Learning & Teaching Development Fund. Final report for funded project

Transcription

1 Learning & Teaching Development Fund Final report for funded project Project Title Project Lead Name Online synchronous teaching in psychology. Maxine Swingler and Paul Bishop Funds allocated in Total spend [29 th June 2012] Summary of project and outcomes [up to 300 words - table will expand as you type] This project was an attempt to build on the need for a more flexible mode of delivery of psychology courses by implementing and evaluating the open source web conferencing software Big Blue Button (BBB), which allows real time discussions within the universities Virtual Learning Environment. It was felt that this would be particularly useful in undergraduate psychology due to the large class sizes and could also help promote student generated content. After a period of stress testing, the software was implemented and evaluated as an educational tool within three small teaching contexts in psychology: a teacher led tutorial session, collaborative group project work and a student led approach (Peer Assisted Learning). The evaluation of both the student and facilitator s experience in each of the contexts was obtained by utilising both a qualitative focus group that examined main themes, and quantitative methods, by using a variation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM: Sanchez & Hueros, 2010), which incorporated measures of Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, and Self Efficacy, all of which have been demonstrated to impact intention to use new software. Results of the evaluation demonstrated that implementing BBB software in all of the three contexts (Teacher led, Collaborative & Student led) produced positive results with regard to student s and facilitator s experience of using BBB, and their belief that it could aid them in tasks associated with their

2 psychology course. Throughout the testing of the software technical issues were addressed which resulted in user guidelines being developed, to ensure that both students and teachers can use the software independently in various contexts. Project Aims Implement Big Blue Button software in three teaching contexts in an undergraduate psychology course. Maximise flexibility of delivering various aspects of the undergraduate psychology course through the Virtual Learning Environment. Deliver an excellent student experience through innovative use of the universities Virtual Learning Environment. Provide access and opportunities for students to generate their own content. Help develop graduate attributes such as, ensuring an appreciation and responsiveness to the use of innovative technologies in effective communication. Evaluate the effectiveness of implementing Big Blue Button software in various contexts in terms of improving student s self-efficacy with completing various aspects of their undergraduate psychology course. Gain a clear understanding of the student s experience of using Big Blue Button software in various aspects of teaching and learning. Highlight the potential benefits and limitations of using synchronous discussions in teaching and learning. Be able to reflect on how synchronous discussion could be implemented in other teaching and learning contexts. Previous work [a brief review of previous work carried out in the area and an explanation of how this project builds on it. Please mention if previous work has been funded by the LTDF] Recently the increased need for flexibility in the delivery of courses and the rise of the Virtual Learning Environment has led to the delivery of course materials online (e.g., lecture notes, podcasts of lectures, support materials). A key (although underutilised) function of almost all VLEs is tutor/student interaction through forums or instant messaging tools. These forms can be divided into Asynchronous Discussions (AD) where the communication is time lagged (forums), or Synchronous Discussions (SD) where the communication

3 takes place in real time (e.g. using instant messenger tools and virtual classrooms). There is an extensive literature on the educational benefits of AD, however some forms of interaction are not supportable within this framework, for example, Wang and Woo (2007) found that compared to face to face interaction, students felt that AD was weaker, in that there was a lack of natural conversational interactivity and immediate feedback on questions. Online Synchronous Discussions (SD) may not be a equivalent to face to face teaching, but can provide an improvement in timely feedback and interactivity over AD, and help build a dialogue between tutor and students (Chen, Chen, & Tsai, 2009; Hou & Wu, 2011). The more naturalistic and immediate interactions of SD may also have an advantage over AD in student led sessions, by encouraging students to initiate questions and generate information for other group members (Bower & Hedberg, 2010). Case studies using AD in the university VLE (e.g., Moodle forums) have been successful (e.g., Griffiths, 2009), and there is potential to increase online interaction by evaluating the use of SD within the university VLE (Gardiner, 2011). Indeed, Adobe Connect, a commercial web conferencing product, has been successfully used in a university PGT online distance learning course (Ginda, 2011). It is felt therefore that investigating the use of SD in a variety of small group teaching contexts (teacher led, collaborative, student led) is a step towards provision of a fully functioning SD system for any School looking to be more flexible in its course delivery. Student Engagement Informal discussions with UG psychology students on the use of SD highlighted their enthusiasm for a more flexible mode of teaching, and their existing comfort in using SD in work and personal contexts (e.g., Skype, MSN). The project will also promote student engagement by involving PAL facilitators in the implementation of the student led sessions, involving UG students in the collaborative teaching context. Project Outcomes [What has been produced, developed or achieved with the funds. Please include a brief statement of how the monies have been used.] Funding was used to employ a Research Assistant (Donna Boyle) to undertake the day to day running of the study (described above). The development of teaching materials, evaluation materials, and user guidelines aimed at both students and staff. An information session was arranged for teaching staff to attend to highlight the benefits of using BBB software in various teaching contexts.

4 The payment of PAL facilitators as student technical consultants, and PAL attendees in the development and evaluation of Virtual PAL sessions using BBB. This helped to promote student s graduate attributes in the innovative use of technology, and effective communication in teaching and learning. Project Evaluation [A brief description of the evaluation methods used and the results obtained] Method This purpose of the evaluation was an attempt to measure the effectiveness of implementing the open source web conferencing software Big Blue Button (BBB) in three teaching contexts within the undergraduate psychology course. Student s and facilitator s experience of using the BBB software were measured using both a focus group session which highlighted main themes, and a questionnaire which was a variation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM: Sanchez & Hueros, 2010), which incorporated measures of Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, and Self Efficacy, all of which have been demonstrated to impact intention to use new software. Students responses to the variables, including perceived usefulness(pu), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and self-efficacy (SE) were measured on a seven point likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Data on the student s/ facilitator s age, gender, year of study, perceived technical support while engaging with BBB, computer self-efficacy, attitude and prior experience were also collected as part of the evaluation. The focus group consisted of 5 female PAL facilitators, whilst the questionnaire was administered to 3 Pal attendees, 6 Pal facilitators, 6 level 3 project group students, 17 level 2 exam revision students and finally 12 level 1 & 2 essay help students. The evaluation study was approved by the School of Psychology, College of Science and Engineering Ethics committee. Results Results of the evaluation demonstrated that implementing BBB software in all of the three contexts (Teacher led, Collaborative & Student led) produced positive results with regard to student s and facilitator s experience of using BBB, and their belief that it could aid them in tasks associated with their psychology course. See table for median scores for three main variables - Attendees Facilitator L3 Project L1 & 2 L2 Exam Essay PU PEOU SE

5 Student Feedback: It is highlighted in the above table that across all three variables (PU, PEOU & SE) the teacher led context (both L1&2 essay, and L2 exam revision session) yielded the highest median score, in fact scoring 7 on all 3 variables, which was the maximum median score that could be obtained. Although on a whole the median scores across all contexts were positive in relation to all three variables. From the feedback obtained via both the focus group and opened ended questions within the questionnaire the vast majority of students could see the benefit of incorporating BBB software into various teaching contexts within the undergraduate psychology course. Example of comments included Just wanted to say I found the virtual classroom session today extremely helpful and would be grateful if you could ask the other lecturers from other parts of the course to take part. It definitely removes the distance and timing barrier, which should increase attendance. I could ask questions without leaving my flat. Dissemination [Details of any publications, outside presentations, etc, resulting from the project. Dissemination will include a presentation to University colleagues as part of the Learning and Teaching Centre LTDF Seminar Series] A presentation describing the implementation and evaluation of BBB software in undergraduate teaching of psychology was given at the 5 th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference (April 2012) User guides for both students and staff can be accessed via the public resources section of the undergraduate psychology portal, therefore available to all An information session was held for teaching staff from various departments to attend, with the purpose of highlighting the benefits of using the BBB software in various teaching contexts. An abstract outlining the project has been published in the 5 th annual Learning and Teaching Conference journal which was presented to all delegates in attendance as well as being made available to view online. Future benefits [a brief statement of how the project outcomes will be used in the future or developed further. This should address sustainability.] As further developments and improvements are made to the software it will help eliminate the small technical glitches that remain, which in turn will remove any performance restrictions and allow BBB software to be used in more complex formats.

6 Links A record and playback option is currently available at this time and only requires integration with Matterhorn software, which would add to the flexibility already offered by BBB software to both the teaching staff and students in a variety of context. It is possible that BBB software will be accessible via smart phones and tablets in the very near future, as work is already underway to develop an android client, and talk is already underway about following this with an ios client, which again will add to the flexibility BBB has to offer. Further dissemination of the user guides as a resource for other Schools in addition to Psychology.