Not quite as planned

Well, the referencing session was a challenge - nothing to do with the activities and the students. One of the partitions had jammed so most students were crammed into 2/3 of the space, with the overflow in a separate room. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse the microphone batteries died, and there was not a spare set to be found anywhere. [I observed a colleague on Wednesday - still no spares, and still no moveable partition. Is it a case of "out of sight, out of mind" with IS and CADQ now we're a few weeks into the pilot?]. There was never a more pressing need for the microphone, as we had to relay information to students behind the partition. Someone, not sure who (it may have been the CADQ man) appeared with batteries fairly quickly, but only the two needed for the microphone - no spares. This was another joint session with Sian, so we had a true double act as one of us had to keep popping next door to make sure those students were engaging with the tasks and weren't neglected. At one stage it sounded as though I had an echo as we were feeding back on the referencing task, but were slightly out of sync with each other. Despite the set-backs (I forgot about the drips from the ceiling and the latecomers) we covered everything we'd planned and the students engaged well with the tasks again. I was really pleased to see the majority of groups brought along a book to reference. Some brought a printed article, but most found one online in the session. I was supposed to gather feedback but felt a bit frazzled by the end of the session and ran out of time for this, but will ask for some next Monday as my manager is keen to see if the students felt the same concerns we had about the session. I suspect not, as I didn't hear any grumbles, and they all seemed to get on with the activities. We had success with one of the SCALE-UP objectives as, by the time I was able to get to one student who wanted help, her group had sussed out the answer themselves - result! I used Apple TV for the first time. It was very slow initially, but the promise/threat of showing the students' work kept them focused. It was so tempting to chicken out of trying out a new technology but I was determined not to. I'll feel more confident in using it again now. On reflection, I don't think Sian and I appeared to be as fraught as we felt. I certainly hope we kept our composure. A sense of humour definitely helps under such circumstances. I'm looking forward to my last session running like a dream!

So far so good?

I continue to have my little chats with students on an informal basis whenever I can to try and sus out their feelings about the Scale Up experience.

So far, top of the list when it comes to the moans is, you guessed it, the use of Macs instead of PCs.

The unfamiliar key board and desktop is causing a lot of lag for some in the classroom tasks and students respond fairly grumpily, but they are getting on with it. It just seems a shame that they have to "get on with it" when other solutions were available. In my view teaching equipment really needs to be selected by teachers (and students) not by technical staff.

I also still maintain that providing a simple laminated card with a SHORT list of gestures and essential info would have helped enormously. So I have now made my own which I will take to class with me. There will be one per table and it will be based on the most common questions I get asked as I patrol the classroom.

The other moan seems to be around pacing. I have been conscious a couple of times that students working on tasks in their separate groups tend to do so at different speeds (not really so surprising). This can mean that some feel left behind as the class moves to the next activity whilst others get bored, tune out and start to check their Facbeook updates.

I think what we need to plan here is a basic plus an extension activity. The basic one is something everyone can accomplish in the time allowed, the extension activity could be achieved by the quicker students in the hour, but is certainly do-able by everyone in their personal study time.

An example of this came from this week's session run by Sharon where she asked students to find two articles, then answer a series of questions about these in a Discussion Board post. Some managed to find just one in the time available; others did both; some posted during the allotted hour and some did so after the workshop.

When you work in this way (inquiry/group based learning) you have to let go of the need to control pace - and of the fantasy that you can determine what people will learn in a given space of time. Standing up at the front and lecturing do we imagine that every student is understanding every point to the same extent? That some don't drift off or get confused? Of course we don't - that's why we set reading tasks or upload lecture notes on to the VLE. So we have to accept that groups will work on tasks at different rates and allow for that.

For me, working in this environment - and taking a more inquiry-based learning approach - has meant letting go of control in a number of ways. The noise level for one is something you have to simply accept if you want 12 groups of 9 students to be working actively on a task for the best part of the hour.

When I have spoken to students about their experience of the environment and the group based activities, they seem to have found it strange to begin with but then come to accept it and when they are actively engaged in their group tasks, seem to be able to blot out what is going on around them.

For the teacher (well, for me) this also takes some getting used to. I generally feel less exhausted by the end of the session now than I did at the start of term and more likely to be satisfied with the outcomes. I find the noise less of a problem and can similarly focus on a specific student or table as I do my rounds and am able to use the mic to get the attention of the whole group when I need to. I am becoming more comfortable with the technology and consequently a bit braver in the things I ask the class to attempt (as I know what works, for example).

One tip I have learnt is to plan the group tasks by having them written up as a web page on the VLE with any links they are going to need on the same page, but opening in a new tab. This makes it easier for them to follow the tasks without having to go back and forth between different sections of the learning room (for example - if I need them to make a post to the Discussion Board, I simply put the link to that Discussion Board on the same page as the instructions.) I also try to avoid paper handouts if I can, unless again it helps to avoid the problem of navigating between multiple pages. (For the level three students, who are more familiar with the VLE, this isn't quite such a problem).

So yes - so far, so very interesting, but there is much to think about in this project.  In particular, the need to adapt teaching and learning to the students' level of knowledge and skill, to the physical environment, to the VLE and to the technology.

Attendance

Just to make me feel better - here are some statistics from the attendance registers in other Level 1 modules in the first 3 weeks:

Module A - (large lecture) 78% attendance Week 1 to  66% attendance Week 2

Module B -  (small seminars) 82% attendance Week 1 to 71% attendance Week 2
                    (large lecture)  72% attendance Week 1 to 63% attendance Week 2

Our module - (Scale Up) -  81% attendance Week 1 to 66% attendance Week 2
                                         
             

Welcome to our new Digital Assistants!

Sarah and Holly were appointed this week as the student mentors/digital assistants who will be supporting the Changing the Learning Landscape project to embed digital literacy in the curriculum.

We discovered by accident that both are experienced Mac users which will be a great boon for us tutors as well as the students.

The other great thing about them is that both have been through this module themselves just last year, albeit not in the Scale Up format.

In truth, most of the students are managing OK with the Macs but do occasionally suffer frustrations. It's fun asking them to Tweet with a hashtag when the keyboard doesn't have a # !!!!!!!! (It's Alt+3 if you must know) or when CTRL C/ CTRLV doesn't copy and paste (it's command instead). We have been helpfully provided with a cheat sheet  in a long manual which lives in the cupboard, and there are videos on Apple's website to explain the gestures used on the touchpad, but in the middle of a class you really don't have time to find these things.

The students themselves worked out the Command C thing (trial and error?) and Googled the # solution. So some good digital skills in evidence anyway :)

Numbers attending have dropped over the last three weeks. On the one hand this is fairly normal but on the other it is worrying that we are not seeing the promised increase in retention and engagement. It's impossible to know if we are doing something wrong without being able to talk to those who haven't attended. I think we also need to compare attendance from last year, though I have a feeling 2012 registers have been deleted from the VLE..... Maybe I can compare my registers with other current modules instead?

What it does mean is that the small Friday workshop can be integrated into the larger Monday session from November. On the one hand I will miss the smaller more intimate discussions in the small Friday group, but getting everyone in the same room will ensure a consistent experience across the year group.

Week 3 - phew!

I think the session went well, apart from a few teething problems. The students seemed to know what they were doing with the Macs, so that side was much smoother than I'd anticipated. Thanks, Jane, for getting them going during the first two sessions! Sian and I quickly decided we needed the microphone after all, after foolishly thinking we could manage without. It was fine when the students were silent, but even a low hum of noise easily drowned our voices. Feedback to the SCALE-UP project team - invest in more microphones. We could have done with one each, and I'm sure we not the only ones team teaching. Jane was brilliant in passing on tips for improving our delivery - have all links for resources the students are going to use set up in NOW; wander round with the mic when getting feedback. I was really impressed with how the students listened to the activity briefings and how they seemed to engage with the tasks. It was quite difficult to check they all did what we asked, as it took ages to get round them all (and there were only 52 in today's session). It felt as though the room was almost full so I was surprised at the number. The students seemed to enjoy using Padlet, and picked it up pretty quickly. A few of them were happy to engage with the feedback discussions, and they all listened, even if they felt a bit shy in shouting out answers. One of my colleagues who was observing was impressed by the fact the students answered our questions, so that was good positive feedback. I didn't have time to chat to the new Digital Assistants at the end, which was a shame as I'm interested to know what they thought of it all. I'll find out when I see them on Wednesday. All in all, it was enjoyable. I felt shattered afterwards, and my feet ache, but I feel positive about the experience. I felt as though the students really did take control of their learning.

Week 2 - Reality bites

...so this week I planned things better and simplified the task.

I discovered with the smaller seminar group on Friday that the students really like Twitterfall so I used that to gather responses to the task alongside the Discussion Board. I also managed to get Apple TV working (though my first attempt didn't work - trying with a different laptop I fared better) and one or two started to ask me to display their work.

I still need to go slower.... what looks like a really simple and straightforward task to me took a bit of explaining, but once they got the hang of it, they were off. I am so grateful for the wireless mic when I need to stop the chatter and give a bit of information/instruction.

I really like that I am not tied to the lectern and can circulate around the class. Everyone seems to be pretty much on task most of the time - and generally having fun doing it. They are also really supporting one another. Working single handed across 12 tables, I usually find that by the time I get to the last raised hand they have found a way through their difficulty. I will though be very grateful when the student mentors start (selecting today! Yay!)

The technological problems are there - we had at least 10 Macs that had not been logged off so had to be hard-rebooted (switch it off and then on again, basically). One of the screens had shorted and the sound was consequently too low when I showed a video - but IS were round in a flash (no pun intended) and set it all up again for me. However there was still no audio. Two laptops are missing and I have notified CADQ - not sure if they are being repaired, have been borrowed or stolen :(

So today was an exercise in reviewing and protecting our digital identity. I used this great resource on Digital Identity for Health Professionals  which I can really recommend. Students took individual case studies and worksheets and concluded by presenting three action points they would recommend to others. They seemed engaged and interested in the topic and curious to Google themselves or check their Facebook privacy etc. I think it was a far more engaging session than would have been possible had I simply stood up at the front and lectured them about the perils of social media.

I have also been really impressed by the way students have engaged beyond the classroom, posting their presentations and discussion threads, Tweeting their thoughts. In order not to exclude students who are not on Twitter, I have collected Tweets into a Storify page and posted this on the Learning Room.

Scaled down

I ran the same Research and Professional Practice session with 25 students on Friday in an "overspill" seminar we have had to add because our course over recruited. 25-30 is a normal seminar group size for me.

What a difference I experienced!  Quieter for a start, much easier to wander around and chat to groups on the four tables; I was also better prepared and remembered to set up the Twitterfall screen and even tried out Apple TV (worked with one lap top but not another...)

Students got on with the tasks without much hesitation and even began tweeting their responses in some cases. It was possible to chat and respond to questions without having to dash across the room to hear them or switch on the mic to give an answer.

A bit of me now wants to get my whole module reorganised into 2 groups of around 50 rather than try and run the big room with 90 students on Mondays, but I am also determined to try the large group experience at least for a little while longer, with my Friday small group almost as a "control".
Comparing the two experiences (as student and as student) will be interesting.

What's the worst that can happen?

The first class in the new teaching and learning environment yesterday was less than smooth...

....and it wasn't the Apple Macs that caused the grief - in fact most students settled in happily to using them and were generally tolerant of the unfamiliar UI . Some had brought their own ipads and laptops too and the wifi stood up to the test.

The main confusion for the students seemed to be in navigating their way through the VLE.

I think firstly I was too ambitious in terms of what I hoped to achieve in a first session with a large group, using unfamiliar equipment and an unfamiliar platform. I could have cut down the material by 2/3 and simplified the tasks.

Secondly, I didn't spend long enough explaining the layout and navigation of the learning room.

Thirdly, I do think that if we had been able to get the student mentors in post from Day One, more general support could have been offered which would have facilitated the process. There was some very welcome technical help available from IS and EDU  for the hardware side of things, but noone on hand who could exlain how the VLE was meant to be used (apart from me - and briefly, Sian).

And what went well?

Well the session was well attended and the group were lively and engaged with one another in attempting to overcome their various problems (and in working on the set questions, to be fair).

I was freed up to be able to circulate around the room and help small groups where necessary. The vast majority were on task and not simply checking their emails. I did also see some groups leave the learning room to do a bit of Googling in order to develop their responses to the tasks. (This is a GOOD thing in my book)

I spoke to a small group of students afterwards to get an immediate response. Their feeling was generally "it was a bit confusing but we'll get used to it".....so no shock horror then.

I do have some regrets about my hubris in thinking I could manage all of this in a class of over 100, but then I remind myself that the aim of Scale Up is to bring student centred, problem based learning to the large class. I also need reminding that bringing technology into the classroom is essential and an urgent priority.  Making changes of such an order is bound to be fraught with difficulties. Afterall is said and done, my big mistake yesterday might not seem much of a mistake at all to others. And I am learning from it. I am going to make some changes to my lesson plans for the coming weeks and I am going to add a screencast to the Learning Room which will explain the navigation.