Conference Booklet - Durham University Community
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Conference Programme Opportunities and challenges offered by social networking tools The Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 5th & 6th January 2010 Calman Learning Centre Science Site, Durham University Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Welcome 3 List of Delegates 4 Conference Sponsors 8 Learning Technologies Team 9 Housekeeping 10 Calman Learning Centre Layout 12 Conference Programme 13 Abstracts 16 Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 2 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Welcome “Welcome to number 10” as they (might) say in Downing Street. This independent users’ conference is one of the longest established annual e-Learning events in the country. We also like to think it is one of the friendliest. To that end, we hope you enjoy it whether you are attending for the first time, or have been here every year. We are particularly pleased to welcome the most recent winners of Blackboard’s Exemplary Course Programme. This year’s theme “anti?social” merits a little explanation. During the conference presenters will be exploring the opportunities and challenges that social networking tools offer to the more traditional (some might say ‘monolithic’) institutional online learning environments. We hope this will spawn a range of interesting discussions: Do tools such as twitter, netvibes, and facebook herald the death knell of VLE’s (the subject of recent presentations at ALT and again in December at Wolverhampton)? Can they be used for effective learning? Could, indeed should these tools be integrated into institutional systems? Is there a difference between learning in institutional and personal environments? If so, what is the difference and is this something we should be worrying about? Should we be trying to provide common learning structures (equality) or embracing personalisation (diversity)? What are the legal, IPR, support and ethical implications of such activities? Are such methods suitable for all, or will they just broaden existing digital divides, or even create new ones? The presentations have all been anonymously reviewed by members of the UK Blackboard Users Community – thanks to all those who gave so freely of their time as both an author and/or a reviewer. We are trying to “eat our own dog food” in that we are experimenting with social networking tools ourselves such as Twitter, doodle to help shape and plan the conference. Please let us know how useful you find these. We are very grateful to our sponsors, without whom this event wouldn’t be possible. They are (in alphabetical order) Blackboard, Durham University, EduTXT, Epigeum, Learning Objects and Talis. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to stop me or any other member of the Learning Technologies Team – you’ll find our pictures in this programme. We hope you find your time here rewarding, stimulating and inspiring – now that’s not too much to ask of all our presenters, is it? Dr Malcolm Murray Learning TechnologiesTeam Leader IT Service, Durham University Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 3 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ LIST OF DELEGATES Phil Jon Philip Leman Jo David Julian Jon James Chris Simon Greg Bryony Wayne Mark Gary Tracy Marion Joe Fiona Eric John Tim Rosemary Boyd Gerard Robert Leon Graeme Rachel Mark Jake Ian Roger Mark Robin Richard Ray Andrew Adel Alison Dawn Mike Ackroyd Adamson Anderson Aydemir Badge Barrett Beckton Beeson Blowey Boon Booth Bowie Bramer Britcliffe Clarke Clay Connell Curdy Currie Curtis Davies Davis Denning Dixon Duffee Elder Felix Ferris Fitzgerald Gamble Gannon Gardner Gardner Garner Gissing Glover Glendenning Gold Gordon Gray Green Green City College Norwich University Of Huddersfield South Tyneside College London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine University of Leicester University of York University Of Lincoln Brooklands College Mathematics, Durham University City College Norwich University of Stirling Liverpool John Moores University Royal Veterinary College University of York Egglescliffe Comprehensive School Staffordshire University Northumbria University Brighton University Queen Margaret University Medicine, Durham Univesity Coatbridge College Bristol University Keele University University of Nevada Keele University City of Sunderland College University Of Huddersfield Queen Margaret University University of Northampton University of Bedfordshire University of Liverpool BPP College of Professional Studies Bristol University Chemisty, Durham University Sheffield Hallam University Teesside University Northumbria University University of Manchester University of Northampton University of Dundee Newcastle University SOAS Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 4 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Hilary Dave Simon Naveed Leo Nichola Mark Ralph Caroline David Fiona Lindsay Nicole Jonathan Natalie Arthur John Katy Phil Clare Liam Neil Royce Tony Nevin Adrian Zee Monica Steven Maria-Christiana Linda Peter Katie Guy Lynne Maureen Mark Phil Barbara Juliun Paul Sarah Russell Daz Alex Sandra Griffiths Hallam Hardaker Hashmi Havemann Hayes Hodgson Holland Horan Hurst Jennings Jordan Kipar Knight Lafferty Loughran Maguire Mann Marston McCullagh McDwyer McKeown Mckie McNeill Moledina Molyneux Nagre Nalsson Oakden Papaefthimiou Parham Phillips Piatt Pursey Rawles Readle Reynolds Richards Roberts Ryan Scott Sherman Smeaton Smith Spiers Stevenson-Revill Bristol University University of Reading University of Leicester Bristol University SOAS University of Leicester New College Durham South Tyneside College National University Of Ireland College of the Sequoias Middlesbrough College University of the Arts Herriott Watt University Keele University University of Dundee Glasgow School of Arts Glasgow Metropolitan University of York Aberdeen College University of Reading National University Of Ireland Bradford University Coatbridge College Kingston University University of Leicester Keele University Westminster Kingsway College The Law College Hull York Medical School University Of Reading The Law College St John’s, Durham University Brighton University Reading University Newcastle University Bradford University Northumbria University Aberdeen College New College Durham Sheffield Hallam University Hull York Medical School Bloomsbury College Teesside University Brooklands College Liverpool John Moores University Derby University Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 5 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Heather Maria Laura John Simon Adam Chris Julie Stephen Joyce James Marc Matthew Hannah Graeme Christine George Ashley Stuart Susan Swithenbank Tannant Taylor Thompson Tindall Tuncay Turnock Usher Vickers Webber Wells Wells West Whaley Whaley Whitehouse Wraith Wright Wright Zvacek University of Leicester University for the Creative Arts Northumbria University Geography, Durham University Desire2Learn University of Leeds Northumbria University University of York Edinburgh University Brighton University Middlesbrough College Sheffield Hallam University Keele University University of Dundee University of Dundee University of Manchester New College Durham Newcastle University Liverpool John Moores University University of Kansas Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 6 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Sponsors Institution Jan Day Andy McGinn Petya Stuifzand Richard Burrows Demetra Katsifli Anthony Doyle Gary Harper Blackboard Blackboard Blackboard Blackboard Blackboard Blackboard Blackboard Peter Shipley Noel Johnson Learning Objects Learning Objects David Babbington-Smith Dominic Lawrance Samantha Brown Epigeum Epigeum Epigeum Mark Bush Dave Errington Sarah Bartlett Talis Education Talis Education Talis Education Steve Sidaway John Hunsley EduTXT EduTXT Malcolm Murray Mike Cameron Stephen Applegarth Julie Mulvey Judith Jurowska Martin Edney Elaine Tan LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University LTT, Durham University Deborah Coulthard Chantell Carter Craig Churchward CLC Facilities Manager CLC Receptionist CLC Receptionist Zilia Iskoujina Miranda Whinney Conference Assistant Conference Assistant Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 7 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ CONFERENCE SPONSORS This year, the Conference has been sponsored by the following organisations, to whom we extend our thanks for their generous support: Learning Objects is the leading provider of social software for learning. Our solutions facilitate constructive interactions among students and instructors and enhance the value of an institution’s existing IT investments with the help of Web 2.0 technologies. Helping our clients realize the potential of academic technology is our top priority. We work closely with the user community to evolve our products in response to their ever-changing needs. Our close relationship with our clients also allows us to respond quickly and effectively to customer service and technical support issues. Epigeum is the UK's largest publisher of online training for universities. Almost 100 institutions in the UK, USA, Europe and Australasia have now licensed Epigeum courses. Epigeum are shortly to release 'Learning Technologies online'; seven online courses aimed at lecturers who would like to know more about using technology in their teaching. Talis Education has a vision to connect faculties, students and educators together, Talis Education creates technologies that address the whole learning life cycle and provide seamless access to education resources and pedagogical expertise. EduTXT - for every day, all types of organisations use txttools for smarter messaging. Our clients are distributing information, scheduling meetings, sending appointment reminders and test results, changing arrangements, getting customer feedback and much, much more. Join us and we'll soon have you up and running using the most powerful txt messaging platform on the planet. Don't just take our word for it, speak to any one of the thousands of customers in education, healthcare, local government or business who trust us every day to deliver their message. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 8 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Durham University Learning Technologies Team Feel free to stop any of the people shown below if you’ve any questions about the conference. Malcolm Murray Mike Cameron Stephen Applegarth Julie Mulvey Martin Edney Judith Jurowska Elaine Tan Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 9 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ HOUSEKEEPING Calman Learning Centre The conference is located in the Calman Learning Centre which opened in September 2007. You can refer any queries to the Reception Desk staff, Conference Assistants, or to a member of the Learning Technologies Team, who’ll be happy to help. WiFi Access WiFi Access is available in the Calman Learning Centre. Usernames and passwords can be found on the reverse of your conference badge. Mobile Phones Please turn your mobile phones to silent during the presentations, but feel free to tweet at any time. Luggage Coats and small bags can be stored during the day in Room 406 – The Derman Christopherson Room on the top floor. A member of staff will be on duty at all times to watch over these items. Toilets These are located on each floor of the Calman Learning Centre. Transport The staff at the Reception Desk can arrange individual taxis for your departure as long as you make the booking before 10 am each morning. Durham Taxis are very popular so you need to book in advance. A mini-bus is available at 3.15 pm, and a larger coach at 4.30 pm on the Friday afternoon to travel from the Calman Learning Centre to Durham Railway Station. This is free of charge but if you haven’t already booked, you wil need to reserve your seat with one of the Conference Assistants. If you need to arrange transport to an airport please speak to staff at the Reception Desk the day before your flight. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 10 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Smoking Durham University has a “No Smoking” policy in force in all its premises. Fire Procedures Fire Notices are posted throughout the building and if an alarm sounds, please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. You should congregate outside at the front of the Calman Learning Centre where a register will be taken. Not Feeling Well? Please contact the Reception Staff who can arrange assistance. Meals Buffet lunches will be available each day in the Room 406 – The Derman Christopherson Room on the top floor. Catering staff will be available to help you through the selection process. Please allow speakers who are presenting straight after lunch to take priority. You will need to wear your conference badge to indicate that you are a conference delegate and are thus entitled to a free meal. With catering for over 130 people there are going to be queues so please be patient. Once you have chosen/collected your meal please proceed next door to Room 407 – The Kingsley Barrett Lecture Theatre where tables are available. There you will be able to sit down and take the opportunity to mingle with other delegates and meet our Conference Sponsors. If you have any specific dietary requirements, please identify yourself to a member of the Catering staff. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 11 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ CALMAN LEARNING CENTRE - LAYOUT Floor 4 Registration Rm 406 – Derman Christopherson Room Sponsors, Coffee & Lunch Rm 407 – Kingsley Barrett Lecture Theatre Floor 2 Rm 202 – Rosemary Cramp Lecture Theatre Rm 203 – Ken Wood Lecture Theatre Level 2 Techno Café Floor 1 Workshops Level 1 Techno Café Ground Floor Welcome & Keynotes Rm 013 – Arnold Wolfendale Lecture Theatre Calman Learning Centre Reception Calman Learning Centre Café Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 12 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ CONFERENCE PROGRAMME DAY ONE: TUESDAY, 5th JANUARY 2010 Registration, early morning coffee, pastries and exhibits 9:30 am 10:30 am 11:00 am 12:00 noon 12:45 pm 1:45 pm 406/407 Presenters - this is a good time to upload your slides and check equipment Formal Welcome Malcolm Murray – Durham University 013 Keynote: Lindsay Jordan - University Of The Arts, London 013 'Jumping Over Walls': Blending Institutional and External Learning Environments Strand A Sessions Jo Badge & Alex Mosely ~ University of Leicester Do You Come Here Often? The Fleeting Nature Of Communication in a 140 Character World 013 Ian Gardner – BPP College Of Professional Studies Whose Education is it Anyway? Is Professional Education Inherently AntiSocial? 202 Hannah Whaley & Graeme Whaley – University of Dundee Blackboard 9: Driving Change but in Which Direction? 203 Lunch & Exhibits 406/407 Strand B Sessions Alex Spiers – Liverpool John Moores University Learning 2.0 @ LJMU: A Web 2.0 Staff Development Programme 013 Russell Smeaton – Teesside University Turning The Anti-Social Into The Social 202 Wayne Britcliffe & Katy Mann – University Of York Inducting International Students Through the Medium Of Networking & Interactive Tools 203 Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 13 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ 2:30 pm Strand C Sessions Katy Piatt – University Of Brighton The Best Of Both Worlds: The Controlled Meets The Social 013 Susan Zvarek & Rosemary Dixon – University Of Kansas Thinking In Action: Learner Engagement In Exemplary Online Courses 202 David Babbington-Smith – Epigeum Learning Technologies online - A new way to train your staff in using Technology in Teaching... Techno Café Level 1 407 Coffee & Exhibits 3.15 pm BB9 Upgrade Panel Session 3:45 pm 4:45 pm The Cat That Had 9 Lives – Blackboard 9.0 Upgrade Experiences Jake Gannon - University of Liverpool Hannah Whaley - University of Dundee Rachel Fitzgerald - University of Northampton Russell Smeaton - University of Teesside Malcolm Murray - Durham University 013 Strand D Sessions Gary Clay – University Of Staffordshire Blackboard Administration ~ UK User Group Formation 013 Ralph Holland & Dionne Ross – South Tyneside College Social Learning Spaces in Further Education 202 James Blowey - Durham University Mathematical Quizzes Within Blackboard Using MapleTA 203 EVENING HOSPITALITY 6.00 pm Undercroft Bar (Durham Castle) – Open from 6pm 6.15 & 6.45 pm Guided Tours of Durham Castle (Must Be Booked through Conference Assistant) 7:30 pm 8:15 pm 10:00 pm Drinks Reception Tunstall Gallery, University College (Durham Castle) Conference Dinner The Great Hall, University College (Durham Castle) Undercroft Bar (Durham Castle) – Open till 1 am Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 14 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ DAY TWO: WEDNESDAY, 6th JANUARY 2010 9:00 am Tea, Coffee & Pastries & Exhibits Presenters - this is a good time to upload your 407 slides and check equipment 9:30 am Welcome Back Malcolm Murray 013 9:35 am Blackboard Presentation 013 11.00 am Tea & Coffee 407 11:30 am 12:15 noon 1.00 pm Strand E Sessions Mark Clarkson - Egglescliffe Comprehensive School Clouding The Issue 013 Sandra Stevenson-Revill - University of Derby & Gary Clay - Staffordshire University Automating Blackboard User and Course Management with Snapshot: A Gentle Introduction with Reflections on Progress at Two Universities 201 John Thompson - Durham University Anti-Social Learning: Is There A Mismatch Between Web 2.0 Tools and Web 1.0 Students 202 Strand F Sessions Tony McNeill – Kingston University Much ado about Twitter: Why Students Really Don't Get Microblogging 013 David Hurst – College Of The Sequoias, USA Rethinking Blackboard in the Fault Zone 202 Hannah Whaley – University Of Dundee Teaching And Assessing Group Skills 203 406/407 Lunch & Exhibits Keynote: Phil Marston – University of Aberdeen 2:00 pm txting disasters: using SMS messaging to provide an immersive student experience 013 3:00 pm Show & Tell Slam Session An opportunity to demonstrate or discuss a tool, idea or technique that you feel others will benefit from. Sessions of 5-10 minutes each. Five institutions have signed up already so if you have something to share please speak to a member of Conference Organising team 013 4.00 pm Conference Evaluation / What’s Next? 013 Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 15 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTS Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 11.00 am – 12.00 noon Keynote : Room 013 Personal Learning Environments and the Role of Social Media in Bridging Informal and Formal Learning Lindsay Jordan – University Of The Arts, London Lindsay is based at the Centre for Learning & Teaching in Art & Design at the University of the Arts London. She works with educators across the University's colleges, including Chelsea College of Art & Design, the London College of Fashion and the London College of Communication, on collaborative educational development projects and day-to-day support in the use of institutional and external technologies for teaching and learning. Current projects Lindsay is involved with include the use of Twitter as a student research tool, Google Wave for collaboration and peer feedback, the development of online alumni networks and the use of blogs to record the creative process. A key part of her role is to review the use of Blackboard across the University and to investigate how the elearning needs of the University can be met in the future. Previously Lindsay was an e-learning developer at the University of Bath, where she led the transformation of distance learning MSc programmes in the Faculty of Engineering & Design from traditional paper-based courses into interactive, collaborative learning experiences. Lindsay's own studies on an MA in Education fuelled her interest in personal learning environments, and the role of social media in bridging informal and formal learning. She is indebted to her own informal online learning network, and aims to give back as much as she gains from their ideas, feedback and support - an unlikely goal, but a worthy mission. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 16 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 12 noon – 12.15 pm Strand A - Room 013 Do you come here often? The fleeting nature of communication in a 140 character world Jo Badge & Alex Moseley University of Leicester A first year undergraduate IT and numeracy key skills module on Blackboard (v 7.3) delivered to over 200 students over two semesters has made use of innovative online assessments over the last 10 years. The IT section of this module was substantially revised in 2008/9 to assist students with the concepts and competencies of information literacy, ultimately leading towards the construction of a personal learning environment (PLE) and a reflective e-portfolio (Cann et. al. 2009). This was achieved by the introduction of freely available Web 2.0 tools. All the course content is delivered wholly online, including marking (EMCQs, see Cann, 2005, Google Documents, delicious, Google Reader, see Badge et. al. 2009) and feedback (via YouTube videos). A Blackboard discussion board has supported this course as a place for students to ask questions about the content and any administrative details since 2002. For the first time in 2008/9 we introduced Twitter to the course and students were encouraged to use Twitter to ask for help. The discussion board was still available but questions posed here were markedly less than in previous years (~100 messages per year previously, this year, zero). A small cohort of students used Twitter to ask questions about the course, stimulated in part by our study on Twitter and the student experience (Cann et. al. 2009). Now in the second year of using Twitter to support this course, this has become an accepted channel for students to contact the convenor. The discussion board is checked regularly but has not been used at all by students this year. Despite this course requiring students to access Blackboard at a minimum of twice per week, students are still not using it as a communication channel. How does this plethora of parallel communication channels affect the way staff/students will interact with Blackboard in the future? How will adding Google Wave to the mix affect things? Where is Blackboard in the era of the realtime web? References Cann, A., Badge, J., Johnson, S., and Moseley, A. (2009). Twittering the student experience. ALT-N, 17. http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/xrctg5ovlfkimsphpsy77s Cann, A. (2005). Extended matching sets questions for online numeracy assessments: a case study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, pages 633-640. Badge, J. L., Johnson, S., Scott, J. S., and Cann, A. J. (2009). Encouraging lifelong learning habits in a web 2.0 enabled ple. In Higher Education Academy Annual Conference. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 17 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 12 noon – 12.15 pm Strand A - Room 202 Whose Education Is It Anyway? Is Professional Education Inherently Anti-Social? Ian Gardner - BPP College Of Professional Studies This presentation will consider experience with more social/constructivist learning in the professional education (PE) sector, especially at BPP’s law and business schools. Calling on evidence, from the speaker’s experience (inc. current experience as a 100% online MSc student), BPP student surveys, BPP Blackboard usage and developments in the wider PE sector, issues related to the below will be discussed: Student views on group work vs independent learning Student views on collaboration tools (inc. Blackboard’s) and their use in education Student preference vs fee sponsor choice vs academic’s preference* Observations from the presenter will include: The popularity of “transmissive” content (such as lecture recordings)** The (relatively) poor take up of collaborative/social learning (Wikis, discussion boards, etc) Is this unique to PE or is all education the same - i.e. students will only do what they are forced to or what is directly related to their assessments? After a presentation on the above issues attendees will be encouraged to discuss, in the Q&A Is professional education a “breed apart”? Are “courses” anti-social whereas professional events (such as user conferences), workshops, webinars social? What students really want [spoonfeeding?], and what they should be encouraged to experience [new styles of learning/assessment, ePortfolios, etc.]. Is there any chance for a “balance” here? Attendees, and presenter, should leave more familiar with issues affecting PE, with issues to consider related to and how the parallels/differences with their own Some indicative elaboration on the above: experience is showing students are keen to have their learning not negatively impacted by others (avoiding the risk that groupwork marks could lower their average mark when the job market is so competitive). However, sponsoring firms are keen for their students to not only to learn to interact but also to gain all the knowledge they need to become practitioners. How does the academic institution balance this and other issues? for example, 33% of students on one programme preferred lectures in isolation either via web stream or mobile device to the more social experience of studying in the physical lecture session. Another 33% switched between face-to-face and the lecture capture. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 18 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 12 noon – 12.15 pm Strand A - Room 203 Blackboard 9 : Driving Change But In Which direction? Hannah Whaley & Graeme Whaley – University Of Dundee During the last eight years there has been rapid development in pedagogies for online learning and the underlying technical systems to support these pedagogies. These systems have matured to form a next level environment, encapsulated in systems like Blackboard 9, and the expectations for Moodle 2.0. These platforms have looked to bring the technologies implemented up-to-date (look and feel, underlying code, standards compliance) and to provide a sound platform to build on in the future. However, the move to Blackboard 9 has been demanding for many institutions in many ways - bugs, stability and performance, staff training, staff engagement and expectation management to name but a few areas. These experiences have highlighted the significant issues that this change process is raising for our field, and fuelled concerns that central VLEs should be making way for more agile socially driven solutions. As many institutions are at the point of deciding what direction they believe will provide that next generation experience that we are all aiming for, there is value in discussing the extended issues they may face: Do we want the change we say we do? Are we capable of significantly moving large scale VLEs forward? Are jumps away easier than jumps forward? How do we focus attention on learning and teaching and not the underlying technology? How can we manage expectations and change processes? Is our understanding of the elearning infrastructure at institutions the same as our users? This talk will refer to the University of Dundee as a case study example, but will be discussing the broader conceptual and strategic direction of the field at this time. Discussion welcome. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 19 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 1.45 - 2.30 pm Strand B - Room 013 Learning 2.0 @ LJMU: A Web 2.0 Staff Development Programme Alex Spiers - Liverpool John Moores University Background: Library and Student Support Services (L&SS) at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) provides learning resources, facilities and services to a large student population. A recent training needs analysis identified several skills gaps amongst L&SS staff. This included familiarisation with Technology Enhanced Learning initiatives including the use of Web 2.0. A staff development programme was therefore developed, the objectives of which were to increase awareness and enhance the support available for learners, and to encourage innovative ways of working amongst L&SS staff. Approach: The resulting staff development programme, “Learning 2.0 @LJMU” is a hands-on, interactive learning programme that provides an opportunity to explore Web 2.0 tools and the impact these tools are having on teaching and learning. The programme was developed collaboratively amongst the Learning Technology Team and L&SS staff and commenced in January 2009, with all 140 L&SS staff taking part. Using the institutional VLE (Blackboard 8) to deliver the blended programme, Learning 2.0 introduces staff to all aspects of Web 2.0 technologies and asks participants to reflect upon how platforms such as Blogs, Wikis, Social networking, etc. can be applied within their work environments. The staff are divided into “Learning groups” and are required to complete and submit an e-portfolio at the end of the programme to demonstrate their progress, knowledge and understanding. The programme also makes use of the Wimba instant messaging tool, Pronto for group communication. This paper will report back on the evaluation of the initial roll out of Learning 2.0 @LJMU, and will include an evaluation of the impact that such a staff development programme has had on the provision of e-learning support. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 20 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 1.45 - 2.30 pm Strand B - Room 202 Turning The Anti-Social Into The Social Russell Smeaton – Teesside University On the face of it, the use of Blackboard and virtual environments such as Second Life might be seen as being anti-social. People no longer need to leave the comfort of their own home and as such no longer have to deal with that troublesome act of facing people. This lack of face to face contact could well turn us into a nation of social introverts, only happy when communing with our beloved computer screen. Turn it around, however, and we could argue that Blackboard and Second Life actually make for a more social life than ever before. Blackboard itself comes with various tools (Discussion Boards, Virtual Chat Rooms and Virtual Class Room spaces) that can be used to go some way towards replicating a social environment. Second Life can be used to take these ideas to the next level and provide a space where people can actually walk around and interact with people in real time. The idea of not having to leave home doesn’t mean that we are being any less anti-social. If anything, we can now be more social. We can meet up with people across the globe without having to go through customs and bother with visas, passports and traffic delays. It can allow people who might feel socially awkward to shine forward and allow them to overcome their shyness. It can allow those with accessibility issues to venture forth into a whole new world. Distance Learners, those working night shifts or working out on site can now take part in discussions and virtually get together with their colleagues in ways that weren’t possible before without having to rack up huge bills on telephone calls and stamps. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 21 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 1.45 - 2.30 pm Strand B - Room 203 Inducting International Students Through The Medium Of Networking & Interactive Tools Wayne Britcliffe & Katy Mann – University of York International students arriving at the University of York are faced with a number of cultural and linguistic challenges. To help ease this transition to academic study in a new country, the University of York piloted an on-line induction site, entitled “Getting used to studying at York” on the institutional Blackboard Learn platform Yorkshare this September. Pre-arrival materials for international students are largely delivered in paper format in HE institutions in the UK and most universities recognise that these resources are only partly effective in conveying key information about the challenges that studying in a new academic culture may present ( Watson, 2008). There have been several initiatives to build on-line pre-arrival resources for international students, notably by the British Council, Glasgow University and Southampton University, but few have harnessed the capabilities of current students connecting, mentoring and creating “hot” resources for the incoming cohorts. Moreover, few materials actively seek to address UK academic practices that may not be transparent and actively reject the deficit model (Biggs, 2003). The University was keen to employ the full capabilities of its e-learning platform and the on-line course introduces international students to the academic culture at York via an experimental blend of technologies. The course site is designed around a student-run blog, with asynchronous communication tools such as discussion boards also introduced to support tutor-student dialogue. We created bespoke videos of York students and academic staff, which were then streamed and integrated with the VLE platform. In addition, reusable learning objects were developed to introduce and link to key information about the particular study and support environments at York, an institution with a strong community, college-based ethos and a well developed sense of discipline identity. The VLE site was released to 1500 postgraduate and undergraduate international freshers ,two weeks before arrival in the UK. On arrival the students were given face-to face workshops and content was added to the site on a weekly basis to stimulate interest and maintain links. This interactive, engaging blended learning approach to transition, delivered via Yorkshare, builds on the pioneering work on VLE Welcome sites reported by Britcliffe et al., (2009). These welcome VLE sites for the incoming undergraduate Biology cohort were created by the Biology Admissions team in 2007 and have been utilised successfully for the last two years to ease their transition to York. We report on the effectiveness of the induction site and outline the ways in which the VLE hosted site and interactive tools proved to be valuable to the students. Evaluation of the impact of the site on the student experience was conducted using various methods including questionnaires, focus groups, content tagging of the student-led blog and 1:1 interviews. In addition the progress of the students was tracked through the use of Blackboard’s performance dashboard. References: Biggs,J. (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 2nd ed. Berkshire: OUP Britcliffe, W., Walker, R., & Papworth, R. (2009). Facilitating Student Transition to the University of York. Presented at The Ninth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference: e-Learning: A Reality Check -; Do we Practise What We Preach?, 8-9 January, Durham University, UK. Watson, J. (2008) Enhancing the experience of the international student: a pre-arrival online preparatory course, blending technologies and introducing life and study in the UK. Proceedings of the Third International Blended Learning Conference. Hatfield, UK. University of Hertfordshire pp.124-131. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 22 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 2.30 – 3.15 pm Strand C - Room 013 The Best Of The Best of Both Worlds: The Controlled Meets The Social Katie Piatt - University Of Brighton At the University of Brighton we work on ways to maintain the structured and controlled course management system of Blackboard but to seamlessly integrate other tools and services into that framework as painlessly for users as possible. The primary way we help offer a choice between Blackboard and social networking is the provision of our integrated university social networking platform, Community@Brighton (based on Elgg). The session will look at how and why we have set up this service, the benefits of an in-house, open-source solution and the kinds of integration achievable. We will also look at other embedded technology solutions we use at Brighton, in-house and external, to illustrate one possible view of the future - that of Blackboard becoming just the dedicated course management system, with content delivery and tools being handled by other services best suited to the purpose. Background: We are in our 8th year of running Blackboard across the institution, and have recently upgraded to version 9. This is our third year of running Elgg for social networking and we have just upgraded to 1.6. This session will be primarily a case-study of what we offer presented with the rationale of why we have chosen to do it from an eLearning support perspective - delegates are welcome to follow up on technical details following the session. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 23 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 2.30 – 3.15 pm Strand C - Room 202 Thinking In Action: Learner Engagement In Exemplary Online Courses Susan Zvacek & Rosemary Dixon University Of Kansas, USA Faced with the prospect of developing, and then teaching, an online course, it’s only natural to start by pondering, “What am I going to do?” This session will present the argument, however, that the more important question is, “What are my students going to do?” By de-emphasizing (or even eliminating) the ‘performance’ role of the teacher as a disseminator of information, students can take the stage and rely on the teacher for coaching, planning, re-framing, questioning, diagnosing, or challenging, and the list goes on. Online courses have an unprecedented opportunity to act as a catalyst for meaningful change in education by focusing on student engagement - after all, there’s no way to sit passively in the back row of the online classroom. Although humans are pre-wired to store and recall information, it takes effort and engagement to build out the neural structures that are required for problem analysis and critical thinking abilities. Advancements in our understanding of cognitive processing suggest that deep learning (i.e., the kind that enables critical thinking) occurs only when we move beyond recall and recognition to more complex, engaging tasks. Concurrently, constructivist theory suggests that by actively manipulating new content and purposefully integrating it with previously-learned concepts we improve our ability to transfer important knowledge and skills to new or unfamiliar situations – the ultimate goal of education. Best-practice examples of student engagement techniques, drawn from winners of the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program, will be used to illustrate active learning strategies and offer attendees practical, try-this-out-tomorrow ideas for their own courses. These methods of integrating student engagement into online coursework provide reinforcement, self-assessment, and motivation for learners. The example techniques will also be of interest to teachers and/or designers of blended courses, thus avoiding the danger of simply relocating passive ‘expose students to content’ course elements to an out-of-class venue. This session will offer a mix of practical examples with a strong theoretical foundation based on constructivism and cognitive processing, focusing on what students will do to learn before determining what the instructor will do to teach. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 24 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 2.30 – 3.15 pm Strand C - Techno Café Level 1 Learning Technologies Online – A New Way To Train Your Staff In Using Technology In Teaching David Babbington-Smith - Epigeum "This workshop provides an opportunity to try Epigeum's new staff development materials on the subject of 'Using Technology in Teaching'. It will be of interest to anyone interested in providing online staff development training packages in eLearning. Aimed at academics and educators, the 7 online tutorials being released cover pedagogic approaches to using both formal institutional tools (such as Blackboard) and Web 2.0 tools outside the institution's control, and all other key aspects of technology in teaching including e-Assessment, Course Planning, Internet-based collaboration tools, 3rd party content. As well as getting hands on with the materials, the session will highlight the international collaborative process through which 15 universities and a group of world renowned e-Learning experts (including Diana Laurillard, Rhona Sharpe, Steve Ryan and Terry Anderson) devised, reviewed and refined the content. The session will outline the approaches can be taken to facilitate such collaborative developments and the lessons learnt. Finally, there will be a discussion about how such materials can be used in practice. Would they be used as stand-along materials for staff to access when needed? Would they be used alongside faceto-face teaching and training? How can institutions encourage use of such packages and evaluate their impact?" Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 25 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 3.45 – 4.45 pm Panel Session : Room 013 The Cat That Had 9 Lives: Blackboard 9.0 Upgrade Experiences Malcolm Murray – Durham University Jake Gannon – University Of Liverpool Rachel Fitzgerald – University Of Northampton Russell Smeaton – Teesside University Hannah Whaley – University Of Dundee Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 4.45 – 5.30 pm Strand D – Room 013 Blackboard Administration UK User Group Formation Gary Clay - Staffordshire University Being an administrator of an Institution’s Blackboard system can often be an anti-social, frustrating experience with the individual concerned easily feeling isolated. Whilst there are resources such as the Blackboard Usergroup on Jiscmail, Behind the Blackboard and training sessions offered by Blackboard themselves, these bring their own difficulties including expense and the risk that senior management will wonder why you are helping someone from a rival institution. Those people (can we even agree what is meant by the term “Blackboard Administrator”) who are new to the role may not be aware of what’s out there or may not feel comfortable asking what might appear to be ‘simple’ questions. Postings on the Jiscmail usergroup during November 2009 reveal that there is scope to consider setting up something like a special interest ‘Birds of a feather’ group for Blackboard administrators as a way to address these concerns. This is therefore intended to be a scoping session where people can talk face to face, discuss ideas and start to consider ideas such as a shared user-based solution, group request to Blackboard, or whatever. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 26 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 4.45 – 5.30 pm Strand D – Room 202 Social Learning Space in FE Ralph Holland & Dionne Ross (TBC) South Tyneside College Over the past few months as eLearning Technologist for South Tyneside College, I have been asked to look into a number of ways to try and engage the learners before they arrive or even enrolled on the course. Due to the economics of FE in the UK, I was tasked to look at the free services that allow some sort of community to be developed. That led me to the use of NING as a Social Learning Space for students. One example I would like to sure is the development of using NING as a community portal for a group of part-time students studying at the college, these are all mature students study to be literacy specialists and have a wide range of IT skills (from the novice to the advanced user). As part of this presentation I would like to show or highlight some of the problems that can arise from using this type of tool, how the users have found using NING over the college VLE (Moodle) and how the teaching staff are looking into developing the area. Also to lay out some of the basic information I have found about Social Learning while undertaking this project. Tuesday, 5th January 2010 ~ 4.45 – 5.30 pm Strand D – Room 203 Mathematical Quizzes Within Blackboard Using Maple TA James Blowey – Maths, Durham University Writing quizzes within Blackboard using Mathematics presents technical challenges to any potential author. Some of the main issues are: how to generated different questions from a standard template; marking mathematically equivalent answers as being correct; syntax; decent typesetting. MapleTA affords an author the opportunity ticking the boxes with the potential of off the shelf questions and is currently used at 22 UK institutions with only 4 using the Blackboard plugin. This presentation will reflect on the experience as a whole: namely that of students, staff and suppliers while also offering the audience the opportunity to probe the speaker. It will also look to the future at Durham/nationally and reflect on how the mathematics community can collaborate into a future where students will expect more for their money. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 27 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 11.30 am – 12.15 pm Strand E – Room 013 Clouding The Issue Mark Clarkson – Egglescliffe Comprehensive School Over the last 3 years a range of applications have moved entirely online - from email to office documents and much more besides. Mark Clarkson, a local ICT teacher, demonstrates a range of free and powerful online tools that make it simpler to communicate, collaborate, discuss and present information. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 28 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 11.30 am – 12.15 pm Strand E – Techno Café Level 1 Automating Blackboard User and Course Management with Snapshot: A Gentle Introduction With Reflections On Progress At Two Institutions Sandra Stevenson-Revill – Derby University & Gary Clay – Staffordshire University As the use of Blackboard becomes more important in providing for the learning needs of the institution, it can become more and more problematic to mange the data required to maintain users and courses. This is made doubly difficult when the types of learners, and courses, that need to be dealt with increases to meet the increasing flexible requirements brought about via moves into areas such as partnerships, work based learning and the like as set out in the recent “Higher Ambitions” Government paper covering the future vision of tertiary education. Without careful management there is the risk that we can fail to address these various needs and e.g. learners can be “lost” between enrolment and gaining access to the VLE and so feel they are being treated anti-socially. Blackboard provides an add on known as Snapshot which enables user and course management to be automated without the need to manually process data that is already held in the student records system for example. Although Snapshot is supplied as part of the standard Blackboard installation, it is not simply a matter of turning it on. Rather you need to consider issues such as the business processes, where different types of data will be come from, are there any types of data that aren’t held centrally, etc. Worst of all, without due care, then managing Blackboard can quickly become a more arduous task than merely doing it all manually. All this of course assumes you are aware of the various concepts in Snapshot and how these might relate to your own institution. In this session, the basic fundamentals of implementing Snapshot are described and, with input for the audience, the two speakers will use their reflections and progress made at their own institution to build a broad scenario for snapshot data and implementing it. This should enable participants to take the scenario away with them and compare with their own institution and find many strong similarities. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 29 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 11.30 am – 12.15 pm Strand E – Room 202 Anti-Social Learning – Is There A Mismatch Between Web 2.0 Tools and Web 1.0 Students? John Thompson – Geography, Durham University Amidst the fanfare of Web 2.0, experiences in a large Geography department point to a sizeable proportion of students struggling to come to terms with non-traditional learning methods. This session will begin with the presenter outlining some of his experiences of encouraging the adoption of more interactive forms of teaching and learning. The discussion session which follows seeks to tease out opinion on why certain students remain firmly entrenched in the Web 1.0 world (despite having access to Web 2.0 tools). Using the experiences of discussants, this session also seeks to further understand how (often reluctant) students can be cajoled into participating more successfully in a Web 2.0-based learning environment. Despite many academic staff attempting to diversify teaching methods from the more traditional ‘chalk and talk’ supplemented with small group tutorials, experiences in many modules point to students actively resisting change and preferring to keep academic debate out of the view of their peers. Student feedback strongly suggests that the use of blogs and wikis is would further learning and allow collaboration with contemporaries, evidence in the Geography Department indicates students remain firmly encamped in the Web 1.0 world. A top down approach to learning remains a firm favourite. In our experience, student feedback tells stories of how blogs are very well received in terms of a downstream system of knowledge “flow”, but evidence points to a lack of engagement from the students commenting and posting. Usage statistics demonstrate that blogs are frequently visited, but very rarely used as mechanisms to debate and discuss course themes. At worst, they could be viewed as a replacement for Announcements, and have turned into de-facto administrative areas where tutorial times are posted and data sets shared, rather than mechanisms of knowledge generation, discussion and transfer. Throughout the Geography Department in Durham, successful blog and wiki projects have only been noted when they formed (compulsory) components of assessment where feedback would be passed from staff to student, which again reinforces the notion that students wish to be “taught” and where knowledge flows “downwards”. There is much student support in survey data for lecturers to “post stories of interest and his comments on these”, whilst there is very little evidence of students contributing to these debates within the arena of the course blog. This discussion session therefore seeks to generate debate about how Web 2.0 technologies may be better used to create more innovative and more collaborative learners. As well as better supporting those who wish to embrace the practices of e-learning, I seek to learn from others how we might encourage students to be more collegiate and less protective of their own creative thoughts and ideas. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 30 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 12.15 – 1.00 pm Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 12.15 – 1.00 pm Strand F – Room 013 Much Ado About Twitter: Why Students Really Don’t Get Microblogging Tony McNeill – Kingston University A few academics have begun to consider Twitter’s uses in HE and the blogosphere is full of posts talking up its potential (Ahrenfelt 2009; Carbone 2009; Gordon 2009; Hart 2009b; Wheeler 2009). To date, however, there has been little real implementation in higher education for the purposes of learning, teaching and assessment and even less formal evaluation of its impact. A recent survey in the USA conducted by Faculty Focus (2009) revealed that more than half of nearly 2,000 respondents (56.4%) had never used Twitter. Of the 30.7% who claimed to be current users of the service, less than half used it as a classroom learning tool, with slightly more than half having used it to communicate with students (Faculty Focus 2009: 9). On the basis of current research, it would appear that Twitter remains relatively underused in higher education with negative perceptions of the tool inhibiting many from exploring its potential in the near future. This paper considers a case study of the use of Twitter to support learning, and the development of a learning community, on a final-year module on Shakespeare and Popular Culture at Kingston University (UK). Its focus is on Twitter not simply as a one-to-many or broadcast technology, but, rather, as a many-to-many or participatory technology that supports the creation and development of personal learning networks and a range of dialogic interactions. To this end, the module leader created a series of Twitter-based activities encouraging students to share problems, resources, questions and comments. However, evaluation of student tweets and feedback via a survey and a small-group semi-structured interview reveals that Twitter is perceived to fall between the educationally useful virtual learning environment (Blackboard) and personally meaningful social networking sites like Facebook. Occupying an awkward space between the “school tools” of Blackboard and the “cool tools” of Facebook, Twitter’s relevance to Higher Education is at best problematic. References: Ahrenfelt, J. (2009). Effective use of Social Media Part 1: Twitter in the classroom. Ideas about learning, ICT and pedagogy. http://www.johannesahrenfelt.com/2009/07/15/effective-use-of-social-media-part-1-twitterin-theclassroom/ Carbone, M. (2009). Twitter in education. Mark’s musings. http://markcarbone.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/twitter-ineducation/ Faculty Focus (2009). Twitter in Higher Education: Usage Habits and Trends of Today College Faculty. http://www.facultyfocus.com/freereport/twitter-in-higher-education-usage-habits-and-trends-oftodays-college-faculty/ Gordon, J. (2009). 100 Twitter tips for serious academics. Best Colleges Online blog. http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/200/07/21/100-serious-twitter-tips-for-academics/ Hart, J. (2009b). Twitter in the classroom: 10 useful resources. Social Media in Learning. http://janeknight.typepad.com/socialmedia/2009/08/twitter-in-the-classroom-10-usefulresources.html Wheeler, S. (2009). Teaching with Twitter. Learning with “e”. http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2009/01/teachingwith-twitter.html Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 31 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 12.15 – 1.00 pm Strand F – Room 202 Rethinking Blackboard In The Fault Zone David Hurst - College of the Sequoias, USA College of the Sequoias is a small community college (enrollment roughly 11,000 FTEs) in the Tulare County city of Visalia, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Geographically, the school sits some distance from the San Andreas Fault in the western Central Valley which in years past was the predominant natural disaster news-maker. But there is a new fault zone that runs squarely through the middle of economically depressed counties such as Tulare: the growing rift between the modern digital environment and the skills and training of its populous. This rift is reflected in statistics: our predominantly Latino population is significantly (20 percentage points) less prepared for college than the California norm and the trend is toward even less preparation according to a California PostSecondary Education Study from 2004. If the role of any college is to empower its students to find success in their interactions with, their shaping of, and their visions for modern society, then community colleges in California traditionally engage those least prepared for such pursuits. Originally primarily vocational-technical institutions, California’s open-enrollment community colleges welcome and encourage the masses who are not admitted to the more prestigious CSU or UC systems. It is just this population who is most affected by the so-called Digital Divide, the gap between those with the skills and means to access the 21st century economy and those without. Our college, like others in our situation, would feel we were doing our community a disservice if we didn’t have digital technology feature prominently in our curriculum. Like many others, we employ the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) in part to engage students in online literacy. The difficulties we have faced using Blackboard, however, have encouraged us to reconsider whether we are truly serving the needs of our digitally undereducated and whether better solutions exist outside the monolithic structures of any LMS. These difficulties include extended system down-time, slow page-loads, browser errors, the complexity of adding and accessing content as well as specific problems in the most-used applications, such as exams and the gradebook. In the context of the needs of community college constituents, my presentation explores the advantages and challenges of the Blackboard LMS and compares it to the plethora of web-based social networks and technologies available today. Careful consideration is given to the need for authentication of online students, the ease of a centralized system, the relative technological skill of both faculty and students, and cost - including the real economics of digital access, which include racial and social barriers to success. While I draw on the experiences of one small community college, I also draw on extant research, Bb discussion posts and relevant online conversations to extrapolate a broader sense of both possibility and difficulty for any school on the fault line of the digital divide. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 32 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 12.15 – 1.00 pm Strand F – Room 203 Teaching And Assessing Group Skills Hannah Whaley – University Of Dundee The ability to work effectively in a team is seen as a crucial skill within many professions and industry sectors. There has been a rise in the use of assessed group work in many disciplines within Higher Education over recent years. There are numerous reasons for this increase, including larger class sizes (therefore making it efficient to have group submissions), a greater emphasis on employability and transferable skills and notably, the increased availability of online collaboration tools. The shift from groups getting together physically in a classroom to collaborating virtually has consequences for teaching and assessment. Many of the social tools of choice for the students (facebook, twitter, IM etc) remove the lecturer from the process. How can we teach them to work better as a team if we don’t know how they are working together currently? How can we assess fairly if we don’t know who contributed to the work? An approach to collaboration has been developed that teaches about team work by focusing on assessment criteria and peer evaluation aspects of group working. As the amount of group work that students complete continues to increase, enhancing their learning in this area helps them achieve more from project work and benefit from collaborative learning approaches. By ensuring fairer grading for individual contributions to groups, students are less stressed by the challenges of team working and are better able to focus simultaneously on the project deliverable and team interactions. A building block has been developed to deploy this methodology in a Blackboard environment. As well as discussing the concepts and challenges of groupwork assessment and introducing the methodology, the key features of the building block will shown. Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 33 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 2.00 – 3.00 pm Keynote : Room 013 txting Disasters: Using SMS Messaging To Provide An Immersive Student Experience Phil Marston – University Of Aberdeen A learning technologist for the past 9 years with the Centre for Learning & Teaching at the University of Aberdeen, Phil has been involved in implementing, supporting and developing technologies to help improve learning. He has a long standing interest in game-based learning, simulations, and mobile devices - not necessarily all at the same time. He is currently seconded to the School of Education and is working on a number of projects in these areas while embarking on his PhD. "We have developed and supported a 72 hour flood disaster simulation, delivered using SMS, for some Applied Geomorphology students at University of Aberdeen. This talk will look at what was involved in the design and implementation, including some lessons learned; some of our discoveries; what the literature has to say about this and where we hope to go next. During the session it is hoped that there will be an opportunity to experience some of what will be talked about.” Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 34 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 3.00 – 4.00 pm Panel Session : Room 013 Show & Tell Slam Session This session is an opportunity to discuss a tool, idea or technique that you feel others might benefit from and contributions last 5-10 minutes each. So far we have contributions from: Teesside University Durham University Brighton University York University Liverpool University If you have something you want to share then please speak to a member of the Conference Organising Team Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ~ 4.00 – 4.15 pm Panel Session : Room 013 Conference Evaluation & What’s Next This session is an opportunity for you to give us feedback on the Conference and to give suggestions on how it can be taken forward for 2011 ! Dates for the Eleventh Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference Thursday & Friday ~ 6th & 7th January 2011 If you’ve any suggestions for a conference theme for 2011 then please email them to lt.team@durham.ac.uk Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 35 Conference Programme _____________________________________________________________ Tenth Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 36
