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

Tangible Benefits

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

In Scottish History Level 1, the introduction of e-learning coincided with an overhaul of the course, so the specific role of e-learning in improved results is impossible to quantify. Results have been transformed, however: the proportion of students who finished with an A grade overall leapt from 1% to 15%, while the number of 'fails' (less than D) fell from 12% to 5%.

On both Scottish History Level 1 and the Honours courses student feedback questionnaires and focus group discussions have been uniformly positive about Moodle: they appreciate the ready availability of seminar readings and lecture notes. For Scottish History Level 1, staff expectations of student preparedness have become more robust and the quality of seminars has improved noticeably. For the interdisciplinary Honours courses, the availability of lecture notes meant that students could review material from an unfamiliar discipline and the lecture itself could be delivered in a more fluent and engaging way. In workshops, the pace could more readily be dictated by student responses in the knowledge that any essential business not covered in the workshop could be posted on the Moodle site. In addition, Moodle enhanced the research-led nature of the Honours courses by making it possible to distribute articles and other materials even before they were published.

To a limited extent, students on Scottish History Level 1 and the Honours courses have used Moodle to exchange views between themselves.

There has been a reduction of approximately 50% in the amount of material photocopied for these courses (notably essay reading lists and copies of secondary seminar materials).

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

Lectures: The greatest pedagogical concern is how to judge the amount of lecture material to make available. If lectures are made available on Moodle in too much detail, then students may stay away from the lecture itself. Attendance at Scottish History Level 1 lectures has declined (from about 2/3 or 3/5 to about 1/2 the class). This demonstrates that while this new technology offers great advantages, it also undermines the traditional large-class lecture. To address this, the teaching team plans to explore ways to remodel their lectures to take better advantage of the provision of lecture notes and make lectures more interactive. In contrast, lecture attendance has not noticeably declined in the Honours courses, where classes are smaller, students are more committed and lectures are already more interactive. In an Honours course debriefing, all students in the meeting said that they gained more from the live lecture itself than they would have from what was available on the Moodle site alone.

Seminar readings: The department's photocopying budget has been spared, but the cost of printing has been passed to students. This is particularly a problem for those students who lack internet access at home and must pay the relatively higher cost of printing charged by the university. Scanning the readings took more time and trouble than had been anticipated. Copyright restrictions were only resolved with the adoption of a site license by the university.

Inequities of access: Use of VLEs increases the pressure on students to have their own computers and internet access in their homes. This is a cost that some can shoulder more easily than others. VLEs therefore may add to the existing inequalities between students from different backgrounds.

Staff time: There is no doubt that the use of the Moodle site has made more demands on staff time. At the same time, it has enhanced the experience of teaching, and the sense of professional achievement. All lecturers involved in these courses are in no doubt that they would much rather have Moodle than not have it! The fear remains, though, that a more ambitious use of the Moodle site could make serious in-roads into staff time which is already stretched.

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

The department and institution has encouraged but not forced the use of Moodle. Take up of Moodle has spread mostly by informal contact between peers and by an increasing expectation from students that Moodle will be used in courses. Staff have been left to make use of it in ways that suit them and their courses best. The result is a wide range of formats and practices, ranging from the fairly minimal approach to the more ambitious and innovative uses that have been developed by (for example) members of staff teaching Celtic Civilisation and Philosophy. The Arts faculty is in the process of creating a unified 'point of entry' for all Moodle sites, but otherwise the institutional 'touch' has been very light.