studynet: what’s new for 05/06

StudyNet: What’s new for 05/06

Paul HudsonLearning Technology Development Unit

Learning and Information Services

University of Hertfordshire

What I’ll be covering….

• Where are we now?

• Why we’re doing it?

• New features

• Where next?

• How you can get involved

• Questions & Answers

I know what you’re thinking…….

StudyNet 2001

• Learning and Teaching Committee initiative building on results of past LTC funded projects

• Exploring ways to use computer systems to provide a virtual space where learning, assessment and interaction can take place in a structured and managed way fully integrated into and linking all university processes and systems

• Hopefully you’ve all logged on.. So you know what we implemented!

StudyNet 2005

• The recent QAA Institutional Audit report commends “the design, development and utilisation of the University’s managed learning environment, StudyNet, which offers outstanding potential for the University’s planned move towards a pedagogy of blended learning”

But why are we doing this?

• We’re not in the distance learning game

• Our students expect face to face contact

• Many staff don’t have the time/experience to re-evaluate their teaching to implement quality distance on-line resources.

So why are we doing this?

Our students expect us to….

in other words….

Do we have a choice?

The on-line society

• Keeping in contact with friends and family

• Banking

• Bills

• Buying goods

• Finding Information

• Music, films, etc

Student expectations….

• Flexible education

• Expectation that services will be on-line (from day 1)

• Greater access to networked technology

• Different expectation of education

The on-line society

Student expectations….

• Flexible education

• Expectation that services will be on-line (from day 1)

• Greater access to networked technology

• Different expectation of education

and students seem to like it

A personal example

• BSc Industrial Design,Brunel UniverstyEgham, Surrey

• Course designed around access to:– lecturers (project advice)– fellow students (groupwork) – facilities (materials labs, electronics labs, workshops,

design studio)

• All students lived on campus for all 4 years

Using us as a test….

• Most students lived 10 miles from campus

• Very few students had cars

• No buses – it’s stockbroker belt!

• University 2 miles from station on top of a 1:5 hill

Change in circumstances….

• Course not changed

• Groupwork and labs groups continued to be based around lecturer’s choices

• Tutorials continued to run late into evening

• Course tutors admitted that the course suffered.

How ‘StudyNet’ would have helped

• Statistics – Access to lecturer who was based on Uxbridge campus

• Engineering Mechanics – Quizzes and discussion forums

• Technical Design – Groupwork

• Design – Groupwork

• Electronics & Materials – Lecture materials

• Mechatronics – Lecture materials on-line.

Where does that leaves us….

• ‘Blended Learning’ – balancing the student’s expectations with pedagogic requirements

• Mix F2F with online.

• Use the bits which work for you

• For me, the best approach is to use online to allow you to maximise contact with your students

• This was always the concept behind StudyNet, we just didn’t give it a fancy name!

Developments in 2004/5

• Faculty and school websites

• Threaded News and Information

• New editor functionality

• StudyNet view for mobile phones

• PDP pilot 1

• Module Problem reporter

Developments 2004/5

• Lots of small changes across the portals and modules– assignments, – group work – FAQs – Quizzes

• What’s new – linked from the StudyNet Help page

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

• ‘Level’ based resources

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

• ‘Level’ based resources

• Admin Forms

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

• ‘Level’ based resources

• Admin Forms

• Polls

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

• ‘Level’ based resources

• Admin Forms

• Polls

• Changes to groupwork(polls, ‘pages’, improved blogs)

What’s new? - Modules

• Student readership

• ‘Level’ based resources

• Admin Forms

• Polls

• Changes to groupwork, (polls, ‘pages’, improved blogs)

• Podcasts

What’s New? - CSS

• Cascading Stylesheets used for layout of modules

• Benefits:– Increased disability support– Support for multiple rendering devices

• Disadvantages:– Patchy implementation of CSS standards– Netscape 4 users not supported

What’s New? - General

• Session based authentication

• Athens authentication through StudyNet

• ‘General Purpose’ Template

• Plagiarism detection (via JISC’s ‘Turnitin’)

• The Hub

• Group work

• Blogs

• Research publications database

• CELT’s PDP

What’s New? - General

‘General Purpose’ Template

What’s New? - General

• Session based authentication

• Athens authentication through StudyNet

• ‘General Purpose’ Template

• Plagiarism detection (via JISC’s ‘Turnitin’)

• The Hub

• Group work

• Blogs

• Research publications database

• CELT’s PDP

What’s New? - General

The Hub

What’s New? - General

• Session based authentication

• Athens authentication through StudyNet

• ‘General Purpose’ Template

• Plagiarism detection (via JISC’s ‘Turnitin’)

• The Hub

• Group work

• Blogs

• Research publications database

• CELT’s PDP

What’s New?: General

Blogs

What’s New? - General

• Session based authentication

• Athens authentication through StudyNet

• ‘General Purpose’ Template

• Plagiarism detection (via JISC’s ‘Turnitin’)

• The Hub

• Group work

• Blogs

• Research publications database

• CELT’s PDP - MAPS

Development for 06/07

• Extension to UH overseas franchised programmes

• Employability

• StudyNet as the University’s intranet for staff and students

Possible developments for 2006/7

• Monitoring and evaluation

• Student support and guidance

• External staff access

• SCORM and learning objects

• Search engine

Other developments

• Single sign on

• Video servers

• Wireless provision in classrooms

• BLU funding for computers

• Cheap audio / video equipment

How you can get involved

• Feedback via our forums

• Contacting ltdu@herts.ac.uk

• Steering Group. (through your faculty champion)

Any Questions?