Author: Cillian Ryan, c.ryan@bham.ac.uk
Author: Mike Walsh, m.walsh@coventry.ac.uk
JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Technology-enhanced Learning Environments
Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Economics
This case study illustrates...use of specialist software, an effect on learning, student satisfaction with e-learning, an influence on policy, management of learning assets
Background & Context
Why did you use this e-learning approach?
We were concerned that many good software projects designed to enhance teaching & learning were not being utilised by lecturers because of the time required to get and keep abreast of developments in the field, fears that the time would not be productive either because the products would turn out not to be useful or because students would not use them.
We had a specific example based on a prize winning package developed in the 1990s called WinEcon. We knew as a result of a survey conducted specifically for the project that despite well-attended seminars and workshops on C&IT initiatives, the actual implementation of WinEcon and the use of VLEs as an interactive resource in institutions was very poor. While 85% of HE institutions have at some time subscribed to WinEcon, our survey (with replies covering nearly 40% of the sector) indicated that only 63% currently maintain the licence. Of those, 77% reveal that the resource is not integrated into their Economics modules, is frequently just cited as an add-on resource, and in many cases simply stands idle. Of the remainder, 92% use only a limited range of the options on offer due to the perception that further development is too time consuming. Similarly, while 91% of institutions have VLEs, the survey indicates that at best 38% are using them as electronic noticeboards and less than 20% employ them as sources of interactive learning.
Our aim was to address this problem.
What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?
The project was designed to assist effective and integrated implementation of WinEcon in all types of HE institutions, mainly in first year modules, but in some cases year 2 and MBA programmes.
At present we have worked with 18 Universities across the sector on a variety of modules (approximately 22 modules and 19 lecturers). The number of students on each module varied from 40 to 400.
Still anticipated the 'not made here' syndrome, and this has proved one of the biggest challenges.
What was the design?
We wanted to bring the software closer to the lecturers and students by embedding relevant links into reading links, class-work, assignments etc. to encourage lectures and students to engage more with relevant software packages. Working with a WinEcon user group we explored the various ways the package could be used to encourage lecturers and students to engage more with the interactive package and to exploit the benefit that such a package offers.
The project was projected to run from 2004 to 2007. Phase 1 aimed to set up the project, to appoint and train a team member in the West Midlands, and implement the project at Birmingham, Coventry and UCE. Phase 2 aimed to appoint and train members of a national team in order to implement the project in other regions. Phase 3 aimed to approach institutions that do not have a WinEcon licence, revisit institutions from earlier phases, and evaluate the project. The final report is due during the autumn of 2007.
How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?
We feel that dissemination has been a major strength of the project. We trained up a team of seven people, mainly postgraduate students from English universities chosen on the basis of aptitude, experience on teaching and knowledge of first year economics teaching and a sensitivity to lecturers' needs in the summer of 2005. The process started in the West Midlands and was then rolled out across regions in the UK.
The team used existing contacts or approached new contacts with a view to implementing the project. This model could clearly be extended to other disciplines.
We evaluated the project using a dedicated questionnaire to evaluate NOT WinEcon, but the usefulness of the linking in facilitating the use of WinEcon.
We anticipated that there might be some element of 'Not Made Here' in trying to get people involved and there has been a small element of this.
We did not anticipate so many technical barriers to implementation and we have learned that such technical hiccups and the fear of such technical hiccups are as much a factor in discouraging participation as anything else.
We tackled these by encouraging the WinEcon consortium to give their material a new facelift, to remove version specific impediments to linking and perhaps more importantly, to adopt a new distribution strategy which allowed students direct and easier access to the software (rather than through a university server). Coventry University pioneered the implementation of individual downloads to registered students and there was an excellent take-up with no apparent problems.
