Notes for UCL Distance Learning
Development
(Draft 23.03.12)
1
Contents
1.
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
2.
Examples of UCL distance learning courses .................................................................................... 3
3.
Designing a Distance Learning Course ............................................................................................ 4
4.
Assessing Distance Learning Courses.............................................................................................. 7
5.
The UCL PIQ process ....................................................................................................................... 9
6.
7.
8.
5.1.
What is your 'business case'?................................................................................................ 10
5.2.
Costs ...................................................................................................................................... 10
5.3.
Copyright ............................................................................................................................... 11
5.4.
Editing ................................................................................................................................... 12
Organising a distance learning course .......................................................................................... 13
6.1.
Student support .................................................................................................................... 13
6.2.
Admin Processes ................................................................................................................... 14
Moodle Design .............................................................................................................................. 15
7.1.
What should a Distance Learning course look like? ............................................................. 15
7.2.
Baseline Requirements ......................................................................................................... 15
7.3.
Study Guide ........................................................................................................................... 16
7.4.
Activity Design....................................................................................................................... 16
7.5.
Ideas for Activities................................................................................................................. 18
7.6.
Converting existing Moodle courses for distance learning................................................... 18
7.7.
Activities List ......................................................................................................................... 19
7.8.
Virtual Classroom .................................................................................................................. 19
References .................................................................................................................................... 19
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1. Introduction
The history of distance learning at UCL is typical of many 'traditional' universities. A number of smallscale niche projects have emerged in recent years, initiated by enthusiastic individuals. All have been
aimed at Masters or professional level participants and range from short CPD 'bites' to full graduate
programmes. Most have been adapted from existing campus-based modules and all have used
online learning at least to some extent. In these pioneering programmes, a wide variety of
administration, support, design and process approaches have been adopted. As distance learning
becomes more widespread at UCL the aim of this document is to build on local and sector
experience to provide initial guidance to those planning and developing new distance learning and
online CPD courses.
2.
Examples of UCL distance learning courses (Please add)
CPD
CEPD
Cert
(PG)
CPD
CPD
CPD
CPD
CPD
PG
Dip
MSc
MSc
MSc
MSc
e-Learning for Systems Approaches SysMIC course (Systems training in Maths, Informatics
and Computational biology). (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council).
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/systems-biology/elsa
Clinical Knowledge & Decision Making
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/chime/study/continuing
Distance Learning Certificate in Crime Analysis
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/scs/pg-taught/dl-cert-crime-analysis
British Dental Journal & Eastman CPD online
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman/cpd/courses/distance-learning/bdj-ecpd-online-cpd
http://www.bdjeastmancpd.com/
Core CPD (UCL Eastman Dental Institute)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman/cpd/courses/distance-learning/core-cpd
http://www.corecpd.com/
DCPBites on-line CPD for Dental Care Professionals (DCPs)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman/cpd#distance
https://www.dcpbites.com/
Radiography update (UCL Eastman Dental Institute).
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman/cpd/courses/distance-learning/dental-radiography
http://www.dentalradiography.co.uk/
A distance-learning course for Speech and Language Therapists (Returning to Practice)
from the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychlangsci/students/professional/rcsltcourse
Distance Learning Diploma in Clinical Neurology
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/education/courses/distancelearningdiplomaneurology
Physics and Engineering in Medicine (distance learning option)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medphys/msc/dist
Medical Bacteriology (by Distance Learning) (UCL Eastman Dental Institute)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/degrees/pgt/TMSMEDSBCT01
Musculoskeletal Science distance learning (converted course)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgicalscience/departments_research/ioms/student_programs_io
ms/msc_musculoskeletal_science_distance_learning
Haemoglobinopathy (by distance learning)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/degrees/pgt/TMSOBSSHAE01
http://www.mschaemoglobinopathy.co.uk/
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MSc/
Pg Dip
MSc/
Pg Dip
MSc/P
g Dip
MSc/
Pg
Dip/
Cert
MA/
PG
Dip/
Cert
Medical Mycology (Distance Learning)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infection-immunity/study/dist_stu
Sports Medicine, Exercise and Health by Distance Learning (converted course available
Sept 2012)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgicalscience/departments_research/iseh/msc_sports_medicine_
exercise_health/distance_learning
Healthcare Associated Infection Control
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infection-immunity/study/post_stu/pgrad_HAIC
Drug Design flexible study distance learning option (converted course available Sept 2012)
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/WIBR/msc-drug-design/index.htm
Dutch Cultural Studies (2009–2012), currently in the process of being revised.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dutch
Dutch distance language courses 'Hogelands' and 'Lagelands' http://www.dutch.ac.uk
UG
Mod.
Nordic Welfare States (SCAN2221) module. (The School of European Languages, Culture
and Society in collaboration with the University of Helsinki’s Centre for Nordic Studies).
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/selcs/undergraduate/courses2/scan2221
3. Designing a Distance Learning Course
This section addresses some important ideas to consider when first thinking about developing a
distance learning course. As OU expert Derek Rowntree (1999) explains, “most newcomers to ODL
[open and distance learning] need to develop new knowledge, new skills and very often new
attitudes and dispositions”.
Agree on a clear learning design from the outset. The learning design impacts on marketing, target
audience, costing, materials development, student support, tutor costs, assessment, need for
residential, even feasibility. Students are increasingly consumers as well as learners. A distance
learning programme is selling a UCL 'learning experience' to its students. Programmes will only be
successful in the market if they are seen as providing excellent educational value.
Know your audience This is often difficult with a new course. Methods that worked well in an onsite
format may be less successful online. Assume students will need much more support and detailed
guidance to achieve the same learning outcomes – this is simply because their experience is less
focused, more fragmented and they lack the immediate support and encouragement of peers and
live tutor contact. Links to the JISC guidance on audience research might be helpful:
"JISC Audience Research: A guide for educational practice and research"
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/scaaudanalysisbpeducatresearchpractitioners
.pdf
4
JISC/SCA Audience Analysis Toolkit http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2009/02/05/download-audienceanalysis-toolkit/
Design around activities, not content. Many universities are now giving away much of their content
for free. They realise that learning does not lie in the content itself but in the interactions with and
between students. Thus in distance learning, materials such as videos of lectures, PowerPoints, web
links are important but a successful, engaging online course is made up not of content but of
activities. A set of new activities, linked to the learning outcomes, must be designed specifically for
the online environment. Rovai and Downey (2010) emphasise that "a well-designed online course
offers an active-learning environment in which meaning is socially negotiated and students are
actively engaged in the learning process". Professional-level students expect the opportunity to
develop expert knowledge directly with academic staff, to be able to challenge and debate and so
refine their own ideas both with academics and fellow students and of course to be able to use their
new-found skills in their professional context. The UCL PIQ asks you to describe what 'knowledge
and understanding' students will achieve, but also what intellectual (thinking) skills, practical skills
and transferable skills. These plainly cannot be achieved by content alone.
What is missing in online learning? Campus-based lectures, labs and tutorials impose a time
discipline often allowing direct interaction with teachers and can provide an engaging sense of
'academic narrative'. Students can also compare their progress with others, discuss common
problems, and feel motivated by being in a big group of like-minded peers. All this is lacking in an
online environment and must be replaced. This is why lecture recordings, or even great 'content'
cannot be used on their own and you are advised to build a social/group element to any course.
What is the structure of activity-based courses. Both the Open University (OU) and Oxford
University Department of Continuing Education (OUDCE), experienced distance learning providers,
use remarkably similar activity-based structures designs. The courses are built round a timetable
with two or three weekly activities, at least one of which is online discussion with the course tutor
and other students in Moodle. OUDCE says this ensures "our online courses extend the rigorous and
engaging study for which the University is famous". There are many alternatives to this format but
the OU/ OUDCE approach is a good starting point and is compatible with UCL Moodle.
What is the “UCL” experience they are getting for their fees? Distance learning can never replicate
the full social onsite UCL experience, nor should it attempt to - most M-level students have already
experienced this anyway. What we should be able to do is to match (or even enhance) the students'
educational experience. An activity based design is the only way of achieving this. How?
1. Students have a sense of 'community'; this is important for motivation and engagement
but also replicates the group work we now expect in many campus-based courses.
2. Few students can study completely alone, most need learning support; online forums
are a cost-efficient and educationally effective space for them to raise and discuss
questions.
3. Online group work allows students to discuss, reflect on, apply and plan how to transfer
learning into practice, an essential part of M-level, professional and CPD learning.
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4. Activity-based learning is 'visible' and more interesting - the tutor can check if students
are engaged and progressing, students can compare their contributions with peers.
5. Regular interactions with the tutor can establish and confirm the identity of students to
enable online exams.
Five ways in which online learning can be better
1. Flexibility – studies can be fitted round work and domestic responsibilities
2. Easier access to tutors and fellow students
3. More time to discuss and share ideas and perspectives with other students and tutors
4. Enriched content – video, web links, online readings, quizzes (can be used by onsite students
too)
5. Better feedback to staff on effectiveness of teaching and to students on effectiveness of learning
Risks and limiting factors
You will probably have to include a risk analysis as part of your business case - some elements to
consider;
 Development budget
 Initial support (design, technical, administrative)
 Level of knowledge
 Requirement for staff development
 Time pressure
 External pressure
 Management support
Linking the motivation, 'business case' and the learning design.
In later sections we will look in more detail at developing distance learning materials, support and
assessment, but even at the early stages you should be confident that firstly your course aims and
mix of teaching and assessment methods will meet the educational outcomes and experience your
students will expect and secondly these have been fully calculated. One of the main risks is
assuming existing content can be repurposed for distance learning students 'on the cheap'. As we
will see in [a later section] this is a huge risk. At the very least distance learning-specific course
guides will have to be written and edited, activities devised and checked, discussion boards
supported and assignments created and marked. All this takes (calculable) time and resources. As
Gordon et al (2009) warn, "insufficient cost estimation of the design, production costs […and the
consequent implementation…] can lead to issues such as poor quality course design, unavailable
resources, budget shortfall and course delivery delay".
Starting to plan
Planning and management As we have seen the development of distance learning courses involve a
lot of people over a considerable length of time. There may be significant upfront investment. It is
well worth appointing a 'coordinator' and developing a clear project plan, probably divided into work
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packages, and a realistic schedule which can be used to track progress and communicate with
participants. If various authors are involved, use a template to ensure consistent structure and
formatting.
4. Assessing Distance Learning Courses
Assessment – some key decisions
Overview Along with the interaction with academic staff, the quality and rigour of assessment is
vital in maintaining the reputation of the course. Assessment has more subtle influences too; as with
traditional courses the assessment strategy provides a strong indicator to the student of what is
important in the course and where their efforts should be directed. It is particularly important in
distance learning that the course objectives, the activities, formative/continuous assessment (such
as online MCQ examination or short assignments) and the final summative assessment (uploaded via
Moodle or by live exam) are 'aligned' so that they complement and reinforce each other. Careful
design should prevent the student opting out of activities and parts of the course. A range of
assessment methods should be used where possible. Various methods of assessment have been
considered or are currently used and combined in UCL distance learning courses.
'Open-book' assignments Such assignments alleviate the problem of invigilating online exams at a
distance. Students upload an assignment into Moodle. This type of assessment is thought to
encourage the student to engage with the material, be more readily able to integrate personal
practice and interest and be more akin to the kind of life-long learning graduates are expected to
take into their working life. This approach is now widely used at the OU where half the marks for a
typical 30 credit M-level course may be made up continuous assessment (three 1500-2000 word
tutor-marked assignments or ‘TMAs’) and the rest from 'the examinable component', a 4000 word
end of course assignment. The TMAs are designed to be formative and are short enough to allow
rapid tutor feedback. It should be noted that the overall 'activity based' nature of OU courses
encourages a high level of contact between students and tutor over an extended period so that
there are few problems of verification of students' work and there is still some apprehension at UCL
about allowing an open-book assessment to carry a large proportion of the overall mark.
Online MCQs Moodle-based MCQs are commonly used formatively in distance learning to provide
diagnostic analysis and to motivate students, enabling them to test progress and get instant
feedback. MCQs can also be used for an invigilated exam at UCL, though facilities are still limited, or
released for a short period online, not invigilated and so with associated risks. Cheating in online
MCQ exams should be subject to a ‘risk assessment’ approach i.e. How high-stakes is the exam?
What proportion of the overall degree mark does it represent? A range of assessment methods
should be used in order to mitigate the effects of cheating. The advantages of MCQs are:
 obtain instantaneous analysis of the results
 provide an analysis of the questions
 randomise the questions and distractors thus preventing students being able to copy from
each other.
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Online exams are time-consuming to set up and there is a small risk of technical failure - always take
a hard-copy of the exam paper as a back-up in case! It is good practice to give students the
opportunity to try out and get used to the MCQ format prior to summative exams.
Invigilated exams It is often argued that formal, invigilated exams are less appropriate for graduatelevel students especially on a distance learning course where students have to incur costs and
inconvenience to attend an exam centre. If this is unavoidable the British Council however offers an
examination service for delivering remote invigilation in many countries. The exam scripts are sent
out to the centre well beforehand and the student provides ID and pays the invigilation fee (about
£80) on the day. Other ad hoc arrangements are sometimes made with local educational
establishments.
Assessing clinical skills There are of course real difficulties of assessing clinical skills at a distance.
Some possible solutions that may be considered are:
 Students to submit photographs of their clinical work for assessment although of course
they do not capture communication and organisational skills
 Students to submit videos of their clinical work for assessment but students may require
training to film and edit their videos effectively.
 Students could be asked to submit podcast commentaries as part of their assessment. This
was considered to be particularly useful to assess the student’s reasoning/thought
processes.
Other methods There are a wide variety of less common methods that can add to the assessment
mix.
 Assessing verbal communication The UCL virtual classroom or Skype can be used for a
virtual interview, providing the student has reasonable local facilities.
 Team project work Online collaboration tools such as Moodle enable projects to be
undertaken in groups with tutor and/or peer marking. WebPA
[http://webpaproject.lboro.ac.uk/] is an online tool for peer assessment and Turnitin and
Moodle also have tools for supporting peer assessment.
 Forum contributions Could be tutor-marked. Some OU courses allocate 10% of assessment
to forum contributions to ensure frequent, quality contributions from students - or feedback
is provided by the tutor to encourage participation.
 Short-answer questions “Short answers” implies free text entry, requiring answers that have
to be constructed rather than selected, ranging from phrases to (rarely) 3 to 4 sentences.
These are thought to be more testing than MCQs. The OU has developed a short answer
marking engine' OpenMark to enable automated marking and there is at least one
commercial product [www.intelligentassessment.com] but generally marking, although
quicker with SAQs is still done manually. Single Answer Questions? JISC have recently
reviewed Short answer marking engines
[http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/projects/shorttext.pdf].
 Reflective diary Usually for personal reflection but could be tutor-marked or feedback
provided by the tutor to encourage participation.
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5. The UCL PIQ process
Now you have a good idea, the next stage of planning your new programme is usually to develop a
programme proposal. New programme proposals, or if you are proposing a distance learning version
of an existing programme, must be submitted using UCL's Programme Institution Questionnaire
(PIQ), an online form accessed via Portico [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ras/acd_regs/programme_forms].
The proposal must be approved at Departmental and Faculty level and by an External Scrutineer,
before being put forward for UCL-level approval and the online PIQ facilitates this process. The
online PIQ allows comments and queries to be raised at all stages and UCL stakeholders such as
admissions and examinations are also alerted. The online PIQ is eventually submitted automatically
to the Secretary of the Programme and Module Approval Sub-Group (PMASG) of the UCL Board of
Examiners (UCLBE). This process takes 18 months to ensure a thorough and rigorous consideration
of programme proposals.
Should the PIQ be reviewed / adapted? – is it fit for purpose for DL course design? Are there gaps –
does the PIQ support the development of designed DL courses i.e. encourage the degree of planning
proposed in this doc? Is it essentially transferable?
Getting started
When developing your programme proposal, three closely interrelated questions need to be
addressed:



Why are you developing a distance learning course?
What is your 'business case'?
What (and how) will your students learn?
Why are you developing a distance learning course?
There are a number of motivations, income generation being only the most obvious one.
Competitive pressure and a need to expand reach of programmes to overseas students or those
unable to attend conventional programmes are often as important. There may be a wish to build on
unique departmental skills/research standing of the department or an external push from a
professional body. Finally there may thoughts to upgrade existing campus-based programmes using
the resources and skills gained from distance learning development. These different drivers can
strongly influence not only the marketing and the viability of the programme but also its
underlying educational and business model s.
It is essential to agree on a clear rationale for the course from the pre-planning stage and ensure
this is shared with the various stakeholders. Good planning and leadership is vital as distance
learning is complex to design and deliver and typically includes the involvement of many
stakeholders (academic staff, teaching support staff, learning technologists, UCL central services)
over an extended period of time. Rovai and Downey (2010) investigating 'failure factors' of US
distance learning courses placed lack of planning as the most important issue; "no planning or poor
planning can lead to programs that waste time and money, are ineffective or unreliable, lack
robust financial sustainably and ultimately lead to failure".
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5.1.What is your 'business case'?
How do you know there is a market? You are likely to have some knowledge or experience of the
market from teaching or working in your specialist area, but adopt a business planning approach to
ensure you can justify with confidence both projected student numbers and your pricing policy. This is
the critical information on which you are proposing a new programme. Make sure you have carried
out a scoping study. This will include a robust market survey. How many students do you expect,
will this number grow over say 10 years, where are they, what are their characteristics, what are
their professional motivations? You may need to run quick surveys, e.g. emails to other
institutions/web searches or contact academic societies. The scoping study will also investigate the
competition (traditional, local or distance programmes) and consider your 'unique selling points' e.g.
UCL’s brand reputation and possibly accreditation. Note external accreditation of short courses (e.g.
via the Royal Colleges) can take some time. It is also important to consider the portfolio of existing
departmental courses and how the distance learning offering will fit in – will it compete with or
impact on an on-site version, for example?
What is your business plan?
Income is the first consideration of the business plan, crudely student numbers x fee level.
 Student numbers Much depends on an accurate estimate of student numbers. What are your
initial and 'steady state' numbers for home and overseas students? The current minimum for
M- level programme is 10 FTEs and UCL has a system to flag up programmes with fewer
than 10 students or large fluctuations year on year. Do you have enough 'start up' funding
to deliver at least to the first cohort of students? What if there are fewer students than
expected? When can a return on any initial investment be expected?
 Fee level What level will you set your fees? What the competition charge may be a guide.
Do you charge distance learning students the same fees as on-site students? If so, students
may think they are getting a poorer version of a face to face course. If not students may
reasonably expect an exact equivalent of the on-site course experience – are you confident
you can deliver this? We will discuss the distance learning 'experience' below.
5.2.Costs
Costs The development and delivery costs are closely linked to the educational design. Existing course
materials, even if very successful in an onsite format, will always need redevelopment for an online
audience and this requires investment in time and money. As Rovai and Downey (2009) conclude;
"problems occur when traditional face-to-face courses are presented online with few, if any
changes". It is easy to over-focus on initial costs; delivery of distance learning also requires ongoing,
sometimes extensive input in time from academic and support staff, and this must be carefully
calculated. The major cost areas will be:
Initial fixed costs (independent of student numbers)

Development of PIQ, funding bid
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








Initial market research and marketing
New technology, services and licences
Design for leaflets, web pages, online resources
Audio-visual content materials, promotional video, podcasts
Content development and adaptation costs – this will depend on the educational model,
how existing materials can be reused or adapted, the mix of resources also on availability
of internal/external expertise.
One-off licence costs (e.g. copyright text and images)
Staff costs for setting up systems, editing, quality assurance
Staff development (e.g. consultancy with LTSS)
Piloting, editing and testing
Continuing fixed costs (broadly independent of student numbers)







Program administration
Marketing
Course evaluation
Course/program revision
Maintenance, repair, systems upgrading
Content updating
Research and development (new methods, course elements)
Variable costs (depend on student numbers)




Student and academic support – extra students are not 'free'; every new group of 10-20
students will need a tutor (i.e. 7-8 hours a week) and may require local mentors, exam
facilities etc. Your student support model should be costed.
Printed material and DVDs if not using online distribution
Per-capita software or online services licences e.g virtual classrooms, specialist software.
Library resources - what documents/materials will be made available? In most cases the
library can get clearance to get articles and they do have licences, but needs to know in
advance. This can have considerable cost implications for distance learning programmes.
How are these costs distributed? As an indicator Barry Wills (2008, cited in Mead 2008) ref give an
example of a successful distance learning program in engineering at the University of Idaho. He
usefully estimates the budget percentage in five major cost areas: Technology/Production Support
(24%), Administrative Support (18%), Academic and Student Support Services (17%), Marketing
(5%), and Research and Development (4%).
5.3.Copyright
Copyright – the hidden cost - Copyright is a very significant issue in developing online distance
learning programmes, especially those relying heavily on images and diagrams. What this means in
practice is that apparently straight forward actions – such as putting a PowerPoint presentation used
in a lecture or seminar that contains diagrams and images from third party sources into Moodle or
11
elsewhere online – actually raise copyright issues. In this example permission would have to be in
place to use the diagrams and images. You are advised to "think about this well in advance and
review all the materials to check that you know the source of all content, images, diagrams, etc".
UCL Library's copyright advice pages "Copyright and e-learning"
[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/copyright/copy-e-learning.shtml] provides much practical advice on
how to approach this.
5.4.Editing
Editing is another hidden cost. Conventional published materials go through an extensive editing
process. Distance learning materials require an equivalent process, preferably with the input of an
external editor with experience of proofing online materials. Is the look and feel consistent, is the
language student-friendly, is all jargon explained, are instructions clear and comprehensive, do all
links work without ‘dead ends’? This can involve several days of painstaking work.
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6. Organising a distance learning course
6.1.Student support
Academic and admin support is a critical part of the UCL 'learner experience' Any distance learning
programme needs a well-considered and preferably documented student support framework with
clear guides (e.g. induction and technical guides) and processes (who to contact for academic, admin
and technical help, expected response times). The motivation is to be supportive and responsive but
also to avoid too many emails from confused or stressed students. It is essential that the
departmental administrators are involved at an early stage of the planning to avoid workload issues
when the course is running. Larger courses may require specialist admin support. Bear in mind the
issue of managing students all over the world i.e. accounting for different time zones when planning
for student support.
Make students feel part of UCL Somerville (200?) believes it is important to recognise the specific
needs of online students, which include
 affiliation and a sense of belonging – helps prevent drop-out and disconnect
 esteem and self-regard – the biggest risk is if they feel they are 'second class'
 self-actualisation – ensuring students get feedback (by peers and tutors) that they are
progressing
A strong support framework can clearly contribute to fulfilling these needs and helping overall
student engagement and satisfaction with the course.
Devise - and stick to - a communication strategy Establish methods of communication with the
students from the outset. It is important to make the response times for email and frequency of
tutor forum postings clear – students should not and generally do not expect a round-the-clock
support service.
 Even if using a lecture-focused model, always supplement lectures through regular
tutoring/academic tutoring/pastoral support. Ensure students know they have a
responsibility to engage with the Tutor, through Moodle, Skype or email.
 As we are mostly using Moodle, consider encouraging the use of Moodle forums as the main
or default mode of communication for all course-related issues, with emails reserved for
personal communication. This will protect academic staff time, enable the academic to
support many more students (though even with this method 10-15 students is usually
considered maximum) and encourage students to discuss issues with their peers.
 Moodle and email are not the only options; you may schedule virtual classroom (UCL has
Blackboard Communicate) sessions or regular Skype calls with small groups.
 Consider a blog to act as a 'course diary'; UCL has an easy-to-use Wordpress service and
students can Blog in Moodle (or externally) to record and reflect on learning with comments
from Tutors.
 Podcasts work well as all students have access to exactly the same information. Podcasts
13

can be accessed online, in different formats and opened from anywhere.
Most distance learning courses have an online student ‘common’ room for social chat. Some
have experimented with Facebook course-specific groups rather than Moodle but students
often want to keep their academic and personal personas separate (as do staff!). UCL
MyPortfolio however also provides a Facebook-style groups utility.
6.2.Admin Processes
Pre-course documentation and processes will likely include;
 Pre-course general query admin contacts (preferably with a phone number and contact
times)
 Make technical requirements absolutely clear e.g. regular access to a computer, reasonably
up-to-date hardware and software (specify), reliable broadband, working sound etc (could
LTSS provide guidelines to include here or elsewhere in doc?).
 Academic advisory (entry requirements, workplace projects etc , consider using Skype for
interviews)
 Contract with student clarified in the Handbook.
 Access to library facilities, TALIS
 Access (instructions, passwords) to VLE
 IT skills (diagnostics, how-tos, ‘mini modules’)
 Technical pre-requisites guidance (browser type, plug in sources and instructions for
students) again, can LTSS provide example?
 Workplace support as entry requirement (i.e. for projects)
 Induction process (purpose, familiarisation, navigation)
 distance learning guidance documents – how to approach distance learning
 Admin issues – check who is on the course- this needs more thought
 FAQ, glossary
 UCL Rules and regulations (including IT regulations and conduct)
While the course is running
 Induction process - orientation, expectations, self-study issues and activities (e.g. plan your
own time), UCL plagiarism policy (very important) and course-specific issues such as ethics,
study designs, statistical design and potential projects)
 Technology induction (address hurdles – firewalls etc), specialist software needed (e.g.
Reference Manager) – best if this is practical and can be part of 'ice-breakers' below
 Health and Safety, library inductions.
 Arrange online induction activities ice-breaker activities (prior to the first week) - sharing
personal as well as professional/academic information – motivational, builds confidence and
helpful in getting to know your virtual peers and tutors. These can be gentle early academic
ice-breakers (discussions about interesting scenarios) to help students ‘find their feet’ and
establish the appropriate level of discourse.
 Monitoring participation and calling ‘drop outs’. Make sure someone regularly monitors
students' 'presence' on the course, preferably by their contribution to forums, but also using
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Moodle access reports. If they do not contribute or log in for a set length of time, flag it and
follow up by email then phone contact. Be prepared to provide extra academic time for
students who begin to feel disassociated from their studies.
 Be aware of the issue of supervision of dissertations and sometimes the need for local
supervision. In all cases a UCL Supervisor is essential and monitoring is essential to help
students experiencing difficulties. This is again possible via Skype, telephone etc.
Have at least a minimal process for continuous, formative evaluation (give example?) and a plan to
identify and solve emerging issues. Keep a record of time spent – this will help future cost-benefit
analysis.
After course
 The Assessment process (feedback, accreditation, awards, appeals etc) should follow normal
UCL regulations
 Email students personally and invite feedback
 Try to obtain informal feedback from students, both to improve the course and identify
positive aspects ‘quotes’ for marketing. Email them personally to congratulate them and
invite feedback and schedule a group ‘wash up’ session), Opinio may also be useful for
feedback
 Have a disengagement strategy (future support/resources available, vocational guidance,
alumni, peer group, follow-on programmes or graduation procedures)
 Promote repeat business from students or contacts
 Prepare a summative evaluation (at the minimum 'what didn't work and has to be changed’)
including reflection by the course team on the course design and a review of management /
retention strategy. Moodle data analysis (e.g. tracking) may be helpful to see what students
actually did.
7. Moodle Design
(Diagrams and screen shots to be added to this section)
7.1.What should a Distance Learning course look like?
(to be added)
7.2.Baseline Requirements
What should a distance learning Moodle course contain? All UCL Moodle courses supporting
taught modules must now adhere to the minimum requirements for Moodle courses
[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/staff/e-learning/tools/moodle/policies/minimum-requirements]. Check
this link. This of course applies to distance learning courses which will include most of the 'should'
list and very likely 'enhanced' elements too.
1. Course title
2. Module introduction and outline (or Handbook), including aims and objectives, overall
outcomes, final/summative assessment strategy, how to study the module, advice on
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
distance learning (e.g. time discipline), staff contact details – where to get help, UCL online
services.
Study calendar
Reading lists - using UCL Library's TALIS online reading list service. PDFs of articles cannot be
uploaded into Moodle for copyright reasons.
Study units, usually in Moodle 'Topics' format (see box),
 Study guide for the topic with activities and suggested timings for that topic
 Resources - clearly labelled and logically organised and presented: Lecture notes,
PowerPoint/PDF slides, Lecturecast, Word/PDF handouts, data sets, images
(remember copyright), links to online reading list, links to external resources
 Links to a Moodle forum for that topic
Assignment submission
Depending on the programme there may be a glossary - Moodle has a tool for this; selfassessment quizzes (diagnostic and progress/formative) and other features. Is this sentence
correct?
7.3.Study Guide
Study guides These are the key to successful distance learning. They guide the student though a
particular topic, make links to the learning outcomes, suggest activities, direct attention to
resources, encourage reflection, indicate how long to spend on each activity and essentially
represent the tutor's voice to the student. Old-style study guides were akin to a printed book, but
nowadays the fashion is to break them up into topics e.g. one per week. A good topic study guide is
quite short, maybe only 300-500 words and explains why this theme is being studied, the links to
previous and future topics, any concepts, issues or questions that are difficult or particularly
important and suggest a way of approaching or critiquing the resources. The guide will provide the
learner a logical sequence of timed activities (e.g. three or four activities a topic/week) and
encourage both personal reflection ("What is for you the key practical points of this technique") and
discussion ("Discuss in the Moodle forum with your group how this technique can be applied in your
workplace, and any problems you think may occur"). The Guide can be a simple web page or PDF but
it is good practice to link directly to specific resources, readings, forum discussions and so on, so the
Moodle 'book' format is often used. Note the study guide is not intended to replace but to
complement and add educational value to the voiceover in PowerPoint presentations or the 'Notes'
that can be added to PowerPoint slides.
Note on accessibility: Materials must be accessible to those using screen-readers and other assistive
technologies. This means that graphics must have alternate text, navigation must be planned, fonts
should be easy to read, and contrast and colour should be used with care. LTSS can advise on this.
7.4.Activity Design
The starting point for the development of many distance learning courses at UCL is PowerPoint and
Lecturecast. Both are very effective when used with care but neither is sufficient. Course designers
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are recommended to consider a variety of teaching media and methods.
Beyond PowerPoint When academics think about distance learning materials the usual starting
point is, understandably, existing content in the form of PowerPoints, handouts, even video lectures,
maybe supported by quizzes. This is sometimes termed 'declarative' knowledge as it is stated,
usually in writing or orally, by the teacher. But as all teachers know, this has to be turned into a
more 'functioning' knowledge to be useful. As one writer puts it
"Our students need to put that [declarative] knowledge to work, to make it function.
Understanding makes you see the world differently, and behave differently towards that
part of the world. We want lawyers to make good legal decisions, doctors to make accurate
diagnoses, physicists to think and behave like physicists."
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id477_aligning
_teaching_for_constructing_learning.pdf
Well designed activities allow students to put the content 'to work'.
Why videoed lectures don't work (on their own) If Powerpoint is insufficient on its own, why not
just record the lectures? Reading online handouts and watching videos of lectures is of course an
'activity' and some very motivated students may assimilate a lot of information this way. However,
most students need at least some extra support in their learning from their peers and their tutors.
Making learning 'visible' Most traditional UCL modules nowadays will have some element of group
work, and the advantages of group work for the individual are now well recognised. This is even
more important in distance learning where group-based online activities can replace and even
improve the social and feedback functions of live courses. One big advantage of online environments
is that activities can be visible to fellow students and the tutors. By far the most common way to
achieve this in online courses is via online forums (discussion boards). The Open University uses
forums extensively in the design of courses and in some modules they are the only interactive tool
used. Usually OU students have to contribute to one or more discussions each week. One important
social function is to enable students to feel they are part of a cohort. Participants can discuss ideas
and in a professional context and link knowledge to workplace practice. Tutors can see immediately
how active students are, how their learning is progressing and provide 'just in time' feedback and
encouragement. The students' learning has thus been made 'visible'. An alternative online approach
is to use UCL's pilot virtual classroom Adobe Connect (see below), which enables synchronous
activity (everyone is online at once) inside a virtual 'room'. This is a powerful tool and can be used
for both interactive 'webinars' as well as live group exercises. One problem though is that if students
are spread over a range of time zones it can be difficult to find a single time slot that suits everyone.
Residentials An alternative way of developing active, visible learning is to build (blend) in live events
at various points. These can be review days and activity-based events. There are many advantages to
this; laboratory, clinical and similar interactive techniques can be taught 'live', (some) copyright
issues avoided and students get the opportunity to meet the academic staff, network with each
other and 'attend' UCL albeit for a few days. The big disadvantage is clearly organization overheads
for UCL and the cost and time for the student, who may find it far from easy to make one or several
17
trips to London. Sometimes there are also visa or cultural restrictions on attendance so suitable
alternatives also have to be on hand if students cannot attend. Live events are not really a substitute
for the continuous online activity suggested above, they must be carefully integrated into online
delivery (e.g. pre and post residential online activities) and unless this is built in momentum can
rapidly be lost and the students disengage.
7.5.Ideas for Activities
You can use a mixture of the following tools to create activities;
In Moodle
 web text, PDF/Word/PowerPoint documents – course guides and content.
 online readings –access through TALIS library software – don't just upload PDFs!
 images – image banks can provide many more examples than in print format.
 video and audio – captures engagement and the personality of the lecturers,
orientation, demos. Can be fairly ad-hoc or higher quality – really depends on the
educational need.
 forums, wikis and live chat – text based group discussion/support/collaborative work.
 quizzes – can be diagnostic, formative, challenging, even fun.
 lessons – online case studies can include video and images.
 software and simulations – important in some disciplines, but can be costly to produce.
Other UCL tools
 Lecturecast – recording of live lectures – very popular but best to supplement not totally
replace live lectures. Currently in 30 teaching rooms in UCL. New versions searchable
and 'social'.
 MyPortfolio – students can collect and share resources and make 'views' (web pages) to
share in groups, submit for assessment or show to potential employers. Open to all.
 Blackboard Connect – powerful 'virtual classroom' for live webinars and group activity. 2
UCL rooms.
Supplementary approaches
 course ‘set’ book – provides structure, copyright-cleared content.
 residentials – can be essential for some subjects, but expensive and not easy to
organise, may provide students with sense of 'attending UCL' but build in pre/post
online activities.
 Skype, email and telephone – all good for personal tutor support.
 Facebook groups, Twitter feeds –a sense of community (but see UCL Web 2.0
guidelines).
7.6.Converting existing Moodle courses for distance learning
Few UCL distance learning programmes are built from scratch; there is usually existing Moodle
content to work from. This can actually be a disadvantage as Moodle courses used to support onsite
modules are often quite basic in layout and structure, often simply 'long lists of links', the students
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can optionally refer to in the context of the live classes and tutorials. When Moodle is the only
'gateway' between UCL and the student, the basic structure has to be extensively upgraded. At the
minimum this is
 Orientation, motivation and very clear instructions. This is best done in the format of custom
'study guides' (see below)
 Timetable of study – where am I and what do I do next? Each activity should be timed.
 Opportunities for active engagement with the material and to check understanding
 Tutor input – to answer questions, provide support and feedback
 Interaction with fellow learners e.g. though discussion, group work.
 Access to clearly labelled and logically structured content
Making 'student friendly' study materials Students may be accessing your material when they are
tired and sometimes in distracting home or work environments. Material must be very 'user friendly'
with exceptionally clear layout, structure and sequence, preferably arranged to allow students to
study for short periods. The learning objectives should be clearly expressed and linked to each
activity or resource. Students should never have to ask "why am I doing/reading/watching this?"
Similarly the assessment strategy should be described in some detail, again to help orientate and
motivate the students.
7.7.Activities List
(to be added)
7.8.Virtual Classroom
(to be added)
8. References
(to be added)
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