The development of a tool to enhance online teaching materials By Luke Miller ScHARR (School of Health and Related Research) Acronyms to watch out for... MOPE (My Online Page Editor) MOLE (My Online Learning Environment, aka Bb Learn) VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) DL (Distance Learning) UoS (University of Sheffield)

Current state of affairs! Higher Education Institutions turning to online learning ( + border agency rules) Students wanting to learn more flexibly ScHARR developing 3 new online programmes: IHTAPR (International Health Technology Assessment, Pricing and Reimbursement) Masters of Public Health (Distance Learning) MSc in Advanced Emergency Care Largely based on face-to-face modules Hence, lots of content to convert to online Developed with ‘competitive’ timescale A solution was needed! Background

My Online Page Editor (MOPE) was born Why MOPE? – we like acronyms (MUSE, MOLE etc.) Model of a Learning Technologist putting all content in our VLE was not favoured: A bottleneck Staff should be trained / self-sufficient MOPE developed organically working with academic staff What is it? Content page builder with a pedagogical focus Easy to use – allows staff to build pages of content based on page ‘elements’ Spits out disposable HTML code which can be pasted into the UoS’s VLE as pages in a Learning Module Pages can be previewed Also pages can be saved to your computer Approach

MOPE written in-house, by me, over period of 16 months, using Visual Studio Links to style sheets (.css files) stored centrally in VLE’s Content Collection Approach Runs on any PC connected to shared network drive – not on Macs  (yet)

What can MOPE pages include? Text Images (attributed) Videos / screencasts * Weblinks Glossary terms References Approximate study time Tables Quotation boxes MCQs * Reveal boxes * Tasks / activities * “Tutor says...” boxes * Etc. Results

And what do MOPE pages look like? Here is an example. This one includes: Suggested study time Friendly video welcome from tutor Defined session objectives Introduction A ‘tutor says’ box prompting self-reflection Results

What is so special about MOPE? Pedagogical merits (3 elements) Activity boxes, tutor says & reveal boxes Results

Staff evaluation: 14 staff ‘trained’ to use MOPE Includes academic, administrative and 2 Learning Technologists “most staff are able to use MOPE because it is so intuitive and straightforward.” “the MOPE tool has proved essential. Any member of staff can quickly and easily create highly functional pages with clearly-defined, interactive content” Conclusion Student Evaluation: What students think? What did they ‘like about the modules’? “The availability of the content and method of delivery was excellent, a good mix of approaches and easy to use/read” "Information was presented in a very logical and clear format” “I really enjoyed the course, the content was excellent, the instructions were really clear, and the teaching was fantastic”

The future of MOPE Growing organically (based on student, staff feedback) Where I want to take it (educating staff more esp. creative commons) Expanding into other departments / schools An online version is being developed Can use from anywhere, any browser across any platform Support website under redesign – launches in Jan 2013 Does anybody want to have a trial? If so, express an interest via: Conclusion