Sheffield Hallam learning resources and activities case study

Case Study Cover Sheet - Alan McGauley.doc 

Authors: Alan McGauley and Richard Pountney

1. Why did you use this e-learning approach?

The use of e learning has allowed me to produce a range of material available to the students on a 24/7 basis. The nature of the module Drug use in Context allows a range of teaching material to be used. The use of a dedicated website, paperless module outline, and the Blackboard learning environment alongside email contact and  information alerts provide a robust and flexible format for the student and a rewarding and continuously updatable module for the tutor.

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

Drug Use in Context is a Level 6 Module offered in the School of Social Science and Law within the faculty of Society and Development. It is an optional module for a wide range of social science, criminologist and Law students at SHU and was taken by 88 students in 2007. It has been a very successful module which has attracted a high level of student choice and engagement. The module is a cross-disciplinary one between politics and psychology and has used a range of innovatory techniques to engage the students with the academic content of the teaching. The unit takes as its main focus debates and issues relating to illegal drug use. The context of illegal drug use is examined in relation to a wide range of issues and perspectives. The unit is designed to engage students with topical debates and discourses in relation to drug use.The focus on context provides a framework that links key components of the course.

The unit is delivered through a series of lectures and seminars. Specific features include the introduction of material in semester 1 from economics, globalization studies, contemporary geopolitics and sociology and the criminal justice system. In semester 2 students focus on treatment regimes and on context and understanding the place and meaning of drug misuse. Resources used will include texts on illegal drug issues, policy reports, socio-economic data, political research, and web-based resources. The key skills students will have to develop include communication, presentation, developing forms of argument linked to policy development and the use of extensive online research materials.

The relative lack of easily available contemporary published sources was an initial problem for this module and led to the widespread use of online and multimedia sources. Before the use of the online learning environment (Blackboard) the module used a website instead of a paper based module guide. The website used extensive hyperlinks that worked well. The module in 2006/7 is now paperless and the assessments are completed online with the exception on the final seen examination paper.

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

The module uses the Blackboard virtual learning environment, email, and a range of multimedia sources alongside lectures and seminars by guest speakers. Contemporary research and real case study material is also available online.

4. What was the learning design?

The e-learning model was designed by the module tutor specifically with the students needs in mind and is a blend of face-to-face and online. This draws on Lave's situated learning that posits that knowledge needs to be presented in authentic contexts and that learning requires social interaction and collaboration. The availability of a range of relevant material underlines the contemporary and real-world nature of the work. As such the module was designed to be multimedia-based and interactive and the rationale is to engage through cultural reference and to allow students to contribute their own material and experiences to develop a community of practice.

This final year module is very popular and involves a wide age range, with a higher number of mature students than other modules, many of whom aim to work in the field of substance misuse, the police, or regeneration. They express a wish to develop a portfolio of work in this area and to understand the current illegal drugs policy issues. The activities in the module aim to meet these needs: one task asks stduents to work in groups to design a marketing strategy for a new drug and this is selected by other students in a 'Big Brother' type vote. Real-life material is drawn from widely used and culturally accepted sites such as YouTube. In this way learners are encouraged to challenge the accepted norms: one example of this is to debate the legalisation of heroin.

The elements of e learning have improved each year as the module tutor has become more skilled in its use and as more resources have become available. Next year's teaching for example will make more use of Youtube type resources which have not previously been used. In the future the university will be more involved in this process through enhanced technical support that can only improve the overall standards of e learning in this module.

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

The e-learning approach for the Drug use in Context module has been developed over the past six years by the module leader.  There was iniitially very little wider support used during this time. Student feedback in end-of-semester evaluations comment on the quality and usefulness of the various e-learning elements used  and have highlighted the students' positive attitude towards this method of teaching. Additional evidence is the heavy use of the website and the number of hits on the Blackboard site. Differences in the degree of take-up by students has been noted and confidence in the use of ICT appears to be a strong factor. Issues to do with the reliability of the system and the limitations of the university e-learning infrastructure and specific teaching rooms have been problems that are gradually being overcome.

6. What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

• The use of e-learning has produced significant improvements in student learning with a significant number of first and upper second class performances in the assessment of this module (rising from 5% in 2002 to 10% in 2007: note the average of students achieving first across all modules is 3%).

• The method of assessment allows the motivated student to perform to the level of their academic ability. The ability to use a range of material in their own time and in their own environment has created more and deeper learning and therefore a significant improvement in student satisfaction with the learning process. One student comments in the module evaluation: '... what I have found in this module is the level of support available and the knowledge and enthusiasm that shine through'.

• The amount of material and its contemporary nature has improved the students view of the usefulness of the module for career development. Increased academic interest has helped create significant retention rates throughout the two seminars of this module: previously attendance levels would be expected to drop by 25% at this stage of their final year but this is not the case in this module.
   
• The use of e-learning has given the two staff responsible for the module increased control over the process and has allowed the opportunity to frequently update material and communicate regularly with the students individually and collectively. The module co-tutor comments: ' ... initially being unfamiliar in using e-learning, I now find it is second nature to put material on the VLE and I can really see the benefits of this approach'. Teaching staff's ability to deliver e-learning has largely been self developed and motivated but in the future a considerable amount of technical expertise has been made available to continue to improve e learning in this module by the faculty.
   
• There has been significant improvement in staff performance more generally by working smarter and reducing the need for mundane duties such as photocopying. The use of online assessment has also resulted in efficiency gains: this is estimated to be a reduction of about 5-10 hours in preparation time (although this is partly off-set by the time needed to prepare email alerts etc).
   
• There has been general increased performance towards departmental and/or institutional strategic targets,  module recruitment, and retention rates.
   
• Savings in printing postage and administration by e learning and online assessment are now being realised. This year 88 students took the module and before the introduction of e-learning printed material was considerable (module handbook / guide of 40 pages, Email alerts 2 per week with attached articles of 10 pages, and 4 or 5 reports / publications of about 200 pages resulting in a total print run of some 15000 pages - at 2p per page this is an estimated cost of £300 each year)

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

The full development costs of this module needs to acknowledge the initial, front-loaded development time of about 70 hours. Also the maintenance of such a information-heavy appraoch is 2-3 hours per week for putting resources onto the VLE. The transfer of print to online has required learners to adapt onscreen reading skills, but for some students who prefer to print out themselves there is a perception that this a transfer of the financial costs from the university to the student (and that they are paying twice!).

The aim of using real-world, culturally referenced materials and sources does occasionally throw up copyright issues: this is being addressed with the help and advice of expert institution information advisers.

There is still a level of resistance to the use of e-learning and this can be seen in staff attitudes to online assessment and the use of Pebblepad and Blackboard. More work needs to be undertaken to change embedded conservative attitudes which are at odds with student expectation and to improve staff's own e-learning abilities.

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

The institutional learning teaching and assessment strategy identifies e-learning as a key process of being forward thinking in the design of courses and programmes, and providing learning opportunities that promote learner autonomy, and employability. At Faculty level an LTA action plan aims to support the development of new techniques and its dissemination to colleagues. This module has been seen as an example of good practice across the faculty and elements of this approach have been taken up by other staff. Several colleagues are adopting similar approaches and are further disseminating this themselves at department LTA away days and workshops. I have run workshops at Subject Centre C-SAP workshops and at the conference.

9. Summary and Reflection

This case study outlines the progressive development of one module and the interventions made by the tutor team to introduce authentic cultural material in a real-world context. For this and similar ongoing contemporary modules e-learning is essential to keep the learning experience for the students at the cutting edge. It offers far more advantages than disadvantages and allows the work smarter approach to flourish. In addition it provides greater work satisfaction by using the most up to date sources and delivery methods. The student response is clear as they understand that the technology is allowing them to have a better learning experience and that they can produce work which equals their efforts.