Author: Kay Aitchison, kay.aitchison@ed.ac.uk

Author: Michael Begg, michael.begg@ed.ac.uk

Author: David Dewhurst, d.dewhurst@ed.ac.uk

Author: Susan Rhind, susan.rhind@ed.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Technology-enhanced Learning Environments

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine

This case study illustrates...use of specialist software, an effect on learning, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff satisfaction with e-learning, a positive effect on recruitment, an influence on policy, use of resources, modifications to learning spaces, management of learning assets

Further Evidence

'Students learn new skills particularly data handling and statistical skills but they have greater exposure, albeit in a virtual environment, to practices and procedures on working farms. The virtual sitting alongside opportunities for real-world experience on the farms will enable the program to manage increasing numbers of students.'

'...having personalised relationships with subsets of herd data (through their adopted animals) allows this interest in the well-being of individual animals to scale up to a richer appreciation of herd/flock health and performance generally.'

'...a system for carrying out statistical analysis of specially contrived groups of animals which are derived directly from the virtual farm and used for specific teaching purposes. This effectively allows the Virtual Farm to become a real-time teaching and learning aid in lectures and tutorials.'

'...open discussions between students, teaching staff and farm workers... provides good transparency of practice and promotes dialogue where previously there could be a great deal of isolation.'