English Subject Centre Mini Projects

E-learning Advocate Project 2006/7

Ebedding E-!earning as a "egional E-
!earning Advocate#
Project "e$ort
Author% "osie Miles
&e$artent o' English
(niversit) o' *olverha$ton
E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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The English Subject Centre
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham, Surrey T!" "E#
Tel "$%&' ''(!!$ )a* "$%&' '%"+&'
Email esc,rhul-ac-u.
www-english-heacademy-ac-u.
English Subject Centre &e$artental Projects
This report and the work it presents were funded by the English ub!ect
"entre under a sche#e which funds pro!ects run by depart#ents in $igher
Education institutions %$E&s' in the ()* o#e pro!ects are run in collaboration
between depart#ents in different $E&s* Pro!ects run under the sche#e are
concerned with develop#ents in the teaching and learning of English
+anguage, +iterature and "reative -riting* They #ay involve the production
of teaching #aterials, the piloting and evaluation of new #ethods or #aterials
or the production of research into teaching and learning* Pro!ect outco#es
are e.pected to be of benefit to the sub!ect co##unity as well as having a
positive influence on teaching and learning in the host depart#ent%s'* /or
this reason, pro!ect results are disse#inated widely in print, electronic for#
and via events, or a co#bination of these*
Details of ongoing pro!ects can be found on the English ub!ect "entre
website at www*english*heacade#y*ac*uk0deptpro!ects0inde.*ht# * &f you
would like to en1uire about support for a pro!ect, please contact the English
ub!ect "entre2
The English ub!ect "entre
Royal $olloway, (niversity of +ondon
Egha#, urrey T-34 5E6
T* 41789 99:331
esc;rhul*ac*uk
www*english*heacade#y*ac*uk
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+ntroduction
My pro!ect application originally outlined plans to establish a regional network for e-
learning in English tudies in relation to the Midlands* My role would be to2
1* liaise with depart#ents on e-learning develop#ents within the region*
3* discuss and suggest ways in which e-learning could be used within
particular depart#ental conte.ts*
:* support individual initiatives as an e.ternal friend*
9* act as a conduit to enable colleagues to #ake useful contacts in the
region*
<* disse#inate relevant infor#ation and ideas*
+nstitutional Conte,t / -ac.ground
(nlike the other five E-learning =dvocates #y application proposed a wider brief than
only working with one>s own depart#ent* This was because within #y own
institution, and in a relatively s#all English depart#ent, there was already reasonably
widespread use of so#e e-learning resources and spaces by several colleagues*
/or the past three years & had also been using a ?+E as an integrated, assessed
for# of blended learning, and had been pretty successful with that* & had also been
trying to capitalise on the e-learning work & had done and using it to write up so#e
pedagogic research*
Methodolog)
There was initial concern fro# the assessors of #y proposal that & would be
spreading #yself too thin by proposing a regional re#it, and thus it was
suggested that & ai# to work with 3-: other institutions only beyond #y own* -ith
that in #ind & approached the $oDs of every English depart#ent in the Midlands
%circa 1< institutions' in autu#n 344@ to ask whether they would be interested in
#y working with the# in so#e way* Despite #y having received several
e.pressions of interest fro# different depart#ents prior to #y #aking the original
application, only two $oDs actually responded* & did visit both of these
institutions during the year %one of the# twice' but the #odel of trying to #ake
contact via $oDs was not always that successful* =s #uch as anything & gained
access to depart#ents via contacts & already had and via the other E-learning
=dvocates the#selves*
&n practice this #odel of Aworking closely with 3-: depart#ents> wasn>t really what
happened* -hat did happen was that & developed a role for #yself whereby &
visited a nu#ber of depart#ents and Ade#oed> so#e of the ?+E use that & had
undertaken at -olverha#pton* This felt like it was a successful and effective
undertaking in every instance*
Below is a list of what & achieved as part of #y E-+earning =dvocacy in 344@-472
/0ct 061 =pproach to all $oDs in Midlands* Meeting set up with
Bir#ingha#* Meeting with $oD at -olverha#pton C how #ight #y
=dvocacy be taken forwardD Meeting set up with own depart#ent for
Eanuary 47*
/2ov 061 =pproach to &DEE partner0e.change institution with
-olverha#pton in =#sterda#* Meeting with Bir#ingha# staff 4F011*
e#inar on design of ?+E activities at -olverha#pton*
/3an 071 E-learning #eeting held at -olverha#pton for English tea#*
17041 visit to +oughborough English dept* +GT co##ittee*
/4eb 071 e#inar on #oderating of ?+E activities at -olverha#pton*
/A$ril 071 170492 visit to Derby to talk 1-3-1 with English colleague
there* ?+E work de#oed* 1F0492 e#inar on assessing ?+E activities
at -olverha#pton* Publication of AResearch, Reflection and
E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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Response2 "reating and =ssessing 5nline Discussion Forums in
English tudies>* English Subject Centre Newsletter 13 %=pril 3447',
pp* :3-:<*
/Ma) 071 4F-1404<2 Hetskills Drea#weaver course* 3104<2 ?isit to
-orcester C ?+E work de#oed* 3304<2 ?isit to ("E C ?+E work
de#oed* 3904<2 ?isit to Bishop>s Irosseteste "ollege, +incoln C ?+E
work de#oed*
/3une 071 1-3-1 #eeting with -olverha#pton English colleague to talk
her through so#e of #y use of our ?+E* 1804@2 trip to $ogeschool,
=#sterda#, to de#o ?+E work to colleagues there*
/3ul) 071 A"reative 5nline =ctivities in English +iterary tudies>* Paper
given at Renewals: Refiguring University English in the 21
st
Century,
Royal $olloway, (niversity of +ondon, <-7 Euly 3447*
/Aug 071 Paper written up and sub#itted as case study to E"
website2 fill in
/Se$t 071 3404F2 ?isit to Hortha#pton C ?+E work de#oed* 3@04F2
?isit to +oughborough C ?+E work de#oed*
&iscussion
Did you make the right choices? Jes, in the sense of playing to #y
strengths in ter#s of ?+E work0de#onstration* ?+Es are obviously only one
way of using e-learning tools in the sub!ect, but e.perience tells #e they are
still not widely used in an integrated way in English courses and everywhere &
visited to de#o the work & have done at -olverha#pton there was interest
and lively debate about what & was showing0discussing*
How successful has your project been in terms of achieving your initial
goals?
o & did a fair bit of points 3, : and < in ter#s of #y original goalsK
perhaps less of 1 and 9*
o &t is perhaps difficult for #e to #easure the i#pact #y visits have
#ade beyond a strong sense that they were appreciated on the day*
They will have been successful if staff are subse1uently inspired to try
out new ideas in ter#s of ?+E use0activities in their courses*
o -orking outside #ost of the depart#ents with who# & had contact had
both pros and cons* 5n the one hand & was able to co##and the
Aoutside guest speaker> kind of slot and gain 1uite a wide range of
access to depart#ents that way* Really & think this was what
depart#ents wanted fro# #e and the =dvocacy sche#e facilitated
that* -hat didn>t really work was where & tried to work #ore closely
with a depart#ent, but because & a# outside of their infrastructures it
is actually 1uite hard for #e to influence anything #uch %e*g* at
Bir#ingha# there was a co#plaint fro# the staff & #et about the level
of &T support they got, but there was nothing & could do about that'* &
think perhaps so#e $oDs were put off by #y initial approach back in
5ctober 344@ because they perceived the idea of #y Aworking closely>
with the# as #ore ti#e0effort than they wanted to invest* By contrast
a day0afternoon visit by #e involves no particular great ongoing
co##it#ent on a depart#ent>s part and thus was #ore readily
welco#ed*
o ADe#o> #eetings were far #ore worthwhile than A#eetings to talk
about e-learning>* The latter tended to be 1uite negative and an
e.cuse for staff to co#plain about various issues2 that they have no
ti#e to develop e-learning resourcesK to e.press dislike of ?+Es or
E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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co#plain about their li#itationsK to co#plain about &T support in their
institution or the technology>s unreliabilityK to air a general an.iety
about e-learning* There is a significant need for English tudies staff
to see successful, pedagogically valuable e.a#ples of e-learning use*
This, & believe, is an effective way in which staff will be encouraged to
give new learning tools and strategies a try for the#selves*
o & didn>t establish a regional network in the end, and, to be honest, & a#
not convinced there is need for such a thing* =lso, a network, once
established, has to be #aintained with a level of activity for it to see#
successful, and & a# probably not the right person to do this*
-ithin #y own depart#ent & was able to work on a 1-3-1 basis with a
colleague who had e.pressed so#e an.iety about use of our ?+E* =nother
colleague and & are intending to do likewise this year* -here innovations
were introduced into our progra##e in 4@47 on an e-learning front it was to
do with individual staff #e#bers #aking those changes to their #odules %e*g*
integrated use of our ?+E was introduced at +evel 3 for the first ti#e by a
colleague'* =s far as & a# aware English at -olverha#pton has not
particularly updated its e-learning policy in the past few years, but we are due
for Review ne.t year and & a# sure so#e of the #any develop#ents of the
past few years will be acknowledged* & was also able to visit a partner
institution, the $ogeschool van =#sterda#, with who# our English dept has
close links %they send doLens of their English and Education students over to
us for half their degree course each year'* Their students can access our
?+E fro# $olland as they have -olverha#pton &T accounts and passwords,
as well as use it when they are in the ()* & was able to discuss in detail with
the staff there what we do at -olverha#pton and there was a lot of interest*
They were particularly pleased that & had been able to #ake the trip and they
hadn>t had to pay for itM This isn>t #erely a facetious point2 the fact that & had
access to so#e #oney via #y =dvocacy to #ake such trips #eant it was
relatively easy to set up a visit, and they spoke of inviting #e back at a later
point when they were actively i#ple#enting so#e ?+E activities at their end*
!evers 5 -arriers to ebedding
Do you think there are preoccupations and ideologies of the discipline which
influence the embedding of e-learning? Are their issues which are related to
the individual nature of English as a subject? Jes to both 1uestions, although the
answers are harder to pin down and for#ulate*
My default answer here is to return to Eero#e McIann>s co##ents about
$u#anities scholars not really being interested in e-learning tools unless they
can enhance and e.pand our interpretive horiLons, because that>s what we>re
about C interpretation of te.tual #atter* 5n the one hand all you need for that
is a book, a pencil and a brainN
There are genuine issues about Ahow #uch %is too #uch'D> & #yself know &
would feel unco#fortable if all of our #odules at -olverha#pton were being
turned over to substantial e-learning co#ponents* There is a strong
co##it#ent to the essay as a #eans of developing argu#entative and
research-based skills in English and it is i#portant that such for#s of
assess#ent re#ain key parts of English progra##es* & do also get the sense
fro# a few English colleagues that there is an ideological dislike of ?+Es* &>#
not sure what this is about C possibly because they are often Aowned> by
conglo#erates like Blackboard0-Eb"T and are perceived as being too
corporateD
E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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$owever, the other side of this is that & also know that the integration of ?+E
activities and related appropriate assess#ent has significantly enhanced the
#odules & teach where & use the#* & have no doubt that this is an
i#prove#ent to the courses, and several years-worth of student feedback
and statistics also support this*
& also find #yself thinking that actually English as a ub!ect can be 1uite
conservative and resistant to new ideas in so#e ways* 5bviously &>#
generalising here, and it is probably true to so#e e.tent that a younger
generation of acade#ics, who the#selves have grown up as part of the Ae-A
generation, will be #ore open to trying new things and not so phased at the
suggestion that learning online can co#ple#ent classroo# teaching perfectly
well* & guess this is also a point about risk* &t>s not !ust so#ething pertaining
to English acade#ics, but trying out so#ething new with your teaching %and
assess#ent, #aybe' is risky* =t so#e point there will always be an entry into
the unknown and the uncertain with e-learning e.peri#ents, & think, precisely
because what is being done is innovative and not always tried and tested in
the educational arena*
There are also very real issues about the e.tent to which English as a ub!ect
in very #any places is driven by what see#s like a pri#ary co##it#ent to
the R=E* Research counts #ore than anything else, thus any new pedagogic
innovations that look like they #ight re1uire so#e work0invest#ent are far
fro# the top of #any colleagues> agendas* &t was easier to gain access to
Anew> universities than Aold> for #e overall* Despite the fact that Bir#ingha#
initially was one of two institutions willing to work #ore closely with #e, when
& tried to arrange a follow up #eeting after & had visited in Hove#ber 4@ to
offer an open Ade#o> #eeting #y e#ails never got a reply*
Student e,$erience
How have your efforts this year impacted on the Student eperience of the
subject in your department? ee ADiscussion> section above* =s & was not
working solely with #y own depart#ent the changes here have not been particularly
notable C the changes on #y #odules were already in place prior to 4@47* & have
continued to #aintain and Atweak> #y own #odules which have an integrated online
co#ponent and & continue to solicit and evaluate student feedback on the#*
Project Su$$ort
!n what ways has it been helpful to have been part of a national project with
si participating institutions? &t>s been invaluable* &t>s been great to work with
other English colleagues who are interested in e-learning and we have
undoubtedly encouraged each other* /or #e it has also been a recognition of the
work &>ve been doing with ?+Es and it has given #e a sense that this work is
valued by the wider English co##unity*
"hat have you learned from the five other advocates?
o #rom working in basecamp
o #rom the project team
o #rom eisting models of e-learning advocacy
Baseca#p is a useful space for us to have* &nevitably people>s desire to contribute
goes through phases but it has been good to be able to share docu#ents, ideas and
thoughts with colleagues via it* =s with #any e-tools, it facilitates collaboration and
co##unication*
The days when we all got together have also been useful Areal ti#e> touchbase
points* They gave a sense that the E" tea# as a whole were supportive of the
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=dvocacy sche#e and that is sy#bolically i#portant* These days also allowed us to
think about planning and to offer shared points of reflection in relation to our
respective pro!ects and this was also valuable* 5verall & had a strong sense of Brett
+ucas>s continual involve#ent in the #onitoring and overseeing of the pro!ect and we
all knew he was there to consult if needed*
&n the course of the year & also visited 90< of the other =dvocates> institutions in #y
Aroving e-advocate> role, in the Midlands and beyond* There was thus a clear way for
#e in which we were supporting and learning fro# each other* This was also the
case at the Renewals conference in Euly 47*
0ut$uts/0utcoes
!s it possible to document the tangible progress you made in your advocacy
year in terms of new blended courses? $ew learning spaces created? $umber
of newly motivated colleagues? How can you tell?
&n the course of the year & would say #ore than 144 colleagues attended
presentations where & de#oed #y ?+E work* =s & have said above, it is perhaps
#ore difficult to #easure the i#pact of this* & also published a nu#ber of articles,
reports, case studies, etc* on e-learning, and whilst they didn>t necessarily all directly
arise out of the =dvocacy role the fact that & had the role provided the conte.t in
which & was wanting to publish and disse#inate the findings of so#e of the work &
have been doing, so everything is connected*
Conclusions / "ecoendations / Closing thoughts
%an you make generalisable recommendations to others seeking to embed e-
learning into their departments&schools? Try and be an e-learning advocate
by e.a#ple rather than persuasion %broadly #y distinction above between
sitting around talking about e-learning, which #ay tap into colleagues>
an.ieties, fears and negativity, and de#onstrating #odels of best practice'*
=lso, & think not everyone will ever be persuaded* Better to work with those
who are open to the possibilities of e-learning than spend a lot of ti#e and
effort trying to persuade those who probably never will be*
Do you still consider yourself an advocates of e-learning? Above all' have you
convinced yourselves and others of the value of continuing in your role as an
advocate beyond the lifetime of this project? ( institutional&formal Jes, & do
still consider #yself as an E-+earning advocate in the broadest sense* & a#
carrying on a #ore li#ited e.tension of #y role into 3447-48 so in a very real
sense #y advocacy does go on*
Are funding opportunities like this worthwhile? Jes, absolutely* Hot least
because they validate innovative pedagogic work going on in the discipline of
English, and encourage those who are working to effect change in ter#s of
how the ub!ect conceives of what it does at the level of teaching*
"hat advice would you give to e-learning advocates just starting out? /ocus
on what you are enthusiastic about* There will be ti#es when you probably
feel dispirited at colleague recalcitrance but re#e#ber that the other
=dvocates %and Brett' are there to encourage you* E#bedding e-learning
takes ti#e %& would suggest several years to effect an e#bedded and worked
through change in a course, so it is likely to be the sa#e if not #ore in ter#s
of an entire progra##e' so you #ay not achieve #iracles in one yearK
however, you #ay well lay the foundations on which further develop#ents
can be built*
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E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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E-learning advocate report for Dr Rosie Miles
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