Research into practice: evaluation of Skills Hub content and implications for library staff development in the creation of video OERs

Research into practice: evaluation of Skills Hub content and implications for library staff development in the creation of video OERs

Jonas House, Georgina Dimmock

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14234/elehe.v7i1.89

Abstract

The University of Northampton Skills Hub is an online open-access repository of academic skills resources whose primary content is a body of short video open educational resources (OERs) created in-house by staff. To ensure OER quality and to identify staff development needs, the Skills Hub: Review, Redesign, Rebuild project was conducted. The project assessed the quality of fifty of the Skills Hub’s video OERs by inviting fifteen reviewers from different user groups to critically assess the resources. The results were analysed thematically and then considered in relation to the extant literature on the creation of multimedia educational resources and online OERs. Four main practical categories required attention in the creation of future video OERs: technical, presentation, structural and content. These four categories fed into four superordinate categories regarding cognition and reception of OERs: comprehension, concentration, information retention and professionalism. Practitioner recommendations are made for video OER producers, and the findings are situated in relation the principles of multimedia learning theory.

Keywords

OERs; Skills hub; video; staff development; library; academic skills; multimedia learning; educational psychology

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14234/elehe.v7i1.89

The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index

Blended learning and postgraduate skills: rethinking MA History

Blended learning and postgraduate skills: rethinking MA History

Matthew McCormack, Natalie Hanley-Smith

Abstract

This study focuses on the implications of blended learning for taught postgraduate education. It takes as its focus the pilot year of the MA History at the University of Northampton, which had been redesigned to blend online and face-to-face delivery. By employing a student researcher to canvass students’ views, the project evaluates the implications of the delivery mode for the specific skills associated with the discipline of History. As well as evaluating this particular programme, the project uses it as a case study to develop a transferable framework for blended learning. The article argues that both online and classroom delivery can develop the key skills associated with postgraduate study in History, but in significantly different ways, so combining them in an effective blend can offer a pedagogical enhancement.

Keywords

Blended learning; e-learning; postgraduate

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14234/elehe.v7i1.96


The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index

Social media platforms as educational interfaces - considering the way forward for blended learning

Social media platforms as educational interfaces - considering the way forward for blended learning

Kelly Louise Preece

Abstract

Despite their pervasiveness, Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are subject to a number of criticisms of their efficacy as platforms for blended learning (Weller, 2006). This paper considers the use of social media platform Padlet as an alternative educational interface through evaluation of an intervention-based case-study. Focus groups were conducted with the student cohort, identifying a number of recurring themes that form the main body of this paper: visuality and clarity of the interface, autonomy over learning, students as co-producers and critical reflection. These themes address the intervention itself, and acknowledge the limitations of the research by proposing potential developments. The paper concludes by drawing together questions for further research, and notably reflects on whether it is more pertinent to address the way we use educational interfaces, rather than the interfaces themselves, in considering ‘the way forward’ for blended learning in Higher Education 2018.

Keywords

Blended Learning; Student Experience

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14234/elehe.v7i1.95


The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index

Editorial Vol 7

http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/article/view/101/84

The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index

New edition of ELEHE out

Vol 7, No 1 (2015)

Table of Contents

Editorial

Editorial	PDF
Alejandro Armellini	1-2

Articles

Blended learning and postgraduate skills: rethinking MA History	PDF
Matthew McCormack, Natalie Hanley-Smith	3-14

Social media platforms as educational interfaces - considering the way forward for blended learning	PDF
Kelly Louise Preece	15-28

Research into practice: evaluation of Skills Hub content and implications for library staff development in the creation of video OERs	PDF
Jonas House, Georgina Dimmock	29-45

ISSN: 2041-3122The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index