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Newcastle University - Use of a VLE to deliver a 'regional' medical school

Authors: G. Skelly (gordon.skelly@ncl.ac.uk), P.R. Kyle (p.r.kyle@newcastle.ac.uk)

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: technology-enhanced learning environments

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: medicine dentistry and veterinary medicine

 

Case study tags: use of specialist softwarean effect on learningan effect on exam resultsan effect on student personal developmentstudent satisfaction with e-learninginnovation in learning and teachingan influence on educational researchstaff satisfaction with e-learning,staff personal developmenta positive effect on recruitmenta positive effect on retentionan influence on policyuse of resourcesmodifications to learning spacesmanagement of learning assetsan effect on social equality

 

Background & Context

 

Why did you use this e-learning approach?

 

The original concept behind the Newcastle LSE (Learning Support Environment) was to collate learning resources and organise them in a format based around the medical programme structure. This would allow both students and staff to identify what learning outcomes were being met. The students could identify what they should be learning and the staff could take an overview of what was being taught: providing complete transparency. A virtual learning environment (VLE) was chosen as the user group was spread over a geographically diverse area. In order to achieve the above the LSE had to provide communication tools for staff and/or students.

 

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

 

The medical degree programme has, at any one time, over 1700 students and 1600 contributing staff. The first two years (Phase I) are based at the medical school. There is a joint programme with Durham University, where a smaller group of students complete Phase I at Queen's Campus, Stockton; joining Newcastle University for the final three years (Phase II). During Phase II, students are dispersed over a wide area in the North East of England where their training and administration are provided by four regional clinical centres called 'base units'. This means that throughout almost all of Phase II, students are not physically located on campus.

 

Before the LSE, resources were completely unstructured and in some cases non-existent. Everything was paper-based. Information was often disseminated via paper notices or sometimes email. During Phase II students had to return to the medical school for a day a week to collect resources.

 

The introduction of the LSE was a complete change from previous methods of working/organisation. As with any large change in the workplace, we expected initial staff resistance and a slow take up. There were concerns regarding adequate access to computers to log on to the LSE, especially on NHS sites, it was expected that on occasion NHS staff would be given priority over students. Dial-up connections were still widely used, even on NHS sites, implying restrictions on the type of material that could be presented (e.g. minimal video).

 

What was the design?

 

The design of the LSE was based on the formal course structure, as defined in the programme's 'study guides'. Using this approach the learning activities were already defined. The 'study guides' are written by curriculum officers and module leaders. The LSE provides detailed curriculum information customised for year-group and calendar year.

 

The fundamental philosophies in the design and integration of the LSE are: 1) that data is only entered once, ideally by the people responsible for it, and re-used as far as possible throughout the LSE and associated systems. 2) The focus is on developing online, user-friendly, content management systems that are accessible to non-technical administrators. 3) That as far as possible, non-technical users are empowered to independently manage their content online. 4) That internet technologies based on open-source software be used to the widest extent possible. 5) Presentation and content is customised for the individual, depending on their role.

 

A development group was formed, containing up to a maximum of eight people (including administration staff, teaching staff and developers). Limiting the size of the team maintained cohesion and the design process. The team was diverse in their experience, but there were three core members contributing the majority of the code, with others called upon as necessary. The majority of the team were software developers.

 

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

 

The original version of the LSE was rolled out as an additional tool to the working habits, allowing users to acclimatise to the system at their own pace. Increasingly, administration tools were added to the LSE, making it a valuable information source and thus quickly increasing the user group size.

 

The aim was to provide a system that was intuitive to use and self-supporting in practice. The LSE has grown to be such an integral and embedded component to the degree programme that it is assessed within the structured course feedback evaluation system (which is now delivered via the LSE).

 

Students have a timetabled 'hands-on' session on how to use the LSE, at the start of the first term. It is noted that with every subsequent year group, the students have been increasingly technologically aware. Staff are also given formal training in the form of open training sessions and/or one-to-one meetings/demonstrations. The library staff were not formally trained but they contributed to the LSE content via the reading lists, printed in the study guides.

 

As expected, staff uptake was an issue. The initial phase was dominated by 'champions' who were vital in the system's success. Students were grateful for the LSE and applied pressure to other staff members to contribute. An unexpected problem was that of a conceptual barrier - non-technical staff members, at first, could not understand the service the LSE could provide. Some 'real life' scenarios were vital in conveying the facilities on offer. The NHS networks did provide many problems. Slow connections, inequity of access and security restrictions meant the roll out was slow. As the Trusts benefited from new networks and more computers, so did the LSE.

 

Technology Used

 

What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you?

 

There was no institutional strategy and thus the development team was free to do as they wished. Pedagogically, the online content had to be 100% equivalent to the paper 'study guides', maintaining consistency.

 

Initially, content was delivered through 'Windows Help Documents', then using an internet approach built around a web application development technology, ZOPE, for rapid scalable prototype development.

 

Tangible Benefits

 

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

 

  • significant improvements in student learning (for example, assessment performance, pass rates); Student learning has been greatly supported by the introduction of the LSE. All learning resources are uploaded, allowing students to access the content 24/7 from any computer connected to the internet. By providing access to resources in the framework of the 'course structure' guides, students have huge scope for independent learning: they can visualise the numerous strands running throughout the course and prepare/study accordingly.
  • significant improvement in student satisfaction with the learning process; As part of the degree programme evaluation, the LSE consistently receives extremely high feedback: 80-90% of students have rated it highly.
  • significant improvement in retention rates; The tutee information available on the LSE allows tutors to track their students' progress and pre-empt any problems that they may present. Ultimately, this will improve retention rates as students will get the necessary support.
  • significant improvement in staff satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, e-learning; After initial slow take up, all staff are now fully on board. The services and feedback provided has motivated staff to improve their resources. They create their own material and share it via this alternative venue.
  • significant improvement in staff's ability to deliver e-learning; Staff are now empowered to upload, manage and maintain their own material. The embedded communication tools have furthered the staff's independence.
  • significant improvement in staff performance more generally; The LSE has provided unprecedented levels of support to widely dispersed staff. Widening participation targets have been achieved by providing an equal service across four satellite sites. The space restrictions at Newcastle University have therefore been relieved as competition for rooms and cluster space has been lowered, whilst maintaining equity.
  • any actual savings in terms of costs, time and resources. Huge reduction in students returning to medical school for administration purposes. Thus clinical staff also do not have to return to Newcastle for teaching/administration. Electronic forms have replaced many paper ones, saving money and resources. There has been a significant reduction in paper processing, e.g. allocating students to hospitals, electives and student selected components.

 

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

 

In some ways the LSE has been a victim of its own success. Each new feature released expands the horizons of the users resulting in them demanding more advanced features. Having on occasion, overloaded the University servers due to high usage at peak times, a separate server had to be purchased. Associated with this are the obvious maintenance and staff costs.

 

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

 

Before the LSE existed, CAL delivery was very much a cottage industry. The Faculty of Medicine was committed to moving away from this restrictive framework, thus the LSE was perfectly poised to accommodate this change. It further facilitated a collaborative, cross-institutional environment (including Sheffield, Nottingham, Northumbria and Edinburgh; as part of the TLTP3-86 funded initiative) which has become completely embedded into the Medical degree programme.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Summary and Reflection

 

The LSE has been a massive success. It has unified the distributed staff and students providing them with the information and resources that they require 24/7. It has achieved this without altering the pedagogical aims of the course, instead providing a framework to realise and evaluate those aims.

 

In a world where change is constant, it was an essential design philosophy of the LSE to be sufficiently flexible to support this. Any similar system must be able to provide both historical and current information in their relevant context. The system must meet the everyday, microscopic objectives of staff and students alongside the pedagogical data. In our experience this is best achieved via a portal page.

 

In the future we will be focusing on a reusable portal objects ("portlets") approach in order to provide a customised experience for the user. (Including Web 2.0 integration technologies, ATOM publishing and RSS feeds and aggregation.)

 

Project planning has benefitted hugely from the introduction of a new LSE focus group. It consists of staff (administration and teaching), students and software developers. In an attempt to reduce administration costs (both time and money) we will continue to develop tools to empower people to manage their own material.

 

Further Evidence

 

'Student learning has been greatly supported by the introduction of the LSE. All learning resources are uploaded, allowing students to access the content 24/7 from any computer connected to the internet. By providing access to resources in the framework of the 'course structure' guides, students have huge scope for independent learning: they can visualise the numerous strands running throughout the course and prepare/study accordingly.'

 

'As part of the degree programme evaluation, the LSE consistently receives extremely high feedback: 80-90% of students have rated it highly.'

 

'The tutee information available on the LSE allows tutors to track their students' progress and pre-empt any problems that may present. Ultimately, this will improve retention rates as students will get the necessary support.'