Although easy to use, getting staff to use the tool has been an issue at some places – approaches included making it compulsory to produce a certain amount of Articulate presentations a year or
Highlight
Tom Kuhlmann of Articulate, and main contributor to the excellent Rapid eLearning Blog, joined the meeting via web conference. Although there were some technical problems it was interesting to see someone really quickly making something impressive using the tools. Tom focused on the changes to Quizmaker which now allow for a slide view (in addition to the form view) meaning that presentations can effectively just be built with Quizmaker if you wish.
Some fairly complex animations and branching were included showing some of Quizmaker’s potential for content beyond just quizzes. Indeed there was an example of using the tool for a mock up of form filling which has been a problem for us without really finding a perfect solution.
General usefulness of the conference
Was interesting to see the strategies and approaches of other organisations, and some interesting examples.
Way back on March 20th I attended a BTL briefing on their eAssessment solution. Readers might be interested in knowing a few of the advantages of the BTL tools and I would be interested in hearing any thoughts on the below, in comparison to current workflows or how things would ideally be done in the future.
BTL aim to provide tools that improve the work of educators and make electronic assessment a reality. They offer:
consultancy on solutions
different models (hosted, transition, etc) for system* and content**
* Surpass is the core tool – made up of ContentProducer (inc. drag and drop and collaborative authoring), ItemBank and SecureAssess.
** not just MCQs but production of high end question customisations
The student view looked impressive and the usual kind of options are available for if the test is to be password protected, etc. Question types include video and editable tables, the later being an example beyond current possibilities. One nice feature is students can set their preferences, including accessibility solutions such as setting colour contrasts, etc.
ContentProducer stores tests centrally but a desktop application is available if people want to author questions offline – this would be handy for authors who commute and work on trains, etc. Admin can send ‘news’ to authors to let them know issues with the system, etc. whilst admin creates ‘projects’ for people to create tests within. Metadata is added per question which feeds through to the ItemBank. Admin can also setup templates for authors to use (for branding, etc). Workflows exist and are automated for checking questions, etc. 9 main question types (i.e. less than Blackboard) but these offer 120 overall types (apparantly through different combinations, etc.). They also demoed ‘question extensions’ which are special types authored for certain clients.
Itembank is browser based and has a fairly standard tab navigation system. The functionality was skipped over fairly quickly but some nice touches were shown including the way to offer ‘tools’ to the student within the test (for example a calculator for account exams).
SecureAsses is also web based and appears differently to different user types, for example an invigilator may only get one of the tabs – letting them start the exam. Indeed the general approach seems to be one of using the tools for exams taken in a physical assessment centre although they could be used for remote assessment too. One very powerful attribute was the exam audit that keeps a record of all exams and attempts ever created – even if the test/user is no longer available.
Other impressive functionality included:
dual language: example showed immediate switching between Welsh and English
various navigation options (i.e. do not have to have menu in fixed location)
can tag items automatically for needing audio versions
in Assess can run reports – for example seeing if different centres are achieving different results
includes a lock down browser tool (stop other windows being opened, etc) and PDF versions can be created automatically for those who do not want to do the assessment electronically
The user case study came from AAT who highlighted the usual problems with paper assessments – marking, feedback deployment, etc. and how worked with BTL on creating pools of assessments which can then be used repeatedly and flexibly for randomised testing. Some of the sample question types built for AAT looked very impressive – such as completing interactive mock-up of forms (something we have had deal with through work around solutions rather than actual questions which look like the forms). A similar feature was the inclusion of calendars for people to pick the date from to avoid the problem of people entering dates in one of the various formats which could be incorrect if a free entry box was used (for example 11/13/09, 13/11/09, etc). Interestingly, AAT have found pass rates to be comparable between pre and post ‘e’ testing.
Overall BTL does look powerful and the Assess tool could be a solution for dealing with large numbers of examinations, but would require further investigation.
For anyone interested in eAssessment a quick Google will bring up lots of useful information such as that produced by SQA (http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/23369.html).
A quick trip last week to the CIPD’s HRD event led to a few interesting discoveries and conversations.
“The Learning Debate, Exploring Theory and Creation of Learning Environments” (BPP HR Training)
A session led by our own Kerry Cross which covered a whole range of learning theories and best practice in quite a short period of time. Some key points, which we all perhaps forget too easily, were made including that training is normally about fostering change and the aim should be to foster this. Best practice for this was mentioned and many of the points - such as needing clear goals, an environment allowing for learning to take place, etc. - apply to the online course just as much as they do the physical classroom.
e-Learning Roundtable discussion
An interesting session which did not quite follow the flow I was expecting. I went along hoping to hear how people are using e-Learning in the workplace. In the end I contributed quite a lot on how we are using online learning with our students and staff.
In an hour we touched on a variety of topics from proving the benefits of e-learning to the business, what the people present are doing (there were a few NHS folks with interesting tales to tell of frustration with IT systems), if entirely online training is possible, etc.
Overall, people seem to be having success in making compliance, IT training and some other topics ‘e’ but there was a general acceptance of the continuing importance of face-to-face for building good relationships and for high level skills/knowledge.
Similar to Kerry’s presentation, there were messages that apply be training online or in a classroom - such as knowing your audience and not creating a fear of the topic (or computers themselves).
eAssessment was mentioned as still being a problem area for appropriate management but it’s usefulness for pre-testing and ‘lessons learned’ summative testing is clearly being recognised. In addition initial testing can be used in eRecruitment.
e-Learning authoring tools
A number of eAuthoring tools were on show. The ‘Seminar Author‘ tool is on our list of ones to experiment with and definitely looks like one we should be looking at. Seminar is a product of Information Transfer, whilst I did not stay for their presentation I have ordered their latest guide to e-learning. IMC were also present and I still need to trial their eLearning tools - one of which offers the rather cool function of being able to export content to Playstation Portable formats.
I was hoping to look around the various assessment vendors but whilst Questionmark and some other eAssessment companies were there a considerable focus was on psychometric tests and the kind of qualifications/coaching relevant to the workplace.
Training providers
Some interesting examples where people were selling particular training, including content which could be added into a virtual learning environment or course. Some of the examples which seemed more interesting included Global Excellence, who assist with organisations looking to get their staff trained in understanding international culture issues (potentially useful for Higher Ed Institutions). There were also a host of providers of content and training around issues such as DDA and compliance.
Overall thoughts
Interesting that ‘e-learning’ is still very much in use when in comes to CIPD/organisational events. This contrasts to the HE sector where it has effectively been replaced by the more holistic ‘learning technology’ or ‘online learning’.
There seems strong interest in online learning for certain topics (compliance, IT, etc) but there is clearly hesitation in other areas.
Any questions let me know or add comments below.
Staff will probably get quite a lot from taking some time to read York’s guide to their Problem Based Learning approach. Interesting for a number of reasons and picked up on by a number of pundits, academics, etc. including Seb Schmoller.
Following the success of the Wimba Classroom trials we have now installed Pronto and Voice. Both tools can be made available via a learning module or community organisation Control Panel (in > Manage Tools) and then deployed for use by staff/students. Key functionality of the tools below:
Pronto
An instant messanger application which has to be downloaded. Unlike chat other tools (see previous post) Pronto has the advantage of automatically making available contact details for other users on a module, community or ‘help desks’ (if setup). In addition a number of ‘classroom’ type tools are being introduced, including Whiteboards and application sharing.
More information: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_pronto/
Voice
A range of tools (podcasts, presentations, discussion boards, authoring and emailing) based around the use of audio in an online course, useful in ‘breaking up the text’ and providing a personal touch.
More information: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_voice/
In the past tutors have had module banners produced for them as part of module creation. Well now you can create house style banners in a matter of seconds with Da Button Factory!
Information on what colours and other settings to use has been added to:
My Learning > Staff Training >
