Author: Karin Bowie, k.bowie@history.arts.gla.ac.uk

Author: Dauvit Broun, d.brown@history.arts.gla.ac.uk

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

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: History, Classics and Archaeology

This case study illustrates...an effect on learning, an effect on exam results, 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, staff personal development, a positive effect on recruitment, a positive effect on retention, an influence on policy, use of resources, modifications to learning spaces, management of learning assets, an effect on social equality

Lessons Learned

Summary and Reflection

There is no doubt that the provision of course materials on the Moodle site has enhanced the learning and teaching experience of staff and students and that it has contributed to an improvement in staff and student performance, especially in seminars. This is seen as a critical advance for students at Level 1 in particular.

We recognize that some might view our use of Moodle as rather basic, but even this simple use of a VLE has thrown up significant pedagogical challenges, particularly in lecturing for Level 1. We will continue to use Moodle to support lectures, workshops and seminars where this allows classes to be conducted in a more engaging, innovative way and helps to introduce students more readily to the cutting edge of the subject. The seminar experience suggests the possibility of raising expectations about student preparedness for lectures. If lecture summaries on Moodle could be seen as introductions to be read beforehand, rather than substitutes for lecture attendance, then lectures could become more ambitious.

Though we would like to take advantage of Moodle's more advanced features, there are barriers limiting our ability to do so, particularly the availability of time (and GTA wages) for new activities that would be incremental to current course contact hours. Training would be helpful to more fully exploit Moodle's potential, but sessions are typically scheduled for whole mornings or afternoons, and the reality of lecturers' lives means that this amount of 'free time' is rarely available during semesters. Short, focused training sessions by peers in one's discipline, scheduled perhaps at lunchtime, would be helpful, though this may overburden already hard-pressed members of staff who are competent in the use of Moodle.