Yorkshare Projects
Presentations from 3rd Round
Project Leaders
3rd October, 2007
Biology courses in the VLE
•21 academic modules ranging
from 1st to final year
undergraduate and taught
Masters courses
•Lectures, Practicals,
Workshops and Seminars
•4 administration sites
VLE and Biology
Emma Rand
James Chong
Peter Mayhew
Michael Schultze
Chris Elliot
Frans Maathius
Ottoline Leyser
James Moir
Thorunn Helgason
Adrian Harrison
Mathew Collins
Phil Ineson
Set Chong
Jane Hill
Olivier Missa
Chris Kelly
Nicola Charlton
Paul Waites
Phil Roberts
Biology Welcome site
•To ease in our new students
•Give information about the
University/Department
•Catch-up material
• Biology blog
A Real Joint Effort
Wayne Britcliffe (ELDT)
Anthony Leonard (Comp Serv)
Trevor Sheldon
Richard Walker (ELDT)
Wendy Fountain (ELDT)
Setareh Chong (Biology)
Del Gee(Comp Serv)
Sue Bougourd (Biology)
Sue Elphinstone (Library)
Cathy Colless (ELDT)
Paul Waites (Biology)
John Byrne (Comp Serv)
Alan Carlile (Admissions)
Martin Wilkinson (Library)
Chris Ellwood (Library)
Kris Fearon (Web Office)
Bill Mackintosh (Web Office)
Brian Souter (Comp Serv)
Phillip Gray (Admissions)
Connie Cullen (Admissions)
Chris Kelly (Biology)
Mike Calvert (Student Administrative Services)
End of section
Centre for Women’s Studies
Collaborative networking in humanities
women’s & gender studies
Ann Kaloski :: Julie Palmer :: Anna Piela
3rd round VLE October 2007
collaborative research skills
VLE developed to facilitate:
• AHRC-funded 2-year programme (07- 09)
• Humanities-based research training
• MA & PhD students
• York & Leeds women’s & gender studies
VLE designed & hosted at York
collaborative research skills
Aims of project
• foster collaborative
research methods
• network with peers
• disseminate
information
• showcase CWS
• transferable ICT skills
for students and
teacher
Online solutions
• wiki for each f2f
session & bibliography
• Facebook
• web portal . file store
good links
• web portal
• web 1&2 applications
& induction package
collaborative research skills
Project Challenges & Responses
2 institutions & 10 staff with no elearning experience:
*VLE designed for non-web savvy teachers
*teacher-only induction package: f2f & online
Not a standard module, and just two f2f sessions a term:
*built 'programme' into Leeds & York existing modules
*extra-curricula interactive applications added to energise
the VLE - social site & feminist resources
Collaborative design:
*learning 'onsite' - we used the VLE to blog & store files
*we designed slowly, learning from each other's skills
collaborative research skills
pedagogical approach
COLLABORATION
between students
between teachers
between designers/ tutors
between institutions
collaborative research skills
Added Value of VLE
To AHRC project
• indispensable for fostering communication between teachers &
students at two institutions
To CWS
•
•
•
•
Step towards AHRC quota award recognition
Sharing of staff expertise
Networking with colleagues
Richer learning experience for students
To University
• Cross-institutional collaboration experience
• Innovative humanities research training
collaborative research skills
commitment to collaborative
working practices & pedagogy
hard work & dedication
goodwill
End of section
Chemistry Year 3 Group
Exercises: a round 3 VLE project
Nigel Lowe
What are the Chemistry Year 3 Group
Exercises?
• 120+ students; developing key skills
5 parallel exercises (3xMChem; 2xBSc)
based on industrial case studies
4-5 teams per exercise with 4-6 students
per team
Each exercise runs over 3 weeks in
weeks 1-6 of autumn term
Now in 10th year of operation
Why introduce the VLE at this stage?
• Asynchronous working
• Existing e-mail ‘Help’ service
• Generic and exercise-specific, timedrelease content
• Feedback intensive
• Existing reflective log
• Students familiar with VLE
Provision of blogs facilitates pooling of
information and discussion of ideas
Provision of wikis facilitates document
(report) and presentation (Powerpoint)
authoring
‘Help’ can be provided by other student
responses (blogs) and tutor comments
shared across the community
Personal blog becomes formal written
reflection on the exercise
Why introduce the VLE at this stage?
• Asynchronous working
• Existing e-mail ‘Help’ service
• Generic and exercise-specific, timedrelease content
• Feedback intensive
• Existing reflective log
• Students familiar with VLE
Supporting documentation released to
synchronise with each of the 5 exercise
strands
Generic and team-specific feedback
readily communicated to appropriate
groups; video resources made available
Why introduce the VLE at this stage?
• Asynchronous working
• Existing e-mail ‘Help’ service
• Generic and exercise-specific, timedrelease content
• Feedback intensive
• Existing reflective log
• Students familiar with VLE
Chemistry’s small group teaching is
mediated through the VLE (Martin
Cockett, Phase 1 VLE project)
This ‘kickstarted’ the group exercise VLE
project
Chemistry’s small group teaching VLE
has now been modified by NL to
incorporate a student mentoring strand
End of section
DEPARTMENTAL DRIVERS
 Many large courses at undergraduate
and graduate level with numerous
students.
 Core courses: Economics I, MTE,
Microeconomics II, Macroeconomics
II, Micro III, Macro III.
 Popular Part II options: e.g.
Introduction to Accountancy
 Core Graduate courses: e.g. Applied
Microeconomics.
 Summer Session in Microeconomics
DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS
 Students need to get on top of a large core of
analytical material
 which does not change very much over time, so
that an initial investment of time and effort in VLE
can yield a high return
 Need for more feedback to students and staff on
student progress
 Need for more regular student input
INTRODUCTION TO
ACCOUNTANCY PROJECT

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Popular option – 130+ students
Three key components of VLE pilot:
1. Formative assessment assignments
Regular detailed feedback to students on progress
and remedial actions
 Feedback through Gradebook on topics needing
more attention in seminars
 Blended learning of lectures, assignments,
exercises and seminars.
INTRODUCTION TO
ACCOUNTANCY PROJECT
 2. Links to Library resources and external
accounting and finance websites.
 Improve student awareness of the outside world,
career opportunities etc.
3. Links to administrative functions e.g. updating
seminar class lists, past exam papers, etc.
 More efficient administration and communication
with students.
WIDER LESSONS
 Important central functions which the VLE can
support across many key courses
 Too important to rely on a few enthusiasts
 Throwing colleagues in the deep end not the best
strategy
 Need to overcome the hurdle of the set-up costs
of the VLE making an effective contribution
WIDER LESSONS
 Many other Departments across the country face
similar problems
 HEA Economics Network and Test Banks
 Blackboard compatible format
 Library resources and student reading
 Official government reports e.g. Department of
Health, NAO, DWP
 Need for electronic store.
End of section
Department of Educational Studies
• PGCE Whole School Issues Programme
• PGCE 5 subject areas: English, History,
Maths, MFL and Science
• BAES Introductory Module
• MA CALL and E Learning
• MA Language and Education
• MA TEYL
Rationale
• To engage creatively with the
VLE in all areas of our work.
• To engage a critical mass
of colleagues with the VLE.
• To reach audiences we have not
previously been able to reach.
• Model cutting edge practice.
• Keep us at the forefront of
teaching and learning.
Pedagogy
• The VLE provides our programmes with a onestop portal to vast array of E-resources.
• The VLE provides us with creative communication
and reflective tools – blogs and wikis.
• Students are enrolled as instructors on the VLE
and create their own sections, resources and
teaching methods.
• The VLE provides us with the opportunity to pilot
and develop distance learning courses.
Key Value
• 12 members of the dept’ have already been trained.
• A bespoke Educational Studies training session is
planned for 9 November (where our HoD and
Science Technician are both enrolled).
• There is now a greater potential for dialogue and
discussion within the department, across all
programmes, on how we can develop VLE further.
• Enhancing Staff skills.
• Enhancing Staff creativity.
End of section
Interactive support & feedback
for Foundation Year Maths in the
Department of Electronics
Andy Pomfret
Department of Electronics – Projects (1)
• Formative tests for Year 1 circuit theory
• Improving staff-student communication
– SSLC minutes online
– Forum for raising issues
• Student-led wiki
– Discussions on course content
– Mentoring and support
Department of Electronics
Department of Electronics – Projects (2)
• Assignment feedback in audio form
–
–
–
–
Feedback in the form of ‘podcasts’
More personal
More popular
Faster to produce
• Environmental Electronics module (upcoming)
• Foundation Year Mathematics…
Department of Electronics
Foundation Year Maths
Department of Electronics
Foundation Year Maths
• Foundation Year course attracts students from a
wide range of backgrounds
• Differentiation is very hard in a group like this
• We had a need for a suite of ‘support’ resources
to which students could turn for help
• Yorkshare seemed like the ideal platform
Department of Electronics
Foundation Year Maths
The self-study problem…
class-based
learning
learning
evaluation
self study
face-to-face explanations
teaching
in textbooks
feedback
from inclass tests
examples in
textbooks
Department of Electronics
Foundation Year Maths
A self-study solution?
class-based
learning
learning
evaluation
self study
face-to-face explanations online study
teaching
in textbooks
guides
feedback
from inclass tests
examples in
textbooks
formative
online tests
Department of Electronics
Lessons learned: a campus-wide problem?
• Assessing maths tests online is very difficult!
(especially maths for beginners)
• Lots of innovative assessment techniques
employed here
– Hidden answers
– Multiple-answer techniques for algebraic subjects
• University-wide need for support tools for
mathematics
Department of Electronics
End of section
Environment
Department
Title
Environment & Health (new module, Spring term 2007)
Pedagogic
theme
Simple adaptive release approach to content; cooperative
learning through report writing
Keywords
Self-tests; wiki; multi-media resource repository
Subject
area
Student level
& profile
Key
conclusions
Key notions and measures of Environment & Health
Third year module for Environmental Science and
Environment, Economics & Ecology students (36 students)
1. Poor use of the VLE until exam revision  Integration of
the class-based and VLE-activities is crucial
2. Self-tests and online resources said to be extremely useful
3. Lack of trust in the wiki-based activities  Expectations
for the activities and how they will be assessed must be
clarified and illustrated early in the module
Phase 3 projects
• Focus on providing support to students in
underlying skills and knowledge
• Interdisciplinary courses attracting UG and PG
students with a range of skills and backgrounds
• Focus on chemistry (environmental science
courses) and maths (environmental economics
and ecology courses)
• Provides support for students and allows them to
proceed at their own pace
• Reduces load on staff and need to explain
underlying material
Introductory Chemistry
for Environmental Science
• Significant proportion of Environmental Science students
at UG and PG levels who don’t have A level equivalent in
Chemistry
• Initial need to support acquisition of baseline knowledge
• Need for ongoing support and development of chemistry
skills across a range of modules
• VLE application provides central repository for chemistry
support
– First port of call when a student tackles a new aspect of
chemistry or encounters difficulties in taught material
Introductory Chemistry
for Environmental Science
• Initial induction sessions
– Provide basic chemistry material
– Evaluate chemistry knowledge of cohort
– Introduce VLE format and use
• VLE provides support on an as-needed basis
– Reference material (non-technical wherever possible and
grouped by teaching themes)
– Embedded lectures, images, links to quizzes and further
information
– FAQ’s to be developed over course
Introductory Chemistry
for Environmental Science
• Basic platform in place covering all major elements
• Site development as ongoing activity
– Link through to more modules
• develop UG offering
• provide minimum requirements and online self-assessments before
face-to-face teaching starts
– Embed support element within teaching materials
2. Economics & Maths Tutorials
• Year 1 undergraduates, 84 students
• Very mixed prior experience with economics & maths
• VLE-based tutorial materials
– scanned ‘live’ examples
• answers built up line-by-line
• ‘speech bubble’ dialogue commentary available
– addresses concepts students typically find difficult
– students repeat examples until they are comfortable to move on
• Supported by MCQ question bank examples:
– generic skill-sharpening practice
– environment-specific skill-using applications
• VLE-based MCQ formative & summative assessments
Economics & Maths Tutorials
• Advantages for students
– learning at their own pace at a time and place which
they choose [subject to hand-in deadlines !]
– instant feedback on performance
• instant formative assessment steers weaker
students towards further practice before submitting
summative assessments
• also warns stronger students when they need to
start sitting up and taking notice of new material
• Advantages for staff
– reduced marking load
– distributed pressure on computing resources
– continuous monitoring of student effort and progress
End of section
Languages and Linguistics
Ann Taylor & Susan Pintzuk
Bernadette Plunkett
Marie-Catherine Dantec
Projects
• History of English I (new!)
• Introduction to syntax (new!)
• Grammaire en contexte
The current situation
•
•
•
•
Large first-year cohorts
Wide range of abilities
Limited staff time
Students need help in developing and
practicing basic skills
• Staff need ways to provide sufficient and
timely feedback
VLE solutions
• Interactive exercises which provide students with
immediate feedback
– Intro to syntax: learn to draw a syntactic tree step by
step
– History of English: Old English grammar-related
activities
– Grammaire en contexte: learning activities embedded
in cultural context
• Periodic diagnostic quizzes to test students’
progress
Benefits to students
• Learner centred
– Immediate feedback
– Self-paced
– Can repeat exercises over and over
• Individual learning pathways
– Focus on problem areas
– Opportunities for more challenging activities
Benefits for staff/department
•
•
•
•
More effective use of resources
Flexible mode of delivery
Variety of teaching approaches
Interactive exercises can adapted to a
wide variety of modules
End of section
Lifelong Learning
Online Creative Writing Workshop
dm541@york.ac.uk
Iain Barr and Damian McDonald
ijb3@york.ac.uk
Rationale
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
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Learning for pleasure, not credit (initially!)
To build upon the most popular of our
disciplines – creative writing
To develop the writing skills of students in an
environment which does not require face-toface learning
To offer true distance
learning without the need
to be at a given point at a
given time for non-traditional
learners
For the Centre for Lifelong
Learning to engage a wider audience
geographically.
Approach

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Distance, not blended,
learning
Very aware that students will not use
supported PCs
Lifelong learning students may not have
the same ‘intuitive’ IT skills as UGs
Students will never meet – how do we
develop relationships?
To avoid all real-time interaction
Content
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Very little underpinning in terms
of supporting materials
Mix of discussions boards, wikis
and blogs to encourage interaction
Asynchronous communication
throughout
Peer review critical – fostering a
culture of self-review within the
group
Students expected to contribute 23 hours per week.
What does it look like?
The future

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This is a pilot programme and
will run three times in 07/08
Will inform a proposal for an
accredited certificate level option,
delivered via distance
Will also inform community outreach
projects on the theme of citizenship
Will broaden the LLL demographic
End of section
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A pilot in each Year (1 – 4) + ROY + Markbase
Objectives:
• Enhance student access to a variety of teaching
materials and methods
• Promote staff awareness and interest in the
teaching potential of a VLE
• Receive feedback, learn & develop
Approach
• ‘Standard’ website PLUS
• Live online ‘forum’, Discussion boards, Support
• Adaptive release, Links, Pod casts, Going Further
• Filling the textbook gap
End of section
New First Year of Sociology
Degree
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
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Introducing Sociology: Cultivating a Sociological Imagination
Individual in Society
Classical Sociological Theory: Key Thinkers
Contemporary Societies in Global Perspective
Contemporary Social Theory: Key Themes
Social Divisions and Social Change in Contemporary Britain
Cultivating a Sociological
Imagination:
Rationale for Module

Throughout the term we will be examining in detail a small number
of disparate but fairly mundane topics. We want to demonstrate how
sociological perspectives can offer new and exciting insights on some of the
mundane realities of everyday life.

The topics we have selected to introduce have only one thing in
common - they are not routinely considered to be at the substantive heart
of the sociological enterprise.

This is a deliberate device. Our thinking is that to the extent that we
can convince students of the value of a sociological analysis of such
a set of widely different phenomena – artefacts, creatures, routines,
sites, emotions and so on – then hopefully we can convince them of
the need to cultivate a sociological imagination per se.
Postcodes
Sleep
Love
Blood
Animals
Lies
Analytic Issues & Some Basic
Proficiencies

Use these substantive topics to introduce 3 central sociological
concerns
 Social order
 Social construction
 Social inequality

…and some basic proficiencies
 Taking good critical notes
 Sourcing material
 Referencing
 Making presentations
 Planning and preparing essays
Some Analytic Themes
Social
Order
Postcodes
Sleep
Love
Blood
Animals
Lies
Social
Construction
Social
Inequality
End of section
“Writing for the Web”
Paul Kelly, Web Content and Design
Officer
William Mackintosh, Web Manager
4 October, 2007
Motivation

“Writing for the Web”

Professional development within Web Office

Learn more about the VLE rollout

"When shall we three meet again in thunder,
lightning, or in rain?"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairyscape/346989547/
Course availability

Face-to-face training is the preferred option

Refresher tool
Lessons learned

Planning

Fitting in with the day job

Is this the end or only just the beginning?
End of section
Department of Archaeology
Yr 3 Special Topic
Challenges:
• Team-taught course with several lecturers from
different disciplines and institutional contexts
• To be expanded to include Biology students, and
to Masters level courses
• Fast-moving and dynamic topic, with many
areas of intense heated debate
Using the VLE: ‘Future Proofing’ ….
• VLE is set up around the structure of the discipline (rather than
lecture structure)
• Student development of the thematic wiki through (and outside) the
seminars keeps the VLE information up to date
• VLE is kept simple so that future changes are easy to make
Using the VLE: Accommodating
different abilities….
• The lectures and seminars follow a broadly chronological
(therefore simple) structure
• ‘Confused’ button answers problems and outlines a simple
approach to understanding the subject
• ‘Thematic’ (integrated with seminars) pushes the knowledge and
understanding of the more able student by presenting different
perspectives/approaches to the evidence
Using the VLE: Exposing students to
topical debate…
• RSS feeds bring new material automatically
• Use of discussion board integrated with seminars
• Coffee Room provides a non-monitored environment to encourage
use of communication tools
MSc in Archaeological Information Systems
Skills Modules
Signature Module 1
Signature Module 2
End of section
Worldscape
Department of Music
University of York
how is the VLE used?
• Over 100 students will compose a new collaborative
musical work ‘Worldscape’ with the help of the
system.
• A novel use of the VLE as a creative tool - not a static
resource base.
integration into teaching
• Rather than seeking artificial ways to ‘blend’
the VLE into class activity, the project is
constructed so that the VLE forms an
indispensable backbone.
• Without the VLE, it would not be possible for
a large number of students to collaborate on
a creative project of this nature.
additional benefits
• VLE in this case will unite a large student
cohort, enabling them to share their
composition materials via uploaded audio
clips, and evaluate their own work.
• We have gathered an extensive library of
video materials for multimedia
composition, and to provide technical
instruction in specific software techniques.
public performance
• Worldscape VLE will be up for live student
use on Tuesday 9th Oct.
• first public performance is on Wednesday
14th November to which you are warmly
invited. Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, 7.30pm
• The resource will support Worldscape-related
student learning throughout the year.
• As we are producing a large-scale, public
musical entertainment, we have also
chosen to use the VLE to also assist in the
management of this project.
• Students are allocated into 10 production
teams, and have a meeting space on the
VLE to plan their activities.
• The creative results from the VLE will be
presented in an unusual way: live performers
will use computer technology to modify and
enhance their sound. The Worldscape project
will host the UK’s very first Laptop
Orchestra: an orchestra made entirely from
humans performing computer technology.
• Supported generously by Apple Computer,
Inc.
acknowledgements
• The music department would like to offer their
thanks to the VLE team, without whom this
project would be much harder to implement.
• We are documenting the project as it unfolds
so that we can evaluate our approach to
online technology for future teaching.
End of section
Department of Social Policy & Social Work
‘One stop shop’ Yorkshare –phase I
• Rationale for the project:
– The desire to ultimately create a single site for both
administrative resources and blended teaching and
learning activities
– The need for a gentle introduction to the Yorkshare by
migrating all student resources currently housed in an
‘intranet’
– The need to raise the profile of the Yorkshare within
the department generally
Phase 1 – student resources
• General
– Timetables
– Useful weblinks
– Student support/representative information
• Programme specific
– Course /module outlines
– Handbooks
– Forms/pro-formas
Next steps: Phases II & III
• Phase II
– Migrate all staff intranet information to
BlackBoard by Easter 2008
• Phase III
– Develop departmental e-learning strategy
during 2008
– Staged roll-out of ‘blended learning’ projects
End of presentation