The Blended Learning Project

Session Objective  Introduce the Blended Learning Project  Explore and experience SOLA packs that have already been created > Highlight the structure of a SOLA pack  Introduce the SOLA pack Template  Understand the process for requesting templates  Discuss and agree next steps

Overview of the Blended Learning Project The roll out process  Jan to March - train early adopters in pilot phases  March – May, review pilot projects  April to September – Train and support curriculum teams across the College  September – Embed the use of SOLA across all Curriculum areas

Overview of the Blended Learning Project Why blended learning?  Watch June Durant's Video SOLA – Blended Learning SOLA – Blended Learning

Explore SOLA packs 1.Login to the VLE 2.Explore and experience an existing SOLA Pack course - SOLA Pack ExampleSOLA Pack Example 3.Note SOLA module structure >Header  Introduction >Main body  Activity  Assessment >Final Section  Feedback

How to create a SOLA pack  Look at a SOLA template  Explore ideas for a SOLA resource >Discuss with a colleague to explore and agree a learning topic that might lend itself to SOLA learning  Be descriptive use labels to explain the what's whys and how's Wherever possible use resources that are available already. A subject specialist librarian can support you with this

Requesting a SOLA pack Open a new Change Request with the IT Service desk.IT Service desk You will need to provide the following information:  Your name, telephone extension number and address  The Directorate you come under  Subject Specialist Area:  The course title of the SOLA Pack  The name of any tutors that need to access the SOLA Pack  The course code your students are enrolled on  The title (as it appears in the VLE) of the course you want to link the SOLA Pack to.

Synopsis of Moodle Tools – Collaboration Moodle provides three tools for collaboration Wikis, Forums and Glossaries

WIKIs The wiki activity module enables participants to add and edit a collection of web pages. A history of previous versions of each page in the wiki is kept, listing the edits made by each participant. Wikis have many uses, such as  For group lecture notes or study guides  For members of a group to plan a meeting agenda together  For students to collaboratively author an online book, creating content on a topic set by their tutor  Wikis can also be used to assess student engagement and understanding

Forums The forum activity module enables participants to have discussions Forums have many uses, such as  Continuing face to face discussions to support SOLA pack learning  To Provide extension activities to challenge your students  Allow students to discuss the SOLA pack to help each other understand the content

Glossary The glossary activity module enables participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary, or to collect and organise resources or information. A teacher can allow comments on entries. Entries can also be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Glossaries have many uses, such as  A collaborative bank of key terms  A ‘handy tips’ resource of best practice in a practical subject  A sharing area of useful videos, images or sound files  A revision resource of facts to remember

Assessment Tools The assessment tools in Moodle are Assignments, Turnitin, Journals, WIKIs and Quizzes

Assignments & Turnitin The assignment activity module enables a teacher to communicate tasks, collect work and provide grades and feedback. Students can submit any digital content (files), such as  Word-processed documents  Spread sheets  Images  Audio and video clips  Text directly into the text editor. (No need for third party products e.g. Office) Turnitin allows written assignments to be checked for plagiarism

Journals Although Journals are best used as a reflective tool tutors are also able to grade and provide feedback on its content Uses for journals could be  Feedback from students about a course or subject  Reflective journals  Demonstrate understanding of a subject

Quizzes The quiz activity enables a teacher to create quizzes comprising questions of various types, including multiple choice, matching, short-answer and numerical. The teacher can choose when and if hints, feedback and correct answers are shown to students. Quizzes may be used  As course exams  As mini tests for reading assignments or at the end of a topic  As exam practice using questions from past exams  To deliver immediate feedback about performance  For self-assessment

Student Monitoring Moodle provides reports for course activity. The reports can show  Overall logs – Showing times and dates of access to resources  Activity Reports – Shows how many views you have had per resource  Course Participation – Shows which students have viewed each resource  Activity Completion – Shows what activity each student has completed  Statistics – Shows a graph illustrating user activity

Training and Development for Teachers and SOLA Assessors Training SessionDelivered By Introduction to SOLA (90 mins)The Blended Learning Team Finding and using Open Educational Resources (60 mins) LRC Staff Moodle assessment tools (60 mins)The Blended Learning Team Moodle collaborative tools (60 mins)The Blended Learning Team Monitoring learner activity on Moodle (30 mins The Blended Learning Team

Close The Blended Learning Delivery Team Neil Spaxman, Chris Hutton, Wes Sykes, Michelle Brearley, Andrew Norfolk, Philippa Firth, Richard Brook and Corrine Scandling Discuss and agree next steps

Conclusion  Discuss in your team how you could use the tools described in these slides  What tools would you like further support with in your next three sessions  General discussion about blended learning  Blended Learning Project VLE Blended Learning Project VLE