Using Blackboard for blended learning Delivering the Geography curriculum at Kingston College This talk will give an overview of the assessment features of Blackboard. Grading is covered in a separate Netskills training module – "Blackboard 6: Student Management, Grading and Other Issues". © Netskills, University of Newcastle Copyright in the whole and every part of this Courseware whether in the form of a written manual,document, software program, service or otherwise belongs to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne ("the Owner") and may not be used, sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person other than in accordance with the terms of the Owner's Licence Agreement or otherwise without the prior written consent of the Owner. All use of this material is governed by the Owner's Standard Licence Agreement together with the appropriate Schedule. The following are available: A Standard Licence Schedule to cover all use including all for-profit use by any type of organisation and all use by non-educational establishments An Educational Licence Schedule for not-for-profit internal use only by a recognised educational establishment The Netskills logo and this copyright notice must be included in any copy or adaptation. Netskills is a trademark of Netskills, University of Newcastle Blackboard Regional User Group Transforming Institutions – Transforming Learning

Outline Blackboard and curriculum delivery Kingston College implementation of the Blackboard virtual learning environment to promote learning and teaching in A-level Geography Blackboard and curriculum delivery Advantages and disadvantages Why use Blackboard for A-level Geography? Teaching geography online Key functions and their applications Evaluating online delivery Lessons for the future

Blackboard and A-level Geography A range of functions… Learning materials Multimedia delivery Assessment Communication & collaboration Tracking, monitoring and user management Blackboard implemented at Kingston College in 2001 Key component of ILT strategy Still exploring most productive use!

Why use Blackboard? Advantages Provides a suite of integrated tools for enhancing learning Provides balance between ease of use and flexibility Simple to create and publish content Supports students working at their own, place, time and pace (Relatively) easy to create interactive learning resources Consistent interface Supports a range of teaching & learning methods Disadvantages Not all students have access to networked PCs Preparing and delivering VLE-based learning activities takes time Designing high-quality e-learning resources and activities is difficult Students take a while to adjust to new ways of working Online technology does not, in itself, lead to effective learning or teaching

Why use Blackboard in A-level Geography? Engage students and stimulate learning Caters for a range of learning styles Provides structure and coherence Multi-sensory and interactive opportunities Decision made to step-up application of Blackboard from a supplementary to a focal resource for 2003-4 and further Extend this 2004-5. Heavy use during 2005-6.

Teaching geography online AQA A-Level Specification A A2 component Replaced a single 1 hour session each week Students required to spend 2 hours online Support… Induction and review sessions Fieldwork Documentation

Organising the course Discussion forums Main areas for learning content Discussion forums Links to gradebook, glossary etc Weekly online lesson link Induction activities etc

Accessing the materials Interactive scheme or work Announcements Tasks How-to guide…

Using Blackboard Key functions Announcements Text Images Web links Tasks Learning Units Content packages Multimedia Tests Surveys Discussion Board Assignments

Discussion Board

Tests and assignments

Evaluating online delivery What worked well Greater flexibility for students and staff Framework for learning Short self-contained activities Re-use of the materials What worked less well Technical problems Navigation Superficial engagement of some students Type of interaction Feedback

The future of Geography online? There is a role for e-learning with 16-19 year olds As a supplement to face-to-face lessons New opportunities are provided Geography can benefit from these Students need lots of guidance, support and encouragements Don’t make assumptions about skills High quality materials and presentation are critical Technical developments will encourage greater efficiency, versatility and interaction